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Waiving The White Flag Of Surrender

#21
the yeti said:
i thought your band was getting $1k+ a night? playing to packed rooms? is my memory off? is this really because you're still mad at the band leader?
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No, we might have had 1 or 2 decent nights in terms of crowds. All originals bands struggle with crowds.

BTW, the reason every member walked out was due to the band leader being a class A jerk about everything.
 
#22
bluewine said:
It's no secret to those who have followed my posts,I have only had marginal success with the last 2 bands I have played in.

My reason for playing, my number one reason is my love of performing live. With the 2 Originals Bands, while we did ok, neither band had bookings that were aceptable. It's just the way it is with Originals bands.

In lieu of what I have learned over the past few years about our market here, if I expect to play out 3-4 times a month I will have to get with an established working cover band.

While it might not be my choice, I would rather play with a cover band that works every weekend than an Originals band that might be doing music that I actually dig.
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You could certainly play out with an original band every weekend, so long as you dont expect to bepaid for it! Our original band plays at least 4 times a month.
 
#27
bluewine said:
It's no secret to those who have followed my posts,I have only had marginal success with the last 2 bands I have played in.

My reason for playing, my number one reason is my love of performing live. With the 2 Originals Bands, while we did ok, neither band had bookings that were aceptable. It's just the way it is with Originals bands.

In lieu of what I have learned over the past few years about our market here, if I expect to play out 3-4 times a month I will have to get with an established working cover band.

While it might not be my choice, I would rather play with a cover band that works every weekend than an Originals band that might be doing music that I actually dig.
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Blue welcome to the darkside it had to happen sometime it is the only way to get decent paying gigs without have to do the Bride cuts the cake and the hokie pokie lol
 
#31
Well, join the club, bluewine. I'm in two cover bands at this point because that's where the gigs are. I don't wanna go and try to be "making it" again and all that stuff. But, I would like to be playing four or five gigs a month. It's been going well for the past few months since I added the second band, but I fear for when it slows down. I don't want to be gigless. I only have three in September so far, and that's bumming me out already. But, I'm thankful for that at least. There have been times when there would be nothing for a couple of months.

However, with all that said, there's also nothing worse than playing in a band you don't enjoy. I don't really enjoy one of mine, and it looks like it will come to an end soon. Fortunately it's the one with the fewer gigs. Still, I'll miss the pay, and what fun there is to be found in it. Thing is, it's nearly impossible to coordinate more than one band at a time. There's always a conflict that comes up.

Anyway, good luck to ya, pal.
 
#32
Why not play both covers and originals? Currently we have 7 or 8 originals and 35 or so covers. We play enough obscure covers that the people who want originals think we play more than we do. We also rarely announce when a song is original and the cover wanting audience is happy. We try to maintain "our sound", which is very loosely defined, choosing covers that fit us, rather than the usual fare. Good luck Blue, I hope the next band is everything you are hoping for. :bassist:
 
#33
There is a middle ground between covers and originals, too. I think of them as "genre bands"
My old Salsa band played a nice mix of covers and originals.
Any genre whose traditions and conventions are well established can be a decent, marketable thing.
"original rock" is just too nebulous for a booker who wants to know what they're getting.
But "stripped sown, old school funk and soul with horns" or "acoustic delta blues"
is something people can understand and make a $ judgement about.
 
#35
mambo4 said:
There is a middle ground between covers and originals, too. I think of them as "genre bands"
My old Salsa band played a nice mix of covers and originals.
Any genre whose traditions and conventions are well established can be a decent, marketable thing.
"original rock" is just too nebulous for a booker who wants to know what they're getting.
But "stripped sown, old school funk and soul with horns" or "acoustic delta blues"
is something people can understand and make a $ judgement about.
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Last Saturday Night I saw a crappy cover band at the Milwaukee Ale House. They started playing Mustang Sally and the whole place was on the dance floor.That was it for me. People are just stupid when it comes to music.
 
#36
aztomr said:
Why not play both covers and originals? Currently we have 7 or 8 originals and 35 or so covers. We play enough obscure covers that the people who want originals think we play more than we do. We also rarely announce when a song is original and the cover wanting audience is happy. We try to maintain "our sound", which is very loosely defined, choosing covers that fit us, rather than the usual fare. Good luck Blue, I hope the next band is everything you are hoping for. :bassist:
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It might be a cover band that does just that, who knows.

My goal is to land something with a band playing out 3-4 times a month. It would take a real compelling story from an original band to convince me they can provide that amount of show activity.
 
#37
Russell L said:
Well, join the club, bluewine. I'm in two cover bands at this point because that's where the gigs are. I don't wanna go and try to be "making it" again and all that stuff. But, I would like to be playing four or five gigs a month. It's been going well for the past few months since I added the second band, but I fear for when it slows down. I don't want to be gigless. I only have three in September so far, and that's bumming me out already. But, I'm thankful for that at least. There have been times when there would be nothing for a couple of months.

However, with all that said, there's also nothing worse than playing in a band you don't enjoy. I don't really enjoy one of mine, and it looks like it will come to an end soon. Fortunately it's the one with the fewer gigs. Still, I'll miss the pay, and what fun there is to be found in it. Thing is, it's nearly impossible to coordinate more than one band at a time. There's always a conflict that comes up.

Anyway, good luck to ya, pal.
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Thanks man, we are on the same page I just want consistant giging with a band with connections or some sort of gigging /marketing strategy that works.

It will be difficult because bands that are making $$ don't let just anybody in.

Face it guys Originals bands are not as picky.
 
#38
You seem to want to play originals, but from what I've gathered from other posts and threads, you want the adulation and fame of being in a band. I think this is one of those instances in which the chances of getting to have your cake and eat it too is slim to none.

Congrats on not bringing your age into the thread yet, though. :hiding:
 
#39
Problem with Original Bands is the old adage, 'It's not how good you are, it's who you know.' I learned that in the late 70's when local original bands (Berlin) who were no where near as good as us, made the big time, when we never could. If you don't believe me look at the bands they have on Letterman, Leno, O'Brian, Kimbal.
 
#40
oldrocker said:
Hey Blue - how about 2 bands. One coverband for the gigging opportunities and another for the music.

If you can swing it I've also found an additional benefit of 2 bands is that it's easier to dismiss any of the band drama BS for any one of the bands.
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This is what I do. I'm playing in 2.5 right now, a cover band gigging about once a month, an original band that gigs 1-2 times a month, and my old band which is doing "rock and roll booty calls" (playing random shows) every once in a while.
 

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