New band Members and Maximum Gig-Getting

A guitarist in a semi-pro band contacted me yesterday about new band member he and his band mates wanted to bring in.

They'd auditioned him ( a drummer) and he was a cut above anyone they'd worked with before. What concerned the guitarist was making sure they didn't run into problems down the line with this new guy like they had with previous band members.

Typically, this had resulted in gigs drying up.

I told him that from the bands I've worked (and my own 4 piece) it's proved crucial to establish ground rules with any new band member before they join. I suggested a sit down discussion away from rehearsal rooms.

In this guitarists case, the area he wanted to cover were:

1. Set Lists - Getting agreement that the drummer had no issues with any of the current material and whether he had any suggestions for new numbers

2. Equipment - Agreement that any future general band requirements (ie, lights, PA, transport etc) would be met from gig monies and not any one individuals pocket.

3. Rehearsals - are not for learning. the work should be done in advance. See the blog post yesterday for more on this

4. Song Inputs - Like each band member, the drummer would be expected to create his own part for the original songs, not to wait to be told what to do.

5. Timing - Agree a date when the new guy would be expected to be "gig-ready"

6. Gig-Frequency - Al;though this should really be established very early on to avoid even auditioning unsuitable band members, the level of gigging activity they were aiming for needed to be agreed between all band members.

7. Type of Gigs and Minimum Payments 8. Set-up and Tear Down - all band members to arrive at each gig at the pre-agreed time and all to contribute towards the physical labour of setting up and tearing down.

9. No "hangers on" at rehearsals - The drummer had alarmed some other band members by arriving for his audition with a friend. The guitarist wanted to spell out the "band members only" rule for all future get-togethers.

Some of these are pretty good general rules. Ultimately, if a new band member has issues with any of the ways you operate, it's far better to establish that up front rather than waste everyone's time and have to cancel gigs then recruit again a few months down the line.

Watch for how he/she reacts when you spell out what's expected. Even if they agree to what you're asking, if they look uncomfortable about it they're probably just paying lip service and will disappoint you at some stage.

Ignore laying down the ground rules early - at your peril....

Remember Playing in a Band 1st time round?

Those of us who gigged in bands a little as youngsters and then gave up in order to "grow up and get a real job" might like the sticky post below from the Talkbass.

It asks for input from more "mature" musicians about things they wished they'd known about how to be in a band and make it successful when they were younger.

There's some great stuff in all the replies which might not be obvious to everyone.

For example, not letting one person have the final say on song selection for set lists etc...

In terms of the original posters' points I agree completely with his comment about learning new material in advance of the full band rehearsal. In fact, here's some additional opinions from other musicians on Backstage with the Bands on that same topic


Going back to the "things we wish we'd known when younger" post personally I'd have to say:

1. How to Get Gigs regularly and repeatedly
2. How to use public gigs to secure private work
3. How to interact with the people you play to
4. Why playing bass is the coolest job in any band (!)

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