How to Get Gigs at the Last Minute

Picture the scene: the club manager is putting the finishing touches to the New Year's decorations ready for the big night.

He's sold all the tickets and is looking forward to a great New Year's eve with lots of happy party-goers filling his tills on the biggest night of the year.


Suddenly the phone rings at the venue. It's the guitarist from the band due to play tomorrow night. He apologetically tells the venue manager that the singer has a throat infection, lost his voice and they won't be able to do the gig. Can you imagine the panic?







Where's any venue going to turn when they're in this predicament? They might ring an agency who may or may not have an act spare for New year's eve.

They will certainly check they're files for details on any other bands who they may have used before or who may have contacted them.

If your band is up for a gig at short notice can you see how useful it would be to have been sending this venue a regular monthly newsletter and in particular adding the phrase "Some dates in December still available" to the one which you sent early this month?

Can you imagine the leverage you'd have with the size of your fee in cases like these? What about the potential for future gigs at this venue now you've helped them out in their time of need.....















How to Get Gigs

How to Get Gigs in your Dressing Gown

Unless you don't have other commitments (like a day job or studies) in- between playing live, you probably won't have time to visit venues in person to try and get gigs.

That's why I recommend bands and solo artists use the phone and a newsletter as their offline gig-getting methods.

There's some good stuff in this post below about how to get gigs. Not least of all about never going out for free even when you're just starting out and not getting despondent when venues turn down your approaches as you try to get gigs. Where I don't agree though is with the writer's recommendation for visiting the venues in person for all your gig-getting efforts. Not only is it expensive to do (your time and transport for example), but it's inefficient. In an hour on the phone you can talk to 15 venues.

How many could you get through the door of?

Not only that of course, but you don't even need to dress, shave or wash when you use the phone or newsletter. Now that's the way I like to work...

Anyhow, here's the post I was talking about

http://www.streetmusician.co.uk/gigginghowtogetgigs

Overcoming Stage Fright Tonight

If you're gigging tonight or over the Christmas period and afraid Stage Fright might spoil it for you here are 3 easy tips you can use straight away.

1. Get in front of a mirror Just before you strap on the axe and step out go to the toilets/washroom and get in front of the mirror to pull the most ridiculous face or two you can think of. The idea is to make yourself look so crazy you can't take yourself seriously. Ideally you'll want to wait until no-one is next to you to do this of course. It might sound a loony idea if it's new to you but give it a try and it'll surprise you.

2. Talk to yourself before you play Remind yourself the gig is all about the people out front and that you're there to "give" (a good time/night they can't forget) rather than "take" their applause/approval etc.

3. Smile on Stage This sounds too simple (and maybe even cheesy) to be true but this will make a crowd warm to you far more than desperately trying to look cool. Remember though, there's a difference between flashing someone the occasional smile from the stage and displaying a fixed grin that looks like you've been lobotomised.

Overcoming Stage Fright & Developing Stage Presence

How to Get Gigs using Xmas Cards

Here’s a useful seasonal idea from someone playing more than a dozen corporate gigs a year.

If you don’t play any of these you should know that these kinds of gigs can be BIG money..

Here’s something he says which I’ve never done and which would make a seasonal alternative to the regular newsletter:

“I send a generic Christmas card to all people I've played for and all business contacts."

Personally I’d make those venues you haven’t yet played but which are on your target list a priority.

If you check that post you'll see there’ someone else who answers it saying:

“I send out a Christmas card every year. The difference is my card is personalized, and most years it includes my latest CD".

The CD is quite a neat idea to keep your band in people’s minds if you still don’t have the gig at their venue….

Are Band Gigs the No1 method of Band Marketing?

Or maybe, are they an end in themselves?

Here's yet more weight to the argument that gigging itself is what music success is all about for bands and solo artists now in the digital age.

For the majority of professional and big name acts, the real money is being made on live gigs.

Point 1 on the post above recommends giving away free samples of your music in order to get people to your shows. If you're one of those still worried about giving their creations away for no profit, you'll see we're reminded that:

"Nothing sells music better than hearing the music itself" ...

