disgusted & frustrated

[mannish]

gigs are tough in the winter with outdoor venues not doing music...but one of the main problemsis I have a great band of veteran musicians now - we are very close, tight I am diggin what we are doing. However none of us are go getters as in hustling for gigs. We recorded a decent demo cause word of mouth is only good for a few gigs here & there....It's like we sit around waiting on them to come to us instead of going after it. When I ran an ad looking to start this band one of the things I mentioned was wanting someone willing to hustle for gigs. However it wound up being friends I had played with and not anyone that answered the ad

Sometimes I think I would trade good musicians for someone that would get out there and hustle up some gigs

Guess I am going to have to get out of being lazy and start hustling for gigs.

frustrates me - I don't feel like they are much help ...ok had to get that out

[Mike K]

Adopt a policy where the person that books the gig gets a 10% cut off the top.

If you are in a 5 piece band and you book a gig for $600 then you will get an extra $60 off the top and then the 5 of you would split the remaining $540.

Each player receives $108 and the person that booked the gig (you) would receive the extra $60 for $168.

[fatcontroller]

Originally Posted by Mike K

Adopt a policy where the person that books the gig gets a 10% cut off the top.

If you are in a 5 piece band and you book a gig for $600 then you will get an extra $60 off the top and then the 5 of you would split the remaining $540.

Each player receives $108 and the person that booked the gig (you) would receive the extra $60 for $168.

Dang, that's a good idea. 10% more beer for me if I book a gig? Count me in!

[The Kid]

There's your answer. If you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. Don't complain about not getting work, ... go out and make work. Get on your hustle any way you can.

When I started out, (1993) I did the solo acoustic & vocals thing. Once I started playing around town, other people wanted to get in on my gigs. I would always let people sit in, but I wasn't about to take a pay cut.

I would however, offer to help out any way that I could with singing, playing, and running the PA if they got something together though. Kind of an, "if you wanna sit at my table, you gotta bring something to it..." thing, ...but polite.

I started making a name for myself as a side man who could also do sound. I also worked a day job for a big company at the time and I was good at getting people to come out to shows.

A club owner at a club that I already was playing at asked if I could put something together for him that was more tailored to his venue than the band leader that I was playing for at the time. I put together an r&b project and kept the original band leader on in my horn section. (It kept our relationship intact.)

It was a killer group and we had a great draw. I hustled my a$$ of for a year and a half before I even started taking a cut for myself though. I had to take care of my band first. (I was getting paid on other people's gigs and acoustic stuff though) Remember when I mentioned making work... ? I realized that once I started putting money in other cats pockets, I got even more calls to be on their gigs & studio projects.

Doing it all myself taught me a lot about what it takes to be a good player, a good band member, and a good leader. I treat all my cats with respect and consideration, and they return it. I always try to be the player that I would want on my own gig. That includes being on time, and being a good communicator on and off stage.

A good draw is so important. Let me say that again: A good draw is so important. A good band won't get good gigs if they don't have a draw. Promise people that they will love it if they come. Promise them that they will have a good time.

Focus on getting pretty girls to come to the gigs. They will attract guys and... more pretty girls! Get them there once and they'll come back again and again... with more people. Always thank them for coming out.

If you have that, the clubs will be calling you. Or, think outside the box. Rent out a room or a hall and sell tickets.

I'm always recording gigs and giving people sampler cd's to get them to come to shows. I have clips on my phone to play for people too.

I do it in a non pushy way. First I tell them that I think that they'd really enjoy the band. Then I brag about my talented friends. (That's easy because it's true.) Then if they seem interested, I ask if they'd like to hear something sometime.

If they say yes, I say, "Oh wait, I have a clip on my phone." It works very well.

There are examples on the soundcloud page in my sig if you feel like taking a listen.

I'm not going to lie to you. It's hard work to get it going. Once you do, it gets easier. I get so much side work that I have to turn a lot of stuff down. I rarely have to make a call to book a gig nowadays.

It took a lot of work to get to this point, but it was well worth it. Keep in mind, I'm about as small time as you get. Mostly little $100-$200 gigs, but some (not too many) are as high as $300-$400 if I do sound or play solo at a bar. I do over 200 paid gigs per year. It adds up.

[Makemusic85]

I quit the last band I was in because of a similar situation. I was doing most all the leg work for getting and handling gigs, and the other members would generally sit back and complain or augment the plans I had set without trying to consult me. This all being after we all came to the agreement that I should handle gig affairs. I didn't have a problem doing the work....I had a problem with the lack of appreciation. It became more frustration than fun, so I was out. Not saying you should quit your band by any means......I just feel your pain. Good Luck.

[AmplifiedParts]

There is so much competition out there and so many bands actively pursuing every avenue, that you simply must put in the effort if you want gigs. Most bands are fortunate enough to have one dude that is sort of the "marketing" type. Easiest way it seems to get gigs, is to contact other similar bands in your area and ask them if they want to play a show with you and see if they have anything coming up that they could possibly add you on.

