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Bemoaning the lack of an audience

#101
RichardW said:
Agreed. My band plays 3-4 times a year at a venue and we've convinced them to have us start at 8:30pm and just do two long sets vs. three shorter sets. We think the earlier start helps us draw a crowd and people tend to hang a little longer. But here's the kicker: we were just informed by the bar management that a neighbor complained about the early start and from now on we can't go on before 9:30pm. It makes no sense.
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Ugh. Noise (well, I'm sure you sound better than "noise") at 8:30 is unacceptable, but 9:30 is cool?
 
#104
GCPENG said:
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.
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Brother, you are preaching to the choir! I do all original metal and punk bands, and my turnout rate for promises by friends and associates is about 1%. Aaaaaaacckkk!:rage:
 
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#105
There is a difference between being good and having no crowd (yet) and sucking so bad that the crowd leaves and knows to stay away.

I would agree that times have changed, people for the most part no longer seek out new adventures or person to person contact and conversation. They have their technology shoved so far up their asses its unreal!
 
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#106
I do a simi-regular jazz gig and we have just the opposite problem, too many people and they're loud. They only quite down after they've ordered and eaten. ... It's a great gig and I'm not complaining but, the constant din can interupt the flow of creative performance. ... Live music has been on the decline for over the last 10-years. ... "Do you have a following?" ... "No, do you have regulars?" ... Too many bars/drinking and driving/DJ, dance music/loud bands in small venues/bands playing for free to get exposiure. ... Pick any one of those excuses and you won't be too far off. ... Also examine your set list? ... It seems the hits of the 80's is a good bet. ... I know a local three piece band that plays everything! And work every weekend and all summer long.
 
#107
GCPENG said:
We've not had a great draw any of the other shows either, but this was the second-worst of all five. This was the first with a cover charge. $5
Of the previous four shows, I was only able to draw friends/family/colleagues to one of them.

I'm just very disappointed in the lack of support from friends, etc.
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If your friends aren’t the type to go out and hang out in bars, then you really can’t expect them to come out to see your band.

It has always been my observation that if your band is playing to empty rooms, you need to ask yourself how much support you have given to your local music scene. Around here, if you want some support for your band, you can earn it by going to shows and networking with bands that have a draw and the people who like to see them.

The sad fact is that 99.99% of bands are kind of pointless and a most live shows are too. What are you offering that is new or exciting?
 
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#109
Yep to all of this! In my 20's, my band was able to pack smaller venues with original music. Nowadays, it's very rare that friends in their 40's and 50's come out. (Except the divorced ones with no kids and substance abuse problems). Kids in their 20's are still packing smaller venues....but it sure as hell ain't the kind of original music I'm playing in my 40's. It is an incredibly uphill battle. Not only do you need to network and go out and see/network with other bands, but your music and performance have to be so good that you generate the "buzz". Care and feed your Social Media Presence. Share pictures showing how much fun you and others are having. Make every show an Event that Must Be Attended, if they don't show up they are Totally Missing Out! At least one person in your band (usually the front-person) needs to be Larger Than Life ,with Followers and lots of funny/snarky/wise Things To Say Online.
 
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#110
GCPENG said:
We've not had a great draw any of the other shows either, but this was the second-worst of all five. This was the first with a cover charge. $5
Of the previous four shows, I was only able to draw friends/family/colleagues to one of them.

I'm just very disappointed in the lack of support from friends, etc.
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OK, why would you think people would come out and see you for $5 when they didn't come out to see you for free. I wouldn't even ask my friends and family to come out if we were charging admission.

How often are you guys playing out? IME, friends and family will not come to every show. I don't expect them too, I don't ask them to. The people I bring typically only come to 1 show every 6 months or so. Except for a very few diehards that seem to come to every show it's the same for the others in the band and they people they bring out as well.
 
#111
The four-step path to filling rooms, packing dance floors, and getting paid as a cover band?

1. Hire top-notch singers, ideally at least a male and a female front
2. Fill the rest of the spots with musicians who can learn any song quickly and rip it up. Ideally, most of the core position players will be able to harmonize, and at least a couple of them will be strong doublers
3. Put together business-quality promo materials, including a strong video reel
4. Book weddings
 
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#112
Young people see/hear new music on Youtube (among other services).
Old people are busy with old-people stuff (e.g., families) and rarely go out to see/hear new music.

