Moving from Bar Gigs to Corporate Gigs

[QweziRider]

I'd be interested in hearing from people that were able to make the transition and what changes needed to be made.

I've been in a few bands that make that bar/corporate leap, back and forth. I think you hit the nail on the head with your four items you list that need attention. Some bar gigs we get away with the idle banter etc, some not so much. As to how to make the changes on those items? You just do it. You've already identified what you think needs fixing to make the different gigs work, now everyone just needs to be on board and just do it. That's what we've always done when stepping up the gigs to corporate. We just always went in knowing the pace had to stay up and we execute.

 

[Siggy]

Always dress as well or better then your audience

 

[mattj1stc]

What separates most of the corporate bands that I've seen is professionalism. Corporate bands are very punctual, they play really well, they have a certain neat, unified look, they have a nice PA and light show (sometimes they even have their own stage) with a capable crew to operate them, they play tunes that get corporate people up and moving, they seem to play sober, etc. It sounds like the OP has a few elements that corporate bands need (at least 2 female singers for lead and back up, keys, at least 1 male singer, familiar material, etc.). It's really about taking it to the next level in terms of infrastructure and execution. It's about making the jump for a hobby to a job (if not a career).

 

[Big Hoss]

I'm looking for some tips/thoughts/suggestions on how we can move on from playing 4 hour low-paying (but fun) bar gigs to playing more corporate/private gigs that pay more and don't keep us out until 3am.

Some background on the band:
We are an 80s cover band with keys, bass, drums, guitar, and 3 vocals (2 female, 1 male). We've been playing together for a couple of years so the music is really tight and our singers are awesome. The females are easy on the eyes and can sing powerful leads and the male is a vocal powerhouse with a big stage presence and personality. So we have all the pieces in place but we're realizing that we need to polish up our act.

Some of the areas that I think need improvement:
- Physical appearance of the band. The women look hot, the rest of us are in jeans & t-shirts.
- Too much idle banter/goofing around on the frontline.
- Song selection doesn't cater to a large base (too many obscure songs that the guitarist loves and not enough top 40 hits).
- Too much dead air between songs.

I'd be interested in hearing from people that were able to make the transition and what changes needed to be made. We're in the heart of Silicon Valley so there is no shortage of corporate or private party gigs out there.

Thanks for reading.

I need to give you a caveat, my current band does not, nor has ever done the bar scene. It was something we wanted, and honestly needed for personal reasons on part of some of our members, to avoid. Nuff said on that...

We don't do corporate stuff, but private parties, grad parties, church youth events and such. We play mostly Moderm P&W type stuff for the church events, but our other stuff is top 40 from the 70s 80s, 90s, some 2000s. In many ways you are ahead of us as we are only 4pc, no ladies (not by design, but by happenstance) and none of us are exactly eye candy.... But we try as best we can.

You are on the right track though. Start with.

#1. The band, should look like, well, the band. If you are doing formal events, suit up. And Talkbass naysayers be danged, if you are doing a Tiki Hut gig on a summer afternoon, for pete's sake wear shorts, and flip flops, but make sure you coordinate for a cohesive look. For example.
- The last gig we did, which admittedly was a few months ago, was at a graduation party in a Tiki hut by a pool. We all were wearing khaki cargo shorts, and matching "Margaritaville" Hawaiian shirts with Tevas on our feet, and straw fedoras on our heads. (Yes we WERE doing Jimmy Buffet tunes in the set).
#2. Too much idle banter. Not sure how you mean, but you should minimize your talking among yourselves, and interact with the audience. Banter with THEM. This can be tough for some folks, we struggle with it. Our lead guitarist / singer is a bit of an oxymoron. He loves being on stage, and performing, but for the most part he is a huge introvert.... I am no fan of having the attention mainly on me but I step up to the plate and keep things moving between songs as best I can....
#3. Song selection. Know your audience, and be sure you are playing stuff THEY want to hear. As much as I want to branch out to more prog rock type stuff, audience tastes in my area dictate more classic rock / country type stuff. And we never play stuff that would have been considered B side stuff.... If it isn't approachable by the majority of the audience it doesn't make the cut.
#4. Dead space between songs. It happens, but I firmly believe going back to #2 answers this. Interact with the audience. Tell stories if you have to. Keep it in good taste, and keep the party going.

