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After a long time est. classic / hard rock band broke up I started a rockin' dance cover band with a singer who's project also broke up around the same time. We have been going strong for about 4 years and getting a lot of Festivals and corporate gigs....a step up from clubs and bars. Some...

I would see if the band leader can pay me the $50 when I show up........ Since I'm just a sub......the band can wait for the check. Don't care if others jam on my gear.......More time to check out other bass players and possibly learn something. Since it's a blues gig ....learn the changes to...

I converted my stand alone detached 2 car garage to a practice space. I drywalled and insulated it and added insulation / padding to the garage door. I live in a regular housing tract .... you can still hear a muffed band playing but the sound is cut down enough that no neighbors complain. We...

Go see similar more popular bands in your area and find out what songs zoo the dance floor. Be female friendly in your songs choices.....if all the pretty girls in the short skirts are out on the dance floor then everyone is happy. Every song should be a big hit and dancable. You can never have...

Sometimes you need to be out there gigging and in the scene for other opportunities to appear. No matter who you play with .....you always learn and get better.

My cover band does local Weddings at $2000 a pop and no one raises a fuss that this is unreasonable. More $$ for longer drives. This includes our lead singer performing MC duties for speeches, cake cutting, bouquet tosses, first dances and garter removals.etc We also provide acoustic...

4....Last minute booking at a dive bar after already playing for hundreds at a local festival in a park the same day. Should have turn it down but we already had our gear loaded from the first gig. No time for promotion by bar and the band - a good lesson learned. Bartender, 2 drunks and...

My cover bands has people sitting at most bar / club gigs but never at a high pay festival, corporate gig or Weddings (unless its the bride and groom banging on a cowbell LOL) These "sit ins" are always pre-planned and authorized ahead of time. We use "sit ins" as a marketing tool to get more...

500 watts x 2 and 8 ch minimum. Plus a couple 15's on poles and 2 12 inch speakers for monitors I use one of these for a weekly open mic and back up pa head for my larger 16ch system Invalid Link Removed So my Open mic set up is listed below....this will handle loud guitars and drums 8ch...

+1 on this ....always tip at least a buck on all drinks .....even free comps. Good way to keep the comps flowing.

The band should have a tab at a reduced price ....maybe just need to ask before hand. A good tip is to subliminally make little suggestions to have the audience members buy the band a round of drinks. Then everyone wins.....you get free drinks and the bar gets drink sales at full price. All the...

Yup this is how we do it also .......we give clients our current set list and they choose the songs they like. Then we learn the special request songs (if doable) Some times clients just give us music sub genre like....."we want a few modern country songs".....and we will learn some modern...

About 3 years ago....I started a classic rock bar band which quickly had to morph into a "party dance" band to get gigs. We stopped marketing ourselves as classic rock and gigs increased. At the beginning we had too many performance type of songs - lead guitar favorite jams and not enough sure...

LOL...This strategy not going work for most groups. My wife stopped going to gigs years ago except maybe New Years Eve if its at a posh resort. They decided to make their band more of a social club and any new members going in will need to agree that their significant other will also need to be...

Good Eyes LOL Will have to change that on next version

Some good advice......

That is my concern.....only my name is usually on the contract in which I am taking all the liability for any last minute cancellation. Everyone wants the big money so everyone should commit on paper when booking the higher dollars gigs.

Find someone local who wants to jam with you guys. Having paid gigs on the calendar is always a great incentive. Besides Craigslist......check out some local open mics. I host one at a local dive bar and have great drummers coming out of the woodwork begging to join a working band. Paid gigs on...

It's always a tough go for cover bands these days....too much competition for gigs between all the weekend warrior cover bands, Karaoke and DJ's. Add in a few band members that do not want to do any kind of promotion and are "too busy" to learn new songs plus remember how much more money they...

This question for Band Leaders - do you make every musician sign a performance contract for the big money shows? My bar cover band has graduated up to the bigger Festival and Wedding gigs with larger paydays. We have been using standard band contracts with clients but usually only a...

Logo for UnUsual Suspects .....final design from band leader after seeing other similar logos on the net

Sometimes a venue is just not a good fit. A lot of it has to do with how busy the night was and how much money the bar made. Surprisingly .....a band that can consistently zoo the dance floor with pretty ladies and fill up the cash registers will never be told they suck no matter what songs they...

