Bar band Gigs are too long

[the yeti]

Theres a place here that seems to do pretty well with a "jazz" night on Thursday. 7-10. It's my favorite gig. It's geared for a bit more of an older crowd but I like that. Most are actually there for the music. I think if they (or another venue) did the same for a "cover band" night they'd be successful as well. I know lots of people that want to hear live music, just not from 10-2.

I am done with cover bar gigs. That's my choice. If other people want to do them that's fine.

exactly. there's nothing at all wrong with choosing either to do them or not. i think there's a lot of problems created for everyone when a person undertakes something and they for whatever reason don't really want to.

 

[gard0300]

The only musical venture that's a waste of my time is Open Mic nights. 85% of those are just poorly ran jokes. At least in my area.

 

[Dreamsinger]

The only musical venture that's a waste of my time is Open Mic nights. 85% of those are just poorly ran jokes. At least in my area.

We have couple of well run open mics in my area but still, you wind up playing the least common denominator that everybody knows and it never really gets tight.

 

[RustyAxe]

Big difference between an 'open mic' and an 'open jam'. I've heard some amazing performances at open mics ... not so much at open jams.

 

[shaft311]

Sell all your gear and quit.

 

[lustersilk]

But, if you're not in a spot that features night life, or a late-night crowd, or it's a weekday, 9-1 doesn't make sense. In those cases 8-12 or 7-11 makes more sense. I wish more bars would do this because I think it would work well for older, working crowds that tend to go home earlier, or places in a more residential area.

This right here

 

[AaronVonRock]

Another trend I've seen is where the bands that you'd expect to headline a club are opting to go on second or sometimes first because the crowds do not want to stay out all night to see a particular performance. In the town I'm in you can go out any night of the week and have a choice of any genre at any of the 20-30 venues. I feel real fortunate to be living in the middle of a thriving music community.

On a multi-band bill, we prefer playing the first or second slot. Many people don't stick around for the "headliner" especially if the band is not going on until midnight or later. I think going on between 9:30-11:30pm is optimal at these types of shows. We had a gig a few weeks ago where we were the last band to play. We went on at 1am and half of the crowd had already cleared out.

 

[primusfan1989]

It's kinda dumb. The singer gets a bigger share because he brings in a lot his friends and feels like everyone is there to see him only. The guitar player books the gigs so he feels like he deserves a bit more too.
But what really drives me mad, is even though the singer brings in 20-30 people, granted, all his friends do is drink and play pool, shoot darts, flirt with girls, and not even listening to us. We finish songs and no one knows we even played.
The more I think about it , the more and more annoyed I'm getting about this.

Well that sounds like a pretty crappy situation, find another band. You're singer seems like a jerk, taking a bigger cut because all his friends came out? $25 for 4hrs is bs

 

[Scottkarch]

This right here

Yup

 

[willop]

Here (western pa) most bars pay $300 or so for 9-2am, give or take 1/2 hour. If you can deliver an audience you can get paid more.
And that gets split among the members, less any gear rental (pa, etc).
So add load, travel time, unload and setup/tear down - so 7-8 hours all told for $100ish.

So you're NOT doing it to make a living, even if you work 5 nights a week.

The REASON you do it could be fun, make $100 rather than play in the garage for free. Experience would be the best reason.

The only way to make real money is to be original and build an audience. Or have some other 'gimmick' or business model.

A friend has made his living playing bars for 30 years. he does a one or two person 'act', beach music or blues. He plays lead and sings.w/ recorded parts for the rest and a drum machine. He works to keep himself booked 5 nights a week. Math works well in this scenario. PA and all fits in the trunk of his convertable jag. And he will do 2 sets on saturdays.

 

[Stumbo]

I used to play in a strip bar in DC in the '70's. Monday - Thursday 9 - 2, Friday and Saturday 9 - 3. Played a club in Ocean City that was 9 - 2 Monday through Sunday and 1 - 4 Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Of course I was 35 years younger!

FWIW: Back in the older days (70s/80s) most cover band bar gigs were 9pm to 2am (45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks between) - whereas shorter 3hr bar gigs are more the norm now these days.

We also had some of the bigger clubs in the Los Angeles/Orange County area that had "after hours" gigs...usually from 2am - 5am or 6am on Fri/Sat.

So you might have a gig from 8pm or 9pm to -1am or 2am and then rush over to an after hours gig for another 3 - 4 hours.

Lots of the better bands were making a living playing 6 - 7 nights a week with 7-10 gigs every week.

 

[willop]

GO work a cruise ship. I hear the money is decent - free room/board and not much to spend it on.
But you play 8 hour a day 6 days a week. and have to commit to a cruise or longer - unless you want to swim home!

But you learn a lot - pay your dues, etc.

All depends on your goal or aim in life is. You could find bowling for 4 hours more fun than playing music and getting paid (at least something)

 

[hsech]

We get paid $300 for a full night gig. There's 5 guys in the band, but the guitar player and singer get a bigger share, so my end is $25. Actually when you factor in the gas money it costs me to drive to and fro, I end up making $15 tops.

My band is a five piece. We manage to make between $80 and $100 each. The BL gets $20 extra for owning the PA and setting it all up. His son runs sound and is unpaid.. It's a sweet deal for everyone else in the band.

There is definitely something wrong if you get that much less at only $25. Are you a beginner?

 

[hsech]

We play from 9:00 until 1:00, sometimes 2:00. That usually gets me home around 2:00 - 3:00 depending on the distance and weather. Winter is snow and ice. I would like to make more money, but it isn't going to happen around here. I'm retired so making $80 - $100 is playing for gas and breakfast on the way home.

 

[mboogiemanusa]

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 band is slowing transitioning into more of those type of gigs and less bar gigs. To be honest.....having all the dive bar gigs on the facebook/website events calendar helps us land the higher paying Festival gigs so we stay in the rotation in a few of our favorite clubs for the practice and exposure. We also have scored some good paying private parties after having people hear us at bar gigs. Got to take the good with the bad sometimes.

 

[Scottkarch]

I think festivals are the best! Family and my kids get to come see me play. No pressure bringing people. We often get a 10am start and I love being done by mid day and then walking around the festival with my family.

Seeing little kids dancing or a random person walking by singing along with you... Or stopping to watch you. It's great. I think those are my favorite shows.

 

[iriegnome]

We play 4 hour sets all the time. We don't take breaks and sometimes 4 hours isn't enough time. When we are asked to play such short sets as 1-1/2 hours, it is barely time enough to get warmed up and going. For us, a 1-1/2 hour set is a about 6 songs. We usually run about 20 to 25 songs for a 4 hours set. Of course, we really like to play even after 14 years of being together.

 

[Mike N]

For us, a 1-1/2 hour set is a about 6 songs.

What type of music are you playing to take up so much time with only 6 songs?

 

[stiles72]

If you don't like playing bar gigs (cover tunes to "entertain" the masses) then don't. No one is putting a gun to your head. Stay at home, throw a party for your friends and play whatever you want or however long you want. But if you want to play out int public, and make a little cash - whether you like it or not - there is a format and an expectation to follow. And most bars want you to play roughly from 8-12 or 9-1 (somewhere there about). Gigging out in cover bands is less about what you want, and more about what the bar and customers want. Your job is to sell beer - not music.

 

[iriegnome]

What type of music are you playing to take up so much time with only 6 songs?

80% our own stuff, but in the style of the Grateful Dead and Phish. Jam music. We usually go into an hour set thinking of 3 songs.