Band is in trouble... something must give..

[TimR]

It's not your job to bring a crowd with you.

Unfortunately, over here that is exactly why most (struggling) venues hire bands. Really, it wouldn't matter to them if you plugged in and played or not; they just want you to advertise their venue to your family/friends/fans and bring a crowd. They are paying to advertise using your email/MySpace/Facebook/Twitter/etc. mailing lists.

 

As I posted before, one venue has gone so far as to say they will pay anyone a percent of sales if they bring 20+ people to their place. You don't have to do any more than that.

 

Unfortunately that's the nature of a recession. In boom times everybody is out spending money on entertainment, eating, drinking, partying. New bars and restaurants open every day, more people are employed and the whole thing ramps up and you wonder what happened. In a recession the first to get cut back on is the entertainment. The bars will go under and musicians will not be busy.

 

If he has pulled you from NYE maybe he is thinking of pulling NYE. Maybe he is going to drop all live music and he is really struggling.

 

If he says you are good and didn't say he was dropping you because you didn't pull a crowd then you have to believe him.

 

You should get a clearer picture when you speak to the other bands.

 

I still think that as long as people don't leave when you play you are doing OK. I used to spend ages worrying over whether we were going down well, whether we were putting on a show etc. Eventually you worry so much that you stop enjoying yourself, and in the end that's really what you are doing it for.

 

You wouldn't get rebooked unless you were good. Not everyone expects a big show. A lot of people go to see live music because they like live music.

[hotlix86]

It seems to me the message is clear. If you are losing gigs because there is no crowd then why in the world wouldn't the band step up and do some advertising? How much does it cost to copy a flyer? If you don't put forth the effort you can't whine about the results.

 

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Unfortunately that's the nature of a recession.

 

I heard we are out of the recession. I still think it has more to do with "social refrom" and govermnent meddling than money. It's just no damned fun to go out anymore.

 

For the price of three months of weekly live music, I can get four big screen TVs, DirectTV's NFL Network, and something to deep fry horrible, bonless chicken wings in and call me a sport's bar. If you ain't going to drink, at least you can graze and watch a game.

[Ross Brown]

It seems to me the message is clear. If you are losing gigs because there is no crowd then why in the world wouldn't the band step up and do some advertising? How much does it cost to copy a flyer? If you don't put forth the effort you can't whine about the results.

 

We do flyers, we do facebook, we do several other things. Nice flyers are expensive, they don't work.

 

Beating a dead horse here but I turn it around and say if a bar isn't drawing a crowd why don't they step up and do some advertising? They can't whine if they don't put forth the effort. I suspect the answer probably lies somewhere in between...

 

[TimR]

We may be out of recession but we're not exactly in a boom period.

 

The bar owner is in a much better position to advertise what is basically his business.

 

Our business is music and we advertise to the people who will be paying us directly. ie Bar owners.

 

The bar owner is not doing us a favour by letting our band play there so that we can play to our friends. He is paying us for our service which is providing entertainment for his customers.

 

If I wanted to play to my friends I'd hire a venue and sell tickets. If I'm going to be promoting my band I'll do it properly.

 

Printing a bunch of promo posters with blank spaces where the bar owners can write the name of the bar and the date you will will be playing is simple enough.

 

There is a pub near me that has a blackboard which they chalk the name of the next band and the date on. They never put this out until the morning of the gig which seems a bit strange to me. They could easily pin a poster to the board and have it out all week.

 

The bar owner could have a calender up with all dates and the names of the bands playing in the next month outside the bar and inside the bar. It doesn't take much effort. He's being lazy and had it easy for too long. Times are hard he's got to do some work now.

[TimR]

Ross, I think you feel that you need/want to freshen up the set but think the other guys don't want to put the effort in.

 

I had exactly this with my current band, they were too comfortable playing the tunes they knew and loved. I started with 2 tunes that were very simple and fun to play. It turns out that the other guys just needed a little bit of fresh stuff and a reminder how much fun and how easy it is and we've now done 6 new tunes in the last 3 weeks.

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

The bar owner is not doing us a favour by letting our band play there so that we can play to our friends. He is paying us for our service which is providing entertainment for his customers.

 

The corner "hole in the wall" doesn't care if my friends come out to see us or not. They would rather my friends come and drink ... lots. They make their money on regulars. And they want my band to play four sets for $200 and bring my PA to boot. I'm background music. The TV over the bar has CMT on it. Nobody is really listening and they don't tip.