It used to be that live shows were simply a method of promoting the new CD. Now the whole thing has kind of reversed into:

"Music is the calling card, the live show is the product"

For the semi-pro and aspiring gigging amongst us, what's the benefit?

The growth in the number of people watching pro & name act gigs stimulates the overall gigs market and drives the need for acts in the smaller venues.

"Familiarity" & Overcoming Stage Fright

I read something this week suggesting anyone with stage fright should familiarise themselves with the venue before the gig if possible, as fear of the "unknown" plays a big part in stage fright when gigging.

I agree with this completely. However, I'd take it a stage further.
If you can, you should do more than try to visit the venue ahead of when you play the gig, so you can check out the place and imagine what it will be like to successfully gig there.

On gig night itself, assuming it's a bar or maybe a small club, when you start setting up ahead of your sound check, look for something which you can move the position of. A table or chair or two will usually do the trick. I ilke to assume I have the authroity to do it but you can always ask the landlord/venue manager if you're uptight about this. Tell him it's to get the best position for sound those members of the audience in these particular seats.

Crazy as it may sound, the idea here is to up your confidence level by stamping some of your authority on the place. Performers will often talk about needing to feel like you "own" the stage when you're performing.

Moving some items around in the place and is a tool for helping you feel like you "own" the venue, like you're in control. "Familiarity", mentioned at the start of this post, is more than just being familiar with the venue.

Know your material inside out obviously. But how about being so familiar with the material you can play your guitar or drum parts with weights on your wrists? Imagine how much easier the gig itself will become when you're "weight-free" and how this feeling could enhance your confidence on the night....

Making the most of Gigging

Most of us have played to half-empty venues from time to time and it's true that getting the gig is only half the battle. We all want to make sure we have something that resembles a "crowd" on the night.

Scroll down to the "Live" paragraph via the link below and check out this writer's "Tell people when you have a gig" approach to getting people in through the door.

Simple but it's all you need.

As far as "Merchandise" is concerned to boost band takings, I suppose even cover artists could sell Tee-shirts or buttons couldn't they?

As the writer says, you need your audience to "remember you in the morning". A great show with plenty of audience interaction will help create a memorable night for sure. Merchandising though, (which in one sense is getting your audience to advertise for you), can also add some extra financial benefits on top...

Here's another Audience boosting post from one of the old Gig-Getter blog sites

Online doesn't have to be the difficult part of your Band Marketing

If, (like a bassist who emailed me recently), you wish the Internet would slow down a little so you "can catch up", you should be interested in the "Perfect Online Marketing Strategy for Musicians" I spotted this week.

Acknowledging that there's always some new technology ready to take your time and focus up (this week it's Twitter for bands while myspace was fashionable a couple of years back) the writer suggests six goals of social media for bands:


1. Reach more people (Expand your fan base)
2. Keep fans informed
3. Sample your music (to encourage full purchase - see point below)
4. Sell your music & merchandise
5. Create content that people will want to share (going viral)
6. Engage your fans (encouraging them to continue their interest in your band or act)

Helpful as this list if for keeping a band or solo artists focused, the writer's claim that your website will stay at the centre of your online marketing efforts no matter what new technology comes along was pretty reassuring too as far as I'm concerned.

9 Key Quotes from a Long Gigging to-do List

Here underneath are some key quotes I pulled out of a pretty long list of Gigging recommendations today

"All band mates know their responsibilities"

Talking about onstage responsibilities, this is especially important when you consider which band member starts a song. Many times it will be a count in from your drummer. The last thing you want though are long pregnant pauses as you wait around for all band members to be ready before you start the next song... Also, who's responsible for saying what to audience in between numbers - and when?

“Networking – go to shows of other bands and meet them, create critical allies, rub elbows

Good for checking out the competition and so quality level you’ll need to hit in order to succeed at the venue concerned. It also gives you the chance to check out this factor:

“Venue specifications, space, sound”

Which is one of the other points on this list. Knowing details like these will help you prepare for your own gig at any venue.