Something you haven't mentioned directly, but is related to your banter / dead space is this... There should be a conceptual shift in what you are doing. Lots of bands / guys go on stage with the mind set of "we are going to play this song, then this song, then this song, then...." which while true, misses something important. What you are doing is getting on stage, and performing a show, not just playing songs.

Why have live music if you are just playing songs? Wouldn't somebodies phone streaming IHeartRadio into the PA be sufficient if they just wanted songs played?

Seriously, you are there to put on a show, don't forget that. Put as much time, and effort into creating the show experience as you can, and the payoff if you do it right should be big.

A fantastic example would be Kiss. No disrespect to Gene, Paul and crew, but let's face it, they aren't great musicians, what they are is a bunch of guys putting on one heck of a great show, with fun music that everyone knows...

What does it mean to put on that show? That is up to you. But elements would be things like stories / banter between songs, lighting, fog / bubble effects, putting tracks between songs as you prepare to avoid dead space, whatever YOUR BAND decides to do. Make it good, make it fun, and make it something they will remember and want to experience again.

While there are some here that rail against the concept of music as entertainment, let's face it, that is what audiences pay for. Give them what they want, or play your gigs in your basement all you want. Your choice.

 

[hrodbert696]

Try it. But I will say this -- democracies of the size you are working with can be a pretty big source of frustration. Already you're seeing it with the singer who is a hold out. Unaniminity, particularly among amateurs moving into semi-pro gigs, is going to be hard to achieve.

I much prefer enlighted despotism, or the "entlightened entrepreneur" model where someone takes all the risk, and then considers the rest of the band as employees of sorts. Unless each of these people are going to help you with all of the heavy lifting (sales calls, promotion, contracts, money collection, banking, taxes) it may well fall on the shoulders of one person. And these musicians haven't, in my experience, stepped up to distribute the work equally.

But if you CAN get everyone on the same page, and they DO share equally in the heavy lifting, it can be an effective little organization. Age and experience has jaded my belief in that model when it comes to a part-time band, unfortunately. Even in our American democracy, our President has veto power, and it's best to have a single point of decision-making on most issues or your get infighting, stalemates, etcetera.

Every band is different, and how leadership and decision making works can be different. But I agree that, most of the time, a clear BL is important. It's usually not good if he's an absolute and arbitrary dictator who does what he wants and no one else gets any say. That only works if either 1) he pays well and the others are just in it for the money, or 2) he's a genius and the others are grateful for the privilege of basking in the presence of greatness. But an "enlightened entrepreneur" seems like a good model. I think it's best when the BL takes the responsibility to set the agenda, to be the final decision maker, and to get things done like the marketing and the booking, but is also careful to take input, to feel out what the goals and wishes of his players are, to build consensus around decisions and make sure everyone feels like their goals are being met.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Our male lead singer is the 1 out of 7 who is probably going to hold us back. He's a super talent but he's involved in several musical projects outside of our band so his level of commitment will be an issue. He reminds me a lot of Andrew Strong from "The Commitments". Super talented but a bit of loose cannon.

A strong band with high-paying corporate gigs rarely has issues finding talent. Use the flake to get off the ground, then dump him if he becomes an issue. Maybe the money and fancy gigs will bring him around, maybe they won't.

Some musicians just don't like the corporate scene. They still have visions of themselves as "rockers", and the tuxedo crowd just doesn't appeal to them. Years ago, I had a band that had all the components of a strong corporate band. Everyone wanted to go in that direction....except the self-appointed BL. Through no small feat, I managed to get us a gig for a corporate event paying 5 times what we normally made at a bar gig. Full pro pa, backline rigs, lighting, free dinner, and in bed before midnight. Everyone in the group was thrilled, except the BL. And, rather than play the gig, he ended the band, deleted all our social media and web pages. All because he said playing corporate gigs wasn't cool. No worries though: finding a guitarist to play a 3 hour gig for $400 turned out to be quite easy..

 

[pcake]

I think you hit the nail on the head. We're all on board with most of the changes but convincing the guitarist to play songs that he deems "lame" is going to be an obstacle. Male vocalist may be resistant to wearing something other than jeans and last night's t-shirt too. A band meeting is in order methinks.

you say below that the male singer is the guy holding you back, but a guitarist who doesn't want to play songs people want to hear - and play them like he's having a great time - is going to hold you back pretty thoroughly.