It's remarkable how much Youtube has become the hotbed for new musical talent, but it makes perfect sense. The tools available when we were kids were instruments to play and various recordable media (tape/CD) to distribute. Advances in digital media converged with the advent of Youtube whereby you can create music very easily with software, and you can distribute it literally moments after it's recorded. Humans typically go the path of least resistance -- musicians and fans are humans, ergo... :)
 
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#114
Joe Nerve said:
I feel your pain, and unfortunately, I don't think there's any cure outside of just figuring out a way to get gigs in more happening places.

I feel incredibly fortunate that I'm in a band now that only plays the A rooms in my area (meaning they're always packed - by the club, not us), but I say that with all due humility as I've paid my dues, many times over. Only reason I'm in that situation now is because I got into a band that was already there. Building to that point on my own, doing covers, has never happened.

I don't want to add to your rant, but what sucks is that I know in retrospect that all of the begging I did for decades to get people to shows was useless. At best, we'd get maybe 30 people to show up (and that was rare) - and even with that, if a club didn't have it's own following, it would be a bust. The best that would happen is the club would give us another gig, we wouldn't get the same amount of people, and then they'd either short us money, or they wouldn't ask us back.

I know this sounds incredibly negative, and there are I'm sure exceptions to this rule - but I think the up side is that it might be best to accept now that dragging friends to shows isn't the best way to secure better gigs. There are other ways. I just don't know what they are :)... As I said, I joined a band that was already there.

Getting tight and polished enough to get picked up by an agency might do the trick. Making friends with the right people and talking your way into happening spots? Taking crazy pay cuts until you get where you want to be? Or just get creative, and come up with something nobody ever thought of yet :). I believe 100% that where there's a strong enough will, there is a way.
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I agree the key is playing the right places. We have two clubs that we play on regular rotation, one is a local brewery and the other a regional distillery. Places are always packed no matter what, and the music is always good. A third is a local nightclub with a loyal following-big crowds every Friday and Saturday. We do very little on our end to publicize the gigs (just a FB blast) but know we'll always have good crowds. Helps that the musics good too
 
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#115
Here is a strategy that has been successful for us: We just put together a band that caters to swing dancers. We play jazz standards, Latin tunes and a couple of fast blues songs--everything is dance-able. We have gotten an immediate following because 1. there are people in Minneapolis/St. Paul that go out dancing 3-4 nights a week, 2. we promote shamelessly at other dance venues and 3. we sound pretty good. We see plenty of the usual suspects (same people & couples) at each gig. They dance all night long, smiling much of the time, do not drink too much and are willing to pay $8-12 cover. They even dance thru the canned music during our breaks. On any given night, there will be 100 to 350+ who pay at the door. The group is five piece: female vocalist, keys, drums, bass & sax. It is a very satisfying gig and pays well. One to two per month.
 
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#116
I adore this topic. I love it. It goes hand in hand with those who have issues with "pay to play."

Don't have a fan base? Then nobody is going to show up.
Text family, friends, and coworkers? Oh yes, another way to eat up a free night on my weekend after a long work week, let me just punish my ears with loud, bad music.
Venue doesn't have a (and I quote) "built in audience?" No, you're the entertainment. You're the draw. The venue is going to draw it's regular bar patrons anyways... and it's up to you to bring entertainment.

Just like pay to play, it isn't an issue when you can actually sell the tickets and you have a fan base.

How is this fixed? Start making better music. No marketing or exposure will cover the fact that the music is just not good. Or maybe not good enough to justify spending a measly $5 at the door.

It's a headache at times, but persist. Good luck out there!
 
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#117
GCPENG said:
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.
Click to expand...
In my humble opinion, if a venue wants people to come out and see a band they need to do the work of promoting live music at their venue whether that be a restaurant bar or club. Of course every band is going to do their best to use Facebook and other social media as well as straight up invites to get people up to the shows, but the thing is while most bands develop a following, we're not the "big time" for the most part, and so it's up to a venue to be in charge of promoting their shows. Like who they think you guys are freaking Ed Sheeran or something?
 
#118
GCPENG said:
With respect, that's certainly a perspective. It is not a perspective shared by any bar owner/manager around here. As far as they are concerned, their marketing efforts consist of bringing in bands that will bring in people. Every single one that I talk to want to ask about the number of followers that we have.

I could tell them that it it not our responsibility to bring a single person out and that they should be bringing us in solely to entertain the masses that they already have. The net result of that conversation would, I suspect, leave us with nowhere to play.
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See that's exactly the opposite of here, where people go to their local every Saturday anyway whether it's Three Old Fat Men or The Rolling Stones.
 

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