 

The "club" down the road doesn't make its living off regulars. They want to know what kind of a crowd I can bring in. They buy radio spots on the local music stations. They have a sign out front. They charge a cover. They pay between $400 and $600 and have a house PA that smokes mine. And if you can only draw $15 people, they don't ask you back. The customers arrive in groups with a Designated Driver. They have ESPN on the TVs around the bar and the customers don't tip.

 

The "place" in the strip mall makes its living off the hoppers. They come in and stay if they like the band (and drinks) and leave if they don't. The PA is harsh, but not so harsh that I have to bring mine. They pay $400 unless its slow then try and get you out at midnight and offer $300 if you leave early. They turn the TV off and the customers generally tip.

 

There aren't as many hoppers as there used to. Sad part is the last one is my favorite type of venue to play.

 

I am not ready for the "stadium" yet.

[Eric VB]

It seems to me the message is clear. If you are losing gigs because there is no crowd then why in the world wouldn't the band step up and do some advertising? How much does it cost to copy a flyer? If you don't put forth the effort you can't whine about the results.

 

We do flyers, we do facebook, we do several other things. Nice flyers are expensive, they don't work.

I have asked several 20something relatives how they decide where to hang out. None of them said "because some guy handed me a flyer" or "I saw a flyer posted in a bar I went to once". (Where else are you going to hang flyers in a town with no pedestrian traffic, no record stores, no places where music lovers hang out?)

 

Take out an ad in the weekly? Nobody reads the weeklies anymore.

 

There are only two things that get 20somethings to go out: (1) a friend of theirs is in a band or (2) a friend texts where he/she is going out that night.

 

I've been to the packed hip hop club in a college town; all the college kids dancing to the DJ.

 

I've seen lines of 20somethings outside "the place to be" bar. Live music? Of course not.

 

Yes, older people still go out to bars. They just don't drink as much (usually). I went to a bar where the house band was a local legend from the early '60s. He and all his fans were older, and after 11:00 pm everyone went home. (I hear this from older patrons, too: "Why doesn't the band start earlier than 9:00 pm?".)

 

And yes, some younger people will go out to hear "old people's music" and live bands at their local dive, but they don't go out every weekend. In order for a band to build a following from that group they need to play the same dive every week for an extended period of time. The bars don't want to work that way; they want to rotate bands so you play there at most once a month. You got stuck with Mother's Day and your band didn't draw? Too bad; you're canceled.

[Eric VB]

If I wanted to play to my friends I'd hire a venue and sell tickets. If I'm going to be promoting my band I'll do it properly.

This is exactly the advice I got from a 20something musician. He said they find a place and basically throw a "kegger". (Admission is good for all the beer you can drink from the kegs bought by the band.) They make more money this way than playing a bar.

 

Keggers (without a band) work for college frats. The problem is it only takes one incident for (our American) legal system to eat you alive. When you play at a bar they are liable for the drunks. They have insurance for that. When you host a kegger you are liable for the drunks. Someone ends up injured/dead and you are financially ruined. (Also, it is illegal here to serve a minor -- anyone under 21. Yet keggers probably appeal most to the under 21 crowd.)

[picker]

How many others here have found Facebook and My Space worthless for advertising gigs? If you haven't, what are you doing that the rest of us aren't? What is your process, how do you use them?

[Ross Brown]

How many others here have found Facebook and My Space worthless for advertising gigs? If you haven't, what are you doing that the rest of us aren't? What is your process, how do you use them?

 

Yes!! tell us.... Doesn't seem to work...

[Eric VB]

How many others here have found Facebook and My Space worthless for advertising gigs? If you haven't, what are you doing that the rest of us aren't? What is your process, how do you use them?

MySpace is pretty much dead. The only people left are bands, venues and other people hawking their stuff. (It is still useful to host demos for venues/clients to hear.)

 

Facebook works, but works better if you take a personal approach. People don't come out to see bands; they come out to see people they know. It sure seems like more people respond when I say "I'm playing this Saturday" on my personal FB page than when I post the same event on the band's FB page.

 

I haven't had much luck with Twitter yet, but we make it available for those who prefer it over FB.

 

None of the online stuff will bring random people to a show. You have to go out and meet people in your day to day life, make personal connections and "friend" them online.

 

This is the same problem the smaller venues are having. They don't have any good advertising options. They don't have thousands of FB friends so they turn to bands who can draw instead.

