So can you pack the place ?

[LowActionHero]

Of course they like it when you bring people. And I DO invite friends, But don't feel that's my job. My job is to KEEP people there - they stop in for a beer and (hopefully) say 'I like the band, think I'll stick around for one more song.' Or they want to dance and stay with us rather than bar hop down the road. I don't see how the owners expect more turnout based on the band, but they do. We do have a few regulars that show up wherever we play, but I'm not picking up strangers on the way to the gig.
I dunno.
/rant mode off

(I don't live in the REAL world)

 

[dannylectro]

My band looks for a balance - a place with a built-in bar audience, at a place where we know our fans will go. The owners will see that a) we kept the regulars in their seats, and b) we brought in our own people. Keys for success? Good food, parking, good sound, not too far from home.

 

[JimmyM]

Am I the only one that wished musicians played music, promoters promoted and club owners stayed out of the way?

Good luck with that one!!!

 

[GlennRH]

The number who attend is important, but it's the driver for something more important than the quantity of people who attend: the quality of the experience your band creates in the room. This drives another essential factor: alcohol sales.

Put on a great show. Treat every gig like you're cool as cucumbers and like it's a thrill to be there playing your best for a great audience.

As you do this, make it really easy and natural for people to stay longer, order another pitcher, and go back out on the dance floor, smiling, clapping, dancing, and deciding to come back again.

At the end of the night, the bar manager will smile while tallying up the sales and decide to book you again for another good night.

 

[Charlzm]

Good luck with that one!!!

That's how "real" bands do it, as in, bands more successful than any I have been in.

 

[BAG]

I'm not even talking about making a profit ... I'm talking about just covering the expense!

I know exactly what you are talking about..... here's a thread that explains a lot about it.

 

[Watchootognbout]

What I endeavor to play will not pack the place.
This is why I don't and cannot play in a band.
The general populace wants a certain type of music and entertainment.
I don't like or play that music.
The less the population has a need for what some of us offer,the less we are needed.

A downward spiral.

 

[Ekulati]

Ah yes, this is just the age-old problem, err.....WAIT: this is a new problem, as in, sometime over the last 15, 20, 25 years, things have dramatically changed.

Back in "my day," (and I'm "only" 59), I was in bands playing venues that prided themselves on offering quality local live (cover) music. We were NEVER asked by bar owners how many butts we could put in seats. We WERE asked at times, and evaluated on how GOOD we were, because again, the venue had some pride and knew the connection between quality entertainment and the bar tab.

Now, a million "channels" (choices for the entertainment dollar), internet, DJs, "reality TV," etc. etc. etc. A very different world. Praise to the few old school venues who offer quality live human beings playing actual instruments. Maybe the "club" (i.e. bar) scene will become like much classical music, i.e. a museum thing that survives on artistic grant funding.

 

[40Hz]

It's reaching the point where bands need to start seriously finding - or creating - alternative venues instead of depending on bars. Because bars are becoming increasingly unworkable places for live music. Their real business is selling a legal drug. Not providing a gathering place for entertainment.

Maybe it's time we all stop kidding ourselves and admit the days of bar bands, like all day movie matinees, are pretty much over. Time to get outside the box we let ourselves get stuffed into, and start thinking differently.

 

[micguy]

I play in churches. We're responsible for getting the folks hanging out in the lobby into the auditorium. We sometimes go from 20 people to 500 in a song and a half.

Not sure if it's entirely us, or if the shots of grape juice and cubes of bread are part of the draw, but...it works either way.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

If the bar can't draw people without a band then they lean on the band to be the draw, that's just how it is. But who goes to a bar just to see a band these days? Your friends will only come to see you so many times.

Interesting. I see the same faces returning at a lot of our gigs, not necessarily because of us, but because it's a scene. I think Redhead is a pretty good band, but I know a lot of people see us mainly as a reason to get together and hang out. This is not a complaint! We know we're in the booze-selling business, and I am forever grateful that there are so many people who've decided we make good background noise for their weekly party.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

If you don't bring a crowd, why would anyone pay your band $500 to play on stage? I, the imaginary bar owner, could just play canned music and sports events over the TV and keep that money. I think reality is that a successful band will be able to entertain the regular crowd *and* bring new people that are buying drinks, etc.

Bands don't want to pay to play, but they don't want to bring value to the bar owner either.

 

[RoadRanger]

Interesting. I see the same faces returning at a lot of our gigs, not necessarily because of us, but because it's a scene. I think Redhead is a pretty good band, but I know a lot of people see us mainly as a reason to get together and hang out. This is not a complaint! We know we're in the booze-selling business, and I am forever grateful that there are so many people who've decided we make good background noise for their weekly party.

Congrats! So many bands and musicians are delusional about their place in the food chain .

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Congrats! So many bands and musicians are delusional about their place in the food chain .

Knowing we have a lot of regulars, we are always adding to and subtracting from the set list. And--proof that we are not artistes--we'll add a song none of us likes if we think it will get a good crowd reaction. Our BL was at another band's gig last week and saw the crowd get hot for Tom Petty's "American Girl," of all things. So it'll be in the repertoire in another week or so. And eventually, we'll figure out how to have fun with it anyway. If nothing else, it will be interesting to have a female voice tell the story.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Taylor Swift covered it - you may have people more familiar with the song because of that.

 

[Session1969]

When asked this question, I'll respond with something like "we cant guarantee a number, but I can tell you we promote the hell out of our show on FB, email, posters, etc. -- we had 40+ friends/family at our last show, which is typical."

In my experience, the bar owners/managers who ask this question within the first 30 seconds are businesses that already have a foot in the grave. These are the places that can't be bothered to put up the posters you dropped off, or list their events on Facebook. It's always "how much do you charge and how many people will you bring?" I understand venues need to find a balance between cost and quality. But in the long run, what good does it do to hire cheap, sub-par bands -- who may bring in a lot of friends and family (who may or may not fill the till) -- if it drives away your regular customers and earns you a reputation for having lousy music?

Maybe it's different in your neck of the woods, but it's becoming pretty common around here. It's hard not to get cynical about the whole thing. I have yet to talk to a venue that said "tell me about your band...we always have a packed house and we only hire the bast acts."

Or maybe the bar owner just wants to know what kind of draw the band has ? I mean, it is his/her business, right ? I don't see how a bar owner has one foot in the grave by asking an important , qualifying question.

 

[HauntedDave]

Same as the slime ball promoter asking you to guarantee 40-50 pre-sale tickets to be sold. Meanwhile, offering you nothing in payment other than the "opportunity" to play his show. Manure.