Playing a bill with a different genre?

Unrepresented · #1 06-20-2009, 03:16 PM

So, last night's gig went relatively well. Had a promoter say he was impressed by our sound and he was putting together shows. His shows are specifically hip hop, however, and we're four white guys who play "rock" oriented stuff. Clearly he saw our show, and I'm game for trying new things, but figured I'd throw this one by the committee before taking it.

We've frequently been stuck on bills with questionable overlap, but I'm getting visions of the Blues Brothers' set where they ended up playing the theme from Rawhide over and over again.

Advice?

El Beardo · #2 06-20-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

Clearly he saw our show, and I'm game for trying new things

You said it best right there imo. I think you should go for it, be yourselves and don't worry yourself with what could happen(you know...rawhide) You will gain more experience at the very least. Let us know how it goes.

RCCollins · #3 06-20-2009, 03:26 PM

i missed you again (brainfart) dangit

on topic, what have you got to lose by trying once? maybe the guy is hoping to expand his promotions, i dunno

Unrepresented · #4 06-20-2009, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Beardo

You said it best right there imo. I think you should go for it, be yourselves and don't worry yourself with what could happen(you know...rawhide) You will gain more experience at the very least. Let us know how it goes.

I'm definitely leaning towards yes, the club is one we've played fairly regularly, so, no real advantage there. It'd mostly be about hopefully developing crossover exposure to fans of a different genre.

Actually, one of my concerns is that one of the bills he mentioned is an R&B/hip hop crossover night and I know that I'm going to get schooled by R&B bassists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCCollins

i missed you again (brainfart) dangit

on topic, what have you got to lose by trying once? maybe the guy is hoping to expand his promotions, i dunno

Eh, make it out to our Casbah show in July and you'll earn my forgiveness.

JustDavid · #5 06-20-2009, 05:15 PM

If they're willing to pay your rate, *** not?

Wasted Bassist · #6 06-20-2009, 05:22 PM

I've played sets with bands of totally different genres and more often than not we've gained at least a few new fans and sold a few more CDs.

**Stumbo** · #7 06-20-2009, 05:58 PM

Maybe talk to the promoter again and get a better idea of how he/she sees you fitting in to the show.
IMO, if he likes you, go for it. Maybe your band can throw in a couple of crossover rock/hip hop tunes.

Unrepresented · #8 06-20-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stumbo

Maybe talk to the promoter again and get a better idea of how he/she sees you fitting in to the show.
IMO, if he likes you, go for it. Maybe your band can throw in a couple of crossover rock/hip hop tunes.

We've actually been working on one, interestingly enough, which I mentioned to him at the show. Only thing is, I'm a little hesitant at looking like we're trying to do something that's pandering to the audience or perceived potentially as "blackface."

I don't know a "hip hop" audience well. I've been to hip hop shows, but not enough to feel like this'd be a slam dunk.

Lazylion · #9 06-20-2009, 11:17 PM

I think the key to it would be how you are promoted, i.e. the crowd should know in advance that you will be on the bill, and what kind of music you do. That way they won't be asking "why are these rock guys up there?" I love variety like that, but a lot of folks would rather see & hear what they are expecting.

Greyvagabond · #10 06-22-2009, 09:17 AM

Are you guys a cover band, or an original band? For original bands, its often a waste of time to play shows with crowds who are NOT going to be your fans, regardless. It can be a lot of fun, potentially, but you time could be better spent playing infront of your target audience.

Ubersheist · #11 06-22-2009, 10:14 AM

The last two shows I played, we followed hard rock/metal bands. Everyone called us a "breath of fresh air." (We play mostly reggae influenced rock, and try to keep things relatively light and dancable, with only a few exceptions.)

That was supposed to be a compliment, but it meant that the patrons weren't digging the first band and were put off by them. We're a sort of new band, so we're still building a following. We don't have one established where everyone there comes specifically for us. We had a whole lot of people who just stop in and such.

It worries me when we have such a discordant sequence of bands. I don't think it serves our purpose well of garnering more people, and we'd be better off playing with someone closer in our genre.

At the same time, I'd prefer the other bands to be of a similar, but not same genre. We're Rock/Reggae. We like playing with other reggae bands, latin bands, rock bands, etc. because we can get the cross over crowd.

Dr_Funkdamental · #12 06-22-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

We've actually been working on one, interestingly enough, which I mentioned to him at the show. Only thing is, I'm a little hesitant at looking like we're trying to do something that's pandering to the audience or perceived potentially as "blackface."

I don't know a "hip hop" audience well. I've been to hip hop shows, but not enough to feel like this'd be a slam dunk.

In contrast to how alot of ppl feel about hip hop, hip hop fans are actually a little more open than you think. The thing is, you've just got to do what YOU do. He wants to hire what he saw. Also leave race out of it. And as far as the R&B cats, as long as you dont go riffzilla and try to impress everyone and just play bass, you'll be okay. Ive seen shows like this and the rock group went over well.

And its never a good idea to bring up "blackface" references.

Unrepresented · #13 06-23-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr_Funkdamental

In contrast to how alot of ppl feel about hip hop, hip hop fans are actually a little more open than you think. The thing is, you've just got to do what YOU do. He wants to hire what he saw. Also leave race out of it. And as far as the R&B cats, as long as you dont go riffzilla and try to impress everyone and just play bass, you'll be okay. Ive seen shows like this and the rock group went over well.

And its never a good idea to bring up "blackface" references.

Wasn't trying to be unPC, just trying to communicate concerns. I have a great deal of respect for hip hop, and would be concerned about doing something that fans of the genre would consider pandering, or even worse, mockery or posing. That's what I was trying to imply.

I'd feel the same way if I were to be playing "country music night" since we're not a country music band and would want to try and respect the fans of that genre.