Thanks for all the advice so far. 6 out of 7 of us are on board with moving forward. Our two female singers have even gone so far as to write out a "business plan" for lack of a better word. In essence it's our master plan or mission statement. We all know where we want to go now we just need to come to an agreement on what we want to be when we get there. Our male lead singer is the 1 out of 7 who is probably going to hold us back. He's a super talent but he's involved in several musical projects outside of our band so his level of commitment will be an issue. He reminds me a lot of Andrew Strong from "The Commitments". Super talented but a bit of loose cannon.

Again, thanks for the advice. I think our next step is to have a band meeting (without instruments in hand) to clearly spell out where we want to take our band and what identity we want.

 

[Fishyfishfish]

My best friend started his group with only playing to corporate events and makes some serious coin doing so. They have a decent web presence, great sound, look good and can play un observed in a corner as well as entertainment on a stage. Takes some like minded individuals to pull it off but it takes work. Replace "Corporate Band" with "Corporate Ice Cream sales" and the same thing applies.

 

[two fingers]

I'm looking for some tips/thoughts/suggestions on how we can move on from playing 4 hour low-paying (but fun) bar gigs to playing more corporate/private gigs that pay more and don't keep us out until 3am.

Some background on the band:
We are an 80s cover band with keys, bass, drums, guitar, and 3 vocals (2 female, 1 male). We've been playing together for a couple of years so the music is really tight and our singers are awesome. The females are easy on the eyes and can sing powerful leads and the male is a vocal powerhouse with a big stage presence and personality. So we have all the pieces in place but we're realizing that we need to polish up our act.

Some of the areas that I think need improvement:
- Physical appearance of the band. The women look hot, the rest of us are in jeans & t-shirts.
- Too much idle banter/goofing around on the frontline.
- Song selection doesn't cater to a large base (too many obscure songs that the guitarist loves and not enough top 40 hits).
- Too much dead air between songs.

I'd be interested in hearing from people that were able to make the transition and what changes needed to be made. We're in the heart of Silicon Valley so there is no shortage of corporate or private party gigs out there.

Thanks for reading.

This is all useless banter until you answer this question.

Does the WHOLE BAND want to take things to the "next level"?

If not, forget it. You can't drag people kicking and screaming into excellence. If they don't realize now that your band is not excellent, they will not be likely to make uncomfortable changes to get there.

1) The singers need to shut up and sing for the most part. The band needs to rehearse intros and outros and other breakdowns DURING THE MUSIC that give the front line time to chat up the crowd BRIEFLY. (My corporate band averaged almost 50 songs per gig. There was never EVER a time that there was someone talking on stage with no music going on.)

2) The guitar player has to agree WITH NO CONDITIONS to play SMASH HITS from now on. If you are playing a wedding, or a convention of Chapter 13 lawyers, they DON'T CARE that you love B sides and that you think playing all Journey and Talking Heads is "selling out". That has to be written in stone moving forward. If you want to whip out an obscure song at a bar gig, go for it. But corporate gigs pay big money to entertain the most people you can for the longest time you can do it.

3) Appearance - Step it up a notch. The one rule I use is NEVER EVER dress in a way that you would blend into the audience you are playing for (the only exception being some metal acts). ALWAYS set yourself apart from the crowd (literally). Even if that's just a really cool gig shirt, wear that sucker. NEVER wear white tennis shoes.....ever. Like....ever. Get some boots, or flashy Converse Chucks, or shoes with flames on them, or SOMETHING. NEVER a ball cap. NEVER a shirt with the brand name of some kind of music gear. (Please, guys, STOP wearing Fender shirts to the stinking gig!) I won't open the shorts can of worms here. But....dang.

For corporate gigs, you don't have to match outfits, but having a theme works well. For instance, a given gig can be black white and red themed. Other than that, go nuts. One guy is wearing black pants and a cool red shirt. One woman is wearing a sleek LBD. One guy is wearing an untucked white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves a red tie and black pants. One guy is wearing a black shirt and pants with red shoes. One woman is wearing a red dress with a black belt and jewelry. Not matching but looking like YOU CARED.

It's a new ballgame. Venue managers and wedding/party planners can RUIN you. Work well with them and perform PROFESSIONALLY and you'll be fine. Look like shlubs and talk too much on stage and you will get a bad reputation QUICKLY.

Then there's this. You do not EVER walk up to a buffet line unless you are INVITED to do so. EVER. That is the slackest thing ANY member of a corporate/private party band can do. Food needs to be addressed in your CONTRACT......which brings me to.....