 

The problem with advertising on the radio, in the weeklies or at the venue is you end up being one of 8+ bands on the bill for the month that the general public has never heard of. Only if you're a big draw band with name recognition like '80s-LZ's band will it work.

[picker]

Facebook works, but works better if you take a personal approach. People don't come out to see bands; they come out to see people they know. It sure seems like more people respond when I say "I'm playing this Saturday" on my personal FB page than when I post the same event on the band's FB page.

 

This has worked for you? How many contacts do you have on your personal page as opposed to your band page? Out of that number, how many have showed up?

 

 

It seems logical that the more contacts you have in the area you are gigging, either at home or on the road, the more likely you are to generate any sort of response. But there is a limit to how many contacts you can have on Facebook, so that seems pretty weak from the get go. I've seen that you can buy advertising on Facebook that supposedly will reach a large audience, and you can even target the demographic groups (to a degree) you want to reach. Has anybody gotten any play that way?

[BargeOn]

Speaking not as a player but one of the crowd:

 

What got me to follow one of the local bands (asside from the fact that they are damn good) was that I talked to the players. Or rather, they talked to me. Made themselves available. Personal contact. Gave me a couple band bumper stickers. (you can bet I rememberd that, even if I didn't put them on my car)

 

So it was the contact with the band, their willingness to step into the crowd and a token gift that re-enforced the band name.

 

The point being that it's not just the music that gets the following, it's good salesmanship, which happens one-on-one.

 

It's why any sales guy will tell you to give them something to remember you by.

[Bennardo]

Ideas:

1) Always dress professionally (color themes, outfits, etc) Even bar patrons notice this, recognize you, and appreciate it.

2) Create a "contest" to play a wedding gig. Post a flier for a "contest" at the bridal shop where the wedding couple "wins" a free live band to play at the reception. Then play it for FREE: FREE exposure, wonderful environment, and guanateed referrals.

3) Hire a female singer, preferably one can work the crowd. Males instrumentalist who "also sing" are cheaper than guitar picks.

4) Encourage patrons to tip the waiters and buy another round. Waiters and bar owners will love you for boosting business.

5) Play a free gig at the park, outdoor festival, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, schools. It will not cost you much more that a gig, pays the same as practice, it's in a great environment, and referrals are a-plenty.

 

 

[Dan South]

We are tight, we play well and we can keep a crowd. But we have no following.

 

It's not just about playing well. You have to have something that people want.

 

Regardless of how good you are - and I'm not questioning that - is your music what people want to hear in the places where you play? Ponder that with absolute honesty for a moment. If you played something different - different songs or different genre - would more people from that area come out to the club? If you played the music that you play now but played it in a different location, would that attract more people?

 

Once you match your material to your audience, maybe come up with some sort of catchy gimmick to get people talking about you. Maybe you all wear suits. Or baseball uniforms. Or hockey masks. Maybe you all dress like mobsters or painters or FBI agents or bikers or farmers or ... whatever. Maybe your front man can juggle and tell dirty jokes between songs. Maybe you draw lots and somebody has to do a shot in the middle of the set.

 

Don't scoff. Pete Townshend destroyed guitars onstage. Jimi lit them on fire. Some blokes called The Beatles came on stage with funny haircuts. Gene Simmons put on a crazy costume and wagged his huge tongue around. David Lee Roth belted out banshee screams while Eddie tapped in a way that no one had ever seen before. Devo dressed like crazy little space nerds. Madonna, well, you know...

 

The point is that they all did something new and different, and they all got noticed. They were also really, really, really good. But if you have the "GOOD" part down, now think about the "INTRIGUING" part. Think about what people are going to say about you when they talk to their friends about the band that they saw last night. "Wow, that bass player played that Pearl Jam song note for note" probably isn't going to win you rooms full of fans. After a hard day at work (assuming they even have work) nobody in that club cares. "Wow, the whole band dresses in shorts like Angus Young" might make people curious enough to check you out.

 

And then you have to do whatever it takes to make them very, very happy. That includes playing what the audience wants to hear, not just what the band wants to play.

 

Good luck. I hope that all of your 2011 gigs will be packed!

 

[J. Dan]

A lot of good posts here - most of which I agree with....

 

You ARE responsible for bringing the crowd - that's why they hire you, no other reason, period. They are running a business, so are you. You need to both maximize profit in a mutually beneficial way. Forget about how good you are (hopefully being good makes it easier to grow a following, but other than that, the bar could care less).

