What can we do as a band to boost turnout at gigs?

[jimb213]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

oh yeah i agree about putting on a show (obviuosly).....but i am just saying the actual outfit doesn't matter....the outfit is one small part of a big show...

i would say musical ability, sound, lights, STAGE PRESENCE, and an interesting show out weigh an outfit 1000 to 1.

and plus.....there is nothing sadder than a lame band that tries to LOOK cool haha.....i'm sorry but an average band playing the local dive for 20 people who don't care....and they showed up dressed to kill....kinda depresses me...

I agree that if you're dressed to the 9's but still standing on stage looking bored, that's no good, but it's been my experience that how I dress affects my attitude. When I dress "like a rockstar" for a show, I act more like a rockstar and tend to have better stage presence, and when I dress like a schlub, I act more like a schlub, on and off stage.

It's about the whole package, and how you dress on stage is a part of that package. I hope I haven't implied that how you dress will make up for deficiencies in other areas, 'cause I definitely don't mean that, but putting thought into how you look for shows will elevate things.

Part of being a live band is your image; that's part of what people are buying into when they pay to see you perform. It's worth it to put thought into the visual aspect of the band, and that includes what you wear.

[Go7]

I noticed the crowd was getting a bit older. We played a few Motown classics to start. Did get people in the mood and on the floor. Good luck.

[SSINTENSE]

Originally Posted by RFord04

Uhm, I guess it should just go unsaid that you shouldn't show up to a gig looking "trashy and unprofessional." I do believe I also stated that you should look like your together as a band, but there are plenty of successful bands who play gigs in their street clothes. Your attitude of "appearance is absolutely everything" and "no one will care how good you are" is exactly whats wrong with "the business" in the first place.

I disagree with this. I don't think it's the bands attitude that causes the "wrong" in the business. It is the people who eat it up. Bands are basically a business entity marketing off of what people want. Most people are not very music savvy and put a large percent of their appeal in atmosphere. If people are having fun and the band looks like they are having fun then people will have fun. Stage shows make people have fun...and the band has to be fun to make the people have fun. It's like a chain reaction of events.

I agree with you that music is getting dumbed down nowadays partly due to this fact...but it isn't the bands fault. Alot of people depend on their stage shows as a source of revenue so i cannot blame them for putting a large portion of focus on stage presence and atmosphere. Most people simply aren't music savvy enough to tell that someone who looks stale on stage is playing awesome music.

if you are already rich and are writing for the sake of art...then good for you! However some people WANT to make money. I would blame the state of the business on the simple tastes of the consumers, not the bands capitalizing on the fact.

[Ephminus]

Throw after parties.

Get to know the people that actually come to your shows and make it a point to meet the people at the bars that you don't know.
Also shmooze the waitresses and bartenders.

But don't be obvious with the shmoozing though.

Subtle shmoozing is key.

[kennydakid]

well our myspace crashed and I have to start over again, though we got the same url.

www.myspace.com/drivetheoryband

[kennydakid]

Thanks everybody for the advice. We are in a position right now where we are looking for a "direction" & an "image". We are a three piece looking for a lead instrument (either guitar or a horn) and a band image (which will probably be solved after we solve our lead dillema (guitar = rock, horn= Jammy pop/rock))

for those of you guys rolling with your own lights and fog, etc... how much did your rig cost?

Thanks,
Kenny

[Ephminus]

Originally Posted by kennydakid

Thanks everybody for the advice. We are in a position right now where we are looking for a "direction" & an "image". We are a three piece looking for a lead instrument (either guitar or a horn) and a band image (which will probably be solved after we solve our lead dillema (guitar = rock, horn= Jammy pop/rock))

for those of you guys rolling with your own lights and fog, etc... how much did your rig cost?

Thanks,
Kenny

Don't tell me that you are going to "look" for an image.
That's a road that leads to nowhere fast.

Just let it happen man.....

People smell "fake" a mile away and deciding on an image is being fake.
Be yourselves.
End of story.

...and adding a light show and fog?
Cheap thrills, that's all that is.
I can't think of ever wanting to go to a show because a band had lights and fog.
....and if that is what the big appeal is then forget going to see them altogether.

Don't succumb to the allure of the cheapass corporate side of music.
What makes your band successful is personality and the abilty to connect with your audience through your music.

[kennydakid]

our biggest problem is that our music is very ecclectic. We are an originals band who play some covers to get by (venues up here want covers). Without the covers we'd have maybe 1-2 paying gigs a year. We are a 3 piece looking for that next piece (a lead instrument), but we are unsure of where we want to go with it. We really don't have an image which we can sell to the public. Our music is tight but our "show" is not. I often find myself as the business guy, making the connections, chatting it up with the audience between sets. The other guys do not do this enough (in my opinion)

But to get back to the previous post it is less about "searching for a corporate image" than searching for our image.

Check out the myspace, tell me what you think about our band. Just give me your first impression, thats all.

