Hi FB,
I have been playing with a new originals band for about four months now and we have around 10 songs with a good idea about which five will be recorded as an EP.
We are a foursome that are inspired by Sabbath/Motorhead/Orange Goblin/Deep Purple type heavy riff-driven songs.
Our loose 'plan' is to record an EP in the coming months in order to use that as a promo to send to venues etc - is this a good way of doing it or should we be contacting venues first?
Also how easy is it to just 'get' gigs? I used to play in a less heavy originals band when I was younger and myspace (yes it was that long ago!) was the ticket to getting gigs - we even played at the Hammersmith Palais!
We are based in Surrey/SW London.
On a somewhat related note, what is the general score regarding PA/backline etc? Is it expected that bands bring absolutely everything to gigs or can you be expected to share other bands' kit?
Sorry for the seemingly newbie questions!
Comments
Gear sharing is generally done on a gig-by-gig basis. Occasionally you might find that the venue or organiser insists on all the bands at least using the same cabs for the sake of speeding up changeovers...most of the time, though, they'll leave that to the bands to sort it out between them.
I always take my cab along, though, even when I'm supposed to be using somebody else's. Why? Because 50% of the time you'll find that the "shared cab" is either bloody awful, or is actually a combo which is no use to anyone. If either of those things happens, I'll offer to let everyone use mine on the night instead (still speeds up changeovers, but everyone will sound better).
1)You get exposure to the other bands fan base.
2)They get exposure to your fan base ( which as a new band will prob be just wags,dads and mate but who cares?).
3)less pressure on individual bands to fill a venue, after all it's beer and tickets that pay the bills.
4) with a bit of luck you can arrange your own touring circuit in your town and use it to invite bands from further afield to play, and reciprocate the favour.
ive found over the years that approaching venues with a cd or recording is sn expensive and haphazard way to get gigs, either your EP will sit on a desk for months unlistened or it may never get listened to, venues have bills to pay, they don't really care if you have awesome songs, great tone or a hot singer ( well maybe the singer bit) what they care about is door money and wet sales, which means people, if you can offer the venue a show with a new band and a popular local band, it'll just be a case of hammering out dates.
3 songs is more than enough to get gigs with other bands, 5 song ep to sell at the gig.
however I'm aware that my approach may be outdated and something called Facebook is useful in this instance.
In general the headline band will bring the drum kit because they have to se up first, they or one of the other later bands should bring the bass amp or at least a cab, and the guitar amps get shared out. If you're a young band first on a bill of more than three bands you *can* probably get away without bringing any of your own gear, but make certain you've checked this is OK with the other bands *before the gig* or you'll seem like freeloaders. Buying them drinks and helping carry anything heavy usually helps.
And there's still usually someone that's precious about something that it would make life much easier if everyone could use. Basically if you've got an amp or a cabinet that you're worried about someone else using in case they break it, it isn't good enough to gig anyway...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Being a "headliner" at a non signed Nm band gig, fromexperience means a lot of the crowd dissappear s when their mates band has played and a lot of the time the headliners are playing to an empty room.
Gigging these days is not what it was like before 2008, people don't go out as much as they used to, getting a crowd is really bloody hard unless you're a covers band
The music scene is dying it really needs a huge boosts... Just not sure how.
I still believe really good bands with really good songs get gigs and generate followers.
Normally you should provide your own breakables. Basically everything other than your drum shells, bass amp (normally), mics, and PA. Why should someone else drag their stuff to a gig for someone else to play through? Eventually no-one will want to bring anything.
Agree with @strangefan about the difficulty in getting people down to unsigned nights. Also agree that *most promoters do very little promoting, and expect you to sell 25-50 tickets per gig. My advice would be to find a venue to rent. It's surprisingly cheap, and you can curate the bands you want, do all your own artwork/promo etc yourselves. Much bigger buzz.
Then you can hire a PA and have at least £150 left over to pay all the bands way more than they'd normally get as original bands. That also ingratiates you with the local bands, so...more gigs there, too.
My friend's originals band have an album on iTunes, spend huge chunks of their time on band stuff and still play gigs for nothing to drunk students. I know it has it's own rewards but it doesn't seem to be the route for the half hearted.
The drummer is going to have to share his kit anyway, and you're suggesting the bass player should share his amp too, so why do guitarists get a pass? Guitarists with their precious amps (or vice versa ) are a real pain at this sort of thing. Guitar amps are no more breakable than drums - less so, actually - and if yours is, then you'll probably end up having to borrow someone elses when yours dies anyway…
In fact, in the most successful band I was in when we were usually playing last, it was normal for us to bring the drums, bass amp and one guitar amp - which all went in my car - simply because I preferred to use known decent-sounding, reliable gear. Other guitarists were welcome to use my amp if they wanted - some did, some didn't. No-one ever broke it.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Sorry I should maybe have been more clear, generally venues that have regular nights and supply a backline have drum shells as well as a bass amp, or they DI the bass.
WRT to not wanting others to use your equipment, it's less about being precious (although sometimes I am), but it's more about understanding who's bringing what. If it's not clear then there will be 3 bands playing, and no amps. On a number of occasions I have let people use my amp, and I've go no problem with that. Normally if they have an issue with theirs. I'm not overly impressed when someone turns up expecting to use it. They didn't have to carry it there, they don't have to carry it home, and they don't have to stay sober so they can drive their equipment home.
If there was a bullet-proof way to schedule who was bringing what to a gig, and a way to make sure over a period of time it was shared out fairly, then that would be fine. But that doesn't exist. It would only work if you were playing with friend's ban regularly.
I am however considering a cheaper/more robust gigging amp. But then it's a shame to not use what you have.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I guess we'll just have to start approaching local venues and bands through the various channels and start getting involved in the 'scene'.
Regarding sharing equipment I have done this before but mainly with bands we were friendly with. As I see it, most of the equipment we use isn't irreplaceable and I guess this is what insurance is for.
It reminds me of a gig we had where we were second on the bill and the guys after us were giving it all that about the gigs they have played etc etc. Real arseholes saying how our demos sounded shit and really amateur...They were a regular gigging band blah blah blah. When we started setting up they immediately changed their tune and asked us if they could borrow our amps and stuff like that. After our set we had to load up the van pretty sharpish and whipped the heads off stage so they had to rush and get their stuff set up. The looks on their faces!
As an aside, is it expected that most venues mic your set up these days?