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Playing
Your Music Live
by Nadine Condon
Music business veteran Nadine Condon is a mentor to unsigned bands
and artists and author of Hot Hits, Cheap Demos: (The Real-World
Guide to Music Business Success). This chapter has been edited
for re-publication with the permission of Backbeat Books. |
No matter how good those demo tapes are, all labels– indie or
major– still want to see bands live. Here are some do’s
and don'ts on how to get started.
How to contact a club
Contact the club only during the hours specified. Many club bookers
are overworked bar employees who moonlight as bookers. Nothing is
more annoying to them than getting called to the phone by a rookie
band while they are trying to run a sound check, open the bar, or
assist a load-in. Follow club etiquette.
Have your website up to date. They will be checking it out after they
get your phone call. Have all the facts up there on why they should
hire your band.
Send a three-song demo that best describes your live sound to the
booking agent or manager of whatever club/coffeehouse in which you
wish to perform. If sending a full length CD, mark you 3 best songs.
Call every week until you get a response. That is the only way they
will finally pay attention to you. Remember it may take months for
them to have a chance to speak with you.
Leave factual information on your phone messages. Simply stating,
"We're great, man, and everyone loves us" isn't enough to
sway a jaded, tired club booker. Tell the booker:
• other venues you have recently played or are confirmed to
play.
• numbers of people at your last show.
• what you will do to promote your show.
• a good press review or mention of radio activity.
• insights on how your music could support certain headliners.
Suggest complete line-ups of your band with other local bands to the
booker. They often don't have the time or the inclination to formulate
great shows until you've proven yourself. It's in your best interest
to do the thinking for them.
Call other bands
Don't be afraid to call other bands to be on their shows. One good
way to gain entrance into a new club is by riding another band's coattails.
That way a club can get to know you with little risk because you're
coming in under the auspices of their headliners.
Playing with other bands can also take the pressure off your act having
to provide all the pre-promotion, gear, attendance, and other miscellaneous
hoopla associated with playing live. However, to get into a headlining
band's good graces, you may have to offer to do a disproportionate
portion of the gig work, until you've established a rapport and they
know you are serious.
Create alternative venues
Don't be just another band in the "band ghetto" with your
hand held out. One way to stand apart from the crowd is by playing
in a non-traditional or new venue. Be proactive by producing your
own shows; renting a venue; buying out a club; or creating your own
space in a coffeehouse, warehouse, park, or college dorm.
Think way outside the box. Play in a mall or record store or church
parking lot. Play at high schools during lunch. Play colleges for
free, in the quadrangles. After checking with your local ordinances,
play on the street at 2:00 am after the bars close. Call a space not
generally used for music. If you're underage, consider having your
parents run the shows.
Don't be afraid to go off the beaten path and recognize the needs
of your fan base. Consider putting on shows at different odd times
and places that fit your crowd. Sunday afternoons, Sunday nights,
and off-nights, in cafés, coffee bars, diners, and frat houses
can serve as offbeat, attention-getting venues.
Don't limit yourself by thinking there is only one way. No one has
the corner on creativity, good ideas, or new ideas. There are as many
different ways to play live as there are bands, songs, musicians,
radio stations, producers, and shows on MTV. "House" concerts
(the latest rage for acoustic or semi-acoustic performers), teen clubs,
and church naves are only a few of the alternatives if you think outside
the box.
Promote your shows
It's impossible to build a fan base or refine your act if you cannot
establish an audience for your shows, and fans cannot go see you if
they don't know you're playing. Pre-show promotion is generally key
to live success until you develop a dynamic enough presence to create
word-of-mouth excitement.
Consider promoting your shows with the
following activities:
1. Event title. Naming your shows and making them thematic is an easy
way to brand the event.
2. Radio spots. If your show is large enough to warrant the expense,
advertising during local music shows on big radio stations in your
town maybe effective. You could do this in conjunction with other
bands on the bill to lower your costs and make the show a real event.
3. Print ads. You can also partner in newspaper ads to the same effect,
with the added advantage of branding your band's name to a wider audience.
4. Advance publicity. Having a thematic event with multiple acts can
be newsworthy. Send out a press release with a picture three weeks
before the event to get an item (not a story) in your local newspapers,
weeklies, and music monthlies. Ten days before the event, call and
try to get publications to run the picture with a blurb about the
show in the listing or music section.
5. Flyers and posters. These are invaluable for branding your event
and letting people know you are performing. Flyers and posters set
the tone and image of the event.
6. Postcard mailings. Postcards are still appropriate because many
fans need a tangible reminder in hand. It's also an opportunity to
imprint (or brand) your logo and band style upon their consciousness.
7. Email. Emails to your fan base are absolutely necessary, but don't
overdo them, as people will stop reading them. Consider making your
emails interactive, so your fans get:
• free tickets if they answer a trivia question correctly.
• A free CD if they bring three friends to the show
• discounted admission if they respond before a specific time.
8. The Web. Get people talking about your shows by posting on groups
and message boards. Get your fans to write reviews in online fanzines
and music sites.
Give the people a great show
Finally, reflect on your stage presence and delivery, along with your
pacing and song selection. Give your audience something they can't
find on MTV, on the Internet, or in a video game. Practice your delivery
and work on your audience rapport. When a band has a good foundation
and is not worrying about how they are playing onstage, how they look
onstage, and how they sound onstage, it frees them up to have significantly
better shows. It's not as easy as it looks, but when it all comes
together, there is nothing as fulfilling as a good live show.
Music business veteran Nadine Condon, author of Hot Hits,
Cheap Demos: (The Real-World Guide to Music Business Success),
is a mentor to unsigned bands and artists. The acknowledged “Godmother
of Rock” has helped promote many platinum acts, like Smashmouth,
Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows and Train. She now works exclusively
with unsigned talent, counseling artists on their music and business
questions through easy, 60 minute phone sessions. Go to www.nadinecondon.com
for more info.
Fast Forward readers!
You get a discount when you purchase Hot Hits, Cheap Demos: (The
Real-World Guide to Music Business Success) online! For details,
visit http://www.nadinecondon.com/bookspecial
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