Is regular live work genre specific?

What's Hot
I mean, do the psychobilly bands get more work than the classic rock combos? Do the blues guys take a back seat to the 90's pop jukeboxes? Etc...
'Vot eva happened to the Transylvanian Tvist?'
0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom

Comments

  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    Apparently tribute bands are the best way to make bank.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Apparently tribute bands are the best way to make bank.
    Yes but which genre?
    'Vot eva happened to the Transylvanian Tvist?'
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Apparently tribute bands are the best way to make bank.
    Yes but which genre?
    Cheese and teeny bop, tributes to serious acts not so much
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    In terms of pitching your act to venues / pubs/clubs using the word tribute makes life a lot easier - the elevator pitch. 

    We are a Madness tribute.

    We are a nineties indie tribute act. 

    We are a Right Said Fred tribute.


    Within genres there are circuits of specialist nights and festivals. The mod/ scooter rally circuit, the reggae circuit,etc. I used to know a chap who played in a trad jazz band and he probably gigged more than anyone else I’ve known. So, if you have an in on one of these circuits there have been quite a lot of gigs that way. 

    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    You can also pitch to the organisers of events that they need one act which is well outside the genre they generally (over)use. 

    We've played BeeGees, Jacksons and Gloria Gaynor numbers at biker rallies and had the whole place singing along, partly because they've heard Smoke on the Water three times already today.

    How anyone sits through a weekend of ska bands is anyone's guess quite frankly, there's always an opening for something else.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23906
    I've done the wedding band thing. Needs to be a massive setlist - probably 5-6 hours worth. Really a live action jukebox. Do not be the band that tells the bride "we don't know that one"! (Get her favourites in advance)

    Has to be plenty of slow dance tunes for the happy couple, then some good high energy stuff, and ideally loads that have iconic choruses that even the most pissed usher can recognise and sing along with as he downs his 10th pint and tries to shag a bridesmaid. Genre is less important than the songs being easily recognised.

    But - do it right and you can be booked up in advance for a couple of years. Can be boring as hell, but can pay very well.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • GreatapeGreatape Frets: 3490
    I have friends in a band doing semi-comedic takes on popular tunes in the style of a particular idiom. 

    Pre-covid, they had about £18k worth of wedding bookings. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mike257mike257 Frets: 374
    It very much depends on the market you're trying to work in 

    You can make a living doing function gigs which can be a broad brush of pop/rock/soul or more genre-specialised bands (I played in a Motown/Soul band doing weddings/corporate for years). 

    You can do well on the theatre circuit with a tribute show. I've worked with Elvis, Michael Jackson and David Bowie tributes that fill large theatres (and even arenas with the Elvis show) and I've got friends who've toured with tribute shows for ELO, Kate Bush, The Smiths, Pearl Jam, The Beatles and others to a pretty successful level. The standard has to be pretty high and you need someone with a proper business head on to run and market it. 

    I know people working in genre niches who do quite well out of it - I was surprised to see the size of the modern country circuit but I've got mates who are doing very well in that market, and there's definitely still a blues audience out there. As someone else mentioned, the traditional jazz and swing thing is popular in a lot of smaller venues and also on the wedding/function scene too. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10356
    I've been lucky enough to be in some good earning bands. For the last 14 years I've played in a good rock band that can average £1500 to 2K for weddings and corporate gigs. There's nothing genre specific about it, just rock covers of popular songs  but done to a reasonably high standard and with proper FOH and lighting engineers. We completely go against the normal accepted rules of wedding and corp bands. We are very loud, take up loads of space and cost a lot of money in expenses. We get paid to put on a rock band performance at a wedding rather than be paid to be back ground live music at a wedding. This actually works very well for us as we only get booked by people who want exactly what do. It's a large non refundable deposit just to book and full payment on the day Before we pay. This is all managed by the bands leader and I have to say he does a superb job and I have never played a less than great wedding gig. 

    I'm also in a tribute band, a Kate Bush tribute which is quite niche and quite well paid. As @mike257 said the standard has to be quite high and you need to be very professional as all the gigs are ticketed. For us this means seated theatres gigs with hundreds of people sat of seats listening intently .... it's a much higher level of pressure and some people don't cope as well in this environment. The pay however can be very rewarding, selling out the larger venues can easily net the band 8K with the smaller ones being around 2K. As the pay is directly related to ticket sales it's a question of speculating to accumulate. This was one bummer of covid, not only did we lose thousands in 2020 from cancelled gigs but also lost the money paid in adverts and printing 

    Personally for me playing for money suits me. I prefer night work, kids are grown up and I don't mind the travelling. If you have young kids and a normal 9 to 5 though it can be a very tiring existence. 

    There was a time around 2016 when the recording studio I owned went bust and I basically did nothing but gig for a couple of years to put food on the table. Back then I was playing in 7 different bands from a Thin Lizzy tribute to a Rock a Billy band and doing dep work on bass and keys as well as guitar. Basically If I wasn't booked already I would gig for £40 a night just to get towards the £1200 or so a month I needed to pay the bills. It was all a bit stressful calendar wise with a lot of juggling .... did 3 gigs in one day once across 3 different venues. Don't miss those days but it kinda proved it could be done. 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
    0reaction image LOL 1reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723
    In terms of pitching your act to venues / pubs/clubs using the word tribute makes life a lot easier - the elevator pitch. 

    We are a Madness tribute.

    We are a nineties indie tribute act. 

    We are a Right Said Fred tribute.


    Within genres there are circuits of specialist nights and festivals. The mod/ scooter rally circuit, the reggae circuit,etc. I used to know a chap who played in a trad jazz band and he probably gigged more than anyone else I’ve known. So, if you have an in on one of these circuits there have been quite a lot of gigs that way. 


    No Western Swing on that list!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    jpfamps said:
    In terms of pitching your act to venues / pubs/clubs using the word tribute makes life a lot easier - the elevator pitch. 

    We are a Madness tribute.

    We are a nineties indie tribute act. 

    We are a Right Said Fred tribute.


    Within genres there are circuits of specialist nights and festivals. The mod/ scooter rally circuit, the reggae circuit,etc. I used to know a chap who played in a trad jazz band and he probably gigged more than anyone else I’ve known. So, if you have an in on one of these circuits there have been quite a lot of gigs that way. 


    No Western Swing on that list!
    I think the full survey question was As well as Western Swing what other types of music do you like to listen to? 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.