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Finding new rooms


STM86

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I have gigged pretty lightly over the last several years. Two or three gigs per month; just enough to keep the rust off and gain a little pocket change. So two rooms were enough and I didn't really look for anything more. Well, one room and one patio.

 

The one room is now working with a booking agent who doesn't work with me. The patio is located in Michigan. So as of now I have nothing. And I've had no luck getting anything new since. From the feedback I've received, it isn't because I suck.

 

So what has worked best for you guys in terms of reaching new rooms? In person visits? Phone calls? Email? Facebook? Does a web presence make a difference? Are promo sampler videos effective?

 

This question is, of course, given a good act. So then what?

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In person works best. Find out who books, find out what they are looking for, present the right 'calling card'...

 

Sadly, as I found over the past few years, 'clueless kids' are the ones who will work cheap enough to 'manage' most places that have music.

They want to look at your facebook page, but they won't exert any effort to promote your appearances, because they don't really care, they just want to save money and look good to the boss.

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... So what has worked best for you guys in terms of reaching new rooms? In person visits? Phone calls? Email? Facebook? Does a web presence make a difference? Are promo sampler videos effective?...

 

Seventy percent of success in life is showing up. Woody Allen

 

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. Abraham Lincoln

 

 

I'm not on the right side of either of these notions, but I was at a jam yesterday that included a local guy who has moved to Toronto to "make it" and he completely agreed with statement one. He said "Sometimes I don't want to go out. Somebody's playing someplace and I'd rather stay home, but I force myself to go out and meet a couple of people, chat with friends, and maybe land a gig."

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As far as my area goes (Vancouver BC), if you are looking at solo gigs you will need an agency and/or: a Facebook artist page or presence, a website, a couple of CD's, hopefully some awards (Junos work best), and a back story if your calendar is non existent - "I've been in the Himalayan Mountains writing music for the last five years". To back up what I'm saying, looking through a few recent New Year's Eve postings on my local FB, I see three guys that are Juno Award winners pumping their gigs. Having said that, as daddymack mentioned, there's no substitute for an in person sit down. Unfortunately some clubs won't even meet you in person these days. That's when your online presence is crucial.

 

Speaking of online presence; I had a buyer call me on a recommendation from someone else. They asked what my bag was, and I gave them my website. While we were talking they looked at my site, figured I would work and hired me - and my website ain't all that great. If you are talking to a buyer, and they can see things like countless pictures of you on FB at various gigs, that goes a long way. In fact, I know someone that is well known in my area. They are constantly getting pictures with A list movie stars. It looks pretty good when you google them. Come to think of it, I should post the video of me with Justin Bieber (of course that could backfire!).

 

Anyway, if you are interested maybe I can post some links of people that do a really good job of web promoting.

 

As far as music goes (always the last thing) I suggest you find a genre that buyers like, and that you do very well. Set yourself apart with something tangible they can sell and promote. Well actually, you'll have to sell and promote it - venues don't do that anymore.

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Thanks for the responses. In person is totally not my thing. Better than the phone, but I dread those cold-knock situations. Once I'm in the mic, it morphs into a semi-endearing bit of dry and self-deprecating humor. But I HATE approaching people. The web side I do okay, but all my videos are full songs. It's just an uphill battle for us introverted homebodies, which I pretty much knew already.

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Yep. There are many personal attributes that are necessary or helpful in a music career. Playing well is just one and some of the others are more important. The pubs are full of middling players who are good salesmen onstage while excellent players who are lousy salesmen sit at home. Wish I knew what to do about that.

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I find that it is better to create a 'presence', show up a few times [you need to size up the competition anyway, right?] before dropping the 'I would like this gig' schtick. In my experience, sales is in the eye of the beholder. The product should sell itself, so you need the right calling card...a great video on youtube, a good Fb page with vids and 'friends', and a website [not a subsite like angelfire, reverbnation etc]...

 

Sadly, 'introverted homebodies' do not come across as particularly entertaining, because, let's be honest here, you need to be ENTERTAINING. You need to be able to engage the audience on a some kind of personal level...being the best musician in town may help, but if the audience doesn't like you, you may as well hang it up, unless you can turn that into some kind of schtick....like Don Rickles.

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I'm one who hates cold calls. I'm not a good in-person salesman but on stage, I'm the complete opposite, extroverted. It's the place I feel most comfortable. Fortunately, most of our gigs are repeats or referrals. I'd probably work even more if I didn't hate to do cold calls.

 

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An agent booked us into two clubs, one was a yacht club, and another near a number of condominiums.

 

People would come up and ask us if we were available for parties. They yacht club was every Friday, and the other club was every Thursday, which left Saturdays and Sundays open.

 

We ended up playing the yacht club as the house band for about 20 years, and in the summer, they had a deal where anyone who belonged to any other country club or yacht club could come in and dine there. Many clubs do this in the slow season. Since the yacht club was on the water with a beautiful view and had a great chef, we kept on getting gigs at others.

 

Eventually the yacht club gig ended. The repairs after the hurricanes of 2014 and the demand for contractors kept them out of business for over a year. When they came back in business, we still played there occasionally, but they no longer had a house band.

 

Short answer to your question: "We got lucky" - and the agency made almost 10 years of commissions but the agent/owner had a heart attack. Pity, he was a nice guy, played sax, piano and steel drum, and told me I didn't have to pay commissions on any spin-off parties from the gigs as long as they were at a different venue.

 

I have done some cold calls, but unless I'm on stage, I'm not shy, but reserved, and don't feel comfortable selling myself.

 

I also run ads on Craigslist and the free Gig Salad membership which bring in 2 or 3 gigs per year. Also, for the past 9 years we have a weekday afternoon gig at a yacht basin. Who can come on weekday afternoons? Retired people, and there are a lot of condominiums in the neighborhood.

 

We got that job by accident. A fan told us the regular band had to go back to Canada for the guitarist's knee surgery, and they were looking for a replacement. He gave them our card, we called and got the gig. Next year when the regular band came back and they got their Wednesdays back. But the owner liked us so much she gave us pick of any other day we wanted. We tried a couple and settled on Tuesday because it was the weekday that worked best for us, leaving the weekends open for other gigs. Now we draw the biggest crowd of the week, on Tuesdays, in a club that has 7 days entertainment. I guess that's why we've been there 9 years now,

 

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