How to get gigs?

[funk generator]

G'day everyone!
Yet another question for the wonderful folks of talkbass

Probly within the next year, i will be moving out of my parents house and in with a good friend of mine who is about to buy a house. Hes giving me cheap rent for the location and conditions ($300/mo including Utilities)

Instead of getting a job making pizzas again, Id really like to be making money with music. Im currently a freshman Vocal performance music major at ETSU.

I'm not the greatest bassist in the world, but i can learn fairly difficult material and can improvise fairly well. Not amazing, but i can hold the groove.
Im a far better singer than a bass player lol (baritone), thus the majoring in it part, and can learn rythm guitar parts if need be (although im really not good at that lol)

So my question is how do i get gigs?
Iv checked craigslist and a majority of the people I've found have been fairly sketch, also checked the music stores and asked around campus a bit. I have a few projects that might get started soon, but nothing thats even had a get together yet.

If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great! Like i said, Id much rather play music than wait tables.

Edit: I do have some experience playing with others. Iv played in various praise and worship bands since i started playing pretty much

[ninerfan]

Advertise yourself on CL. State what you want out of a band and what you won't tolerate. Have the band come to you. Keep searching CL for bassist wanted ads as well. Go see live music and talk to the other bands, get familiar with the scene. If you're an adequate bass player they'll be knockin down your door.

[aurian4parker]

The only real way you can make serious money on a local level is by doing house gigs or cover gigs at bars and such. For that you'd have to contact those bars and send them a press kit. You would probably also need about 3 hours worth of material. Most will pay between 350-1000 a night.

[Stumbo]

I suggest getting your rhythm guitar chops up to speed. Learn a hundred songs or so. Maybe get a fake book so you can play a few hundred other tunes. Once you control what music is to be sung and played, you can get solo gigs, duo gigs and more. Maybe find another singer or singer/bassist to harmonize with you for the duo gigs. I've heard more than one person say they used a drum machine/computer to keep time.

If you're self-contained, you can get gigs. How about wedding vocal gigs? coffee houses, etc. Restaurants with entertainment (maybe you can sing pirate songs dressed as a pirate) . I've seen a band that did songs from Pirates of the Caribbean dressed a pirates,had a lot of fun and made some money.

I'd check them all out. Maybe there's a talent agency locally that can book around town.

Also, maybe hook up with a keyboard player that needs a vocalist, vocalist/guitarist/bass player, etc.

Because you can sing, you'll have a lot more opportunities.

Don't forget, you'll have to have reliable transportation and may be asked to gig during the week or Sunday night. Depending on your studies, scheduling may conflict with due dates.

Good luck.

[cassanova]

If you want to make money playing covers then the corporate market is the place to tap into. (Corporate events, festivals, weddings, sporting events, etc.)

If you want to play the average bar then you'd be better off delivering pizza's because you'll probably make more money doing that.

[funk generator]

Ok definition time lol whats are the definitions for.. Pres kit and fake book?

Thats for all the help guys. I do have reliable transportation And playing pirate songs im pretty sure would be about the coolest thing ever! ^_^ yay nerdy pleasure!

How do you get hired for the Corp events, festivals, wedding and such? I started working on a list of songs to play today, recommendations are always nice though and got the old PRS out for some rythmic fun.
Would restaurants be a good place to try to get acoustic gigs? My brother knows most of the restaurant owners in this town.

Again thanks for all the help! And even if pizza makes more money, i didnt really care for it too much last time lol, so id rather make less and have fun doing it

[funk generator]

well started working on guitar chops earlier, and it might be a long road, but by the time i learn 100songs, hopfully itll be there. Im planning on getting a looper peddle so i can solo over some stuff too

So far on the song list.

Pink floyd wish you were here
The beetles - While my guitar gently weeps
Not sure who did the original - People get ready

Wow! I got a long way to go, any suggestions on good songs to play solo?

[Martin89]

A fake book is a big book of many songs w/ just enough information(rhythm, basic melody, chords etc.) to "fake" your way through just about anything and learn a ton of songs. If you want to make money think of popular songs they play in recently released(at least w/in the last 10 years) movie sound tracks...

[phatbass]

Emphasise vocals in any ads. When any muso I know is looking for members/subs for money gigs (covers, IOW), the competent player who can sing is *WAY* ahead of the guy with monster chops that would embarrass Berlin/Wooten/Marcus but who can't do vocals.

[zachoff]

Record something where you sing, record something where you play, and record something where you sing and play. Good bassists are hard to find but good vocalists are even harder to find. If you can do both you're a holy grail.

Find your voice though and try to make it unique... Not everyone wants an operatic singer or every Scott Stapp/Eddie Vedder impersonator that seems to come along these days.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by Martin89

A fake book is a big book of many songs w/ just enough information(rhythm, basic melody, chords etc.) to "fake" your way through just about anything and learn a ton of songs. If you want to make money think of popular songs they play in recently released(at least w/in the last 10 years) movie sound tracks...

You might want to check these out:
http://www.halleonard.com/search/sea...s=fake&x=0&y=0
http://www.jazzguitar.be/store/fake-book.php

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by funk generator

Ok definition time lol whats are the definitions for.. Pres kit and fake book?

How do you get hired for the Corp events, festivals, wedding and such?

Would restaurants be a good place to try to get acoustic gigs? My brother knows most of the restaurant owners in this town.

Promo kit is what you'll need, not Press kit.
Here's a link for some info on the topic. PDF to download.

Any contacts you have will help. You might find out which restaurants already have entertainment and check them out. Otherwise, until you have your act ready to roll, I' suggest you keep things under wraps until you have enough music to fill an hour or two. I'd also check out all the local bars/clubs and see what they have going on.

As far as weddings/corp. events, I suggest checking out the wedding/party planners that work in your area and find out what they require before they hire the talent. You can also check the local newspapers or websites for wedding announcements.

[JimmyM]

network. let the best musicians in town know that you're available for gigs, don't turn down anything that's semi reasonable, and if anyone asks if you can do something, even if you can't or don't, tell them yes then learn how to do it real quick!

[JimmyM]

also, remember there is much better money in playing music that musicians hate.

[Stick_Player]

Hes giving me cheap rent for the location and conditions ($300/mo including Utilities)

Don't you mean to say that you are paying part of HIS mortgage for him?

[JimmyM]

hey, he's getting the benefit of living there.

[funk generator]

Lol yes precisely, im helping pay his mortgage for him more or less but on the bright side, i get free deer, duck and fish meat to my hearts content.

So does playing what everyone hates mean i should try playing some metal? I usually put no metal bands in my posts lol. (this is actually a legit question)

Also how do i market myself to the better musicians? Just see them playing and offering my serves as a fill in if they need it?

[JimmyM]

there is no money in metal unless you're a rock star. metal is a type of music that musicians generally like to play. i was talking about polkas and stuff where you'd rather people didn't know you played it.

it's tough to break into a market unless musicians have heard you and worked with you. everyone tends to play it safe and only book those they're familiar with. so you not only have to be seen, you have to be heard. it's kind of like interning, except some people won't book you even if you're free

[funk generator]

Awesome im getting some Semi acoustic stuff together at the moment to play some open mic nights and get my name out there. And thank goodness lol, Im one of those rare people that would rather play polka than metal (Nothing against metal, just not my thing)

Another bright side, i think i met some good contacts at the music store today while dropping some stuff off

Would it be beneficial to make a promo CD?

[JimmyM]

i think a website and some youtube clips of you playing live are more important these days, quite honestly. promo cd's aren't a bad idea, though.