Good news about playing Gigs

Three items of good news in the press caught my eye over the last few days.

1. Buoyed no doubt by the success of this year's Glastonbury event (see pic right from drownedinsound.com) a PRS spokesman has come out and confirmed that:

"Live music is more popular than ever" and admitted that although consumers are spending less disposable income on recorded music, the share going on live music is rising.

2. Being a musician is one of the top 10 "jobs" LEAST affected by the recession
If you're part-time muso who's a road sweeper or dentist by day you're doubly lucky as those two professions also feature in the top 10 compiled by the Daily Telegraph in the UK

If you're a more mature player here's one especially for you:

3. Taking up a hobby like as guitar playing has been identified by researchers at Warwick University as a "pre-emptive strike" against a mid-life crisis.
Even better if you're being paid to strut your hobby in public..

gig-getter main site

Benefits of Gigging instead of golfling?

How about this for a quote from a part-time guitarist/weekend warrior?

"My equipment pays for itself, and this endeavor provides extra cash so that I can take the girls out (GB note: the writer means his daughters here) to eat or to a movie, or pick up a bottle of wine for my special person (who is also a musician) and me, without having to stop at the ATM every other day.

Guitar playing pays for one of my girl’s summer camp and a good share of the groceries. In contrast, I think about guys who pay thousands every year for golf equipment, fees, lessons, etc. I make thousands (not many, but at least a few) each year doing what I love. It’s the best part-time job imaginable."

Good to remember this kind of thing if you ever get grief for staying out late gigging...

Here's the full post with some interesting thoughts about what we semi-pro musicians do.

So you want my "job"?

Practise like you're Gigging

Our lead guitarist had a bit of a nightmare at a large open-air party we just played at. A lot of bum notes -which normally really isn't him. He has more than one guitar and when we spoke afterwards he admitted the one he was using on stage was one he hadn't touched for several months before that gig itself. This was something he wouldn't normally do.

On the night, the neck had taken him by surprise with it's thinner profile and blocks instead of dots. New numbers he'd learn on another guitar felt alien to him and left him a bit disorientated.

Luckily the crowd reaction hadn't suffered but the whole episode reminded me of something I watched on a Bass playing DVD by Billy Sheehan (see pic above).

In the DVD Billy said that his advice about guitar straps got more responses from his viewers than anything else he'd ever recommended. He'd simply told his students that they should use the same strap, adjusted to the same length when they practised as they did when they were gigging. His point was that if you practised sitting down and then gigged standing up, what you've learned rehearsing is not gonna feel as familiar to you onstage.

I think there's a lot of truth in this. When you get onto the stage (or just the corner of the bar), you don't want anything to undermine your own confidence. The idea is to be free of worrying about your playing so you can concentrate on "giving" a show to the crowd. We can't do this if we're stressed out about playing the right notes.

I'm a very ordinary and basic player so I try to make things as easy as I can for myself onstage. I rehearse up to any gig with the guitar I'll be using on the night. When I run through the material alone at home (with a phrase trainer) I stand up as I do on stage and concentrate on NOT looking at the fretboard. That way I'll have the best chance of focusing on the audience on the night.

One more thing about practising like you're gigging. If you feel you're act is too static onstage it'll be easier and more natural to address this on the night if you move about like you're enjoying it when you practise too...

The Best way to Get Gigs playing private functions

If your goal is to avoid paying a cut of your gig fees to an agent or any third party, there are a few proven ways you can get your share of the more lucrative private function and corporate event gigs.

1. You can do a search for all the businesses based in the area you want to play gigs.

Call these businesses and ask the name of the person responsible for booking any corporate hospitality or events. When you've got that, write to them with details of your act and include a demo CD or website address to access mp3s of your band in action.

You can take the same approach with hotels where their "event planners" can be canvassed. This can (among other benefits),help to open up the possibility of you playing wedding receptions when couples book the hotel for their function. Follow your intitial approach up with a phone call to check they recieved the items and ask whether/when they are planning any events. Follow up regularly after this with your band or act's newsletter.


2. A les speculative approach is to target just those businesses or companies where you have some connection. Someone in the band is related to someone who works in the business/hotel etc. This way, you can get the name of the event planner from your contact, mention the connection when you get in touch and of course, get your friend/contact to help by "pushing" your act on your behalf. Obviously this approach will generally give you less target businesses in the first place.


The best and by far the most reliable way method for getting gigs at private functions will come as a result of playing "everyday" gigs.

