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11-15-2012, 06:12 PM
| | | | Should we play in a bar?
My band is an alternative rock band. we released our ep this september. We all play our instruments really well (dont mean to sound conceited but we do play well above average). We replaced our old singer and got a great female singer instead. The drummer from my band is a very opinionated person who tends to see things in black and white (no shades of grey for him).
We have played 9 shows since last January. our drummer (he books the shows) believes that we should not play in bars because we would develop a reputation (stigma as he calls it) of bar band and thus not be taken seriously. The singer and guitarist disagree stating that we should play in bars in order to grow our audience so that we can have a better turn out when we play at a music venue. He says that playing in a bar will not increase our audience since the people will be too busy drinking. He claims that he has done research that proves that it is bad for a band to play at a bar. I am honestly not knowledgeable when it comes to band management so i dont know which side u should take. We are an original band by the way. |
11-15-2012, 06:20 PM
|  | Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion. | | Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Ohio | | I guess he's never heard of the Beatles ,Stones Pearl Jam and just about every successful Rock act of this Century  trust me after your first couple of shows you will know if you are "too big" for a bar because there won't be any room in the parking lot and they will be turning folks away.I'm always amazed why bands fail to make it "big" it's always that one band member or two that derail everything good luck I would love to hear some of your stuff also.
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11-15-2012, 06:20 PM
| | | | You should kick him the hell out of the band and play every bar you can. |
11-15-2012, 06:21 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: South Carolina | | | Guys an idiot. Get some exposure play out as much as possible. Good luck |
11-15-2012, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by BradCarroll  You should kick him the hell out of the band and play every bar you can. | The issue is that he is an incredible drummer, we rehearse in his house and he started the band. But he is one of those people who thinks they have all the answers. He can be difficult to deal with because he is very assertive with his point of view. |
11-15-2012, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by mjac28 I guess he's never heard of the Beatles ,Stones Pearl Jam and just about every successful Rock act of this Century trust me after your first couple of shows you will know if you are "too big" for a bar because there won't be any room in the parking lot and they will be turning folks away.I'm always amazed why bands fail to make it "big" it's always that one band member or two that derail everything good luck I would love to hear some of your stuff also. | god forbid i mention the beatles, he hates them (except george, he likes george). he is always complaining that they suck. there are also some strick regulations in terms of what we write, he is always saying things like "we cant do that, that is played out already" lol |
11-15-2012, 06:30 PM
| | | | It doesn't matter how incredible of a drummer he is if he only wants to play in the basement. |
11-15-2012, 06:30 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: New Zealand | | | You sure he's not just agin pay to play?
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11-15-2012, 06:30 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: COLORADO | | | He sounds like the bandleader.
If the bandleader doesn't want to play bars,
the band won't be playing bars. |
11-15-2012, 06:30 PM
|  | Penguinate the Bass Spine | | Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Bendigo, Australia | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Manuel101 The issue is that he is an incredible drummer, we rehearse in his house and he started the band. But he is one of those people who thinks they have all the answers. He can be difficult to deal with because he is very assertive with his point of view. | The issue is you can't stand up to him. Make up your mind, what do you really want? Believe me, you can spend years hoping things will change and they will not. Vote with your feet, if you're good enough, you'll find a better band.
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11-15-2012, 06:31 PM
| | | | I mean he can be an incredible drummer all day, but if you don't get out of his house, the band isn't going anywhere. Stick him in a meat freezer until he either agrees or gets frostbite of the drumstick. |
11-15-2012, 06:32 PM
|  | Non Serviam | | Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Schenectady NY | | | I think your drummer's opinion is kind of bizarre. One thing to be careful of, though, is you need to know what the expectations of these bars are. To me, "club" implies originals, and "bar" implies covers. If you're not doing any covers, you could seriously bomb in ones of these "bars". Trust me, been there, done that, and my band does just fine in the originals clubs, thank you very much.
