Is it a pain to book a gig?

GigDoggy · #1 10-27-2008, 10:06 AM

If you could change one aspect of the gig booking process, what would it be? In other words what's the biggest pain in the *** for booking gigs, in your humble words.

Answers to this thread are also intended to be posted in a topic I am preparing for my blog on what the hardest part about booking a gig is.

If you want to share but don't want to have your quote in the topic, just mention it.

Cheers

Gig

jimb213 · #2 10-27-2008, 10:42 AM

I think the biggest pain is a booking guy at a club who doesn't know how to put together a show. In my old band, which was basically incubus meets pearl jam, we were booked with so many bands that didn't mesh with our style at all. Extreme metal, weird indie, alt-country (not too bad a match, but not too good a match, either)...

We were so often booked with bands that had mutually exclusive fanbases. Our mainstream rock sound would bore some of the more out there music fans, and the out there bands would drive away our mainstream fans. Instead of bands that can share fans and have a great show together, you get a bunch of smaller, fractured crowds that show up for the 30 or 45 minutes their band is playing and then split because the other bands on the bill don't interest them. It's not good for the bands and it probably isn't ideal for the clubs, either.

megadan · #3 10-27-2008, 12:07 PM

No, it's not a pain to book a gig. Put together an amazing band, practice your asses off, put on a a great show, and people will want to book you.
If anything I would say the biggest pain is waiting to get paid. It sucks when a bar doesn't close until 4:00am and you have to wait around for the club owner to get your money.

Jehos · #4 10-27-2008, 12:15 PM

Breaking into new cities. It sucks when you don't have a demo CD, don't have video of your band on stage, and every club owner in town tells you "Well, I'll come check you out when you play somewhere in town".

aaron spar · #5 10-28-2008, 06:46 AM

I would say the hardest thing to cope with is the promoting the gig, getting the people who aren't your friends and family to come listen to you play.

Anyone got some pointers for me?

mikeboth · #6 10-28-2008, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigDoggy

If you want to share but don't want to have your quote in the topic, just mention it.

Ooook then ... I think it's lame you start threads here solely to cull responses for your blog. Feel free to include THIS response on your blog, by the way...

bassbully · #7 10-28-2008, 10:32 AM

I think today its a pain..."Yes" Years ago "No" there was a much better local ,live music scene in my neck of the woods and more clubs and places to play. The money hasnt changed alot but the ability to gig was much better and you could count on moving around place to place.

Today and again i am only speaking of what i know in my area. There are more bands then there are bars, clubs etc. The club owners or managers are picky, cheap and asshats to you since they hold the cards. Contracts? Yea right! They will tell you "NEXT" They dont need no stinking contracts. You fix a price and Jonny Slime and the Snots will come in and under cut you . Since Jonny is a bum and doesnt work he drags 50 dead beat bums in who drink one beer all night and trash the bar but he gets re-booked cuz they had ...well 50 heads in the club. You on the other hand work have semi stable friends,family etc with income who will buy food, drinks etc but cant make every gig and your lucky to drag in 10 heads. Club owner says...Yea your bands good better then Jonny and the Snots but they bring the crowd. Your band doesnt draw so much ...so Im sticking to Jonny unless you bring a crowd next time

Since when was it ever fair for the entertainment to bring its own crowd? Isnt that the bars job to hire us to entertain customers and keep them there. If we are not...fire us. If we are doing our job keep us and pay us. I have had people say they wouldnt come see me play cuz a clubs cover was to high or the drinks were to much

Bands have no control over that.

Thank God i dont book anymore..well I kinda do. My Band has a manager and he does it most of the time but we are asked to help. Getting a fair price today to cover costs and expenses is getting tuff. Clubs are fewer and fewer. Throw in a bad economy, smoking laws and in my area and our scene has died. I hope yours is good at least you have hope to try to book.

GigDoggy · #8 10-28-2008, 11:30 AM

@Unbeliever:

Well I must admit I phrased that very badly. I don't have any intentions what so ever to 'steal' quotes from you guys.

In my blog I like quoting bands because it just spreads good concrete advice to other bands, and the feedback I get is positive. And everytime I do so I tell the band and link to his myspace or website. But in this case, yes it can seem misleading as I justify the thread by my blog. Sorry about that.

I have been doing this with my blog for some time and I don't only depend on the talk bass forums for this. I network with many bands on myspace for those quotes as well, always telling them that I am preparing a topic of band quotes.

All I intended to do is start a thread indicating that I'm gathering quotes for those who are OK with it.

I'll be more specific concerning my intentions, but I can assure you they aren't bad or mischievious. Just spreading advice for bands, that's all.

bassbully · #9 10-28-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigDoggy

@Unbeliever:

Well I must admit I phrased that very badly. I don't have any intentions what so ever to 'steal' quotes from you guys.

In my blog I like quoting bands because it just spreads good concrete advice to other bands, and the feedback I get is positive. And everytime I do so I tell the band and link to his myspace or website. But in this case, yes it can seem misleading as I justify the thread by my blog. Sorry about that.

I have been doing this with my blog for some time and I don't only depend on the talk bass forums for this. I network with many bands on myspace for those quotes as well, always telling them that I am preparing a topic of band quotes.

All I intended to do is start a thread indicating that I'm gathering quotes for those who are OK with it.

I'll be more specific concerning my intentions, but I can assure you they aren't bad or mischievious. Just spreading advice for bands, that's all.

Hey if i said anything in my rambling post that you want to use do so...i could care less. Its all IMO

thumpbass1 · #10 10-28-2008, 02:58 PM

It's not too tough to book a gig if you have a good band to start with and can do a good show in whatever niche of the biz you happen to be gigging in, and your band has done the promo and leg work that the band should be doing. The downside is when you deal with shyster club owners who will try to screw you out of what they promised to pay, contracts not withstanding in these clown's eyes, even if you played to a SRO crowd that bought a whole lot of beer and other drinks to cover the venues rent for the month! However on the balance I've had more good gigs than bad ones. It's tougher for younger bands and their whatever niche market they play to, but presuming that your band practices hard to be masters of whatever music you happen to play, and a willingness to work just as hard at promoting yourselves and taking care of your buisness, it should pay off eventually in terms of paying gigs.