As long as you're giving people a good time when you play (check here if not) you'll get approaches from people who see you play live. These people who see you will also recommend you to friends/contacts who are thinking about what to do for any upcoming event.

The bulk of the "private" gigs I, (and most other bands I know) play, come via this route. For this reason, the more times you can get out and and be seen gigging , the more private work you'll get.

You can even invite event planners, businesses execs/owners and couples-to-be to your "public" gigs to check you out for themselves if needed.

Finally, a couple of factors which can increase your chances of getting private work.

1. A wide song repertoire (catering for various age groups)
2. Lights to enhance the show

and most importantly:

3. The ability to offer music/DJ in between your sets.
This last one isn't as difficult as it sounds. I know plenty of bands who hook up an mp3 player or lap-top up and use that when they're offstage.

Getting Gigs with TOTAL audience involvement?

Getting the occasional audience member up onto the stage is one thing; and it really does make for memorable gigs all round.

But what about this:

Rockaraoke

Whole gigs based around various other people fronting your act? I'm sure the concept will horrify a lot of bands and musicians.

Really though, how different is it from DJs who had to diversify into Karaoke in order to get the gigs? Given how successful Karaoke became, couldn't any performer wanting to maximise the number of night he was out gigging offer this kind of night from time to time? Probably only if credibility was no issue!

I do though personally know of one punk band who've done this kind of thing from time time in the U.K.

Their rationale (as well as gaining some extra cash and exposure from these gigs) is that:

1. It's useful practise in terms of (musically at least) running through material
2. Networking with other singers/musicians
3. It's better than staying in watching tv

Is it any more than a "cop-out" and admitting defeat I wonder

You can of course take Audience Interaction TOO far..

I couldn't agree more with a blogger who said today about gigging that:

"Interaction with the audience during a show is what will make the difference between someone going home and thinking “that was good music” and someone going home and looking you up and downloading your music."


However, I'm not sure I'd go to these lengths to get our crowds involved in the show:

Too much interaction?

Better Gigs Crowd reactions through "loving" the audience?

At the risk if sounding like an old hippy, this might be a an interesting concept about mental attitude onstage. In particular, how you feel about your audience - and how that makes them relate to you. Rather than coming out of wanting them to like you, to impress them or blow them away with your music, how about finding something to like about them. Some of them at least. "Even" (as the poster says) "if it's just some of their clothes". True, the writer is talking about public speakers rather than musicians, but we're all in front of an audience after all do couldn't the concept work? I reckon it would go some way toward reducing stage anxiety...


Loving your audience so they love you

10 Tips for the Indpendent Artist

Here's some food for thought re getting your band or act noticed. Am especially a fan of point 6 where the writer recommends sending out press releases to advertise your forthcoming gigs.

Here's why I think they're great for bands:

1. Press Releases don't cost you anything
Not even postage when you email them. Contrast this with the expense of advertising

2. They're focused
Assuming you get the name of the correct person to email (phone to check prior to emailing), you won't be spraying info about your band in the hope that someone somewhere who can give you some publicity might just spot it. Just make sure you don't waste your time sending releases out to irrelevant publications. make sure there's a legitimate connection between the publication. For example the gig or someone in the band is in or from their region if it's a regional publication)

3. Appearances in the press give real credibility
In a way that advertising or even your own website will not. This is because readers will perceive you must be successful/a big deal if someone else is writing about you through choice. No matter that many times publications will use your exact words when you send them a press release... Anyhow, here's the link I mentioned:

10 Tips

On the Subject of Gigging COVER Bands....

It's fascinating how often the topic of "what songs should we play?" comes up on some of the biggest musician websites online.

Here are some of the ones over the last couple of weeks from Backstage with the band (Harmony Central). Biased towards US-based bands but still some interesting thoughts if you play covers or want to add one or two into your shows:

Great for Audience Reactions

Set List Suggestions

Influence of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"?

Stale Set-list

Using YouTube for better Song Covers

An unexpected suggestion from a reader in a covers band in the USA came through to me recently. She told me that one way her band gets closer to the original version of any cover they are planning to play at gigs is check out other covers of it on YouTube.

Checking out the original artist, to see how the song is played in a live situation is a fairly obvious use of YouTube by a cover band. What this reader's band does however,is to look and listen to others who are covering the song and check for what they're not getting right.

"It might be something as simple as a note in a riff not being held as long as in the original or a missing part of the vocal harmony" She tells me.

"If we find that more than one cover band are getting the same thing wrong - we can make sure we don't do that and consequently use the info to set ourselves apart and get closer to the original"

Devious or what?