FWIW, in my hometown, the most successful bands are doing both. They play mainly covers at the bars, but sneak in a few originals, and mainly originals at the clubs, but sneak in a few covers. So far, I have not been smart enough to follow their lead. But my head is changing these days, I think....
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11-15-2012, 06:32 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Memphis/Knoxville TN | | | Tell him to pass that research on to me; I'd love to see it. |
11-15-2012, 06:33 PM
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Originally Posted by ewe2 The issue is you can't stand up to him. Make up your mind, what do you really want? Believe me, you can spend years hoping things will change and they will not. Vote with your feet, if you're good enough, you'll find a better band. | my good man you assume too much. How do you know that i dont stand up to him. I thought i stated that my problem is that i am not too knowledgeable when it comes to promoting the band and the logistics behind it? |
11-15-2012, 06:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Bassist4Eris I think your drummer's opinion is kind of bizarre. One thing to be careful of, though, is you need to know what the expectations of these bars are. To me, "club" implies originals, and "bar" implies covers. If you're not doing any covers, you could seriously bomb in ones of these "bars". Trust me, been there, done that, and my band does just fine in the originals clubs, thank you very much.
FWIW, in my hometown, the most successful bands are doing both. They play mainly covers at the bars, but sneak in a few originals, and mainly originals at the clubs, but sneak in a few covers. So far, I have not been smart enough to follow their lead. But my head is changing these days, I think.... | That is a good point. we normally play a single cover and about 7 to 9 original at our shows. So if we were to play at a bar it would be about 4 covers and 5 originals? |
11-15-2012, 06:41 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Memphis/Knoxville TN | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Manuel101 That is a good point. we normally play a single cover and about 7 to 9 original at our shows. So if we were to play at a bar it would be about 4 covers and 5 originals? | Honestly, you haven't given us much information to go off of. What kind of music are you playing, how long have you guys been a band, do you have any recordings done, what is your web presence like, what are your band's goals, how many fans do you currently have (and how did you get that number), and what kind of gigs are you playing if you aren't playing bars? |
11-15-2012, 06:50 PM
|  | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Los Angeles | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Manuel101 That is a good point. we normally play a single cover and about 7 to 9 original at our shows. So if we were to play at a bar it would be about 4 covers and 5 originals? | IME, most bars want a band to play 3 or 4 sets. Get people dancining, sweaty and want to drink.
Are your songs "danceable"? Don't think one set will get the job done.
What other types of venues have you played and how was the turnout? Receptive audience?
IMO/IME, best way to deal with opinionated people is to present facts contrary to their beliefs. You can check out all the bars/clubs in your area and generate a list per bar of: how many sets, cover band?, type of music/set list, size of audience, PA provided or not, backline provided or not, hours of operation, which days are live music, etc.
It may prove that your drummer is right that bars aren't for your band or maybe not. Until you do some research it's all gossip, IMO.
Good luck.
Last edited by Stumbo : 11-15-2012 at 06:54 PM.
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11-15-2012, 06:54 PM
| | | | you wanna increase your fan base....PLAY EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!!!!!! Promote yourselves...EVERY CHANCE YOU GET!!!! |
11-15-2012, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya Honestly, you haven't given us much information to go off of. What kind of music are you playing, how long have you guys been a band, do you have any recordings done, what is your web presence like, what are your band's goals, how many fans do you currently have (and how did you get that number), and what kind of gigs are you playing if you aren't playing bars? | we have been playing since january we play mostly rock. We released our EP this september, i didnt want to include the website because you guys would then be able to identify the drummer and i wanted to keep protect his privacy. We have a good number of likes in facebook (whatever that is worth).our goal is to eventually gain enough following that we can live of our music (highly unlikely but it doesnt hurt to try) |
11-15-2012, 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya Honestly, you haven't given us much information to go off of. What kind of music are you playing, how long have you guys been a band, do you have any recordings done, what is your web presence like, what are your band's goals, how many fans do you currently have (and how did you get that number), and what kind of gigs are you playing if you aren't playing bars? | we usually bring about 20 to 30 people to our shows. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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