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Anyone else feel like your gigs are suddenly drying up?

#61
ArtechnikA said:
You are location-challenged, for sure...
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Yep, it sucks. The few who have responded to my ads have been flakes. I had a band reach out and I jammed with them. It sounded great. The second time the guitarist and keyboardist had words and the guitarist quit, taking the singer and drummer with him. I'm still in contact with the keyboardist and we may jam again in the near future.
 
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#62
Actually, no - just the opposite. Last year was a good one, but this one is over the top. Probably the best I’ve had in 20+ years. I play with a couple of groups that are ok, but I’ve had 40 gigs with my own band this summer. It’s a jam band and I am the BL, singer and bass player. We play some of my originals, funky jazz and lots of tunes folks know, but we twist them around completely. And there is a lot of interaction and jamming. The audience loves that.

I have come to the conclusion that you can play almost anything IF you engage the audience a communicate that you’re having fun.
 
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#63
We played on Sept 9. That was our last gig. We have no more booked, but the other two are snowbirds and are gone most of the winter, so probably nothing until spring. Then they’ll be chomping at the bit.
 
#65
Gigs haven't been the same since the pandemic. It seems unlikely that it will ever get back to the way things were in the 2010s - or any other prior decade for that matter.
That causes me to think that, if the lockdown hadn't rebooted the scene, it would have drifted toward where it's heading anyway. Inflation, gentrification and other forms of hostile progress take their toll - but new opportunities sprout up as well. (At least in my area, I literally can't keep track of all the wineries & vineyards that have live music now.)
As always: adapt or die. (I wish to heck I had a decent solo act...)
 
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#66
no. I'm very busy. the trick is to have a ton of connections, and be the guy everyone wants to play with- always know your parts, show up on time, don't overplay or be too loud, have nice gear. Dress cool. Sing a little background vocals. Your phone will always ring if you do these things.
 
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#67
pfschim said:
well, at least in the area where most of my gigs are, there was some of what you describe ... smaller places being hammered by covid challenges. But, what also seemed to happen here is that there were venues that started having music that never had before ... mostly restaurant/bar type places that added outdoor spaces during covid, and then decided to include live music outdoors. This works pretty well in my area (SF Bay Area) because the weather is generally very mild and there is a pretty solid outdoor live music scene nearly 9-10 months each year. The net results of all that here, is that while a few places shut down, there were more places that added live music, so there was a net gain for live music venues.

So for me anyway, its not lack of venues. If I really dig into this, I would say that the biggest challenge is a meaningful percentage of the live music venues have moved to mostly solo/duo type stuff and away from full bands ... and there does seem to be way more bands competing for what remains of the the gigs too. Band quality is all over the map, but I don't think the venues really care about quality if the band draws paying customers to their food/drinks .... but that's entirely other story.
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Agreed. Some of the old venues resumed booking, lots didn’t after COVID. Lots of new small venues looking for solo/duo/trio stuff. …mostly no percussion, earlier hours. Suits me, but tough on the classic rock devotees.
 
#69
TomB said:
Agreed. Some of the old venues resumed booking, lots didn’t after COVID. Lots of new small venues looking for solo/duo/trio stuff. …mostly no percussion, earlier hours. Suits me, but tough on the classic rock devotees.
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Most of my duo gigs are pure wallpaper. Watching paint dry. Trying not to check the time after every tune.
But thats what those particular venues want, so wallpaper away. I need the money.
 
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#70
Anyone else feel like your gigs are suddenly drying up?
i can't say they're drying up purposefully --- IDK --- i may be drying up myself by force of nature...i could get the two confused! :laugh:

seriously, i think the gig situation in my immediate area is probably about the same, or almost, as the pre-covid era. i.e., good bands/music can find good venues and get good audiences.
 
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#72
Lance Bunyon said:
Most of my duo gigs are pure wallpaper. Watching paint dry. Trying not to check the time after every tune.
But thats what those particular venues want, so wallpaper away. I need the money.
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Best/worst purchase I ever made was a little 2x2 inch analog clock that I have Velcro’s to my pedalboard next to the tuner. Makes managing time a little easier and I don’t have to pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time.
 
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#73
Not drying up, but lightening up for a while.

We fulfilled (one more to go) our schedule, but got rid of our drummer and got our original drummer back, but his work schedule makes it difficult to book shows...

until March when he retires, then we're back at it.

We're actually only wanting to average two per month at that point. :)
 
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#75
Very interesting to work out what works where.
We have plenty of soul and blues brothers bands and 80's and classic rock bands of course.
You can have bands that kill at some places and die a thousand deaths elsewhere.
The most musically adept bands aren't necessarily the most 'popular' and cheese can win out there.
You just have to know which towns are eclectic and which are more clichéd.
The eclectic places have more longevity and mileage.
Its a fascinating conundrum
 
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#77
bertthebassist said:
Rising costs/ inflation
My disposable income AKA fun money has dried up from increasing groceries, gas, utiltities, and healthcare.
Who has money left to go out any more?
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Definitely something to this. At last night's gig i decided to get myself a pint of Guinness on the set break...$8.25 at a pub in the county. Add the tip to it and we're talking $11 for an effing beer. If i wasn't working i would had complained.
 
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#78
No telling for me. I quit trying to figure it out. When I think a gig's going to be great, it's mild at best; When I think it's going to be crickets, it's a runaway success.

Personally, we're staying busy, though I've been doing this long enough to know everything's subject to change.

In your case, @hrodbert696, I wouldn't underestimate the impact of an off-key singer.
 
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#79
Agree. Even though, comparitively, I think audiences and bookers can be pretty deaf, the singer is key. There aren't many top quality ones about and they'll be busy and picky etc but they are the main thing people latch onto, so yes, the single most important connection musically with the band.

However, if you only hear this on playback, then it cant be too bad.
In my mixes, I pick up everything so I'd know something was off key and therefore it wouldn't be a surprise.
 
#80
pepj said:
Agree. Even though, comparitively, I think audiences and bookers can be pretty deaf, the singer is key. There aren't many top quality ones about and they'll be busy and picky etc but they are the main thing people latch onto, so yes, the single most important connection musically with the band.

However, if you only hear this on playback, then it cant be too bad.
In my mixes, I pick up everything so I'd know something was off key and therefore it wouldn't be a surprise.
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IME, audiences overlook a lot of musical shortcomings in bands. Though not an off-key singer. Everyone's an expert at picking that out.
 
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