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Join The Band

S

StayinTime

Sep 26, 2012
63
1
#1
Good morning. Hope everyone is doing well

Just wondering of anyone has ever been involved with a company called Join the Band.

It is a company in North Hollywood Ca. Pay to play type thing. J

Just wanted to see if anyone has had any experience with them. Good or bad.

Thanks
 
#5
I will pay to play on the following conditions only-
1. the audience is at least 50% strippers, and they are dancing and stripping on stage during our sets.
I will require a T-bone steak, medium, with all the sides for my meal before my paid gig, and also several private dances. before and after the set.
The venue shall provide High Def video of the whole performance, and advertise it in all the local papers with our band name and logo.
We shall play 2 sets of 40 minutes each, with a 30 minute break.
The venue can provide whatever opening band or karaoke or whatever the F they want for the first set.

We will pay the venue a total of$150 for letting us play at there place. (And it will be worth it)
I am 100% serious.
 
#7
millsbass5 said:
Well, it's the thing to do in L.A. And, from what I hear, if you don't agre, you ain't got a gig.
Click to expand...

Both of those statements are false. Some bands do partake in the pay-to-play, but its definitely not the "thing to do". If you dont agree, there are plenty of places to play, you just won't be playing at The Roxy, The Whisky, The Viper Room, The House of Blues, or some of the subpar venues that think they are like the ones listed.

But, if I were in a band for the sole purpose of getting signed, I would certainly do it in L.A. Look at it this way: A band would be idiots not to pay-to-play in clubs full of A & R guys.
Click to expand...

I'll let you in on a secret... these places are not full of A&R guys. Theyre full of promoters making money on the pay-to-play model, and the people the bands are selling tickets to. If a band can consistently sell out their lot of tickets and then some for a particular promoter, and that promoter has an A&R connection, then maybe the band name might get passed along to someone who can sign you.
 
#8
'Join the Band' is a school, not a pay-to-play venue.
The guy that runs it is very talented.
They organize groups 4-6 budding musicians together (guitar-bass-drums-etc) at their studio and for 1 week you are mentored by teachers and instructors. The course ends with your group performing at the Knitting factory Club. It's fun, informative and a great way to prep up for playing in a band.
 
#9
What ^he^ said. It’s like School of Rock, only I believe they have classes for grown-ups as well as kids. It’s supposed to be instructional and fun, not a serious gigging venture.

Pay-to-play went out of favor in L.A. years ago. And it was mostly just hair metal and nu metal bands playing the Sunset Strip. No one’s signing those bands anymore, and no one’s playing the Sunset Strip except national touring acts and teenage dreamers whose parents pre-buy tickets for them.

I believe the Whisky and Roxy still run the racket, but only because the “cool” local bands who draw wouldn’t be caught dead playing their rooms. They’ve painted themselves into a pay-to-play corner.
 
#10
I saw my brother's band play @ the Whisky-a-Go-Go and it was a pay-to-play deal, with 5 bands on the bill. Everybody got 45 minute sets, as long as the previous band didn't screw you out of time with set-up/tear-down. I didn't see any A&R guys there; just a bunch of parents and little kids running around. More like the Whisky-a-Goo-Goo....:bawl:
 
#11
MatticusMania said:
Both of those statements are false. Some bands do partake in the pay-to-play, but its definitely not the "thing to do". If you dont agree, there are plenty of places to play, you just won't be playing at The Roxy, The Whisky, The Viper Room, The House of Blues, or some of the subpar venues that think they are like the ones listed.



I'll let you in on a secret... these places are not full of A&R guys. Theyre full of promoters making money on the pay-to-play model, and the people the bands are selling tickets to. If a band can consistently sell out their lot of tickets and then some for a particular promoter, and that promoter has an A&R connection, then maybe the band name might get passed along to someone who can sign you.
Click to expand...


Dammit!! I knew the bastards writing for that magazine that I read was lying!! Oh, well. Just passin' on what I heard/read. What the hell do I know? Not much, apparently. But, that WAS the custom back in the 80's, wasn't it?
 
#12
millsbass5 said:
Dammit!! I knew the bastards writing for that magazine that I read was lying!! Oh, well. Just passin' on what I heard/read. What the hell do I know? Not much, apparently. But, that WAS the custom back in the 80's, wasn't it?
Click to expand...

The pay-to-play thing still exists, but no one is getting signed, and everyone but the promoter/venue team is getting screwed.
I do believe it was more the norm back in the 80s. My ex-wife's brother is Mark Kendall from Great White, and thats pretty much how they got signed, playing a pay-to-play show, I believe at the Troubador.

sobie18 said:
I saw my brother's band play @ the Whisky-a-Go-Go and it was a pay-to-play deal, with 5 bands on the bill. Everybody got 45 minute sets, as long as the previous band didn't screw you out of time with set-up/tear-down. I didn't see any A&R guys there; just a bunch of parents and little kids running around. More like the Whisky-a-Goo-Goo....:bawl:
Click to expand...

I played the Whisky with my very first band, not even a year after I picked up the bass. It was exactly as you descrice in this post.
 
#14
The only time pay to play is legit is if you're doing a showcase for industry folk that you or your management have invited. In Nashville those usually happen around 6 pm when label guys, publishing guys, etc are leaving the office.

In this case you're renting the venue and paying their production staff because it's not a regular show, and they're unlikely to get any customers in off the street. There's also no reason to do it unless you already have some interest and you know the right people will likely be there.
 

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