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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
OT: Booking Question
OT: Booking Question
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LSC
648 posts
Jun 19, 2014
3:46 PM
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Is it common practice in this country for venues and players simply not to reply to inquires or gig offers or is it just the town I live in or is it just me? This has occurred with venues we've played at and done well for, venues who said they would like to book us but I need to call back for whatever reason, as well as the usual venues one is trying to break into.
I've successfully done booking for decades in many towns and three different countries but never encountered this idea of ignoring someone as a policy. Kind of baffles me.
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LSC
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BluesJacketman
152 posts
Jun 19, 2014
3:50 PM
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You know I sent out about 10 emails with my press kit and recordings to venues that feature blues around here and not one of them emailed me back!
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Frank
4565 posts
Jun 19, 2014
4:09 PM
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From reading Mark Hummels book he wrote on giggin - sounds like par for the course...I knew choosing that lifestyle could suck big time and he confirms it - thank God some of you guys stick it out though and God bless you :)
Last Edited by Frank on Jun 19, 2014 4:09 PM
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JustFuya
293 posts
Jun 19, 2014
5:27 PM
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If you don't have a name it's tough stuff. Sending out a resume doesn't compare to hanging out in the venue, rubbing shoulders and getting a feel for it. Rudeness comes easy if it is faceless.
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BluesJacketman
154 posts
Jun 19, 2014
5:43 PM
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Yeah that was my next plan of action.
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jbone
1659 posts
Jun 19, 2014
5:49 PM
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Promotion is a major time and effort investment imo. Musicians have been devalued for quite a while I think esp. since free downloads became part of the firmament. Karaoke. Laptops and cellphones, which are a boon and credit in some ways and part of the problem for us live musicians in another.
A few years ago Jolene and I traveled an hour north to "THE" coffee house in a small college town, and played our asses off for the tip jar. To a mostly full joint, most of whom were surfing on their wireless devices and ignoring the real world in the room with them. Good thing we weren't starving, we'd have died off!
justfuya is right, if you want to work a given venue you have to put in major face time. For me this presents a challenge since I don't drink and we seldom eat out. We generally play for tips because we love to play. Tonight we're going to an open mic at a joint in town, maybe there's a door gig there. A cafe just south of the city hires for 2 hour 2-set gigs for a few bucks and the clientele is appreciative of live music, but we don't want to overstay our welcome.
Our plan is to always play as long as we can. In a few years we'll hit the road and play some new places.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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slackwater
58 posts
Jun 19, 2014
6:21 PM
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I don't know which country you're in but in general I reckon it's either the face to face approach as per JustFuya or, get onto an agent.
Coincidentally, just a minute ago I checked out facebook and this agent that I'm associated with had a status post on there saying;
"Who'd have thought that venues prefer to give work to those that support them?", and one of those re-posted pic things that read;"
"SUPPORT YOUR LIVE MUSIC VENUE".
In fact, this agent is herself one who believes in the face to face approach and spends a lot of time out and about talking to venue managers and attending gigs. I don't mind one little bit in giving her ten percent.
Last Edited by slackwater on Jun 19, 2014 6:22 PM
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LSC
649 posts
Jun 19, 2014
6:59 PM
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So it's not just this town or me. Well that's good.
I use to always do the face to face thing but then a few years ago everybody wanted to do business by email, which I actually prefer. Sounds like that has changed and I need to go back to old school.
Tonight I went to a bar I hadn't been to before to catch Happy Hour with a fabulous jazz/blues singer/piano player and to meet the guy I'm playing with and promoting. I was introduced to the owner who introduced me to the manager/booker. Top guys. And the whole thing felt right.
The problem with agents is that anyone worth their salt won't take you on unless you're already established. I had a great agent for seven years and got spoiled. But then a bunch of personal stuff came down all at once and I decided to move away.
Anyway, I'm going back to working the adage, "To get work you got to network."
Thanks for the replies guys.
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LSC
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garry
520 posts
Jun 20, 2014
7:02 PM
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around here it's standard operating procedure. nobody returns calls or emails, if you catch them on the phone or in person they just jerk you around. it's a pain. i understand it; they've got a bar to run, plenty of bands to choose from, and it's no effort to just cycle through bands they already know. if those bands are drawing crowds and keeping the register ringing, there's little point to talking to you.
