It is so damned hard to book bands!

[FeatsofClay]

We are doing some live music almost every Friday night ad I simply cannot find decent bands. I can find crappy bands, overpriced bands and busy bands but noone worth shit.

I have musicians approach me who have never played in a public venue who have nothing for me to listen to and won't come to an open mike night to "give it away" who want to play 2 hour gigs for $600. Fuck that.

Anyone here have any insight into this process?

[doc]

What kind of music are you looking to book ?

[FeatsofClay]

What kind of music are you looking to book ?

Name it. It isn't about my taste it is about getting people through the door.

Now, admittedly there is some music I am NOT interested in. Death metal, things with pyrotechnics, blah blah.

I want classic rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz...that kind of thing.

[doc]

Name it. It isn't about my taste it is about getting people through the door.

Now, admittedly there is some music I am NOT interested in. Death metal, things with pyrotechnics, blah blah.

I want classic rock, blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz...that kind of thing.

Country, Celtic, folk ???

Look under band bookings in the phonebook/ internet , there's got to be a booking agent listed that'll help you cull the dreg.

[Pigs in Space]

I seem to recall when I was in a band how hard it was to get decent gigs.

I suppose it might have been the stage show: Would you believe that biting the heads of 12 chickens makes less mess than storing the chickens out back before the act?

[Harry]

Clay, I've never heard of musicians getting away with making such demands in any of the cities I've been involved with bands in. Memphis, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago. Takes some serious balls to make those kinds of demands on the owner of a venue. My first reaction was, how many people live there? I can't recall the population of that area. Sounds like you are dealing with either exceptionally talented, well-traveled musicians, or kids that have never gotten out of their parents basements.

I suspect the latter.

Musicians haven't had that kind of pull in ages, better than 15 years or so. Even the good bands are lucky to get a guarantee, much less a portion of the bar.

I'd suggest spreading the search out a little. You should find real musicians willing to travel for a good gig. Build up some experience, and a little rep. Then when the kids want to come play, offer them part of the door, but make sure you have a minimum. Give them some free beer, maybe some hot dogs if you think they are worth it.

[FeatsofClay]

Well, I don't serve beer or hot dogs, but...

Here is a response I recieved from a band this morning:

I just called the other two guys in XXXX and briefly discussed our options for making our way out there. First off, we never turn down an opportunity to gain a new relationship with a venue, so thanks for finding us! I mapped out “Get sm'Art” and you are out of our area a little bit; a (4) hour commute for my bass player and a (3.5) commute for my guitarist and I. So, unless we fudge our day job schedules a little bit, gigging on a Friday night in your area is going to be tight since making that commute after working a normal day would barely get us to your stage in time. Which brings me to my first question. What time do you start your music up when you have live bands? Saturdays are definitely wide open and a double booking (Fri/Sat) would be a good arrangement for us depending on what time the music starts up Friday. Do you have a house PA? We have a full on professional PA system that we use but we ask many of our new venues if they have one. Some do some dont. If we dont have to lug the PA setup/breakdown time is cut in half. Of course, our fees vary based upon the time/distance from our base of operations, gas expenses, and hotel accommodations. Our typical going rate for a 3 hour show less that 2 hours away is $500. We are wanting to grow our audience and expand our regional coverage so we would be willing to come out there and play until you tell us to stop for $600 ($1200 for both nights) if you can include a meal for the 3 of us and a minimal bar tab. We dont drink a lot, and we always tip our wait staff well. So to wrap this thing up, we would love to work something out with you to bring some blues to West Virginia. It just so happens that, XXXX and I will be staying in Bluefield, WV next weekend (10/20/2007) to see our blues friend XXXX perform in Tazewell, Va. Maybe we could arrange a face-to-face while we're in the area and we could check out your place!

Let me know your thoughts and thanks again for the call.

Talk soon,

This is typical to cheap. Amazing stuff. The band rocks and while I understand travel and expenses I used to drive up to 12 hours to attend craft fairs I paid to get into on the chance I would make some money.

Am I being too picky here? $1200, meals, my PA for two nights?

[doc]

Sounds to high to me, ask a booking agent like I suggested, how about non music acts ie stand-up. poetry reading etc. ?

[FeatsofClay]

Sounds to high to me, ask a booking agent like I suggested, how about non music acts ie stand-up. poetry reading etc. ?

We did a poetry reading here last week. 7 people through the door. Major suckage.

[PWD]

There are 7 people left who'd pay to see a poetry reading?

Quick, either kill the last of them, or tag and bag them for a conservation park somewhere.

[there_is_no_bob]

Well, I don't serve beer or hot dogs, but...

Here is a response I recieved from a band this morning:



This is typical to cheap. Amazing stuff. The band rocks and while I understand travel and expenses I used to drive up to 12 hours to attend craft fairs I paid to get into on the chance I would make some money.

Am I being too picky here? $1200, meals, my PA for two nights?

Sounds like a time for a counter-offer...

[FeatsofClay]

There are 7 people left who'd pay to see a poetry reading?

Quick, either kill the last of them, or tag and bag them for a conservation park somewhere.

No, we don't charge for our Friday night events.

[doc]

No, we don't charge for our Friday night events.

Maybe you should, nothing draws people in like an act you have to pay to see( so they can complain how they were gyped), free doesn't attract

[Jayhawk]

Here's the calendar for one of our mid-range clubs in Asheville. Probably the level you're trying to book at and a good range of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, reggae, etc.

http://www.thegreyeagle.com/calendar/

If you're looking for top dollar acts, you can check out this club's calendar (where the Smashing Pumpkins just recently did a 9-day stint):

http://www.theorangepeel.net/calendar200710.php

Good luck!

[NRG]

These guys kick ass: http://www.papermoonguitar.com/

Course it might exceed the budget to fly them in from San Diego. . .

Get demo disks from people. If they don't have a decent demo disk, you don't want them.

NRG

[FeatsofClay]

Wow, I am getting tons of good stuff here. Thanks.