Bemoaning the lack of an audience

[Yango]

Maybe they don't like your band, or what you play.

What your friends and acquaintances do with their evenings is entirely up to them, and it obviously doesn't include checking out your band.

 

[richard tofts]

Know how you feel. This effectively killed off my last band. So much pressure on band members to bring people in when the reality was that we were middle aged and our friends work, don't live in town , have kid's activities to work around, and good old CBA..
Also, I've been in lots of bands any my friends are probably tired of me saying ' this time it really is the real deal '..

 

[SLO Surfer]

Depends upon the market - been a while since I was doing much originals. But rather than PTP, or tag along with others, what I have seen work is several bands get together and promote their own show - pool the best backline you have, so the only thing you have to do between acts is change cymbals, and maybe guitar amps. You can get venues at a reduced rate on a slow night.

That’s one way to “get” an opening slot with a more established band.

 

[jamro217]

I live within in a large metropolitan area. We have a contingent of close to 100 players that all know or are aware of each other. And I would say there are 200 core enthusiasts who are out regularly to listen to live local music. It is not uncommon to have the leader of one band also taking on the task of booking a venue. We have a community. While the various bands might be competing, we are all friends and don't take the competition seriously. In fact, I've been tapped to sit-in with a few of the other bands, be asked to join other bands because of that, and we do often go out to hear another band if we're not playing. So if you have a music community, embrace it and make any and everyone welcome. I do chuckle though remembering the waitress coming up to me sourly saying, "You're bringing a big crowd with you, aren't you." Thought to myself, more people will be here tonight to witness me work than you.

More people will tip her than you, too, so she's complaining about having to work harder for more money. Whhhaaaaaaaaa!!!!

 

[BWB]

2 of which were consistent at packing venues, both had built in fan bases for different reasons. Music doesn't really matter too much. I was in a original band that really wasn't great at all but we had this built in college crowd that was going to bars anyways on friday/sat nights and we made a killing during our run.
.

+1

One of the more successful bands I was in for time, money, and packing the place was in Atlanta years ago. To make a long story short, pretty good players, 50/50 originals and covers - but they were 20something really extroverted social animals and the word spread from their enthusiasm over living life and having a huge circle of friends that seeing them was a good time (I'm not talking about music) and it became a "thing". The college crowd decided they were "it" because every knew them or thought they knew them - it wasn't about music.

This can be really hard to digest, but the thing I learned the absolute most in my 20's was that music was part of the equation, and only part.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Country, Top40, Reggae, and Hip Hop (and it's variants). These are the genres that - in my experience - continue to draw folks out. When I play shows like these, it's almost always a packed house. Genres like rock, folk, jazz, etc have really fallen off in terms of draw over the last 10 years or so. I guess this depends on the specific market in which you work/live in, but looking at the billboard charts should give an indication of what people are likely to spend their money on.

That said, venue owners are a shortsighted bunch and they seem to think that the onus is on teh band to fill the place - which is dumb, if you ask me because it means that the clients goes where the band goes. So who's gonna pay the bills the next night, and the night after that? If a bar doesn't do it's fair share of promotion, there's a good chance that venue won't be around for very long.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Not looking for a solution. I'm just venting.

Last Friday, my band had our fifth gig. It was our first time at a bar/restaurant with a bar/music venue downstairs. It's a great venue for us - great PA, bar provides the sound guy, who also runs lights.

The show went pretty well from a performance angle. Here's the problem - there is no built-in crowd at the place and, despite inviting dozens of people myself, the place was nearly empty. This was an important gig for us to show well. I'd love to be invited back, and would love to use this performance to get into the other venue owned by the same guy. But I was embarrassed by the lack of people willing to come out. I wouldn't rebook us if I was the venue manager. Such a waste of an opportunity.

Of all the people that I invited (phone, email, text, Facebook, face-to-face), only one person showed up, in addition to my wife. Similar poor showings from friends/family of the other band members. Without friends and family to give us some support in the early going, I can't see how we develop a following.

What the heck is wrong with people? I know that on any given night, people will have commitments, but everybody? Does Netflix really have that much hold on people? I just don't get it.

Do people not go out anymore? Or maybe it's me?

Just venting. Everybody seems to have an excuse.

I work with three bands. One is a renowned Doo Whop/Beach Music Band with songs in the Oldies Internet Hall of Fame, One is a Corporate/Event Commercial Dance Band with top flight players, and one is a Brittish Invasion/60s California band of mediocre to barely passable players. Guess which one draws the best, has the most gigs, and generates the most revenue?

