Pulled the plug last night

[BlueStrat]

Had a band meeting and decided to pull the plug on the band. Live music is changing here. 10 years ago, I had a 6 piece band and we were working all over the place, booked every weekend for decent money. Today, I can't find a venue for my 5 piece band that will pay over 400 a night, and most want to pay 300, and most want me to drop at least one guy because of space and volume.

 

I could probably get more bookings if I changed the format and became a classic rock or commercial country band, but even then, there isn't much pay involved. Almost all the classic rock band here are trios with an occasional 4 piece. There just isn't enough money and enough bookings in it for me to make changing the format worthwhile. And to be honest, at my age, if I can't play what I want to play, I'd rather not.

 

It's a tough pill to swallow to admit that you aren't selling a product anyone wants anymore. But the truth is the truth. On a positive note, my solo thing is doing quite well and I've been averaging $1000 a month without really trying, so I'm going to focus my energies into more bookings there. I won't put a bullet in the band entirely; I will keep the possibility of occasionally doing a show if we're asked for events and such.

 

Onward!

[ckcondon]

Sorry the band isn't working out. At least you have the solo gig option. Drummers can't usually pull that off, so I'm hopeful we can keep finding venues that like rock!

My last resort is becoming a DJ and at least putting my PA/lights to good use!

[Crustee]

Kind of similar here, except it's all on one side of town.

 

All the places that have live music are on the other side of town from me. Hardly any place has live music on my side, and the ones that do are agency rooms.

[StratGuy22]

Move.

 

 

[3shiftgtr]

The pill....something no one wants.....hard to swallow....man it just sounds so depressing!!!!

 

I dunno....I think it's generational...younger folks want dj's and rap etc (mostly) and geezers in our age group don't want the beer soaked party animal thing anymore, so it's not a matter of the fact that they don't WANT what you have....

 

....they want what you are giving them now! The acoustic thing. So the question is:

 

Are you gonna miss it that much? Is the acoustic thing fulfilling enough?

[sventvkg]

Things change, we move on. It will all be OK as long as you're still playing music on a level that you want to be. Good luck and happy change.

[TIMKEYS]

 

Had a band meeting and decided to pull the plug on the band. Live music is changing here. 10 years ago, I had a 6 piece band and we were working all over the place, booked every weekend for decent money. Today, I can't find a venue for my 5 piece band that will pay over 400 a night, and most want to pay 300, and most want me to drop at least one guy because of space and volume. I could probably get more bookings if I changed the format and became a classic rock or commercial country band, but even then, there isn't much pay involved. Almost all the classic rock band here are trios with an occasional 4 piece. There just isn't enough money and enough bookings in it for me to make changing the format worthwhile. And to be honest, at my age, if I can't play what I want to play, I'd rather not. It's a tough pill to swallow to admit that you aren't selling a product anyone wants anymore. But the truth is the truth. On a positive note, my solo thing is doing quite well and I've been averaging $1000 a month without really trying, so I'm going to focus my energies into more bookings there. I won't put a bullet in the band entirely; I will keep the possibility of occasionally doing a show if we're asked for events and such. Onward!

 

 

solo acts are taking over live entertainment in many ways. Its more customer friendly when your focus in business is selling food and drinks. Not many people can make it in the nightclub business these days. It takes a big room that tends to only fill up on the weekends ,, expenses are there 7 days a week 52 weeks a year. Bands tend to be a labor of love in most locations.

[BlueStrat]

Move.

 

 

Ha ha! No thanks. I wouldn't give this up for anything, not even more bar gigs.

 

[heath_eld]

 

solo acts are taking over live entertainment in many ways. Its more customer friendly when your focus in business is selling food and drinks. Not many people can make it in the nightclub business these days. It takes a big room that tends to only fill up on the weekends ,, expenses are there 7 days a week 52 weeks a year. Bands tend to be a labor of love in most locations.

 

 

I'm not sure if its about customer friendly or about cheaper? Its a different business. Over here even 10 years ago in any area there was a pub, probably 2, with a band playing - at least 3 piece and perhaps 4. Now the same bars have no entertainment or a solo act if the punters are lucky. Not even sure whats changed? Economy here hasnt tanked by much. They banned smoking in pubs and i think that was a bit of a slow burn... anyway sucks trying to find a decent place to go out to. The only places that do bands now are nightclubs and "big" pubs... which are really clubs by a different name.