 

Yes, you have to stand out, differentiate yourself, put on a good show to go with the good music. There are tons of technically good bands out there who are just boring to watch and sound like the other 50 bands who are playing the same songs they are. People go out to SEE a band, not HEAR the band, or else they'd listen to the CD or go someplace with a DJ.

 

In my experience, almost all bar managers/owners act impulsively and sometimes irrationally. It doesn't matter that we are successful and a big name locally. We deal with the same shit, believe me - dealing with it right now. We had a club who has been insisting for a long time that he wanted us as much as possible, house band, don't book any more dates, I want all your open dates, you guys are the best fit for my place, yadda, yadda. So we ended up with something ridiculous like either one or two nights a weekend for 6 out of 8 weeks at this place. In 2011 we had a full weekend every month booked. Well, surprise, surprise - the fridays didn't draw what they had hoped, and they felt it was detracting from our saturdays - we dropped below the #1 draw. So all of a sudden, he's cussing us out saying we were costing us money, cancelling gigs - no fridays from here on out - the next of which is THIS friday, and we found out today. Never mind we've been his #1 draw consistently for the last couple years. We have no problem filling days given enough notice. We can fill 2011, but we're out Friday. We're not going to burn the bridge, he'll come around. But we did cut 2011 down to 1 Saturday every other month at this venue. We'll fill the rest easily. Fridays are harder to fill - they are just slow around here for some reason. One club isn't going to do Fridays at all in 2011, he's got a DJ.

 

The clubs ARE hurting with the economy. If you CAN bring a crowd, it's a challenge just to get them to look at the actual numbers to realize that it's profitable for them to spend the money for you. They think because business is down, they can't afford you, when they SHOULD look at what they profit on nights you play. But that gets back to the fact that it's business, and you DO have to make them money - more than other bands. Whether you're a $300 band or a $3000 band doesn't matter - net profit to the bar at the end of the night matters.

 

OK, on promotion and such: I've abandoned the flyers at Cardinals games and such. Not focussed enough. 80% of those people are not target audience = wasted effort. Facebook does well for us. We have around 1100 "friends", and mostly I just post our gigs for the weekend as a comment on the wall, but if it's more of a special occasion I'll do an event. We have a huge email list as well, which I attibute to a lot of the successful marketing. It's very targeted because people only sign up if they WANT to get emails from you. A few keys: 1) keep the emails limited in size and frequency - no more than one a week, not big files/graphics - text with maybe a small logo or something, and try to make them entertaining in a way that is pertinent to your show. 2) be vigilent in providing an unsubscribe link and immediately removing them if they wish

 

Nice posters can be cheap. I found a small local printer that will print a dozen 11x17 full color posters for like $10, which is plenty to plaster all over a place - again, focused, put them 1-1/2 week prior to your gig at the venue you're playing. When people are checking out the band the weekend before, they'll see you're going to be there.

 

Generally, create a buzz. There are a lot of ways to do it. Find your niche and do it.

 

On pay.... did you say $75 a head? For that, I guess I wouldn't expect you to bring much of a crowd. Decide what you want to make, and then put your show together based on making that - even though you don't yet. If you do it, sooner or later your pay will catch up to the level of performance. You'll never make more than your performance level, you have to exceed that level to eventually increase your pay. We generally pull about $420-$450 a head and played over 90 shows in 2010.

 

Now - one other conversation I had with our agent (we have an exclusive agent, btw), is that he feels that between the economy and the natural ebb and flow of the music scene, a lot of the large venues will fold and things will go more to the smaller local bars with small acts for a while. He's recommending we focus on casinos, corporate, festivals, private.

 

Sorry for the long post - hope this is helpful.

[Ross Brown]

Great frickin' post! Thanks.

[Ross Brown]

We played a Halloween gig. We all dressed up in costume and had a good crowd. The venue did almost no advertising beyond it was also a fundraiser for a local fire company. We played great. Here is my take on the night though.

 

I dance around and bop to the music. I am not an entertaining dancer but there is some movement. Guitar player plays great, doesnt move much, if at all. The front man, dressed up as a skeleton (it was cool looking) stands there and sings. He never moves. I caught him a couple of times just standing there staring out into the crowd, expressionless. He speaks to the crowd twice. Every gig after the second song he says welcome to the [venue name]. We are [band name]. If you are here to listen to some good old fashion rock and roll, you came to the right place. He says this same f*****g thing every gig. Also, we play classic rock, not good ole fashion rock and roll.. At some point in the evening he will say now its time for me to get my shameless plug in. checkout our web site at www dot [name of website]. Thats it. Thats our show.

