Members Ambugaton Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 We got an offer from the biggest/busiest bar in the area we play to be their house band. They are a little more corporate than most places we play... you know filling out a 1099, insurance that covers our gear while we are there, and they are affiliated with holiday inn (hotel is attached) and have multiple sister bars throughout our region. This sounds like a good deal. They will pay us anywhere from 1-2k depending on how much we bring in and they will promote us for out of town gigs using their beer/liquor endersoments (like having jager girls or what have you promote a show or something). I don't know anything for certain, but these are some of the things that have been discussed. The deal seems nice and makes it easy for us. The only thing... they don't want us to play ANYWHERE else in town and I totally understand that but we have to decide to cut ties with some other owners/managers in the area. Anyone have any light to shed on this type of situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opus Antics Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 Interesting predicament. All I have are some questions to help you think it through. 1) What does "in town" mean. How big a circle does that encompass and how many other places would you have to cut? 2) How often do you play and when considering the new gig and the ones you drop, net net where you come out and is that something you're happy with? 3) Will the promotions out of town help you get bigger and better gigs in the out of town area that will help next level the band? 4) It's the biggest/busiest bar, but does it have the crowd that works for what you do, does your following like to go there? 5) Is the bar strong - in other words, any hints that it may be looking at a decline? In which case if they start to fade and cancel the deal, will you be in a pickle for having cut ties with other owners in town? Congrats on having something like this to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ambugaton Posted September 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 1) That is a good question to have them clarify. The city we play in is pretty cut and dry... being that there is not really much goin on around it. There are a few places that are about 20 miles away that I would like to play freely. Thanks for bringing that up. 2) This is not my full time job, just a hobby... we aim to play 2-3 times a month. So hopefully this deal will be 1 in town gig and 1-2 out of town gigs a month. What we charge for each gig is dependent on the bar. If it is a small time mom and pop... we will do 500-700. For our neighborhood bar down the street we will do 300-500. For the subject bar they will pay well over that and we may get double what we get for a normal gig. Money is not my primary concern but hey... playing 1 show for the price of 2... I think I would go for that. 3) Out of town gigs will definitely boost us to the next level.... and most likely that would be casinos... and I have heard good things about playing at a casino. 4) The place is the most established bar in the area. It has the most diverse crowd which suits our setlist. In our town people tend to bounce around to 3 or 4 different bar/venues and stick with whatever has the best to offer. Our first time playing at this place we met capacity twice and broke the record of any band that has played there before. Most people prefer to listen to music in this place in general. They actually have a decent stage and the sound of the room is superb compared to other places. 5) See answer 4. This place is attached to a holiday inn and is consistently busy each weekend. I don't see it going anywhere. Just by answering these questions I can see that I think it is a good deal and it makes sense. Some band members do not want to have somebody else manage us... and I think that is what the bars role will most likely be. I need any information and evidence to help persuade them that this is something we should at least try for a bit. We have until December to decide so at least we won't be rushed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 I've had several House Gigs in my "career". They can be very good but if you aren't allowed to keep your foot in the local scene WHEN the house gig ends (AND THEY ALWAYS END!) You'll essentially have to start over locally because bar management, ownership, patronage etc will have changed over if you do a 3-5 year stint in your house gig. Trust me. Been there. That said, if it's a part time deal and you seem to have a perfect situation. If you guys are older by that I mean, late 30's and up and weekenders, than I say Go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 So I'm confused. Is this a house gig or a regular monthly rotation gig? Which ever one it is, it would have to be an awfully big incentive to abandon your other local rooms. Should you go that route, I'd be sure to have a contract in place. In the corporate lodging world all it would take is a new bar manager to want to take the place in a completely different direction or worse yet turn it into a quiet bar, and you guys are out that job and every other job in town. And make sure that the contract has inclusive dates so that you have something to negotiate on when and because there is a renewal date. My last house gig (and it's been awhile) was five nights a week, three months on three months off, living at the hotel. That kind of playing will seriously tighten up a band. I loved it but others got tired of hotel living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ambugaton Posted September 30, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2014 I guess it would be more of a monthly rotation gig with some out of town promotions/gigs as well. Here is the thing I am concerned about, and some of you may have experience playing in a smaller town (12 - 15k population). If you play locally 2-3 times a month it is very easy to get burnt out in such a small area, I have seen it happen with other great bands in this area. They overplay to the limited crowd here and despite being great at what they do they slowly die out. We need to get out of town gigs and this may be a great way to start that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted September 30, 2014 Members Share Posted September 30, 2014 Key phrase in post, pay us 1 - 2 K (assume thousands) depending on what we bring in...define what you bring in.... Hookers are cheap BTW, and homeless people...well.... if you bring that in...or say nothing, then what? You get nothing if no crowd shows? I always hated booking those cause end of night even if you fill the place they still say the didn't make anything and pay the band squat...get a contract and I really really suggest getting some form of legal advice to review it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted September 30, 2014 Members Share Posted September 30, 2014 No one is addressing the fallout from these types of shows. I do an every Sunday gig in the summers which ends up to be 11-15 Sunday’s a season. Each day starts at 10 AM and ends about 8:30 at night. That accounts for a lot of time out of someone’s day, driving, set up, playing loading out. No one has mentioned that it takes a toll having a regular gig. From 1998-2002 I played every Wednesday at a club here in town. I think throughout that time I had maybe three weeks off. One thing is for sure; it wears on a band and makes the musicians sleepwalk through the gig. It also got the band sick of being around each other and it broke up the band kind of indirectly and we were still drawing decent crowd.The restaurant weekly gig I have now is doing the same thing to my members, I can see it wearing on them but next summer I will cut the gigs in half. It still pays really well but often that is not enough to make musicians enjoy playing to people eating lunch and dinner without much audience participation. Everyone thinks they want a regular gig every week at a bar/cub/eatery but it comes with a price. Trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 Letting a venue limit your playing opportunities to once a month makes no sense to me but I live in a pretty active area with a few million people within 30 miles. I can't imagine what kind of gig it would take to get me to agree not to play anywhere else but the once a month gig, but in a small town it might make sense. In fact, as you suggest, playing more than once a month could over expose you in a small town, but how can you get to the "next level" as an act if you only gig once or twice a month?If you just want to make the most money in the least amount of time, while playing in the best room, then you take the gig. If you want to be the best band possible, you have to gig way more than twice a month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wades_keys Posted October 8, 2014 Members Share Posted October 8, 2014 Easy solution. Pick another band name and go out and play under that name, making no reference at all to the house gig. A side project, as it were. The agreement only applies to that specific band, right? I see bands doing a variation on this all the time, where 2 members will go out under a different name as a duet and play smaller venues. So why not do the same thing here? Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted October 9, 2014 Members Share Posted October 9, 2014 Yeah that doesn't work if your hired as that band. People want the members they hire for a specific thing. There is no way I could go in to this summer gig with half the band. It just wouldn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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