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LSC
650 posts
Jun 20, 2014
7:55 PM
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Jason - Read your article. Great stuff. I've been around a while and know virtually all of what you're saying but I got spoiled and with age and health issues lost a lot of energy. Not to mention being in a for once in my life stable domestic and financial situation. I got lazy.
Like I said, reading your article reminded me of a lot of what I already knew. So I'll give myself a shake and apply nose to grind stone. I know it works. I've made it work before. One more time into the breach.
And hey, thanks for that.
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LSC
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The Iceman
1756 posts
Jun 21, 2014
3:57 AM
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If it is a bar/restaurant, be aware that there are busy times and lulls...Do not try to contact owner just before or during lunch hours. Down time is usually between 2 and 4 PM.
Popping in personally will get you further than telephone/email.
Try to walk a mile in the owner's shoes...they usually are not concerned w/talent, but more concerned with profit margin. If you learn to talk their language, they will respond to you more favorably.
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The Iceman
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harpdude61
2020 posts
Jun 21, 2014
5:26 AM
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This is not OT at all...exactly what the forum is for.
The big issue is do you have a fan base. If it were not for established bands letting me sit in, I would have never been able to book the gigs I do now. Try that.
It really helps if the owner has seen you and your friends hanging arounds his establishment a lot. If you are "family" in a sense it really helps.
Have your devoted fans hound the heck out of them!
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www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
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barbequebob
2606 posts
Jun 23, 2014
11:41 AM
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Jason's article is a very good starting point. Some things I should add that to some should be obvious or even silly to some, but nevertheless important to bear in mind.
One thing to remember is that, just like if you're getting ready for a job interview or even setting up a resume, it is very important to make sure you always not only have the contact person's name, but also both the correct spelling AND pronunciation of their name. Why? Now there are plenty who won't mind too much who may have names that are easily misspelled or mispronounced, but there are plenty who are quite sensitive about it because to them, it says to these people that you're just too lazy to get it right and so you don't give a damn enough to do your homework about their venue much like a day job and if there are these things happening, your calls may not be taken or emails may likely get deleted real fast.
Harpdude61's post about the fan base is a very common question because one of the first questions you are gonna get is "How well do you draw?" Why? If you are trying to gig anywhere (and with venues that have a capacity of 250+++, this becomes even more important), if you are able to pack the hell out of any venue you play REGARDLESS of what night of the week it is, your chances of getting booked as well as rebooked go up significantly, and this is ESPECIALLY true of the club owner/booking agenct/club manager/talent buyer who are what I would refer to as QBA's (meanings quick buck assholes), and that type is 100% bottom line and on top of that, the crowd you bring in not only stays to the very end, but also spends money in there (and when I say spends money, I do NOT mean soft drinks, milk, juices, coffee/tea, or bottled waters and nurses them all night), because they see profits with you being there and if this ain't happening, you band costs them far too much money to keep the doors open on any given night, and so they will have a tendency to lose money on you.
Also remember, with those types, the minute your band stops packing them in, they will lose your number in a heartbeat and refuse to take any communications from you at all.
If the owner of the venue is/was a former pro musician, you may get more of a chance if they what they hear from your demo is truly good, and if you don't pack them in the first time, they may be willing to rebook to help build a following. However, if they hear things like a crappy rhythm section, crappy vocals, which is something they will NEVER miss, you've got no shot at all.
When getting info about a venue, make damned sure you also not only get contact's name, but also which phone number they prefer to be called with and EQUALLY important is the exact time they wish to be called, but at the same time, playing phone tag comes with the turf and it also means that you have to MAKE the time to get things done.
One thing I've found over the years is that if the contact person is a female, they are FAR more likely to contact you first, as far more often, they are still as a general rule, better at multitasking than most men are.
If you draw big, especially in venues that hold 250++, you have a better chance of them calling you before you've sent them anything at all.
Cultivating good business relationships is super important and it is incredibly easy to do stupid things that have you guilty of shooting yourself in the foot.
One thing you also need to remember is to be both polite AND persistent.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Last Edited by barbequebob on Jun 23, 2014 11:43 AM
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walterharp
1428 posts
Jun 23, 2014
11:59 AM
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and those of you who are in a band, and someone else in the band does the booking, pay attention. That person is putting in a ton of work so you can step on stage
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