CONTRACTS! You need to have one. It needs to include a stage plot. POWER requirements. FOOD requirements (if any). DEPOSITS and CANCELLATION policies. (For instance, my band had a policy for festivals. If we showed up we got paid in full. So if you plan to cancel due to weather, you had better call us on the way.) The TIMES of the show (start and stop) should be included in the CONTRACT. That way, if the party is running late, you have the OPTION of holding to your stop time. This was important to us because we often had multiple gigs in one day. If the bride is running late putting on her makeup, and that pushes back the start time, we're still stopping on time if we have another show that night. We CAN negotiate IF WE WANT if we don't have another show.

If ALL of this is acceptable to ALL members of the band, go for it. If you get static about ANY of this, don't bother. It will just be an exercise in futility.

Corporate/private party bands don't make much more money because they are lucky. They EARN it by being professional, talented, entertaining and easy on party planners (aka no drama).


Paging @jive1 He has offered some great advice in the past on these kinds of subjects.

 

[SuperK]

This is all useless banter until you answer this question.

Does the WHOLE BAND want to take things to the "next level"?

If not, forget it. You can't drag people kicking and screaming into excellence. If they don't realize now that your band is not excellent, they will not be likely to make uncomfortable changes to get there.

1) The singers need to shut up and sing for the most part. The band needs to rehearse intros and outros and other breakdowns DURING THE MUSIC that give the front line time to chat up the crowd BRIEFLY. (My corporate band averaged almost 50 songs per gig. There was never EVER a time that there was someone talking on stage with no music going on.)

2) The guitar player has to agree WITH NO CONDITIONS to play SMASH HITS from now on. If you are playing a wedding, or a convention of Chapter 13 lawyers, they DON'T CARE that you love B sides and that you think playing all Journey and Talking Heads is "selling out". That has to be written in stone moving forward. If you want to whip out an obscure song at a bar gig, go for it. But corporate gigs pay big money to entertain the most people you can for the longest time you can do it.

3) Appearance - Step it up a notch. The one rule I use is NEVER EVER dress in a way that you would blend into the audience you are playing for (the only exception being some metal acts). ALWAYS set yourself apart from the crowd (literally). Even if that's just a really cool gig shirt, wear that sucker. NEVER wear white tennis shoes.....ever. Like....ever. Get some boots, or flashy Converse Chucks, or shoes with flames on them, or SOMETHING. NEVER a ball cap. NEVER a shirt with the brand name of some kind of music gear. (Please, guys, STOP wearing Fender shirts to the stinking gig!) I won't open the shorts can of worms here. But....dang.

For corporate gigs, you don't have to match outfits, but having a theme works well. For instance, a given gig can be black white and red themed. Other than that, go nuts. One guy is wearing black pants and a cool red shirt. One woman is wearing a sleek LBD. One guy is wearing an untucked white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves a red tie and black pants. One guy is wearing a black shirt and pants with red shoes. One woman is wearing a red dress with a black belt and jewelry. Not matching but looking like YOU CARED.

It's a new ballgame. Venue managers and wedding/party planners can RUIN you. Work well with them and perform PROFESSIONALLY and you'll be fine. Look like shlubs and talk too much on stage and you will get a bad reputation QUICKLY.

Then there's this. You do not EVER walk up to a buffet line unless you are INVITED to do so. EVER. That is the slackest thing ANY member of a corporate/private party band can do. Food needs to be addressed in your CONTRACT......which brings me to.....

CONTRACTS! You need to have one. It needs to include a stage plot. POWER requirements. FOOD requirements (if any). DEPOSITS and CANCELLATION policies. (For instance, my band had a policy for festivals. If we showed up we got paid in full. So if you plan to cancel due to weather, you had better call us on the way.) The TIMES of the show (start and stop) should be included in the CONTRACT. That way, if the party is running late, you have the OPTION of holding to your stop time. This was important to us because we often had multiple gigs in one day. If the bride is running late putting on her makeup, and that pushes back the start time, we're still stopping on time if we have another show that night. We CAN negotiate IF WE WANT if we don't have another show.

If ALL of this is acceptable to ALL members of the band, go for it. If you get static about ANY of this, don't bother. It will just be an exercise in futility.

Corporate/private party bands don't make much more money because they are lucky. They EARN it by being professional, talented, entertaining and easy on party planners (aka no drama).


Paging @jive1 He has offered some great advice in the past on these kinds of subjects.

All good points. I might print out this post and bring it to our next band meeting!

Based on all the feedback I've received, it's going to come down to two things: 1) Getting the entire band 100% on board and 2) revising our set list to include all recognizable and dance-able hits (no matter how many "cool songs" we play it's always "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" that fill the dance floor).

I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[P. Aaron]

Everywhere, of course. There is nothing quite like the feel of a freshly shaved...

I wish my band could make this leap as well but our weak link (who happens to be the BL) is not capable of anything but bars/pubs/clubs.

The bar scene is actually more labor intensive & for hours invested, pays less than corporate, weddings and private parties. PLUS, those other events usually FEED you as wells as pay you, the hours are easier (mostly) and, there's a built in audience.

 

[waveman]

Everywhere, of course. There is nothing quite like the feel of a freshly shaved...

I wish my band could make this leap as well but our weak link (who happens to be the BL) is not capable of anything but bars/pubs/clubs.

Yeah, I could get my band nice corporate gigs if my guitar player and drummer had the right attitude for it. At the end of the day, it is just a hobby that happens to pay for itself and we're all friends, so not going to try to change it. Much rather keep my friends than chase after more money.

Same issue with song selection. I think they bend about as far as they can doing many of the songs we already do, and they aren't willing to put in the time and effort to learn the songs, much less wear the attire. Then there is the personality issues... they just are not cut out for that sort of environment at a professional level.

 

[Jimmy4string]

^ I am with you Waveman, no way i could get this band to transcend.
I do like to see the flashy Corporate gig'ers in the big venues in town with their cool outfits and crowd love.
But man that's a lot of time and work. I am too old for that

 

[GBBSbassist]

1) The singers need to shut up and sing for the most part. The band needs to rehearse intros and outros and other breakdowns DURING THE MUSIC that give the front line time to chat up the crowd BRIEFLY. (My corporate band averaged almost 50 songs per gig. There was never EVER a time that there was someone talking on stage with no music going on.)

Hell, I'm in an all original band and we do this. We have little transitional parts between songs. And we ALWAYS have a well rehearsed intro and outro for every show, which we change up occasionally.

 

[oldrocker]

...

and the male is a vocal powerhouse with a big stage presence and personality.

...

Is this really an asset for a corporate band? This may go over better in a bar situation than a corporate gig.

 

[JimmyM]

Is this really an asset for a corporate band? This may go over better in a bar situation than a corporate gig.

Absolutely it's an asset for a corporate band! It's probably the biggest asset for a corporate band.

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm playing in a band that's one of the highest paid wedding/corporate bands in my area. I'm only eight months in, they've been around a while - and while there's many things I can say, I'm about to fall asleep so I'll just say this...

There is no space between any of our songs. Ever. None. If I go out of tune or have a monitor issue or something, I have to work it out. It's a challenge at times, but as I get more used to it I see it's value. These guys know what they're doing.

Any audience banter goes on only in instrumental sections of songs... the beginnings usually.

Wish I could say more but I'm fading quickly....

Good night .

 

[oldrocker]

Absolutely it's an asset for a corporate band! It's probably the biggest asset for a corporate band.

OK, I was just thinking for a weeding or corporate gig you wouldn't want an over the top personality
outshining the event. I was thinking along the lines that David Lee Roth probably wouldn't go over well at a corporate gig.

 

[JimmyM]

OK, I was just thinking for a weeding or corporate gig you wouldn't want an over the top personality
outshining the event. I was thinking along the lines that David Lee Roth probably wouldn't go over well at a corporate gig.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]



People want to be just as entertained at corporate gigs as they do concert halls and nightclubs. Probably even more so since they just had to listen to mind numbing speeches about putting things on top of other things.

 

[EastCoastThump]

it's going to come down to two things: 1) Getting the entire band 100% on board

I'd think about it this way instead: you've got to get *a* band's worth of personnel all on board. And if everyone from your current project were eager to play corporate gigs, that would be great—but it's not at all necessary.

If the guitarist and male vocalist don't warm up to the idea of playing corporates, there's no real gain in trying to convince them to enjoy this kind of work if they don't. It's not for everyone. Just find a different guitarist and male vocalists for the corporate band. You'll need to build a subs list in any event, but don't risk everyone else's work by starting the journey already dragging two anchors.