Members TrickyBoy Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 So, we played our first gig in New Orleans on Friday Night. Not in the Quarter or anything. Instead we played right off the Tulane campus. Anyways, it was an interesting venue to play, it was basically an adult Chuck E Cheese and 16K square feet. There was a big raised stage for the band and an area with a bar and a dancefloor. But, there was also 25 pool tables, like 10 ping pong tables, 10 dart boards, skee ball, fooz ball, duck bowling, video games, etc. So... we were playing for 300+ people, but only 40-50 were in the band area. We could see out over all the games and most everyone was singing and dancing along, but in terms of "feedback", there was very little. IDK, we struggle with gigs like these. I think we're a bunch of attention whores . But in truth, no matter how good the band was, I'd probably be out playing games if I was there too, so it's not like I can complain. I mean, the feed back was all very positive and the club staff liked us and wants to put us on an every 6 week rotation for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 I'm afraid to ask... ...but what's 'duck bowling'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 We've got Jillian's and Dave and Busters in New England - somewhat of a similar experience every time... but hey, have fun playing with your band mates and if there's a crowd, entertain `em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted November 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 I'm afraid to ask......but what's 'duck bowling'? Like bowling, but with shorter lane, smaller pins and a smaller ball. Kinda fun actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 We've played Jillian's before in Boston and Albany, NY. They were sorta of thankless gigs that paid so so. We were set up on the ground floor entertaining the bar, while most of the audience passed by us to walk upstairs to the game rooms. They did lead to us playing to better rooms in both areas so that was the net benefit. Good to have any decent profile gig on your roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted November 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 We've played Jillian's before in Boston and Albany, NY. They were sorta of thankless gigs that paid so so. We were set up on the ground floor entertaining the bar, while most of the audience passed by us to walk upstairs to the game rooms. They did lead to us playing to better rooms in both areas so that was the net benefit. Good to have any decent profile gig on your roster. This was a little different because the way it was set up, everyone on the "game floor" could still see and hear us. We'll definitely put it into a regular rotation next year. It should be a good way to break into that market and the pay was decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 This was a little different because the way it was set up, everyone on the "game floor" could still see and hear us. We'll definitely put it into a regular rotation next year. It should be a good way to break into that market and the pay was decent. Absolutely... any chance you have to break into a new market, for decent pay with a built in audience... take it. It can only lead to better things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 This was a little different because the way it was set up, everyone on the "game floor" could still see and hear us. We'll definitely put it into a regular rotation next year. It should be a good way to break into that market and the pay was decent. Its good to do places that dont depend totally on a band for their sales.... sometimes they are not the most rewarding emotionally though. Its a tough job to be second fiddle to duck bowling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnelly428 Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 Its good to do places that dont depend totally on a band for their sales.... sometimes they are not the most rewarding emotionally though. Its a tough job to be second fiddle to duck bowling. Very true. While it may be a crap gig in regards to interaction between the crowd and band, if it is a steady room/easy to work with/decent pay, it's worth the hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dancebass Posted November 14, 2011 Members Share Posted November 14, 2011 Sounds fine to me man. The girls near the Tulane campus would make it worth the trek over for sure. Still stinks I missed you guys at the IP in Biloxi. Would have enjoyed having a drink with ya. We play this one place every now and then here in ATL. It's in the north-burbs. It's the only venue we play that's both a restaurant and a venue. The two areas are somewhat seperated but from time to time I'll look off stage just in time to see some guy bite into a buffalo wing at 1am. Disheartening at that very moment but the place is still very worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 Very true. While it may be a crap gig in regards to interaction between the crowd and band, if it is a steady room/easy to work with/decent pay, it's worth the hassle. I play in a band that pretty well runs on interaction between the people and the front man. Its cool,, but its also kinda nice to go play a wedding or a show when all you do is just play for a change without the touchy feelie stuff . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted November 15, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 Sounds fine to me man. The girls near the Tulane campus would make it worth the trek over for sure. Still stinks I missed you guys at the IP in Biloxi. Would have enjoyed having a drink with ya. We play this one place every now and then here in ATL. It's in the north-burbs. It's the only venue we play that's both a restaurant and a venue. The two areas are somewhat seperated but from time to time I'll look off stage just in time to see some guy bite into a buffalo wing at 1am. Disheartening at that very moment but the place is still very worth it. We'll definitely get together at some point. Maybe the Tricky Dickies will have to do a weekend in Atlanta. I'm sure someone there likes cheesy music! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted November 15, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 Very true. While it may be a crap gig in regards to interaction between the crowd and band, if it is a steady room/easy to work with/decent pay, it's worth the hassle. It's not that it's a hard gig at all or that there's much hassle. It's just that we're in many ways an adrenalin driven band, and the lack of response makes it tougher for us. Not that it wasn't a good gig, we liked it. It's just SO different than what we're used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 Sounds more fun than the casino gigs I've played. The 12 hour day to do those really wipe me out. (Two hours driving, an ugly loadin/out, and a bunch of people sitting at slot machines bouncing their heads to the beat.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 It's not that it's a hard gig at all or that there's much hassle. It's just that we're in many ways an adrenalin driven band, and the lack of response makes it tougher for us. Not that it wasn't a good gig, we liked it. It's just SO different than what we're used to. I keep telling my guys that these sorts of gigs are what separate the men from the boys in this business. It's easy to put on a great show and have a lot of energy on stage when the crowd is really into it and energizes the band. The real work is being able to put on the same level of show when the crowd ISN'T into it. We've done shows that were a ton of fun and went great but I finished thinking "wow, that audience was so into it, we probably could have just picked our butts onstage for an hour and gotten the same response." I get a much-better feeling of success when it's a crowd that maybe isn't looking to be raucous but by the last set is going nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 15, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 15, 2011 I'm afraid to ask......but what's 'duck bowling'? [video=youtube;lPWj5qI3t6s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPWj5qI3t6s&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pickinatit Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 Like bowling, but with shorter lane, smaller pins and a smaller ball. Kinda fun actually. "DUCK PIN" bowling was pretty popular in Maryland when I was growing up there. Like TrickyBoy said, smaller lane, smaller pins and smaller balls (without holes in them) and you get (3) balls to knock the pins down. "Chops (splits) are much more common then not so you get a lot of really hairy "spare breaks." All the pins In one is still a strike and in two is still a spare but you get a third ball to "pick up wood". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnelly428 Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 "DUCK PIN" bowling was pretty popular in Maryland when I was growing up there. Like TrickyBoy said, smaller lane, smaller pins and smaller balls (without holes in them) and you get (3) balls to knock the pins down. "Chops (splits) are much more common then not so you get a lot of really hairy "spare breaks." All the pins In one is still a strike and in two is still a spare but you get a third ball to "pick up wood". I don't need three balls to pick up wood Duck Pin bowling was and is very popular in RI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pickinatit Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 I don't need three balls to pick up wood I just knew somebody was going to go there even while I was typing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted November 15, 2011 Members Share Posted November 15, 2011 So, we played our first gig in New Orleans on Friday Night. Not in the Quarter or anything. Instead we played right off the Tulane campus. Anyways, it was an interesting venue to play, it was basically an adult Chuck E Cheese and 16K square feet. There was a big raised stage for the band and an area with a bar and a dancefloor. But, there was also 25 pool tables, like 10 ping pong tables, 10 dart boards, skee ball, fooz ball, duck bowling, video games, etc. So... we were playing for 300+ people, but only 40-50 were in the band area. We could see out over all the games and most everyone was singing and dancing along, but in terms of "feedback", there was very little. IDK, we struggle with gigs like these. I think we're a bunch of attention whores . But in truth, no matter how good the band was, I'd probably be out playing games if I was there too, so it's not like I can complain. I mean, the feed back was all very positive and the club staff liked us and wants to put us on an every 6 week rotation for next year. Been there. It's very hard to stay up w/o some feedback. Even if the band knows what to expect and knows that they are doing a great job and ppl are quitely enjoying the show. One downer in the band can really screw up your energy. I played with one guy who had a way of looking around while he was singing( with no dancers on the floor) accusingly at the band. Like it was OUR fault. Then, later as the dancefloor fills, all smiles. Moody little b Cool gig! I love having a 6 week rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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