It's also handy to know other local bands in case you ever need to cancel a gig and offer venue a replacement band to maintain your relationship with the venue. More importantly, other bands may also do the same for you when you've networked. There can also be benefits to spending time with and around other bands if you need to recruit/poach new band members…

This also links well with another recommendation on the list:

“Gig trading with other bands of similar style – one band opens the show, the other closes”

Here's another quote worth keeping in mind - about when you're trying to book the gig:

“Attitude should be “how we can help each other”

This is different from feeling that the venue is doing you a big favour by letting you play there. Tell yourself that both you and the venue stand to gain from your appearance there. (You'll be taking along some friends/fans who may not have been to/spent money at that venue before right? Reminding yourself of the mutual benefit as you approach venues to try and get your band gigs will help you avoid feeling awkward or stressed about your approach.

You know it’s up to you to promote your gig, right?

Actually booking the gig is only the first stage of a successful gig-getter's work. You don’t want to risk an empty venue on gig night and guarantee you won't get asked back do you?

Make sure the audience knows the name of your band

So many bands waste this opportunity of encouraging approaches from would-be gig bookers by getting their name in front of the audience while they're playing

Something will probably go wrong, think through typical disasters and try to be prepared

Prepare some “fills” and banter in case of broken guitar strings/other technical issues

Have a great time because you are doing what you love to do!

At the end of it all if you’re not enjoying playing live why are you doing it? Oh, and most importantly, if you show the audience you’re having a great time you'll enhance your own stage presence and encourage the crowd to let themselves go more too

What should Inspire you to Get Gigs for yourself

Rather than rely solely on a 3rd party like a music agency/agent or band management you might want to think about this quote:

"No one cares more about your music than you do"

This is from Heather McDonald writing yesterday in About.com.

She worked in A&R at major labels like Atlantic and Elektra so presumably she knows what she's talking about as far as band marketing is concerned.

I came to the same conclusion about who would have the best look after the gigging interests of our band years ago when my semi-pro band were originally struggling to get gigs. We were desperate for someone to bail us out and get bookings for us.

At the time I reasoned that as far as band managers and agents are concerned they may have the venue contacts and marketing skills - but these can be found or learnt.

Ultimately for most bands trying to make an initial name for themselves or semi-pros/weekend warriors, no-one will be as motivated to protect your interests as you are yourself.

9 Gigging Tips for a Successful First Gig

Having been asked by Georgia from an all-female band for my tips for a successful first gig night - here's the essentials on my list assuming you've taken steps to get some "supporters" along to watch you:

1. Think through your set-list and your look in relation to the venue and likely audience.

2. Talk to the audience at least a little in between a few numbers. This will normally help them relax with you and open up to enjoy the gig more

3. Get the audience involved. Consider getting someone up on stage or having the singer or other band member wander out as far as he can into the crowd mid-number

4. Have a plan ready for if "disaster" strikes when you're on stage ( Broken guitar string, power cut, heckling, playing mistakes etc. What will you say/do in each case?)

5. Advertise the band name and contact number somewhere where it can be seen while you're playing onstage

6. Arrange to get pictures (or video) of the gig taken and try to include some audience members in shot where you can

7. Make note of any positive feedback you get on the night. This can and should be used in your future marketing for other gigs there and elsewhere.

8. ALWAYS ask for further future gigs on the night itself (unless you don't want to play there again of course)

9. Ask for your money!

More tips here

2 Keys to Overcoming Stage Fright when Gigging

In my own experience the foundations to not being afraid when you get up there to play to a crowd are:

1. Know your music inside out

In Rouse the Crowd I call this "Breaking free from the music". By that I mean that once you know what you're playing without having to think about it fear of making mistakes dissolves away. The added bonus is that you're then free to concentrate on the performance side of the gig. Which generally makes for a more memorable night for your audience.

2. See your success ahead of time

Spending a little time imagining the detail of a successful performance in your head before you play is more than mere daydreaming. This technique (visualisation) is used by successful businesspeople and successful athletes around the world.

Combine these two techniques as part of your gigging schedule and you'll be well on your way to overcoming stage fright and developing real stage presence

Below is someone else who seems to agree with this:
Overcoming Stage Fright