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What's your draw?

#21
In our home market of NYC, we're ranging between 75 - 100 per show. That number has actually topped out, because on some occassions we've maxed out the capacity of the rooms. On that front we're probably going to need to start booking some bigger rooms.

But as we're ranging farther out of town, those number are softer. Simply because it takes some time to build things up when you tour regionally. Thankfully, we're starting to get some press. And I'm hoping that's going to have a positive impact on the turnout for the road gigs.
 
#23
Last night , my buddies band packed this little bar that can hold around 50-60 people. The bar owner was so happy about the turnout that he doubled their pay. Probably from fifty a man to a hundred but hey, better than a poke in the eye !
 
#24
Session1969 said:
Last night , my buddies band packed this little bar that can hold around 50-60 people. The bar owner was so happy about the turnout that he doubled their pay. Probably from fifty a man to a hundred but hey, better than a poke in the eye !
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How about this for a kick in the crotch. The last time we played this bar ( we have played there at least 50 times) we drew less people then we did last night and they paid us more. The last time we played there they claimed they rang $2500 in alcohol. Last night they claimed it was $800. I called BS. No friggin' way there were 70 people there and they only rang $800. It is very likely we won't be playing there again.
 
#25
We draw anything from 5 people to 75+. Depends on the situation. We've been very lucky to play clubs with great built-in crowds and with a killer song selection we keep the clubs packed until last call. Obviously we prefer that kind of place where we don't have to worry about pressuring our friends and family to come out every weekend. When we're going into a place that has absolutely no built-in crowd, then we pull out all the stops and promote like crazy. It really comes down to having the right connections. There are always a few people who "control" a large group so if you can get a few of them on board you are set, just don't over do it and burn them out.
 
#26
Richland123 said:
My standard response when a club owner/manager asks if my band has a following is - "Does your club have a following? Do people like to come here whether my band or any other band is here or not?" They don't know what to say because most of them do little or nothing to attract people to their club and do nothing to make their place a good and fun place to eat, drink, etc. Plus, since my band plays a large geographic area, people are not going to travel 1 - 2 hours and we play at many private clubs that are only open to members and guests and we can't "Bring other people" but they just can't seem to figure that out.
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Great attitude, I'll bet that goes over well with the local venues... :rolleyes:
I don't think it's club owner/manager who has an issue figuring things out.

It's a business, and the basic concept of this business is to make the registers ring; take in more revenue than you shell out, just like any business. The only way to do that is to bring people through the door.
If the bar already has a built in crowd, why on earth would the club owner/manager flush hard earned money down the toilet paying YOU, particularly with your above displayed "'tude"?

Once you "figure that out", I'll betcha you will get a lot more bar/club work. ;)
 
#27
edbass said:
Great attitude, I'll bet that goes over well with the local venues... :rolleyes:
I don't think it's club owner/manager who has an issue figuring things out.

It's a business, and the basic concept of this business is to make the registers ring; take in more revenue than you shell out, just like any business. The only way to do that is to bring people through the door.
If the bar already has a built in crowd, why on earth would the club owner/manager flush hard earned money down the toilet paying YOU, particularly with your above displayed "'tude"?

Once you "figure that out", I'll betcha you will get a lot more bar/club work. ;)
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It is a business and most of them (not all) don't know how to run one. That is the issue.

I have been very successful for 43 years in bands and I DO KNOW HOW TO FIGURE IT OUT!
 
#28
Richland123 said:
It is a business and most of them (not all) don't know how to run one. That is the issue.

I have been very successful for 43 years in bands and I DO KNOW HOW TO FIGURE IT OUT!
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Maybe I misunderstood your position on good business vs. bad business, because what I think you are trying to say doesn't sound very "figured out" to me.

I don’t want to accidentally berate your viewpoint so let's clarify;
The way I understand your "point" is that in your opinion the club owner/managers that DO worry about if a band that they are paying draws any people to their establishment are the club owner/managers that DO NOT know how to run a business, while the club owner/managers that are willing to pay you to bring NOBODY to their cash registers are the ones that DO know how to run a business.

Or do I have it backward? :confused:
 
#29
edbass said:
Maybe I misunderstood your position on good business vs. bad business, because what I think you are trying to say doesn't sound very "figured out" to me.
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To clarify. As I stated previously, we play at many "Private Clubs" that are only open to members and guests and we can't "Bring other people" and they can't figure that out.

If a "Private Club" only permits "Their members and guests" to attend dances and events, how does my band or any other band's followers matter when they ARE NOT permitted into the "Private Club" anyway? I could have 500 people in a town who want to see my band but can't get into the club.
 
#30
Richland123 said:
To clarify. As I stated previously, we play at many "Private Clubs" that are only open to members and guests and we can't "Bring other people" and they can't figure that out.

If a "Private Club" only permits "Their members and guests" to attend dances and events, how does my band or any other band's followers matter when they ARE NOT permitted into the "Private Club" anyway? I could have 500 people in a town who want to see my band but can't get into the club.
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Now I’m really confused; who can’t figure out what? Is “they” the club owner/managers? Is what they can’t figure out the fact that private clubs/events don’t allow uninvited guests, or is it that they can’t figure out that if they knew how to run a club they would pay you to bring nobody to their venue?

A lot of the bands I’ve been in over the past 4 decades have actually developed a strong public club following by playing private events and gaining fans that then show up at other public venues and spend money.
In your opinion would you say that’s a “win-win”, or are you of the belief that simultaneously developing a following and playing a lot of private events are mutually exclusive activities?