[tim_7string]

It's definitely sad to have to let go of something you love due to changing times.

 

I prepared for it early on, as far back as 1989. I realized as a keyboardist, I was *currently* a hot commodity, but when it came right down to it, if I didn't play guitar, bass guitar or drums, I was left out in the cold if I wanted to play more gigs. Bands could downsize into trios and still get hired, but I would have been the first one cut. I was in a 4-piece band where the guitarist and bass guitarist traded off on vocals. There were some country songs I didn't know, so they simply played them as a trio while I watched offstage. It was not a fun situation seeing how easily I could be removed.

 

I was already learning guitar on my own in 1988 because of my newfound love for bands like Guns N' Roses and Metallica. A few years later, grunge bands from Seattle took over the airwaves and the keyboard in rock music became passe. It was almost like my tastes were changing with the times then, so it worked out when I eventually got better at guitar and I was able to keep going with bands, only occasionally playing keyboards, but primarily changing my focus on singing lead and playing lead guitar.

 

I would dearly love to have a five-piece band I would front for certain shows, set up like Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers or Rick Springfield (Vocals/Guitar, Lead Guitar/Vocals, Keyboards/Vocals, Bass Guitar/Vocals, Drums), that lineup that was common in the 70s and 80s. I love a lot of that music and my own songs are similar in that vein. Like you, BlueStrat, I don't want to play stripped-down versions of those songs in a trio format. The parts are there for a reason and won't sound the way I want them to unless all five instruments are there. But playing for $75/man, not to mention coordinating all those people and the space limitations of some stages makes it cost- and time-prohibitive. I would only have a band like that for special events where it would pay off for everyone involved. "Slumming it" in the bar scene with that group would make no sense.

 

Will I ever get a chance to have that band? Not sure. I'd love to play a few gigs like that before I get too old, though.

[nchangin]

 

Sorry the band isn't working out. At least you have the solo gig option. Drummers can't usually pull that off, so I'm hopeful we can keep finding venues that like rock! My last resort is becoming a DJ and at least putting my PA/lights to good use!

 

 

I know it may suck but that's what happened to me. Music scene died and was sick of spending countless money to keep my kit up to date and maintenence then I don't know how much money traveling for practices and buying PA gear only to make a 100 bucks at a gig you worked countless hours. I invested in PA gear, lights, trailer and became a multi DJ both the karaoke and DJ market. A. I'm not dead beat tired after 4 hours of swinging the sticks. B. I get paid a minimum (only for personal people I know) of 200.00 and for weddings easily 800 to 1000.00 a night. Found that was often called for dual bookings so invested in a B rig and pay a DJ to do the show and normally pay out 150.00, so for a 400.00 show the business net profit is still 250.00 for that night, not a lot of $ but if 2 show business can net a good profit any night there is a double booking.

 

Is it the same satisfaction as playing live? No. But at age 40 I realized busting my balls for 4 hours for 100 bucks just doesn't seem logical.

 

On the a side note, about the only venue around here that employs live music every weekend is the casino's and go figure, they are smoking establishments, so I do suspect that may have changed live music forever. With all the new music being synthesized, I find it amazing that live bands today can pull that music off even though you hear them live it's night and day from the album, yes they are trying give them cudos for that, but unless you are recording the actual tracks from the original track, the live versions always seem to be way off from the original, which in itsself is a separate topic from this.

[The Real MC]

Same scene here. Live club music is dying. I've been gigging for 30 years. The pay is getting worse and gas keeps going up. There's no money in it anymore.

 

The better scenes are in the big cities, the nearest is a 90 mile drive for me. Not practical to move - I have a really good job, I like the rural areas, and the job outlook is better here.

[New Trail]

 

..... I realized as a keyboardist, I was *currently* a hot commodity, but when it came right down to it, if I didn't play guitar, bass guitar or drums, I was left out in the cold if I wanted to play more gigs. Bands could downsize into trios and still get hired, but I would have been the first one cut......It was not a fun situation seeing how easily I could be removed......

 

 

I know what you mean. The other night our keyboardist (in our originals band) was going to be late so we went ahead and rehearsed without him. When we took a break our bassist said "well, we could play just like that, without _______." We all agreed, but we said we would miss what he played. However, and I didn't say this, but I kinda liked some of the stuff better, there was more openness in the sound, more space. It seems that a lot of times somebody in a band thinks they have to play on everything, all the time (like when you jam with a harp player and they play all the way thru a song). I like space in the music...

[Sillypeoples]

 

I know what you mean. The other night our keyboardist (in our originals band) was going to be late so we went ahead and rehearsed without him. When we took a break our bassist said "well, we could play just like that, without _______." We all agreed, but we said we would miss what he played. However, and I didn't say this, but I kinda liked some of the stuff better, there was more openness in the sound, more space. It seems that a lot of times somebody in a band thinks they have to play on everything, all the time (like when you jam with a harp player and they play all the way thru a song). I like space in the music...

 

 

Cut the fat.

[Kramerguy]

Blue, sorry to hear it hasn't been working out with your 5-pc. As much experience and wisdom that you have, I'm certain that you arrived at the best possible conclusions and I agree with your choices. I haven't spoke much about it, but my originals band fell apart almost two years ago, mostly for the same reasons. Me and Val still do a duo once or twice a year (we did Musikfest a couple of months ago), but we no longer have a full backing band, and we no longer actively seek gigs. Keeping your band together for some occasional gigs is a good thing and you never know when things might perk back up. I'd say focus those efforts on doing festival gigs only, and forget about the bars.. you can do those solo, as you've said.

 

This next part mostly applies to cover-bands:

I believe what we've been experiencing the last 10+ years is more attributable to a lull than a death. I see a lot of new music getting out, new style, fresh. When commercial music gets stale, the trickle-down theory most definitely applies. People get sick of the status-quo and go find something else to get involved in. With the national music scene becoming recently invigorated (IMO), I firmly believe that the positive effects will also trickle down to the local levels.

 

The only thing is that a lot of what is said here about the times a'changin is absolutely correct- local bands can't keep playing classic rock, southern rock, classic country, or any other of the 'normal' staples anymore. As performers, we need to stay on top of the latest music in whatever genre we're in and stop relying on the classics. They are dead, bury them already. The latest generations of bar-goers has most definitely moved on, and we've noticed that our better "classic" songs are now mostly 1998+ and we are actively rooting out all the "staples" like summer of 69, SWA, jenny jenny, jessies girl... they don't flop, but they do us no favors anymore. Actually, SWA flopped alot, we dropped it months ago.

[jeff42]

The latest generations of bar-goers has most definitely moved on, and we've noticed that our better "classic" songs are now mostly 1998+ and we are actively rooting out all the "staples" like summer of 69, SWA, jenny jenny, jessies girl... they don't flop, but they do us no favors anymore. Actually, SWA flopped alot, we dropped it months ago.

 

In the last few years I noticed staples like these working less and less. Most are what i consider "strong filler." What I have been seeing is 90s non-grunge material working well. and It makes sense to me.

 

We started playing jesse's girl in 2002... 10 years ago. 5 years ago we played it almost every show. In the last year or 2... not so much.

 

As far as pulling the plug- We are pretty much doing that with There & Back Again. We are 5 guys + a sound guy, big full band and we can not find gigs. I believe there are many reasons for this but one is, the rooms we play (played) ARE cutting back.

 

With my trio Ostrich Hat, I have seen the opposite. We are VERY busy. Again I think there are many reasons for that. One being we can fit into smaller places than the full band and we have been giving small restaurants in my area something they normally don't have... A BAND! They were used to the solo or duo thing and At first it was hard to convince them to hire us. But soon they realized this trio doesn't take up much more room than a duo would! After we proved ourselves the schedule has been filling up fast since our 1st gig in May 2011. As the full band was losing gigs and bigger places were closing/cutting back on live bands I saw an opportunity with a smaller group to offer something different to these places that may not have room for a full band.

[TIMKEYS]

 

Well, things DO change, don't they. The younger kids still drink as much as the previous generation, but they think of DJ's when they think about dancing. A live band is often a distraction from talking to girls or dancing to the DJ's on band breaks. The older generation still likes live bands but they're getting older, and they don't go out as much as they used to and don't stay out as late when they DO go out. Adapting is the answer.... I know what you mean. The other night our keyboardist (in our originals band) was going to be late so we went ahead and rehearsed without him. When we took a break our bassist said "well, we could play just like that, without _______." We all agreed, but we said we would miss what he played. However, and I didn't say this, but I kinda liked some of the stuff better, there was more openness in the sound, more space. It seems that a lot of times somebody in a band thinks they have to play on everything, all the time (like when you jam with a harp player and they play all the way thru a song). I like space in the music...

 

 

LOL.. I agree with all that you said and I play keys. I played a series of shows where we used a drummer that was a studio producer and had been a drummer for the big leagues all of his life. He said , the perfect country piano play was a guy with a beer in his left hand and a good right hand. He said most guys dont get that the money hand is the right and and tend to get way too busy with the left. Our biggest fan base is mature adults, and we have a ton of them, due to the fact we are based on the texas gulf coast and have snowbacks down here all winter. Best fan base you could ask for. Love live music, have 100 percent of their time free, and drink like fish and eat like horses every night.

[The Real MC]

A lot more blue collar workers frequent the bars than white collar workers. But the blue collar jobs started leaving the country ten years ago and that's when the bars started having trouble.

 

Smoking bans and tired classic rock genres are a smaller part of the problem. I have seen plenty of bands playing newer stuff and they're not doing much better. I straddle the NY/PA border, the latter doesn't have a smoking ban and they're having their problems.

[twostone]

Bummer dude I know it's gotta be tough for ya giving up a band playing the kind music your pour your heart and soul to esp if you been doing any length of time.

In my parts to make any decent pay you gotta be a agency band because if your not then your playing for chump change.

From the agency bands I've seen and heard do modern dance music bands and modern country bands.

So it seems to be that way every where's now a days that you go with the flow or get left behind.

[New Trail]

 

..... local bands can't keep playing classic rock, southern rock, classic country, or any other of the 'normal' staples anymore. As performers, we need to stay on top of the latest music in whatever genre we're in and stop relying on the classics.....

 

 

I completely agree. The only places around here where you can still get away with playing a lot classic rock and southern rock are places that are primarily country, but you have to play country, too....and I don't wanna do that anyway. Playing current Top 40, which is what the younger crowd wants (it's what they've ALWAYS wanted) is a lot of fun, but most songs have a short shelf life, so you have to keep learning new music, but I'm okay with that, too.

[TIMKEYS]

 

I completely agree. The only places around here where you can still get away with playing a lot classic rock and southern rock are places that are primarily country, but you have to play country, too....and I don't wanna do that anyway. Playing current Top 40, which is what the younger crowd wants (it's what they've ALWAYS wanted) is a lot of fun, but most songs have a short shelf life, so you have to keep learning new music, but I'm okay with that, too.

 

 

young = current radio hits. classic rock and country is an older crowd. to be honest I am playing for the same demographic I played for in high school. We are all geezers now. The differnce is , the kids are grown, we are retired, have more money and time, and are much improved in our ability to drink alot and usually buy food too.

[JoeDirt]

Country around here (Pat's neck of the woods) has both crowds.

 

There are 2 country bars that cater to young (30 and younger) crowds and 2 or 3 that caters to older (40 and up).

 

The 2 that cater to the young people are way busier than the ones that don't. Not even close.

 

Sorry to hear bout your band Pat.

[trevcda]

Ha ha! No thanks. I wouldn't give this up for anything, not even more bar gigs.

 

+1,000,000!

[wheresgrant3]

Sorry to hear that Pat. Nightclub business geographic areas tend to 'ebb and flow' depending on how the local economy is doing. Sorry to hear your area is more 'ebb and less flow'.

[3shiftgtr]

Ya know, around here and the cover bands I see are all older. Not many late 20 early 30 something players keeping the faith. In the 80's & 90's the majority was younger guys.

 

And I think it's true on a bigger scale too. I was talking to some of the guys in Dustin Lynch's organization and they were saying that it's hard to find guys in their 20's that are any good......