getting the first proper gig
righty ho folks. after band discussion last night we have agreed to try to get a gig late March, early April to bring an end to rehearsal and get on stage together. We currently have about 65 mins worth of well rehearsed material so we should get to 90 minutes by this March/April time
A pub gig would be good - we can probably drum up a few followers for the first one as friends and family will be interested in what we will have been doing for the last 12 months.
I've never done this before so why I'm doing the organising I'm not sure but the questions are
1. what do I do - just barrel into local music pubs and just ask, tell them what we play and see if they will book us?
2. do I need anything - you tube clips (none as we haven't gigged yet) as supporting info
3. should I ask about PA - as in do we need our own or do they have one?
cheers
nick
See which pubs have bands on. Pop down when they have a band and see the set-up.
Have a chat with the staff (although don't be surprised if the guy who does the bookings isn't there).
It's rare (around here) for pubs to have there own PA, so yes it needs to be mentioned at somepoint.
If you haven't got a demo try with just a sample set list and bio so they can see what you play.
Could you use a video camera at a rehearsal to get at least a song or two of footage to stick on youtube?
One idea might be to look at pubs that do open mic nights where your band could get a 10/15 minute slot. This puts you in front of an audience ( even if only the members of other bands) and there will be a PA (and probably supplied backline and drums). In some ways this is a painfull experience but its an excellent try out in finding out how you function as a band (typically you'll find you rely on a lot of visual clues in rehearsal that dissapear once you are all facing the same way).Originally Posted by nickp
Unless you are an instrumental band then you will need some form of vocal PA to play even the smallest pub and they are unlikely to have one so beg, borrow, steal, buy one from somewhere. Small PA set ups can be found second hand easilly enough (like symbolic husks of failed band projects)but put some thought into who buys it or what agreement you have about joint ownership (if the drummer leaves next week and he put £100 in does he get it back?).
Without any kind of PA you will need to find venues that do have them. Ideally go visit venues (or at least phone them) and see what the set up is. The kind of pub/venue that puts on multi band nights or biggish name bands ( where you might be chasing a support) will probably have one.
You can find venues through local listings magazines/evening paper/internet but small pubs that put a band on for the regulars probably wont do this so you will only know of them through word of mouth or just spotting a chalkboard with Tonight The Beatles Here on it.
Business cards/flyers probably more useful than a demo or youtube clip TBH but recording what you do is good for your own progress and somebody down the line will ask to hear/see them.
Early gigs may come up in odd ways - your Aunt who is trying to put on an event for her cat charity, that dodgy second cousin who owns a pub
Good luck!
Breeding mammals with insects is my personal bugbear.
Few pubs around here have a house rig and expect the turn to have their own gear. But a couple of Jam nights welcome new bands for 2-3 numbers where backline and PA is all available. Also a couple of the bigger/regular rock pubs have like a tuesday night try out for new bands where you play a set or two as an audition, if they like you you get a proper booking. This can lead to more work (always impresses a landlord if you are booked at the 'big' gigs in town.
Some good info here, we're hopefully going to be in a similar position as you in summer so some of this will come in very handy!
FS - Tokai Goldstar Sound http://forum.musicradar.com/showthre...tar-Sound-1984
https://www.facebook.com/PlatformThreeBand
good stuff ta. We have already done one open mike night 15 min slot which seemed to go down well and are planning on another one or two in Feb to keep the focus up. We can also video these and sling on u tube or wherever
I can nick a PA from our next door neighbour if I ask nicely as she is an occasional singer.
business cards are a good idea!
That just leave the pub crawl to find a venue. If you have been following the dieting thread then you will appreciate my dilemma - which is more important - getting a gig or being abstemious and losing weight??
Most pubs expect 2 x 1 hour sets and 95% of the time will expect you to provide your own PA.
It's quite hard to get gigs at better venues without some assurance that you will put on a decent show. Demos help, but the most important thing (vicious circle incoming) is gigs booked at other local venues.
Festivals are a good way to get some proof you can play.
Hi Nick,
I've had good times playing at the following venues in central Bristol. They are more 'licensed music venue' than 'pub that has bands in' if you know what I mean, but all of them do lots of 3 or 4 band local showcase nights.
The Croft, Stokes Croft.
The Louisiana, Wapping Wharf.
The Thunderbolt, Totterdown.
The Fleece and Firkin, St. Thomas Street.
They all have a house PA, and I've found the owners quite approachable. I'd advise visiting with something like a 2 or 3 track CD and asking whether they think you'd be suitable for a support slot on a showcase bill to start off with. You might get a crappy time slot and only a few pickups in the audience, but it's all experience under the belt.
If you ask for a headline/solo booking you will almost certainly be told you need to bring a guaranteed crowd of 30-40+, and they might ask for references.
My band started out gigging by finding like-minded bands and trying to pool our gig-finding resources. It meant we ended up playing support or headlining with the same bands quite a few times, but the crowd crossover and contacts/friends we made doing that was nice.
Most importantly though, if your first gig turns out to be a 'good old boys' style bottling then don't lose heart. Most bands will play to an empty/indifferent/hostile crowd at least a few times!
This is all from the perspective of being in an extremely awkward band to market (a non-screamo prog rock/metal/sludge 'thing'), which limits which venues we can play at. If you play a more palatable style of music then you'd probably have a much easier time finding pub venues. A chat with the landlord/promoter with a reasonable demo CD would still be a good bet though, I reckon.
What's the band name? I'll keep an eye out for you...
Cheers,
Jim.
Hi Gargantuant
We are a covers outfit being mainly 50+ (I'd like to say I'm the young'un at 47 but our secret weapon is the 28 year old singer, sure to be a hit with all the women of a certain age!!!). We are past believing that we can write proper songs!! The best that we hope for is to feel the adulation of those women (and their aging hubbies) if we can keep them off the singer
So we aren't in the same market, and therefore I'd be hesitant to try and get into the "proper" venues until we had some gigging experience. I'm going to try our local pubs as the quality of bands they have there are variable from astonishingly good to astonishingly bad and I think we are in the better half of that description as we are pretty tight and work hard to get a good sound.
the band name is Vinyl Generation.
BTW I'm partial to a bit of prog - remembering when I was born then Rush is my baseline, stretching to a bit of Dream Theater (although the vocal are a bit naff IMHO), and I'm trying to like Opeth but not so sure about the "roaring" vocal thing.
There's no reason to be stuck with showcase and jam nights - there are plenty of dedicated music venues who regularly put on 3 or 4 band shows, and a lot of those venues are quite happy to have a covers band open the night. My advice would be to get more active in the local scene - have at least two members of the band at a show at such venues every weekend if you can, and get friendly with the venue staff and promoters. Then just say you're looking for a short opening slot here and there, and give them your card. Then ask them again the next week. Perhaps buy them a pint.
Sure, you won't get paid. However, you also won't need a PA.
If you get a few of these gigs, you can then go to pubs and say you've got a couple of gigs lined up if they want to come along to make sure you're good enough. Tell them that your first gig for them is at half the normal rate (say, £100 - £120) and you can go from there.
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