Thanks
Kenny (drummer, Drive Theory)
www.myspace.com/drivetheoryband

And remember I just re started the myspace yesterday, it had crashed

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by Ephminus

What makes your band successful is personality and the abilty to connect with your audience through your music.

truth

[Mo'Phat]

A) Don't play too loud for the club.
B) Have a good live mix.
C) Don't be a stupid idiot onstage between songs.
C[a]) Don't be a stupid idiot offstage between sets.
D) Stick a cucumber down your skintight leather trousers, then put your foot up on a monitor.


...you can play your own town multiple times a month by only targeting that general vicinity. If you have a 1000 name email list, take the time to research where those people actually live and make area-specific groups. Don't saturate your email list with all of your available gigs...then it just looks like spam. BUT, if someone on your email list misses one of your shows, maybe they will feel like they missed out. But then they'll feel special that they were invited to your next one.

Call those groups something catchy (Southside posse, Downtown wackos...whatever), and they'll feel like a group that won't have to drive 30 minutes to your shows.

OR, if you do want to do a bulk email to all 1,000 people you know, break the email up with announcements for multiple shows by addressing specific groups of people for specific shows.

/sorry if I was rambling too much.


caveat: The above only applies to a pretty big town with different areas. Obviously, if you live in Podunkville, USA with a main square, one bar, and an Elk's Lodge, it's pretty necessary to travel.

In a place like San Diego - you've got beach towns, downtown (and different areas of downtown), North/East/South counties...all sorts of different areas in the same metropolis.

[Ephminus]

I actually dig your stuff.

Ya know what your missing, some keys.
Not synth sounds...but someone that wants to use some old Rhodes sounds or an organ sound with a leslie.
A keyboard player that can add some horn stabs and stuff.

I could actually hear some subtle xylophone in my head playing behind in "Halfway There".

You just need some overtones...not a lead player.

As for your live shows, a sure way to improve that is to play play play.

You can also set up your set lists ahead of time....make three or four set lists and run through them at band practice as if you were playing a show.

Always rotate your set lists too. Give the illusion that you have different material.
Even if it's just rearranging the order that you play your songs.
We made the mistake of playing the same set at every show and people started complaining.

By the way, it's always cool to point out people when you are on stage.
My singer would say stuff like, "So how's table 27 doing over there?"
Did he know what table number that they were sitting at?
Nope.
But it was an easy way to get to know our crowd and interact with them.

[kennydakid]

Originally Posted by Ephminus

I actually dig your stuff.

Ya know what your missing, some keys.
Not synth sounds...but someone that wants to use some old Rhodes sounds or an organ sound with a leslie.
A keyboard player that can add some horn stabs and stuff.

I could actually hear some subtle xylophone in my head playing behind in "Halfway There".

You just need some overtones...not a lead player.

As for your live shows, a sure way to improve that is to play play play.

You can also set up your set lists ahead of time....make three or four set lists and run through them at band practice as if you were playing a show.

Always rotate your set lists too. Give the illusion that you have different material.
Even if it's just rearranging the order that you play your songs.
We made the mistake of playing the same set at every show and people started complaining.

By the way, it's always cool to point out people when you are on stage.
My singer would say stuff like, "So how's table 27 doing over there?"
Did he know what table number that they were sitting at?
Nope.
But it was an easy way to get to know our crowd and interact with them.

Thanks for your input. I think we are going to add a sax player, at least for a show or two.

To be honest I think our biggest problem as a band is that we play bars and our front man is not a drinker, never has been, probably never will be, and he would not go to a bar unless he was playing that night. He has no concept of the local music scene, because he never goes out to bars. He also has no connections with other local musicians (for the same reason). When he writes out set lists he wants to load it with sad/ sensitive/ acoustic material. The other guy and I always have to check that because that is exactly the wrong material for that kind of crowd.

BTW, I can safely say that he has never gone out to a local show (his entire show experience other than watching bands on the same bill as us is Dave Matthews Band, U2, Nine Inch Nails, Godsmack etc...)

He also has no concept of promotion, so guess who gets stuck with it (if you guessed me, youd be right)

and the thing is, he is the front man, people make him the "face of the band" but I am the one chatting it up with fans, he sometimes comes off as arrogant, even if he doesn't mean to be

[earthlypunk]

Your stuff is pretty good. it has a pretty listenable sound and it seems pretty easy to market. I do agree that you do need another sound but I don't know what it would be. Maybe keys or a lead voice like you were saying. With the sax I might be careful not to sound too much like Dave Mathews because the sound/instrumentation is incredibly similar. good stuff though.

If you want to increase your turnout I would just try and look like you're enjoying yourself on stage. Your music has a happy kind of jammin' vibe to it. Just bring that out in your performance.
You will do just fine as long as you work at gigging and enjoy yourself. Good luck.

[MatticusMania]

My psychedelic improv band uses this as our lighting rig to set some ambiance: