Promoting "competing" bands

[Korladis]

Your guitarist sounds like a bit of a jerk.

Also it never hurts for local bookers, venues, and promoters to think of you as the band of nice people who come out to other bands' shows and are supportive. They do notice which bands' members they see coming to shows as audience members, and who isn't there.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I'm sorry... Where is this comment coming from and why the quotation marks?

Because people here use references to dads playing music as a pejorative.

 

[Korladis]

Because people here use references to dads playing music as a pejorative.

One of the best bands I've ever seen was a married husband and wife, who have kids.

 

[rtslinger]

Our singer recently put up a FB post along the lines of “Rare night off. Went to {venue} to check out {not my band}. What a great show. Definitely check them out if you get a chance.” With a photo and link to their page.

Now our guitarist had a bit of a rant about promoting the “opposition”. This is in small-town cover-band land, where we’re all competing for a dwindling number of venues, but I’m on the side of our singer. Promoting live music on the whole is good for everyone. More people checking out bands at venues, means more venues putting on bands, means more gigs for everyone. It’s the flip side of Dad-Bands playing rubbish blues for free is dragging down the image for everyone.

Discuss……

WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? No really, why would you promote someone else's band playing the same stuff you are? I think he needs to pull it down before people get a look at it. You can be confident in what you do, but why push your fan base off to see another band? Sorry I am ranting for you but if you push your following away from one of your shows to check out another band that = crappy night at a venue looking to stay a float using your draw and a great night for a venue you aren't at, which could result in hey blank band brought in 40 people last weekend, but Bla Bla blues band rocked the house with over 100, so.......... our budget is getting a little tight, so why book the blank band when we can book the Bla Bla blues band instead? and Hey the Blank band had no one last night I don't think we well be hiring them again, but I heard the Bla Bla blues band drew over a hundred people over at the DD dive lounge, let's try to get intouch with them. You need to open your eyes to the big picture. imo

 

[RickyWoo]

Because people here use references to dads playing music as a pejorative.

Well, sure, I suppose. I personally don't care, as long as people are playing music. I don't make time to ridicule people that are the age that I aim to be one day. I plan to be playing bass then too. Hopefully. I just think we can remain civil over a silly comment that was made. Most likely in jest, I'll add.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Another "dad bands" basher. Yay! Maybe you need to up your game if you can't compete with dad bands. Being a "pro" (aka wife has a good job with benefits and likes me around the house) means you need to bring enough to the gig that sets you apart from the "dad bands". The "dad bands" will likely out gear you every single time, so that will p-ss you off too, but in reality - most of the "dad bands" are pretty good, will bring a crowd because they have jobs and friends and school events that extend their social network. And they play songs that people want to hear, not originals that drone on and on and on. In closing, "dad bands" are not dragging anything down - the "pros" just want to sit on their bums and play the same songs they learned back in the 70's.

 

[hrodbert696]

I'm with you, absolutely. Musicians should support each other.

When it comes to booking, I feel I need to have some boundaries. I'm in two bands currently, one where I just play bass and one where I'm the BL (Six Cowards, see sig). If I go out to venues to pursue bookings, I'm doing it for Six Cowards. I know venues that are a way better match for the other band; but I don't want to go talking to a venue and be setting my two bands against each other. I'll let the BL of the other band do bookings for it, unless something simply drops in my lap, not by my initiative. There are venues that I know are definitely a better match for the other band, in which case I'll suggest to the BL he should talk to them. But I want to keep my message clear and not muddy a pitch.

 

[RickyWoo]

I suppose I did miss the double standard in the original post. My bad.

 

[lfmn16]

Another "dad bands" basher. Yay! Maybe you need to up your game if you can't compete with dad bands.

+1

I never 'worry' about the competition. We just try to keep upping our game - practice our individual skills, get tighter as a band, play the songs people want to hear, improve our stage presence. If we can't get jobs, it's not the other bands' fault, it's our own.

We play a lot with other bands. Next month we're doing a benefit in the afternoon opening for another band, then we head to club where they open for us. We all check our egos at the door.

There is a local band that's just not very good, but they play a lot. They play the songs people want to hear, work the rooms, work Facebook, network with other bands, book shows with and FOR other bands, are very involved in the local music scene. They just do everything right and get far more out of their meager talent than bands that can play exponentially better. There is no secret to local success, everyone knows how to do it, they are just too busy or lazy to really work it (myself included).

 

[Morse_77]

Promoting live music on the whole is good for everyone. More people checking out bands at venues, means more venues putting on bands, means more gigs for everyone. It’s the flip side of Dad-Bands playing rubbish blues for free is dragging down the image for everyone.
Discuss……

Promoting the local music scene is always good.
Putting down any kind of local music is always bad.

It may or may not be true about the Dad-Bands bringing down the image, but bad mouthing them will not help, more likely it will hurt the whole music scene.

I'm Canadian, I like people to be nice to each other.

 

[Korladis]

+1

I never 'worry' about the competition. We just try to keep upping our game - practice our individual skills, get tighter as a band, play the songs people want to hear, improve our stage presence. If we can't get jobs, it's not the other bands' fault, it's our own.

We play a lot with other bands. Next month we're doing a benefit in the afternoon opening for another band, then we head to club where they open for us. We all check our egos at the door.

There is a local band that's just not very good, but they play a lot. They play the songs people want to hear, work the rooms, work Facebook, network with other bands, book shows with and FOR other bands, are very involved in the local music scene. They just do everything right and get far more out of their meager talent than bands that can play exponentially better. There is no secret to local success, everyone knows how to do it, they are just too busy or lazy to really work it (myself included).

Indeed. Being easy to work with and known for respecting colleagues and working hard are valued attributes regardless of field.

It's also networking. I don't know much about the cover band scene, but my bands have gotten lots of show offers passed to us from other local bands who couldn't play those nights for whatever reason.

 

[Wandering Bass]

Venue owners undervalue and exploit us for their own gain.
Booking agents undervalue and exploit us for their own gain.
Audiences are fickle and also think music should be free.
Co-workers/family think it's an excessive hobby, or ask when are we going to get a "real" job.
Gear/insurance/transportation/etc are a constant drain.

You'd think the least we'd do is be supportive of each other. Recognize that we're dealing with others who have the same passion as do we, regardless of the genre or perceived level of progress. People should be pulled together by their commonalities, not pushed apart. Snide remarks about "dad bands" and "competing to play Bon Jovi" aren't helping anyone. A community that tears itself apart really shouldn't be sustainable.

Kudos to the guy shouting out for the other band. Kudos to the band giving some recognition to the fill-in guy's regular gig. That's all simply respect and intelligent promotion of the craft as a whole.

 

[Korladis]

Venue owners undervalue and exploit us for their own gain.
Booking agents undervalue and exploit us for their own gain.
Audiences are fickle and also think music should be free.
Co-workers/family think it's an excessive hobby, or ask when are we going to get a "real" job.
Gear/insurance/transportation/etc are a constant drain.

You'd think the least we'd do is be supportive of each other. Recognize that we're dealing with others who have the same passion as do we, regardless of the genre or perceived level of progress. People should be pulled together by their commonalities, not pushed apart. Snide remarks about "dad bands" and "competing to play Bon Jovi" aren't helping anyone. A community that tears itself apart really shouldn't be sustainable.

Kudos to the guy shouting out for the other band. Kudos to the band giving some recognition to the fill-in guy's regular gig. That's all simply respect and intelligent promotion of the craft as a whole.

Indeed. Networking between bands and individual musicians is a good thing, not a bad thing.

A venue around here that treated bands extremely poorly eventually went under partly because no one would play there anymore. No one had made any big public rants about them, but enough musicians were friends and knew each other and regularly went to each other's shows that through word of mouth, almost everyone put it on their "never play here" list.

Bad bookers/promoters have also been run out of town in a similar way, due to word of mouth between bands who know each other and support each other.

 

[darkwasthenight]

I'll promote bands we feel are good but not TOO good, assuming they can offer us something (local shows, pull in an area we haven't hit yet, foot in the door with someone we're wanting to deal with). Same for choosing support acts for our tours - we want someone who puts on an entertaining but overall unmemorable show that will warm the audience up nicely just in time for us to blow them offstage. Only way we're putting on someone AMAZING is if we think they're about to rocket and we're hoping to catch a passing coat-tail.

If I'm putting a show on but not playing then I'm going to try for the best bands I can possibly get; preferably at least two of them will have a rivalry so they're ripping up the carpet trying to outdo the other one. Merc way of looking at things, but I'm running a business and much like Kissinger I have neither friends nor enemies... Stuff like your singer's post is fairly innocuous on the whole and I wouldn't get bent out of shape about it.

 

[Roland GR 88]

WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? No really, why would you promote someone else's band playing the same stuff you are? I think he needs to pull it down before people get a look at it. You can be confident in what you do, but why push your fan base off to see another band? Sorry I am ranting for you but if you push your following away from one of your shows to check out another band that = crappy night at a venue looking to stay a float using your draw and a great night for a venue you aren't at, which could result in hey blank band brought in 40 people last weekend, but Bla Bla blues band rocked the house with over 100, so.......... our budget is getting a little tight, so why book the blank band when we can book the Bla Bla blues band instead? and Hey the Blank band had no one last night I don't think we well be hiring them again, but I heard the Bla Bla blues band drew over a hundred people over at the DD dive lounge, let's try to get intouch with them. You need to open your eyes to the big picture. imo

The big picture is small. As in "small-town cover-band land". Where the drinking public will get out and see whoever is on the bill that night and likely won't remember or care which band was on stage.
The reality is that a local cover band isn't going to pay the mortgage, put your kids in college or cover the cost of your gear most of the time. The goal for 99% of us is providing and having a good time playing tunes we like.
Now, if I could understand the rest of your post there might be more to add but hey .......... nice rant.

 

[Engle]

+1

Most of us would much rather play originals in the basement, or in a club filled with our five closest friends for a big time take of $10 for the night!

Seriously though, I don't understand this putting down cover bands. How about we do our thing and let other people do their without being all judgmental about it. Being in an originals band doesn't make anybody special, and putting other people down because they don't agree with you just makes you a ...

I’ve done both and have to say I’m having way more fun playing covers for audiences. But I’m playing with really good musicians, so we have decent material in our sets.
+1 on being supportive of other bands. I’ll be giving a shout out to next week’s band when we play at our local pub tomorrow night!

 

[Paulabass]

The scene absolutely needs to cross promote. Go see other bands, spread the word if they are good (or even not-so-good)
Petty jealousy over gigs, and backstabbing competition doesn't help anybody. If you want the better gigs- Self promote, practice, and build your own fan base.
There are few industries out there that need to support each other as much as we do.

 

[JRA]

Discuss……

i agree with you and your singer.



i lose nothing when i 'promote' the other guy.

 

[GTx2]

The guitarist needs to stop worrying about what other people do in their own personal free time so much.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I’ve done both and have to say I’m having way more fun playing covers for audiences. But I’m playing with really good musicians, so we have decent material in our sets.
+1 on being supportive of other bands. I’ll be giving a shout out to next week’s band when we play at our local pub tomorrow night!

Good music is good music. I've said it before, "cover bands" include most jazz bands, orchestras, and pit bands, and cover musicians include Darryl Jones, Yo Yo Ma, Lee Sklar, etc.