I Don't Remember Getting Gigs Being This Tough

[Richland123]

I focus on about 30% of our gigs are now festivals and private functions away from the bars and clubs. The money is better, there is a crowd, better hours, no cancellations or place suddenly going out of business, and we get treated better. We play mostly private clubs instead of bars anyway since they are more stable businesses. Only about 10% of our gigs are regular bars.

 

[Hutch1]

It's good to play places (weddings, corporate parties, etc.) where people expect to pay for services rendered and already have a budget for such things.

 

[Hutch1]

Plus, to paraphrase Richland, you have a guaranteed crowd. That's a nice incentive when one has played to nothing but the crickets and the dogs barking in the distance.

 

[lowb1970]

I love playing... i play at every chance i get... the amount of times i have been to local gigs and they ask me to play 1 or 2 songs while bands change over... i bet you would ask for a few quid if that happened to you!

I go to others bands rehearsals n help them out... because i like good music and seein others enjoying it. If Andy Rourke can do it for me... (he came into the studio with my band for 4 days, never wanted a penny) i can do it for anyone.

We still play for nowt. yeah, if we had to choose out of 2 gig's what to do... more than likely we'd take the better paying one...

And that about the higher quality band... is just nonsense! Our new guitarist was/is a massive session play, he's played with some of the biggest names you can think of. So because he has joined us and doesn't get paid at every gig he does now... he's not as high quality anymore?

If a promoter isn't willing to pay or give you your needs... 99.9% of the time... Your just not worth it... and thats Fact. If they wanted you so badly, they would beg, steal and borrow to have you in that venue.

Your all, well most... just a bunch of snobby fools. i Don't even care if you turn around and tell me you are actually paul mccartney... you should know better.

Musicians who pay to play or play for free are part of the problem for the rest of us?
What gives you the right to play at a venue more than it does me... just because you would ask for more money? Cowboy job that! the most expensive isn't always best. And thats Fact number 2.

Ok, I've been reading this thread and I've seen a pattern in your posts that prompts me to respond. You sir are WAY out of line. Some people on this board depend on their axe to pay their bills and put food on their table for the families to eat. You have no right to be calling anyone a snobby fool. If I agree to do the same thing you do for a highly discounted rate, or FREE even, then the demand for you goes way down. That is all that is being said. If music is a hobbie for you and you have another means of income then maybe your attitude can be different, but not everyone is in that situation. And before you start throwing discrediting words at me let me just tell you that I have been around the world playing music (for a living.....YES getting paid) and I have been a member or prestiges groups in the US. I know what it's like to have a huge following and I know what it's like to play for a few people. (we as musicians do that because we're passionate about playing....doesn't mean we don't want to get paid something). Your comments are way out of line. You are speaking from a whole different demographic and yet you profess to know what is best for everyone.

 

[Greyvagabond]

Some people on this board depend on their axe to pay their bills and put food on their table for the families to eat. You have no right to be calling anyone a snobby fool.

I think his point might be that there ARE people who are willing to do it for free, and that generally, an activity people do for free isn't the best profession. At very least, you can't get mad at people for not caring if they get paid or not because "it takes food out of my kids mouths." If you're that worried about it, get a 2nd job; I know he's not going to stop playing bars for free!

 

[CapnSev]

I think his point might be that there ARE people who are willing to do it for free, and that generally, an activity people do for free isn't the best profession. At very least, you can't get mad at people for not caring if they get paid or not because "it takes food out of my kids mouths." If you're that worried about it, get a 2nd job; I know he's not going to stop playing bars for free!

Again, I think the dividing line is covers/originals. I don't think a lot of people who are making their living from playing the bass in original bands. My guess is DanFold is not playing in a cover band either.

 

[Greyvagabond]

Ha, I'm pretty sure the percentage of surfers who make a living off surfing is probably higher than the percentage of original musicians who make a living off of it!

 

[CapnSev]

Ha, I'm pretty sure the percentage of surfers who make a living off surfing is probably higher than the percentage of original musicians who make a living off of it!

LOL! I always tell people you have a better shot at being a professional athlete than being a professional musician.

 

[Richland123]

I guess we can look at it this way. We do the playing part for free because we love to perform music on stage in front of people. However, we get paid to do all of the other work and things required to be able to perform such as all of the hours and costs to learn how to play and sing, schooling, practice time, paying for expensive equipment, booking gigs, promoting your band, advertising, recording time and expenses, travel time, transportation expenses, moving equipment, setting up and tearing down, business and legal expenses, and all of the other tasks and bills it takes to maintain a band like any other business or profession. A 3 hour gig usually requires 6 to 10 hours of work. When we divide up what we make per gig by all the hours of work required less our expenses, it does not come out to much per hour.

 

[Hutch1]

And the part where the knife twists is the fact that making it big in the music business isn't always about talent.

 

[Richland123]

Plus, to paraphrase Richland, you have a guaranteed crowd. That's a nice incentive when one has played to nothing but the crickets and the dogs barking in the distance.

