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.