I’m not trying to dog you, I’m just trying to get my head around a self professed veteran gigging player having this attitude;

Richland123 said:
My standard response when a club owner/manager asks if my band has a following is - "Does your club have a following? Do people like to come here whether my band or any other band is here or not?"
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It’s truly nothing personal but to me that sounds like something a club gigging newb, or someone that truly hasn’t “figured out” how the public club thing works would say.

If I were the club owner/manager I wouldn’t have anything to say either.
I would just end the conversation about you playing my venue right then and there and quit wasting both of our time.
I’m not saying it’s right or good, or that a large percentage of club owner/managers aren’t idiots; a whole lot of them are, and I’m not saying that anyone has to like it.

But… that’s the way the business is; love it or leave it.
 
#32
well, i think if you ever want to have a draw then you must promote yourselves.
it won't happen by magic or without effort for even the best music.

probably your guitarist is in favor of promoting the gigs because it sounds like he's doing all the work to get you gigs and so in a way it's his word that is on the line with your various venues.
by you and your singer not doing anything to promote you are kind of telling your guitarist that you don't value his hard work.

and as an aside, if your singer doesn't care whether anyone comes to see you then you may as well give up now because no one ever will.
(because unfortunately people will only really come out to see your singer, the average person doesn't even know that you play bass and not guitar.)
 
#33
I personally can draw 0-50.

Any time I get 30 myself, I feel pretty good.

Arthur has been responsible for just as many.

Krystal, maybe 20.

So if all three of us are at max, we could bring about 100.

But most times, we aren't going to.

So what should we say our draw is?

If I tell you I can bring 100, and then nobody comes, you're going to really hate me.

Not that I care.
 
#34
To the OP- As the guy in my band who does what your guitarist does, I can tell you there's nothing more frustrating than going all out for your band only to have the other members not care. I think all the time "if the other guys were putting their share into this we would have accomplished so much more". It sucks to put alot of effort into your band only to have that effort countered by the other members lack thereof.
 
#35
We get somewhere between six and fifty. It really depends on what time of day, where, who has seen too much of us already, and so on. I recently played in front of 200 to 250, but that was a different band that doesn't play out much.

The funniest "what's your following like" question came after a small show in a coffee shop. We packed up and decided to go down the street to a bar for a beer together before going home. We had the place to ourselves. The only other person in there was the bartender. We were talking about the show, and the bartender told us they sometimes have live music. So we asked about that, and the bartender said we had to have a pretty good draw for them to be interested. The place was absolutely empty and it was about 9:30 on a Saturday evening. When we left at 10:00 or 10:30, two people had walked in and were still there. That was it. So, if we drew two people, it would double their Saturday evening crowd. It wasn't like we were going to ask for some fee - just a percent of the bar. How do places like that pay the rent?
 
#37
Haven't had steady gigs in years..but when I did..
Draw was up to the venue. Same folks came week after week.

Then you notice a pattern.

Great gigs..great pay at Christmas/ NewYears.

End of January..Christmas bills come due. Our weather vacilates between cold and wet one day to warm and dry next..

If cold and wet..I have been 'paid to practice on-stage' essentially ..with NO CROWD or near ZERO.

Next Holiday..Valentines Day..HUGE SUCCESS..... Followed by diminishing crowds until warm weather..turning hot sets in..full crowds until Christmas specials and repeat.
 
#38
Richland123 said:
My standard response when a club owner/manager asks if my band has a following is - "Does your club have a following? Do people like to come here whether my band or any other band is here or not?" They don't know what to say because most of them do little or nothing to attract people to their club and do nothing to make their place a good and fun place to eat, drink, etc. Plus, since my band plays a large geographic area, people are not going to travel 1 - 2 hours and we play at many private clubs that are only open to members and guests and we can't "Bring other people" but they just can't seem to figure that out.
Click to expand...

I 112% don't believe anyone actually says this to a club owner. As much as we'd all like to.
 
#39
kjpollo said:
My new cover band is just starting out so its hard to tell. The male lead singer recently fronted a different band that had a good following but I dont think he had too many people out at our first show (though to be honest, that show was very much under the radar).
I brought in about 18 people myself but that was mostly family because it was my first ever live gig. That being said, at least the first few times out in our home area, I honestly think I'll bring in close to 2 dozen people each time, just because they are friends and family coming out to see me finally reach a goal. After that, they'll come out (or not) based on how good we are.

Area also matters, I'm really trying to find us a place to play that's way closer to my office. A LOT of my co-workers seem willing to come out and see us, but the places we are playing right now are just too far away for them. Even though CT is a small state on the map, it can take a lot longer than you might expect to get from one place to another.
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Very true. My last band drew between 5-80 people on average, but since it was metal that always varied heavily by venue. Sadly, our largest shows where we played to hundreds of people usually ended up having very few friends or family since we opened for a bunch of national acts, but places like the Webster and Toad's Place aren't in the best neighborhoods, meaning it is kind of a tough sell to get people to come out if they've seen you before in a more convenient place.

Anyone who lives in CT can attest to how difficult it is to get people out. Constant road construction makes trips longer than they need to be.
 
#40
+150 every show so far. This band is relatively new (less than a year) and we're a Rush tribute. We play every two months or so. Every week would just thin out attendance.

2-3 months is a great break from an area. People won't miss your show if they know it means another two months before they can see you again. ;)
 

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