Chili Bass Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi, I'm new to the forums and I hope I'm doing the right thing by starting a new thread. I couldn't find older threads on the following topic.... Does anyone have any experience with web sites that try to get gigs for bands? There are two I've heard about, Gigmasters.com and sonicbids.com. We're a trio just breaking into our local scene and the bad economy has a lot of club/bar owners less willing to try new bands. (We try to hit open mic nights to impress the club owners and then ask for a booking but even that has been more challenging than in the past. Cheers, John (Boston area) http://www.driftsessionband.com/ http://www.myspace.com/driftsessionband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Hi John. I'm in Boston too! I'm a freelance musician and I haven't really done as much of the band thing as I did in my native Florida, but I think I've gotten an ok feel for the goings on around here. There are many factors that will play a part in what you're trying to do. Style of music, target audience, local interest (fans), connections...this is by no means an exhaustive list. What kind of music are you playing? Originals or covers? Do you know other local bands? What's your target audience (age?, pub crawlers?, people eating dinner?, people that go to local shows to get hammered and meet chicks?, etc.)? I wouldn't recommend relying on a website to do your legwork for you. After peeking at your MySpace I see you guys have upcoming gigs in Haverhill, Newburyport, somewhere in BFE Maine and Topsfield. One bit of advice I could give is to try and start close to home and play as many gigs as frequently as you can manage building a local interest. Then you might be able to talk some friends/fans into coming to a show a little further away. Probably the best advice I can give, though, is to go to other bands' shows and get to know them. Get to know the bands you share a stage with and keep in touch with them. In a word...network. "Hey great set. I'd love to open for you guys some time."...etc. Actually, after listening to the tracks you have up, I think you guys might enjoy playing with a band my friend is in. I'm actually on my way out to his birthday party now. I'll give him your MySpace and see if it leads anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 If it were possible to get gigs on the internet, we'd all be rich. You probably will have to make lots of phone calls. Club managers never return phone calls, so you have to keep calling. Then when you do reach them, they want to know if you have a following, in other words will people pay to see you. They will care more about that than what you sound like. Good luck, we all started somewhere. I started by playing high school dances at my high school when I was a teenager and then moved on to a few other nearby schools. One of the parents of another band member got us some gigs playing in VFW halls for the "old people" (people the ages of our parents). And the rest is history. Or as Davio will tell you, Ancient History. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1111000 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Probably the best advice I can give, though, is to go to other bands' shows and get to know them. Get to know the bands you share a stage with and keep in touch with them. In a word...network. "Hey great set. I'd love to open for you guys some time."...etc. I think that is spot-on, brilliant advice. Networking is key, and personal networking is often deeper and richer than networking done solely through the internet. If you make friends with enough bands, you're basically cemented in to whatever music scene you're talking about--that's been my experience, because you've generated a sort of internal buzz about your band or yourself and whenever someone is looking for an artist, you are now on the list of names people think of. Artists looking out for other artists is always a good thing. I think this applies to freelance players too, perhaps even more. If you're playing a lot of freelance bass, make close partnerships with not only drummers, horn players, guitarists, etc., but also other bassists who you can learn from and who may need you to sub (or who you may need as a sub). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Fhtagn Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 You can sometimes find places looking for bands on Craig's List. Or you can post on Craig's List. It's free! Especially if there was a website they could respond to ... Get some business cards with a website address and start spreading them around (local music stores, clubs, etc). Make sure: Someone is in charge of reading and responding to email on a regular basis: preferably someone skills in reading and writing in something other than "text".If they are responding to a phone number, make sure it isn't the phone number of the group stoner with the really stupid voicemail greeting.A good I.S.P. with a good web development program and a clever website address. "www.f**kmym****y" probably won't get you many local bookings. Just remember - your style may be appealing to immature, spoiled, depressed, angst-riddled, teen-aged goth wannabes, but the club owner probably isn't (this was an example). You got to sell the club before you can play the audience. +1 for the above stuff. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 If you're playing a lot of freelance bass, make close partnerships with not only drummers, horn players, guitarists, etc., but also other bassists who you can learn from and who may need you to sub (or who you may need as a sub). This is how I've gotten 99% of my work here. I will say, though, that I've heard the band networks around here leave something to be desired. That shouldn't be a discouragement, but rather a call to action IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Fhtagn Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I will say, though, that I've heard the band networks around here leave something to be desired. That shouldn't be a discouragement, but rather a call to action IMO. Because we are such a small town that has an unusally high percentage of "degreed" people with "degreed" people wages, band networking here consist mostly of sussing out the competition. Freelancing musician looking for a gig, yeah, networking helps. Band trying to get in the door, not so much. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Bass Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks Davio, Flank, Jeremy, and Joshua. I hear the "networking" message loud and clear. Some of the other points we've got covered (B-cards, good people on the booking email/phone response, etc.) Davio: thanks for mentioning our band to your friend. We're certainly open to the possibility of opening for his band. Hope the birthday party was great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.