 

At the break, the venue owner wanted to play her own break music through the house system. My son commented the next day (and I thought it at the time) that the juke box was just as good as your band dad. He was right, except I thought it was better. Made the place seem more happening.

 

The previous posts really nail down some of the issues. I can not get any of these points across to the band. I am getting grief because I said I dont want to play the same dives year after year. I suspect the end is near. I doubt we will have many gigs next year. We played nearly 50 shows this year. We had 9 regular venues. Of the 9, 5 have quit booking us. No gigs booked for next year yet. I expect that over the next couple of weeks one of three things will happen. 1) they will find another bass player that doesnt expect the band to grow and mature professionally. 2) Ill will quit and start looking for another band 3) a miracle will occur.

 

[J. Dan]

Ever videotape your show and watch it back as a band? You have to do a lot more moving and over excentuate everything on stage in order for it to be seen in the crowd. A lot of times, you might feel like you're really getting into it and really moving, only to watch it back on tape and see that you're basically standing there tapping your foot and nodding your head.

 

Tape can be telling - maybe if the other guys see themselves you could make your point to them.

 

Of course, I ended up in this band for the same reason. My old band was an 80s band and was around before this one. I always said we needed to dress up and do more props and stuff on stage - work on the show. These guys came along and imediately took off - full schedule. After a while things got tense in my old band and I started looking at the musician classifieds, and found that this band was looking for a keyboard player. Problem solved.

[Eric VB]

At the break, the venue owner wanted to play her own break music through the house system. My son commented the next day (and I thought it at the time) that the juke box was just as good as your band dad. He was right, except I thought it was better. Made the place seem more happening.

Break music is critical; it should not be an after thought.

 

* You have to play the right music for the venue. Not every venue you play is going to want to hear the same break music. Find out what the regulars want to hear.

 

* You have to have a good sound system. Some venues have invested a lot of coin on a great builtin sound system. A small, untuned, vocals-only PA will not sound nearly as good. (If your sound system isn't as good sounding when playing your break music how do you think it sounds while you're performing?)

 

* Why not just let the venue handle break music? Typically the person controlling it has his or her hands full waiting on customers so the party comes to a screeching halt when the music stops when you go on break. And then there is that awkward moment standing on stage waiting for the break music to stop before you start the next set. (Also, you can inform band mates what the cue song is for them to get back on stage.)

 

* Get some lights. Smaller venues don't have any house lights. Even the guys who are statues on stage appear more interesting and animated when the lights are moving and flashing on them. If you're a dance band you need lights on the dance floor to entice patrons to dance. This will help your break music go over better, too.

 

* Make more of your breaks. You're supposed to be mingling with the patrons anyway, so why not cut up the rug on the dance floor? Learn the popular line dances and lead them. (This is very effective for DJs, too.)

 

As far as a jukebox being more entertaining than a live band, well, that's where your stage show is supposed to give you an advantage, right?

[J. Dan]

EXCELLENT points by Eric.

 

I also thought of one other thing regarding promotion. Even if something like hanging posters doesn't net you many more people, it's still worthwhile because it shows the venue that you are out promoting it. If you have a slow night, you're much more likely to get a pass if they feel like you're out there trying to build their crowd and promote their business. We played several new clubs that started out with no crowd of their own where this was key. I was religious about hanging posters and really pushing the "new club", promoting it, and they knew it and stuck with us even though the first few months were dead and they were struggling financially to get off the ground. But it paid off and we're packing them in now.

[Bottom End]

Great post, 80's-LZ, very concise and easy to understand summary of your experience. Hopefully I'll get to learn from your experiences soon.

 

Ross, I hope it works out for you. It sounds like you care, and the others don't. You have a lot of ambition and experience, maybe it's time to break out and do something new. You have the contacts with all the clubs, you probably know other frustrated musicians that want to play, I'll bet you can turn all that into a new and successful band. Good luck

[Ross Brown]

I agree and have either thought of these things or been told by this fine group. I am alone in the band. They don't see it, they won't see it and I can't do it alone.

