What's with all the live auditions?

[Beersurgeon]

I am sorry - I really didn't mean to offend you.

I have worked as a contractor and have never had to do anything out of the ordinary to get a gig- I have indeed turned people down who want me to give away my work. I think a band putting together a proper promo kit - website - videos - downloads and so on is due diligence on the band's part.

I have also said that I agree there are times when playing for free is worth while. I even said more power to you. If you are going to get your bluster up with me, why not include the entire substance of what I am saying?

How do I get my gigs? To tell you the truth, I really don't know. They just fall out of the sky. What I do know is that I've played tons - literally hundreds if not thousands - and have rarely needed to play for free. Not never... but rarely. A few of those freebies were real mistakes - the others were usually 'charity' of a sort - and maybe there was one that was a 'free audition' but honestly, I cannot remember ever doing that.

I've been in bands who did the boots on the ground labor and invested in what got us gigs - a good demo - pictures - videos - networking - We've put on our own 'invitation only' cd release parties for strategically selected people who own venues - put them all in one room, fed 'em good food and beer - gave 'em a nice, intimate performance - then ended up on all of their calendars -

I've been in bands who worked with local booking agents - never played an audition night - and only occasionally had to do the reduced fee 'getting to know you' gig...

I've been in bands where we simply found a venue that suits our style, struck up a conversation with the owner and gotten booked just from that.

And - as soon than I post all of this I will probably get a call from someone saying he's got an opportunity - but there's no pay... and I'll probably go do it. But it depends on who is calling, what the opportunity really is and if I feel like putting the effort required into it - because free or not, I still have to drive, lug gear, maybe even learn new music - nothing that I should have to do for free.

Honestly, man - I am not as much of a stick in the mud about this as it seems. I know sometimes it's worth it to play for free - I just don't have a lot of experience that bears that out. I am probably missing something.

Thank you for this post.

I don't want to play for free, just like 99% of the people on this thread. But as a band who has played maybe 10 live shows, and most of those open mics, we have had success with getting paid gigs from open mics. We do our homework but we are learning. My post from earlier was more how it may work, but I am far from an expert. If my answer isn't correct, don't tell me that my band is a bunch of losers who are being used, tell how things worked for you.

I love playing music. And as a band, we truly are about playing live. We have a good PR kit started, we are going to venues checking out place before playing, we meet with folks, we pass out cards and free stuff. We have been together for a year and started playing live last fall with it getting easier to book gigs this spring. We have 2 paid gigs and the audition for the next 4 weeks out. We feel this is good for us since we are an original band.

My post are more about, get out there and make it happens versus emailing hundreds of clubs with your facebook and becoming discouraged that your not getting the responses that you want. When I joined my band, I had no clue at all of how much work really goes into trying to get you band recognized and successful. And again, I don't have all the answers, in fact, I have very few at this point.

I do hope that folks will look at our conversation and get some good info out of it.

 

[RustyAxe]

If I had to, I'd pay a "cover charge" just to get out the door.

Missed this one ... literally LOL!

 

[timbros]

My grandma was a union piano player her whole life.

When I started playing she told me two things......

1. If you want to be a serious musician and you're just starting out, don't turn your nose up at any paying gig. It will make you a better player and you'll learn a lot of different styles and meet a lot of people who will give you more/better gigs.

2. Don't play for less than $50 or you'll screw it up for those of us who are trying to make a living at this. (this was 1984)

I appreciated her insight, and it served me well.

Take Care,
Timbros.

 

[Gaius46]

I did a live audition once when I was 18 and stupid.

I'm neither 18 nor (hopefully) stupid any longer.

 

[aborgman]

The NFL draft is coming up. We have seen all of these kids play on TV at their colleges. We have seen these kids on TV playing for their high schools. So why does every college kid have to go thru the NFL combine to be drafted?

They don't.

A number of the top players don't attend the combine.