We have all performed on the Ethan Allen tour playing to the furniture in a bar or club. Not near as much fun as playing to a room full of people.

 

[JohnnyPustular]

I tried to book our band at the Falcon Lounge on the east side of Detroit. The bar owner said he'd us play an off night with 3 other bands. He said he would hire us for a weekend gig if we pulled in enough people.

That was 1978.

Nobody owes you nothin'. Get over yourself.

 

[Greyvagabond]

And the part where the knife twists is the fact that making it big in the music business isn't always about talent.

Ha, its always seemed to me that some people succeed in the music industry DESPITE their musical talents!

 

[Richland123]

Ha, its always seemed to me that some people succeed in the music industry DESPITE their musical talents!

How true. I am sure we could name quite a few of the limited or no talented ones who make it as well as numerous extremely talented people who never make it.

 

[Hutch1]

We have all performed on the Ethan Allen tour playing to the furniture in a bar or club. Not near as much fun as playing to a room full of people.

That's Funny. (In a tragic sense, of course.) I remember playing in a bar where the only "patron" was the bar owner who was putting the chairs on top of the tables during our last set.

 

[CapnSev]

I tried to book our band at the Falcon Lounge on the east side of Detroit. The bar owner said he'd us play an off night with 3 other bands. He said he would hire us for a weekend gig if we pulled in enough people.

That was 1978.

Nobody owes you nothin'. Get over yourself.

That just turns into a bar I don't go back to. That's all.

 

[mike.b]

I haven't gigged in awhile, and my new band is finally ready to get out there. We've been doing the right things the past couple of months, as far as we can tell... CD Demo/Press Kit, MySpace, Website, pounding clubs, bars, and whoever will listen, including offering to gig for $150 flat. Freaking frustrating. Oh, and why do these people ask for a CD/press kit and then insist (without listening first) that you need to play at their open mic night?

Our demo was quickly put together in two days. Music recorded live, vocals added later. I didn't really think it was that bad. Few small screwups here and there, but for the most part highly listenable (is that a word?). Damn.

http://www.cocktailjoe.com
Link Removed

+100000.my band is in exactly the same boat.we've done a lot of ground work between us and all we seem to get is 'got a cd? can you come to an open mic night(usually weds) and 'have you got a big following? err..no.we've just started out and if you can't fill your pub.....thats your prob.and i'm not/can't bringing all my friends all the time.its not right that they've gotta pay to watch the band.
and i agree with some of the bassists in this thread who say that its 'who you know'.

 

[DanFold]

Didn't read em all... but anyway...

I'm a whole 21?! or something...

And i'm way out of line?!

If any of you who think i'm wrong... and your in a covers band... just go away... wright some of your own tunes and stop makin money off someone else...

Seccondly... i might be 21... But i have done my fair share of grafting.... Now i chill out, get a small wage... play the big festivals and massive sold out venues... if i do it for free or get paid... none of your buisness... but when you moan about a small time promoter not paying you propper...

Just think.... Are you really that good you deserved what you ordered?

Might be young... but i have done alot more than you might think!

 

[The Lurker]

I've been in just about every kind of band you can imagine, and I've always seen the payment issue as a lowest-bidder situation, where the owner or whoever's in charge essentially assumes one band is the same as another and will go with whoever he can get for the lowest possible price.

Personally, I'm just in this for the fun and don't want to have to make a living at it, so my perspective is probably a bit different from those above, but I'd rather play for free at a gig I like than to have to run myself ragged trying to land crap gigs for the money.

I like DIY stuff.... unfortunately, it's hard to get clearance to do something like that here these days because a lot of the towns have gone paranoid over raves and so on. We can't do what Kyuss used to do, with generator parties in the desert and so on.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

And that about the higher quality band... is just nonsense! Our new guitarist was/is a massive session play, he's played with some of the biggest names you can think of. So because he has joined us and doesn't get paid at every gig he does now... he's not as high quality anymore?

No. I am saying, in general, that a venue that does not pay bands will have lower quality bands versus one that does pay bands.

If a promoter isn't willing to pay or give you your needs... 99.9% of the time... Your just not worth it... and thats Fact. If they wanted you so badly, they would beg, steal and borrow to have you in that venue.

I disagree. They just may not associate any value with the services of a live band which is reinforced by those who play for free.

Your all, well most... just a bunch of snobby fools. i Don't even care if you turn around and tell me you are actually paul mccartney... you should know better.

People that expect payment for a service are snobby fools? A little harsh, don't you think?

What gives you the right to play at a venue more than it does me...

None. We all want to play, we just disagree on the terms of engagement.

Some people play as a hobby, others for a living and some as a supplementary income. I play as a hobby, but I do associate my services as having some value. A three set gig, setup, tear down, gear expenses, promotion and all that is involved with playing a gig is time consuming and if someone is making money off of it, I expect to get some compensation.