With the massive advance of 'computer' based music, recording enthusiasts have taken the internet world by storm. With the popular itunes now dishing out thousands of tracks per minute coupled with the colossal amount of indie sites springing up day by day, musicians have more opportunites to be heard than ever before, and hardly a need to move from their own seats.
Living life as a 'virtual' online star can have its pro's and con's, however any band or artist will tell you that performing live to a crowd of enthusiastic fans is about as good as it gets.
But, if you want the world to appreciate the 'real' you, how do you get the party started?
Well firstly, you may want to approach venues which already take unsigned acts and allow them to perform. They will require an entertainment licence (check in your geographical area what licences are required), and make sure that they are in tune with this legal requirement.
Find venues in your area which alre ady seem to have a decent following of customers. There is nothing worse than booking a gig with a venue and finding out the place is nearly empty on your Saturday night appearance. Find out if any major event or function is happening on same the night you want to perform. Don't arrange your gig on the same night that another major event is going on in your town/city.
Ask the local general public where they go, what's the most popular venue in your area? If you don't mind travelling go further afield and do the same. Check out suitable venues in the paper and theatres.
Visit the venue that you like the look of at various times during the week and check out the type of people that go there. How could you live with yourself if you turned up to play a few Van Halen numbers to a bunch of retired war veterans. Become familiar with the atmosphere and see if they already pull in enough people before you gig. Are the staff friendly? Service good? All this is quite import ant as when you play in that venue for a few hours you become a part of it.
Print out flyers, and stick them anymore you can think of where people might actually read and pay attention, i.e. public toilets. In a busy shopping mall people may be just that... too busy. If you can get a small mention announcing the gig on radio, newspaper; brilliant.
Watch out for half empty haunts, which book a band in the hope that the band itself will provide some custom. This is absolute rubbish, it is not your duty to fill up their venue. However, it is admirable if you can do this on your own merit. If you're sure two hundred people are going to turn up at your gig, then charge the manager a respectable sum for your effort, after all thanks to you, they will be pocketing an unmentionable amount on drinks or food from his establishment on your behalf.
Once you book the gig get it in writing, confirming everything from the amount you are to be paid that night (regardless i f the gig turns out well or not). An unsigned band were once given an advance of $30 with a follow up fee immediately after the gig, but they never saw a dime more after the gig was over. The management mumbled that the gig did not go 'as well as expected' even though the band did pull in more people than the place ordinarily would have had. Still the manager refused to pay up. With nothing in writing the group could not contest him. Time and effort wasted!
Speak to musicians who are already performing there. They will advise you on how to 'approach' the manager and find out all things related such as, do they pay well? The amount of time a gig should lasts; what they pay out; do they allow or prefer loud instruments/music or do they prefer soft ambient music? If the place is very well known for its heavy rock performances, you're Diana Ross numbers may not go down a storm!
Will there be space for all your gear at the venue? Will you leave it there after the gig or take it with you? If they allow you to leave your equipment in the venue that evening make sure it's placed in a secure locked up area, and that someone will be there the next day for you to retrieve it. You can guarantee they won't be replacing your stuff if it gets stolen.
Check out the area you will be performing in. Does it feel right and can everyone see you well enough from outside your performance circle? Check that there are enough electrical extensions for you to plug in your gear, if these are on the other side of the room will your cables reach them? Take a long extension socket just in case. If you're Singing on the night take two microphones and leave one as 'reserve'. The same goes for microphone cables. If your cable breaks or your microphone hits the floor and you've no replacemen t. End of Story!
Many establishments don't have much of an idea how much effort goes into the planning structure of Gigging, they can think its just a matter of getting in and doing it, but as Touring acts can tell you, there are whole load of factors to consider in preparation for one night. Tell the Manager you need to practice your set on a quiet day for a few hours. This will allow you to check out the ambience of the place and work out where you will place your gear and position yourselves on the night. If they don't allow this, re-consider!
If you've got any CD's of your own to sell, take a box with you and sell them 'during' the gig, dont wait till the end when everyone ups and leaves. Take anything you got, t-shirts with your band name on, business cards.... advertise!! Get someone to offer them around whilst your performing, also print any URL's to your online music on the CD or flyers you give out. If you have a second gig invite them all again at the e nd of the night, tell everyone from the newsagent owner to the postman. You can only rely on word of mouth.
Take into consideration that if the venue fills up on the night you may have to adjust your equipment levels, as people actually absorb some of the frequencies in the room; which is why you often think you're being drowned out by the crowd when everything sounded perfect on rehearsal. Take an engineer, or at least someone with a good ear to stand at different points in the room and listen. You may find you're clearly audible by the bar, but on the other side of the room you're just a mumble. Be careful where you position your speakers and if you're Singing have a monitor facing you with just your vocals coming out. It's quite tricky to hear yourself if all the other musicians around you are bl asting their instruments to high heaven.
If everything goes perfectly well and the manager is dying to re-book you charge him slightly more. Don't go excessive on this as he may be offended. But if you pulled it off really well and he knows the crowd will come back again, take the opportunity now, or try to get an 'extended' contract for say six months. Therefore you won't need to be looking around again in a couple of weeks for a new haunt.
So if your keen on jumping on the performing bandwagon, hopefully these tips will help you with finding the right place, feel comfortable on the actual night, and also ensure that you don't easily get ripped off.
Carla Acheson is a musician, and freelance writer for a variety of subjects, mainly the independent music industry. She is the Director of Independent Record Label http://www.melodrift.com, and the Assistant Editor for news site http://www.indienewslive.com.
Author:: Carla Acheson
Keywords:: perform ing live, Gigging, Touring, live entertainment, stage performing, Singing,
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