 

We have videotaped our boring ass show. They didn't get it. Our sound system is a crappy vocals only deal. They have no intention of a better one or heaven forbid a sound guy with good equipment. They do no work for the band. They spend no money for the band. I believe I'll be moving on shortly.... We have no light show, just a stick with 4 flashing lights. Annoys me and the people whose eyes it shines into.

 

Unless something changes (and it won't) I will probably just finish out the year (4 gigs).

[TimR]

...

 

The previous posts really nail down some of the issues. I can not get any of these points across to the band. I am getting grief because I said I dont want to play the same dives year after year. I suspect the end is near. I doubt we will have many gigs next year. We played nearly 50 shows this year. We had 9 regular venues. Of the 9, 5 have quit booking us. No gigs booked for next year yet. I expect that over the next couple of weeks one of three things will happen. 1) they will find another bass player that doesnt expect the band to grow and mature professionally. 2) Ill will quit and start looking for another band 3) a miracle will occur.

 

Why do you expect them to grow and mature? I'm guessing they're happy doing what they are doing. Occasionally they might make the right noises to get you off their backs. I would relax and kick back and continue doing what you are doing. As the gigs dry up they might start to ask questions, if they don't then you'll know where you stand.

 

In the mean time find and join a band that are already doing corporate gigs and know how it works or start one up with musicians who want to do that sort of thing.

 

The last band I was in wanted to do bigger and better things but didn't want to put the effort in and start off at the bottom. They just expected people to book them because 'they were better than the other bands'. I don't know how they thought people would know about us though. They're still bumbling along playing gigs for friends and the occasional free gig. I now realise that really that's all they ever wanted to do...

 

Getting people to be honest is the hard bit.

 

I'm off to practice tonight and may have to have the "How much are you expecting to gig" talk as we've done 5 gigs this year having gone through 3 singers (not our fault). But now we're up to 2 quality one hour sets. The guitarist pulled a face last week when I suggested we were now ready to get a load of pub gigs.....

 

We'll see..... but my advert for Bass Player Available is already printed.

[hotlix86]

Without rambling on about myself and my gigs to no point and no end and without going over the obvious suggestions yet again, I will tell you what I read between the lines.

 

You hate them. You need to quit.

[EddiePlaysBass]

I agree and have either thought of these things or been told by this fine group. I am alone in the band. They don't see it, they won't see it and I can't do it alone.

 

We have videotaped our boring ass show. They didn't get it. Our sound system is a crappy vocals only deal. They have no intention of a better one or heaven forbid a sound guy with good equipment. They do no work for the band. They spend no money for the band. I believe I'll be moving on shortly.... We have no light show, just a stick with 4 flashing lights. Annoys me and the people whose eyes it shines into.

 

Unless something changes (and it won't) I will probably just finish out the year (4 gigs).

 

Ross, I am saying this to you as a friend, so do not take it the wrong way ... You are starting to sound like me.

 

:grin:

[Groove Mama]

I agree and have either thought of these things or been told by this fine group. I am alone in the band. They don't see it, they won't see it and I can't do it alone.

 

We have videotaped our boring ass show. They didn't get it. Our sound system is a crappy vocals only deal. They have no intention of a better one or heaven forbid a sound guy with good equipment. They do no work for the band. They spend no money for the band. I believe I'll be moving on shortly.... We have no light show, just a stick with 4 flashing lights. Annoys me and the people whose eyes it shines into.

 

Unless something changes (and it won't) I will probably just finish out the year (4 gigs).

Ross, I am saying this to you as a friend, so do not take it the wrong way ... You are starting to sound like me.

Ouch! hahaha

[Ross Brown]

I agree and have either thought of these things or been told by this fine group. I am alone in the band. They don't see it, they won't see it and I can't do it alone.

 

We have videotaped our boring ass show. They didn't get it. Our sound system is a crappy vocals only deal. They have no intention of a better one or heaven forbid a sound guy with good equipment. They do no work for the band. They spend no money for the band. I believe I'll be moving on shortly.... We have no light show, just a stick with 4 flashing lights. Annoys me and the people whose eyes it shines into.

 

Unless something changes (and it won't) I will probably just finish out the year (4 gigs).

Ross, I am saying this to you as a friend, so do not take it the wrong way ... You are starting to sound like me.

Ouch! hahaha

 

That's just mean!!!

[Ross Brown]

Without rambling on about myself and my gigs to no point and no end and without going over the obvious suggestions yet again, I will tell you what I read between the lines.

 

You hate them. You need to quit.

 

Yep....