Face it. You got competition big time, not just from other bands either. Diversions abound in this internet age. You want to draw an audience, you better play songs people want to hear. Old story, still true.

 

[juancaminos]

I've seen alot of people say stuff on this site overthe years that leads me to believe that a lot of musicians don't get it.

I am with you, a lot of musicians do not get it. In the end this is all a business on both sides. It's not easy, it takes way more then just plopping down your gear and playing your songs. On the other side a bar has to be worth going to and has their job cut out for them vying for the repeat customer. Threading thru this post are stories about people being tired at the end of the day or about being choosey where they spend their one night out. The needs of the young and old bar patrons don't always match. Things have changed but one thing remains the same... it is not all about us. If you want to play live music in front of a crowd, if you want to keep your bar in the black, you have to patronize the customer.

One of the bars in Laveen closed last year partly because of the type of Karaoke they chose. This particular genre attracted people who ordered water by the glass or by the pitcher. The bartenders and wait staff complained but the owners just tried several other Karaoke hosts with in the same genre. The place could not survive. It has now reopened with a broad genre of karaoke and is actually starting to do well.

Get it?

 

[buldog5151bass]

It's simple math. When a bar has a band, they have fewer tables from which to serve customers, fewer parking spaces (band has to park), will have it's dinner service interrupted, and has to pay the band (and fees). Unless they can NET more income from you being there, you have no business playing there.

 

[mcnach]

Not looking for a solution. I'm just venting.

Last Friday, my band had our fifth gig. It was our first time at a bar/restaurant with a bar/music venue downstairs. It's a great venue for us - great PA, bar provides the sound guy, who also runs lights.

The show went pretty well from a performance angle. Here's the problem - there is no built-in crowd at the place and, despite inviting dozens of people myself, the place was nearly empty. This was an important gig for us to show well. I'd love to be invited back, and would love to use this performance to get into the other venue owned by the same guy. But I was embarrassed by the lack of people willing to come out. I wouldn't rebook us if I was the venue manager. Such a waste of an opportunity.

Of all the people that I invited (phone, email, text, Facebook, face-to-face), only one person showed up, in addition to my wife. Similar poor showings from friends/family of the other band members. Without friends and family to give us some support in the early going, I can't see how we develop a following.

What the heck is wrong with people? I know that on any given night, people will have commitments, but everybody? Does Netflix really have that much hold on people? I just don't get it.

Do people not go out anymore? Or maybe it's me?

Just venting. Everybody seems to have an excuse.

I think that's the norm.

On facebook 100 people say they'll come? Expect 10.
In person the odds are even worse...

If it's a special show you out on, and work on people for a couple of months... you can get a good turnout. But if you play regularly within a reasonable radius and it's "just another gig"... don't expect people you know to show up in large numbers.
The people you can count on are the "real" fans. People who start following you without any personal connection whatsoever to the band. However, it takes a fair few more than 5 gigs to get that kind of crowd. My main band is an originals one... I don't think I started recognising people who came to see us on purpose without knowing any of us personally until about 3-4 years of gigging regularly with that band. Other can do that faster... but not in 5 gigs.

 

[mcnach]

... and even if today we mostly play pretty well attended gigs, we still play the odd gig where it's just a handful of people. It could be because of the date, the venue/location, weather, or a combination of factors... There are good days and bad days.

If you are a relatively new band, and there's a good club in town that is always busy... try to get in there. Again it will not happen overnight, but my experience with my current band was that as soon as we started playing in one such place, things got better fast: a lot more interest in facebook, we got gig offers from people at the bar, we got recommended by people who saw us there... essentially it gave us very good exposure, and the bar liked us as we kept people dancing and drinking and having a good time and telling their friends about how great that club was... It was also a door to other clubs as people assume that if you played there on a premium slot (Fri/sat 10pm onwards) then you were a decent band, so they're more inclined to book you even if they don't know you.

Another thing is... networking with other bands. We got a lot of gigs because band A needs to cancel, and instead to just pulling out they tell the venue "but this other band would be very suitable, we spoke to them and they're willing to do it"... which opens doors too. Of course, you need to talk to other bands (pick the good ones )
I'm playing a gig at a festival on Saturday purely because a national act who knows us told the organisers last year about us... They offered us a slot last year but we were busy, and they booked us for this year instead. They never heard us, but a recommendation from the right people goes a long way. So... talk to others. Be social (selectively). It helps a lot.