How many is too many?

[brassic]

How many shows would you do in the same city in the space of a month? We've got 4 booked for next month, and although London is quite a big place, I'm worried about doing too much too soon. We're very new - only 4 gigs in so far - and with the exception of our synth player, we're not very experienced musicians.

 

The shows we've got booked so far are kind of specific appeal - for example, 2 are women-in-music type events, one is aimed at the gay scene, and the other is a standard bar gig. Out of those four, they're all spaced about a week apart, and three of the events are free entry (the paid for one is supporting a few semi-well-known artists). Two are weeknights, the other two are on Saturdays.

 

I'm really pleased that we're having promoters come to us, but at the same time I'm wondering if it's better to play a bit of hard-to-get. Plus there's only so many times in a month you can ask people to come out and pay to see you play - even if it's free entry they're still going to be spending at the bar and on taxis, etc.

[hmmmdom]

well the only thing I can say is that living in London, its a huge place so having four gigs there within a short space of time really isnt an issue

[brassic]

But you know what it's like. The same crowd seems to move from venue to venue so it might as well be like living in a village in Cornwall.

[JMS 2]

Hello Brassic,

nice to see you're still around (and doing well it seems)

 

As for your question, my opinion is that once you feel comfortable to play your music in front of an audience, take every gig that comes your way.

 

I wouldn't care so much about the crowd coming or not, it's their problem not yours. People will certainly not come at all your shows but that's the way it is. Also everyone is not free at the same time, so you will definitely have different people coming to your different gigs and you will touch a wider audience.

Also the more exposure you get, the more you will get hired and eventually you'll be able to select your gigs and avoid the non paying or bad ones. Plus you'll meet people in business and make connections, which is the next most important thing in music.

Play as much as you can !

 

Also, there's nothing worse than a band that doesn't play on a regular basis. Potential fans will loose interest in waiting too long on the next gig.

 

I'd be happy if I were in your shoes.

 

 

Good luck

[zookie]

I did 9 shows in August in a small area in Connecticut. There weren't any negative effects.

 

At this early stage of your game, your band is still building a resume. When a new band tries to peddle their wares, venues are skeptical. You haven't been together long or played many clubs. Why should they be the ones to take the chance on you? As you play out more and more, the phone calls to new booking people become easier and easier. If you have a bunch of shows in several venues on your list of accomplishments, you'll find it easier to get booked.

 

Don't think just in terms of the next month. Think about a year down the road.

 

Go forth, and rock!

[GCDEF]

I don't believe there's any such thing as too much gigging. You need all the exposure and practice you can get. 4 gigs in London certainly isn't overdoing it. I can't think of any advantage to playing hard to get, especially just starting out. You want to be available and establish a reputation as being easy to work with.

[Terry Allan Hall]

All the advice given thus far is "spot-on"!

 

Best of luck, sounds like y'all're doing great!

[caveman]

That "same crowd" that you're seeing could be the start of your "following". What you need to do is to get out there and give them what they want and that is you.

 

You have a way cool look and if your music is good too, you could see that "same crowd" grow to stadium proportions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well it could.

 

Oh, and your band name rawks. My oldest daughter snorted coffee out of her nose when I told her you name. Picking a band name is one of the hardest things to do and you guys hit pay dirt right out of the gate.

[RupertB]

Gigging makes your band better and exposes you to new people. Sure, some people will eventually "lay out" for a couple of gigs because they've seen you a lot but they'll be back. Just make sure that the gigs are being promoted well so that you get a few new faces in each one. If you get one more person who will tell their friends about the great band they saw (and hopefully got paid) then its worth playing the gig.

 

In this area, audiences generally follow the "herd mentality". There are a dozen bands (some good, some not) that play every weekend in this area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Cary) and consistently get huge crowds. Why? Because they consistently get huge crowds. Safe to say, none of these bands are worried about over-exposure.

[Guitar Centaur]

Fans are fickle.

 

They'll forget you quick.

 

Play as many gigs as you can get. That's how you build a following.

[brassic]

Well, okay then

 

The nice thing is that we seem to be getting offers based on word-of-mouth from the few shows we've done (one recommendation actually came from the soundman who was being a condescending twonk at our last show, maybe we won him over with our stellar professionalism, haha). At first the offers seemed to be mainly because of the name and the fact that it's five girls (hell, I'm realistic about this). But people have seen and heard us and - God help them - still want to book us.

 

The reason I asked in the first place is that I spoke to one promoter this morning and when he heard that we had 4 shows in the space of 4 weeks, he wanted to offer us something that wasn't so close to other shows. I definitely need the practice performancewise - I still have a bit of a tendency to freeze a bit if something goes wrong.

[Deef]

Originally posted by brassic I still have a bit of a tendency to freeze a bit if something goes wrong.

 

Mmmmm.... frozen tits of death.

 

 

Deef

[JBJ]

if the gigs arent pay to play and you dont have the problem of constantly harassing friends and workers to pay to see you then it's not a problem at all.

 

when you start needing to sell tickets it can be a pain in the arse.

[fastplant]

 

Originally posted by zookie I did 9 shows in August in a small area in Connecticut. There weren't any negative effects. At this early stage of your game, your band is still building a resume. When a new band tries to peddle their wares, venues are skeptical. You haven't been together long or played many clubs. Why should they be the ones to take the chance on you? As you play out more and more, the phone calls to new booking people become easier and easier. If you have a bunch of shows in several venues on your list of accomplishments, you'll find it easier to get booked. Don't think just in terms of the next month. Think about a year down the road. Go forth, and rock!

 

 

I agree, CT is like one big city, haha. When you're starting out it's best to play as often as possible. No matter where. When you start getting a following you can slow down a bit. Some people will choose between shows if you have more than one in the same area at the same time. So that can deplete your audience. But when starting out, this isn't as much of a factor.

[guitarmook]

The key question is how many of those shows you're expected to deliver a crowd... if it's all of them, it may be too much to expect your crowd to come out to all those shows... if on the other hand, the promoter just wants you, and doesn't necessarily expect you to bring a crowd, it won't hurt.

 

We can generally get our crowd out about once a month. But if we work a little extra to try to make a bigger show than normal, they won't come out the next month very hard...

[Tedster]

Originally posted by Deef Mmmmm.... frozen tits of death. Deef

 

When they're cold, you can tell, even through their sweaters...

[JameGumb]

I think a maximum of three per month in the one city. Otherwise, you exihibit an air of desperation or overkill.

[orfalot]

I grew up in the south and while I wouldn't consider it to be rural, we were about an hour from a larger city. The kiss of death for many a band was just playing the local scene, many of them could have gotten bookings out of the area but chose to play local and burnt themselves out with the local crowd.

 

London is a large enough market where you should not have that problem but nevertheless keep in mind that you want to spread out as soon as you can.

 

Catch 22 is that our band has been playing the same local circuit, about a 50 mile radius and considering we are on the coast that's like a semi-circle, for going on 10 years now and we're busier than ever, just weekend warriors of course. One summer we played 3 gigs a month in a tourist town with a permanent population of 4000, now that was over doing it.

[HuskerDude]

When you're first starting out, I'd say play any shows you can get. Once you have a bit of a local following and are playing out-of-town gigs, make your hometown just another spot on the road. Obviously don't ignore it ("local music" fans are notoriously jealous about their bands) but don't play paid gigs locally much more than you play anywhere else. Benefits, festivals, parties, etc... are another thing, I'd play those whenever they come up, as it helps you make friends among other local bands, and exposes you to their fanbase as well.

Make your local shows an event, and people will come out every time, if you're playing the local bar for the 4th time this month, they'll stay home in droves.