Winning the Gig Crowd (& Battle of the Bands)

You might have seen the example of what the judges are typically looking for on Battle of the Bands competition in my E-Book about crowd-pleasing: Rouse the Crowd

The fact that B.O.T.B judges look for good Audience Interaction as well as technical ability should be useful info for any band, not just ones considering entering that kind of competition.

Here's a post from L.A this week about just this point.

The competition winners having superior interaction skills....

Winning the Gig Crowd & Battle of the Bands

Band Gig Openers - For Cover Bands

Below is a great question about what Cover Bands open their shows with.

In our case "Gimme All your lovin" works well, as does "Cigarettes & Alcohol" or "She Sells Sanctuary".

But you do need to keep in mind the audience you're playing to...

Cover Band Gig Openers

Always interesting to read other band's opinions and here's my comment on the post:

From the work I've done about gigging with most cover bands I'd say 3 key points are:

1. Showcase your band's strengths Not every song in each set will have a cool keyboard solo, lead guitar break or even backing vocals. If these aspects are something your band is good at (in relation to other band's in your area) - get them out there early on. - NB, You need to have done your prep about esablishing exactly what makes your band/act different from others in the same genre/area

2. Make it Easy to Play To keep nerves at bay and get off to a start which will help everyone's confidence, don't try to start with something too difficult to play. Keep it simple.

3. Wake 'em up Don't "ease" the crowd into your show (ie with a ballad). Grab their attention with something that makes an early/fast impact

Crowd-Pleasing E-Book

The Importance of a Front "Man"

A lot bands seem to worry about having a "good-looking" front person.

Someone who's "easy on the eye" may well be more of a crowd pleaser before they open their mouth...

Beyond a band's musical ability, choice of set-lists and way they move/behave on stage, the effect an act has on a crowd will come down to their ability to relate to that crowd.

This will include a combination of the above but you have to have someone who can communicate (to some extent) with those people in front of you.

To do this, they can look like Bluto from Animal House (above), Brad Pitt or Jenifer Lopez. Or, as in many cases, someone with a lot less visual impact. Often (as I mentioned in a reply to the post below), I've found that someone who's very good looking can actually irritate audience members of the same sex....

The Importance of a Front person

IMHO personality is the key. It's important to make the band member who has some ability to "connect" has a microphone. To talk even if they don't sing. No matter whether they're at the front of the stage or on a drum stool nearer the back....

Band Members and How to Get Gigs

Here's a post which although aimed at musicians trying to start a band, makes a couple of points that got me thinking about band members and how to get gigs generally.

Get Your Band Together

I commented on the paragraph about "Auditions" as you can see.

The amount of times I've heard of bands recruiting a new band member only to have to get rid of them a short time later because it "didn't really work out"....

Most times this is due to not understanding in advance of the audition process EXACTLY what it is you're looking for. Not "guitarist" or "keyboard player", but as the guy who wrote the article suggests: "Time availability, commitment level, self-discipline".

If you don't find these things out sooner, they'll come and bite you later.

There's one other point later in the piece with regard to gigging. Although the writer is dead right when he says "The more you play, the more you will grow" (meaning the more you gig the better you'll get at it - both in terms of confidence and familiarity with the material).

I'd also add: "The more you play - the more gigs you'll get". Meaning, the more people who see you, the more chance you'll have of repeat work, private parties and functions etc. And of course the bigger and faster you can build your fan base or attract management or an agency.

Is Getting Gigs "All about the draw"?

I was reading this post and the answers afternoon and it got me thinking again about the importance (or lack of it) of taking some of your own audience to venues when you play.

One of the replies on the forum mentioned above says:

"If you bring 100 people you are worth more than a great band who only draws 10 people"

There's definitely something in that, but if the venue in question is somewhere where the management love their music and like what you're band is about, you can often find they'll work with you to swell audience numbers. They'll advertise in advance at the venue itself (you can offer to supply posters and flyers), and of course some will advertise in the press.

The switched on ones will have Facebook or MySpace friends to publicise gigs.

But of course the band themselves need to do their bit. Keeping and building a database of "fans" (no matter how few) is a key part of making sure you don't play to empty dance floors..

You can take it a step further and do press releases for any publications local to the venue. This is not difficult and it won't cost you anything.

Here's something relevant from the old Gig-getter blog site

And if you're really stuck for an audience, one about Borrowing other band's fans

Gig-Getter in the Dock

I've always asked for feedback for my gigging guides so I can't complain when I receive a negative review about like the one that appeared about Gig-Getter on Amazon recently.

The lady in question does have some valid points that are worth consideration.

She talks about the book being for "complete novices" and it's true, it's not aimed at seasoned pros who have all the work they want. But then again, in anyone in that position is unlikely to need any help with how to get gigs anyhow.

There's a comment about the amount and nature of the content. A "mere 100 pages or so." and "common sense". Actually, I'm quite proud of these facts. I don't know about you but if a "How to" guide has too many pages, and sounds too complicated to succeed with, I get overawed.

Some people do like to go into massive detail with their subjects, as if they're some complicated "black art". Getting gigs is a pretty simple process that anyone can accomplish no matter what their background.

Like I say on my website: getting gigs is all gig-getter is about. Not getting record deals, finding band mates or merchandising. Just getting gigs.

The fact that i recommend the occasional cover song as gig-getting aids for original bands has been mentioned (and commented upon) before on this blog and in plenty of other places. Not just by me but by successful pro artists as something many of them do to help get their original act established. I freely admit though, there will always be original artist who take issue with this recommendation..

Finally, (phew) the reviewer points out there's no mention of myspace in Gig-Getter. Actually, there are a few of mentions, but I do take her point. I don't talk about using myspace for getting gigs. But I figure most bands have tried (or are trying) this method for gig-getting.

I think the response to this point is probably best summed up via another Amazon reviewer who says:

"I was initially surprised that this guide contained very little information about getting gigs using online techniques.

Having seen the results now first hand; Gig-Getter works and works well. I now suspect it's because the book uses a more proactive approach than relying on website or myspace hits. If you've got an online presence what you'll learn with this guide is how to supplement it. If not, it's as good a stand alone system for getting gigs as I've found. "

Anyhow, you can't please everyone all the time and I'm genuinely grateful to the lady in question for giving me the opportunity to try and explain my thinking on these aspects.

Now where did I put that Robbie Williams bass tab....

How to Get Gigs from Venues you'd given up on

Got a nice surprise yesterday when I venue I'd all but forgotten about called me up out of the blue to offer us some gig dates.

In truth it wasn't "out of the blue" as they'd just received our latest newsletter. But this venue first went onto our mailing list almost 2 years ago!

Like I've always said, circumstances do change at venues, whether it's new management, one of the roster of existing bands breaking up or increased gig frequency meaning they need some more bands.

Of course, you can't just keep phoning a venue that's initially turned you down and asking them if things have "changed yet". You can though, keep in touch via your newsletter so your name is always in front of them when they need a new band...