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Band Banners

#21
I<34080 said:
Am I the only one who thinks they're kind of tacky? Nothing against bands that use them, but I've yet to see one and think, "Good decision on getting that banner."
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no, you're not the only one. they look horribly tacky IMO.

walker rosewood said:
May I suggest consulting with your drummer about a custom kick drum head with band logo instead?
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I think this is the way to go. It actually makes you look more professional and less like weekend warriors and you don't have to bring any extra junk with you.
 
#22
I've used Canvas and PVC both work well, pvc doesn't stain as much but tears easier.

To hold it

two lengths of PVC pipe with a Tee in the middle for the cross bar, 3 leg folding speaker stand with a shaved wooden dowel fixed into the top, Tee sits on the Wooden dowl.

This is now used for the merch booth backdrop.
 
#23
baalroo said:
no, you're not the only one. they look horribly tacky IMO.



I think this is the way to go. It actually makes you look more professional and less like weekend warriors and you don't have to bring any extra junk with you.
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a backdrop can look good depending on the design.....a lot of guys used to use them to cover the open back of b3's .....flags were a lot easier to find than vinyls tho'....
 
#25
We gig with a small cheap vinyl banner that rolls up into our gig case. We bring duct tape, tie wraps and large push pins and have never had a problem finding a place to hang it. Personally I like seeing band banners because they add a little swagger, band pride and showmanship for cheap. The bar/club owners also love seeing banners and definitely makes it easier for patrons to remember your name after staring at your banner for 4 hours. Don't have a problem with being considered a tacky weekend warrior either because we are having a ton of fun burning down the local dives.
 
#27
Get them for free from the local Beer Distr. hang them up sometimes not really that important anymore they were in the beginning but, now when we play clubs they know who we are and we have business cards on all the tables and the bar. I like the idea of the scrolling led sign I thought about that myself after seeing them in a few clubs we were playing RTS
 
#28
NicJimBass said:
Having worked in the sign industry for almost a decade, and having been in multiple bands over the years, I can give some insight.

It seems as though most bands think bigger is better, until they actually see the end result, and have to deal with transporting/ maintaining the banner. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that 1" of letter height = 10' of maximum impact viewing distance. That's maximum impact, not total viewing distance. Being that a lot of bands play small bars, this translates into a much smaller and more manageable banner than what they may end up with. A banner 2' tall by 5-6' wide is more than enough to get the point across.

When it comes to designing a banner or logo, most sign shops can do the work, and usually charge much less than a design firm. Granted, you may have to spend a little more time to get the desired end result, but if money is a concern, it's a viable option.

Someone above hit the nail on the head when it comes to vinyl/PVC banners- NEVER FOLD THEM!!! Always roll them up!!! I can't tell you how many time people would bring a banner in for a date-change or name-change, and the thing was almost in shambles because they thought it'd be a good idea to fold it! Best thing to do is buy some PVC pipe from Lowe's or Home Depot, add a couple ends to it, and put the banner it there when it's not in use. It'll extend the life of the banner almost indefinitely, especially if you keep it clean and out of direct sunlight, when possible.

Most sign companies offer 2 types of banners- vinyl-lettered and printed. Both have their pros and cons. Vinyl-lettered banners are inexpensive, and work great if your band logo is really simple... mainly words, or words and a simple graphic. The downside is that after several years, the vinyl (especially calendered) tends to shrink, leaving the adhesive behind. Makes the banner look crappy. Leaving it in direct sunlight will speed this up considerably.

Printed banners are pricier, but allow you to put way more on the banner than vinyl alone. If you have a complex logo, with a very distorted font, shadows, photos, gradients, etc., printing is the way to go. However, just like vinyl, printing has a finite life, and will start to fade after several years. Again, direct sunlight will affect this process as well.

Besides vinyl/PVC, banners can be made with a mesh material (as noted above) which for larget banners can reduce the weight considerably. The trade-off is that the image will be somewhat muted, as there is less surface area for the image to be printed to. Another material is nylon, which is slightly lighter than PVC, but looks great, and is easy to maintain. If it's a printed banner on nylon, you can fold the banner without doing any damage in the long run.
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Most helpful post :)
 
#29
baalroo said:
I guess. Maybe it's just that most bands I see using them tend to be of the "clip art" variety. I've never seen one that I didn't think looked cheesy/tacky, but that's only anecdotal... I'm sure there are some banners out there somewhere that don't look lame.
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Well, i posted our logo up there somewhere ;)


and we are weekend warriors basically in this band :P
 
#30
here is mine...
 

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#32
I can go either way on banners being tacky or great, all depending on the design.

I wish I could find a picture of the banner my old band used. Anyways, the best way I found to keep it and to also help it hang well was to stitch a long wood dowel to the bottom of it. (actually a section of hand-rail) That kept it from flapping and I just rolled it up at the end of the night and stuck it in some PVC with caps on it like NicJimBass said. The only downside to this was that it was six feet of pipe to load. No biggie if you use a van or just strap it to the top. It stayed pristine for the five years I used it. I always made sure the art was rolled to the inside.
 
#34
The most effective banner used by any band I've been in was a pillowtop type of thing for putting on waterbeds. Our drummer brought to a gig with our band name spray painted on it & we all laughed at how silly cheap it was. But then we came up with an idea that made it cool as hell. We hung it over the monitors & put sharpie style markers at the front of the stage and had the crowd sign it. It worked like a charm, within a short time it was covered with signatures, sayings, etc. The best part was how much the crowds got into it. To this day it's still been one of the best ways I've seen to get a crowd involved in the show.
 
#35
Im generally not a fan of banners, but one that I really liked was by a local band Admiral Browning that was probably a 12x8 ft or more peice of canvas that was black with a handpainted frigate and their name on it that covered the whole back stage on smaller stages.. made a great backdrop!
 
#39
Tacky or not, it's a way to get more of the crowd to remember your name.
I can't count how many times I've seen bands that had no logo or banner onstage, and only said their name once or twice while the music was going and could barely be heard.
 

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