[The Kid]

Originally Posted by Makemusic85

I quit the last band I was in because of a similar situation. I was doing most all the leg work for getting and handling gigs, and the other members would generally sit back and complain or augment the plans I had set without trying to consult me. This all being after we all came to the agreement that I should handle gig affairs. I didn't have a problem doing the work....I had a problem with the lack of appreciation. It became more frustration than fun, so I was out. Not saying you should quit your band by any means......I just feel your pain. Good Luck.

Being a band leader is often a thankless job, however it puts you in more control of how often you gig.

[monty]

Originally Posted by Mike K

Adopt a policy where the person that books the gig gets a 10% cut off the top.

If you are in a 5 piece band and you book a gig for $600 then you will get an extra $60 off the top and then the 5 of you would split the remaining $540.

Each player receives $108 and the person that booked the gig (you) would receive the extra $60 for $168.

I love this idea.

[The Kid]

Originally Posted by Mike K

Adopt a policy where the person that books the gig gets a 10% cut off the top.

If you are in a 5 piece band and you book a gig for $600 then you will get an extra $60 off the top and then the 5 of you would split the remaining $540.

Each player receives $108 and the person that booked the gig (you) would receive the extra $60 for $168.

Originally Posted by monty

I love this idea.

Having a bunch of cats trying to wear the same hat usually ends up being a mess IME. First, negotiating isn't everyone's strong suit... and what happens when two cats book a gig on the same night at different places?

Don't get me wrong, you may never run into that, but if you do... drama.

[teleman1]

""""""""There are many people who could not sell heat at the North Pole. I am definitely one of them. Trying to get folks who don't have that skill to book gigs is like trying to teach a pig to sing!""""""

231 !!!!! You are an artist! It usually doesn't fly to be successfull and do both. SOme folks are freaks of nature and can do it all. Usally these are A people. I think artists are usually B people. Keith Richards B- Mick Jagger A+. more musicnas are like Keith than Mick. Yet Mick is an artist. McCartney can wear many hats. Most of these cats NEED manager/sales people doing the job for them.

If you didn't have the hustlers, either they/people would never meet from lack of trying or screw it up when they meet. I use that analogy in my business Real Estate. In most cases, if Realtors are not in the mix, there is a high chance for hostitlity in buyer/sellers relationship. In fact, I believe that without Realtors, you would often read of incidents between buyers & sellers and sometimes it would be a homicide. Confrontation (buying or selling) and high stakes,(monies over $50,000+) bring folks to their threshold stresswise.

And that's the point, some people do not want to deal with that type of stress on any level. Especially for a gig paying you $80 two weeks from Saturday.

[harpinon]

Wanna get a bunch of gigs easy?? Just mention how many followers you have. That's all they really care about anyway. I was in a really good classic rock band. We were in the top 3 bands vocal and song wise but couldn't seem to get enough gigs. We had a great following in the 80's but not anymore.People over 40 who like classic rock in our area stay home anymore. No smoking and too many cops on the road.

[musicofanatic5]

"I also worked a day job for a big company at the time and I was good at getting people to come out to shows."

There are a coupla bands in my area who are in this boat and, regardless of how horrible these bands are (and they are!), they have the best attended shows, and consequently, get gigs!.

Here I spent all these years to become the best full-time musician I can be, but nobody told me I had to have a day job at Microsoft, too!!

[Swain]

Maybe hire a Manager or a Booking Agency?

I feel like this is coming down to the age old question, where do you go to get paid gigs? am i right? what kinda places have paid gigs, what department do you talk to to get these gigs?

[The Kid]

Originally Posted by musicofanatic5

"I also worked a day job for a big company at the time and I was good at getting people to come out to shows."

There are a coupla bands in my area who are in this boat and, regardless of how horrible these bands are (and they are!), they have the best attended shows, and consequently, get gigs!.

Here I spent all these years to become the best full-time musician I can be, but nobody told me I had to have a day job at Microsoft, too!!

Hey man, are you calling me a horrible musician because I have a day job? At least listen to the clips in my sig and give me some constructive criticism so I can improve!

I am a full time musician AND I also have a full time day job. I do almost 250 shows a year between a few different projects plus solo acoustic shows.... plus 40 hours a week at my day job.

As you can guess, I'm pretty tired all the time. I could support myself on music full time, but my job is decent, has flexible hours, great health benefits, oh... and I like money.

Nobody said you had to have a job at microsoft. Nobody said you had to do anything actually.

I was just sharing how I get people to shows because sadly, that is what the people that are going to pay you money are usually most concerned with.

I'm not offended mind you... just surprised, unless I mis-read your mis-reading me. If I'm not... feel free to give me some criticism. You can try,... but you couldn't possibly be harder on my sloppy heartfelt playing than I already am.

www.soundcloud.com/michaeldisanto13