New Cover band, not much a following yet, told promotor, should we feel bad if we don't bring a good crowd?

[BiggRedd]

I used to be in an original metal band where it was implied you had to bring your own crowd typically. I'm far removed from that now and in a new 90's cover band. We just booked our second show and I don't really feel like we'll bring a lot of people. Has an $8 cover, which isn't bad but higher than I'd prefer to have to charge for right now. I don't even mind playing for a bar tab. I disclosed to the promoter that we're still new and don't have much of a following. Plus the other guys in the band are kind of home bodies who just like to play but aren't really social butterflies per se. Should I feel bad if I disclosed we likely won't bring many people and don't? The bar is kind of a hit or miss part of town and I'd like to try and start finding places with built in crowds but this place has a good music reputation and some of the guys wanted to play there.

[Outkaster]

I wouldn't unless it continues to be a problem then you will have to evaluate things like music, stage, appearance and marketing. Bring the cover charge down to 5 dollars. 8 dollars for an unknown band will turn people off.

[jeff42]

When a bar owner asks how many people will you bring its a red flag that the bar relies on the band bringing a crowd and doesnt really have regulars. My response is always- we don't guarantee 1 person through the door. what we will guarantee is that will will do our best to entertain the crowd that is there. If you feel like we are not good for your business don't hire us back.

[ski219]

When a bar owner asks how many people will you bring its a red flag that the bar relies on the band bringing a crowd and doesnt really have regulars. My response is always- we don't guarantee 1 person through the door. what we will guarantee is that will will do our best to entertain the crowd that is there. If you feel like we are not good for your business don't hire us back.

 

 

This is exactly what we do as well.

[BiggRedd]

I agree Jeff, can't really guarantee anyone but we'll definitely entertain. We definitely don't suck...in my biased opinion. and $8 just seems high unless it's a proven band. not that I'm cheap, just reality.

 

[happwith12strin]

Iwould not worry about it

I suggest focusing on the venue you eant to play and analyze it

How old is the exiting audience mostly male, mostly female or mixed

Is the Venue an Elegant Piano bar

What kind of music do they want? soft rock? blues? Rap? Country? top 40 radio covers?classic rock? Dance music?you must find a venue that matches the music you play!! thats the place where you will find the most immediate success if you cant find a match I suggest Danceable Drum&bass with some guitar thrown in you might try crowdsourcing via FaceBook or Twitter to get your own crowd but you need to attract a crowd that likes the type of music you play

start out with no cover during happy hour

[BiggRedd]

Had the show last night. Had a decent turn out so crisis averted. Broke a string and ended up butchering the next couple songs while I regained my poise but whatever, gained some new fans which was nice. We all agreed we prefer a no cover charge venue if possible and a free bar tab.

[AJ6stringsting]

Just slug it out, put on great show .... Build up on the musicianship / song delivery and they will come .... Trust me 👍😉

[Pat'sStrat]

Back in the old days when I was in a road band, it was impossible for bands to "bring a crowd." There was no social media, no cell phones or PCs, and being on the road meant you had no friends or fans in those cities. It was entirely up to the club owner/manager to create a vibe where their club was a destination, a place to be. And lots of them took it seriously, buying newspaper ad space, TV spots, posters, etc. There was something going on every night of the week- Mondays half price wells, Tequila Tuesdays, Wednesday ladies' night, etc etc.

 

Today, for a lot of reasons, the onus of a club's success has been placed on the bands. Partly because the full time gig market died and bands started a bidding war to get the remaining gigs-"we will give you an introductory rate if you'll hire us." "We will put up posters." "'we will play just for the door." "We will bring you a crowd". Now, clubs put a blurb on Facebook and act as if they've done their part.

[bigboy78]

My band is slowly building a following, we see the same faces at a lot of shows and they say it’s always a good night out when we are playing. But the people who come to see us only come to see us at certain venues. The drinking & dancing crowds go to the venue to drink and dance and they are usually loyal to the venue. Patrons at Pub A, probably don’t spend much time a Pub B, no matter what band is playing. The venue make sure there is a comfortable atmosphere to drink in, we make sure they have something to do when they’re drunk. Our crowds have a good time, and we get the “you guys are so much better than the band here last week”, but you know for sure that the venue will have the same people drinking there next week. I find that venues who expect the band to bring the crowd are usually failing at the comfortable atmosphere to drink part.

 

This is all in cover-band-land. In an original bands where a promoter is trying to cover cost with tickets sales, I would expect a band to have a following. People who go to see original bands go to see the band, not the venue.

 

[Vito Corleone]

Back in the old days when I was in a road band' date=' it was impossible for bands to "bring a crowd." [/quote']

 

​Not entirely true. Yes, the clubs had their own clientele and the clubowners were responsible for the promotion of the acts coming in, but the road bands very often had their own followings.

 

​In the days when I was doing it, we had a circuit we played where we'd rotate back to the same clubs 3-4 times a year and we very much had a fan base that turned out to see us. It was up to the club to let them know we were in town, but we got paid quite well and were always in demand because they knew they'd do better business with us than with some other bands.

 

​Of course, we weren't going to build a following like that on the road unless it was at a club that would have a pretty good turnout in the first place. But you'd build it from there. Usually it would be some ridiculous loss-leader drink special on a Wednesday night (Penny Drink Night!) to pack the place regardless of the band and then the good bands would bring the crowds back in on the weekend. Word would spread and the good bands would continue to draw bigger and bigger crowds every time they came back and the lesser bands not so much and they'd usually not get asked back.

 

 

[modulusman]

Yeah I remember it like guido61 posted. The really good bands you would remember and make sure to see them when they came back through town. There was a band from Pats neck of the woods [ Spokane/northern Idaho] called Lion and the first time I saw them it was like the Gods had descended from Heaven. I was 18 and new to the bar scene and they were great. Later they moved to another bar in town that would pay them more and the crowd followed them there. And Pat nobody tried to kill them with nun chucks at the new place.lol.

[Outkaster]

One thing for sure is that when a bar owner asks “how many people can you bring in?” I never know how to answer…it’s a loaded question. I can depend on a few things where the club is, is there bad weather that night (we have snow in the northeast), is there anything better going on in town, etc? I mean a lot goes into it and they don’t want to do any work as stated above. One thing besides posters and social media I stopped worrying about it and try to put out the best product possible. So far so good.

 

 

[Pat'sStrat]

The OP was talking about the first time in. I don't know of any road bands outside of national acts who ever brought a crowd first time in. You are right, we did develop followings in lots of places, but not the first time in.

[Pat'sStrat]

Lion was the epitome of cover bands back then.Skeeter was the first guy I heard play guitar in a cover band that could cover Van Halen and do it justice.

 

And no one tried to kill me with nun chucks since! But there as something about Montana that hated me- nun chucks in Bozeman, ripped off in Kalispell, shot with a fire extinguisher in Shelby, broke down band truck outside Libby in January at night....

[Pat'sStrat]

I have learned first time into a local venue to contact guys from other bands who play there regularly and ask them what the turnout is for them. That gives us a baseline to shoot for and expect.