"What's the first things we need to do to get started playing local gigs?
These guys had only played a couple of private parties for friends and wanted to start gigging regularly.
I suggested two key first actions which will help get any band or act started gigging regularly.
1. Start searching and compiling a list of all the venues in your area which feature live bands
A lot of would-be gigging bands (or solo artists) make the mistake of only focusing on one or two venues to target for gigs. Usually these venues will be the ones they go themselves as a customer or the most well-known venues in the area.
The problem(s) with this of course is that if it's the most well-known venue it's the one most other bands will be targeting. So, the competition for bookings will be tougher.
Take a little time and do some serious research to find those more obscure, less well-known live venues when you're starting out. They'll generally be easier to get gigs at. Not least of all because most other bands will be chasing the more obvious targets.
The more venues you can find out about and then target, the greater your chances of getting out of the bedroom and onto the stage playing gigs. Like many things it's a numbers game.
2. Study all the other bands in your area playing the kind of music & venues you want to
When you do this you'll be able to see what makes your band or act different. Once you know this it'll be clear how to pitch your band to the venues you target. You don't always have to go and watch these other bands live (although you should try). You can learn plenty by their look and sound on their websites and Myspace/Facebook pages.
You need to do both these things before you even think about approaching venues with a pitch or a CD. Many bands plough straight into dishing out CDs without any thought for what they stand for as a band and how they compare/differ from every other band out there.....
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