We usually play 4 sets at a typical club gig .....sets 2 and 3 are generally the tried and true A material that gets the most dance floor action. Set 1 we can play mellow songs, new songs or songs that are hit or miss as far as getting folks on the dance floor. Set 4 (after midnight ) is when we...

Cover bands need to perform 4 sets of material in your average bar / lounge gig. Most of the material needs to be of a dancable genre. Luckily for you there is lots of dance songs that are basically one riff grooves like Brickhouse or Sly Stone's Thank You for Lettin me be Myself ( yes - not...

I am also a solid bass player with a nice practice place that also provides the PA system for my working cover band. The only advantage I have found is its way easier to bring in new players into an established group when you already have PA / lights / practice place / set list and future paying...

If your the only chick in an other wise all male band.....you are the center of attention no matter what instrument you play or who is the lead singer. All eyes are always on you ....women are held to a different fashion standard then dudes in our culture. One of my former bands had an...

I've have never been somebody that needs 8 hours sleep in a row...more like 5 or 6. I currently host an open mic on Thursday nights at the local dive bar. 8pm til midnight ....after load out .....home by 1am. Sleep by 1:30am ..up at 5am and at work Friday at 6am. Luckily I only have a 10 minute...

Have plane tickets and lodging arranged in a nearby suburb. Taking a train into the city. No gigs just checking it out as a music fan. First time in Austin and SXSW festival. Any must see venues or things I need see or know?

+1 Simple and effective Was on Reverbnation for a while.....still have an account but our bandzoogle site is where we send potential clients. Looks more pro.

+1 Sometimes its not a musical issue. Been canned from bands for not being into smoking pot and having good corporate day job. Got canned once for not being able to practice on Thursday nights due to a prior paying gig commitment. Other band would not accommodate changing practice to another...

The solution is to have open and closed practices. Say you practice during a week night...designate it a closed practice....no guests. Then if you schedule a practice on a weekend....open practice and guests are welcome....helps build the band following.

If a customers books us at market rate and wants a special song performed .....my cover band will learn it and play it. It's not our song ....it's someone else's special song so why would we care how dorky it is. We are not the taste police and we are secure enough in our manhood not to care to...

Bass players are always in demand so should not be an issue to find some buds to jam with. Don't poo poo Craigslist.... just mention your age in your ads or respond to ads for bands looking for players in their age group. Guys in their 40s are not going to be that interested in jamming with a 21...

If you don't like playing in bars......there are County Fair and Festival type gigs out there that pay good and only require a couple sets of tunes. Your band needs to be top notch in your area with a decent following and professional website / marketing but it can be a long term goal. My cover...

Not to get off track but saw a local cover band last weekend that had a very busy thumb slap and pop style bassist. He was a master at that Flea funk style but it sure got old fast on songs that didn't require that kind of riffing. The songs that should have had a phat bottom bass line to get...

Go find a local Open Mic and perform 3 or 4 songs before booking a real gig. Nothing tightens up a band like having somewhere to play in the calendar. I host a weekly Open mic and new bands come in all the time to start their musical journey. If one of your players won't do the open mic for...

Good Job.....musically you are there. To get to the next level.....all about the visual image.....probably want to lose the jeans, t-shirt and drummers backwards ballcap. You need a good light show....invest in some pro lighting or find a local light guy that will team up and work with you. 3...

Good Job.....musically you are there. To get to the next level.....all about the visual image.....probably want to lose the jeans, t-shirt and drummers backwards ballcap. You need a good light show....invest in some pro lighting or find a local light guy that will team up and work with you. 3...

We don't play any cover song note for note.....or get super anal trying to get the same guitar tone that is on the record. We do get the tempo, key changes and words correct however. You always try to put in the iconic licks but sounding exactly like the record is not one of our...

Bass playing is a hobby, life long passion, social activity with friends/family and sometimes a part time job. Last year I had about $6,000 in 1099 taxable income from cover band gigs. Sounds like a decent amount of cash but probably broke even or loss some money with all the overall expenses...