Technique: The Gig Kahuna—The Importance of a Banner For Local Bands

One of the most common and devastating mistakes I see local bands make is playing gigs without a banner behind them. “Why is this such a big deal?” you might ask. For starters, you need to let people know who you are. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen local (or even regional and national) bands and thought to myself “good band, but who the hell are they?” More often than not, even the people who work at the venue can’t tell me what band is playing when asked.

And I am just one person. Think of all the potential fans you might have won over who would like to see you again, but have no idea who you are; other people involved in the scene such as media, talent bookers, other bands, promoters, agents, label reps, radio jocks—you never know who is out there checking you out. You can’t rely on people to have telepathic powers, and you more than likely don’t have some sort of bat signal. So without a banner, you are seriously screwing yourself out of a lot of potential new fans and more. No band—at least on a local or regional level—should ever, under any circumstances, play a show without a band logo somewhere on the stage. The time, money and effort you spent playing that useless out-of-town gig for five people could’ve—and would’ve—been much better spent getting a banner happening.

Closely related to no banner is a band that has a banner, but it’s so poorly designed you can’t read it from a distance, in low-light situations such as a typical club stage, or you’re in a death-metal band with an eyeball-bending logo. (No offense to any death bands, but c’mon! Let’s be realistic.) But it never ceases to amaze me, the local bands who I’m sure mean well and might work hard, yet don’t think of something so simple, yet extremely important as having a banner, sign, or at least a band logo on a kick drum head.

By now, some of you might want to know where to get a banner and how much it will cost. For starters, any sign shop should do a good job for you. They are all over and chances are there is one near you. But there are a few mom-and-pop-type sign and banner shops around that support local bands, and chances are there might be one in or near your town. If possible, I’d like you to seek one out and give them your business. Usually, $100-200 should get you a decent banner, depending on several factors.

For most bands, I strongly recommend white vinyl or ink on a black background, so it can easily be read from a distance and in low-light situations. Hopefully, your logo is easy to read. If you don’t have a logo, even having the sign shop typeset your band name is better than nothing. For most bands and situations, a banner about six to eight feet wide should do the job fine. But if your band has a long name and/or is a sentence, you might have a bit of trouble getting it all on a limited amount of space, and therefore need a bigger banner. A bigger banner might also be a good idea if you’re playing larger venues (such as theater-size).

So you’ve taken my advice and got a banner happening. What else? I would suggest bringing rope, twine, black duct tape, bungee straps, chain, coat hanger wire, hammer and small nails, even a stand made of PVC pipe to every gig, as well as the banner. The idea is to be able to hang it in any situation, as different venues have anything from nothing to decent stages to accommodate banners. Other ideas might include bringing your own lights of some sort to light up your banner. Even cooler yet is a lighted sign if you can swing it.

Trust me. A banner will make all the difference in the world on your future gigs. There is virtually no excuse for not having one, and it’s a very small investment you’ll be glad you made.

David Himes is the author of the book Realities for Local Bands: Talent is not Enough. You can find it at Amazon. For a FREE sneak preview, click here. The book is also available in PDF format. Also, David published a local music scene paper for over 16 years and has held over 400 live shows, giving him a unique insight on the scene. Your feedback and comments are welcome.