Members fuzzball Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 i guess most will disagree, but we played for free (only 27 songs on a monday night, slow night) and we played free at a block party on the 4th. we had over 100 people at both events... we are now getting paid $400 on a Saturday night at the bar we played for free. the bar can't ignore the crowd we drew the bartender actually talked to the owner about the night we played for free. he wanted to do something for us, but the owner didn't bite (she made some good money that night however and money talks)... You may have been lucky, also consider that you were never paid for the first night. Did you have a demo? You could use that to sell your band....especialy a video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 For the record: I will never pay to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jaxn slim Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 Sometimes we will do a free show just to get in the door with a new bar. We always make sure we are getting something out of it, though.... like free food and/or tons of foot traffic. But we play in a pretty different environment from most of you. Nashville is one tough bitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 You may have been lucky, also consider that you were never paid for the first night. Did you have a demo? You could use that to sell your band....especialy a video. we did get lucky, i won't disagree. we had no demo, our free performance was basically our demo... plus the guy that hires the bands knew we would only play once for free. he knew we were after a paying gig... if he had offered us nothing or less than the going rate for potential future gigs, we were going to take our show else where, but he came through i personally don't have a problem playing for free when starting out, but if and only if you are playing on a night the bar does not normally have live music. i don't think a band should play for free and take a gig from a band that would get paid, but if you play on an off night it could just get you the exposure you need to get started, just my .02... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 we did get lucky, i won't disagree. we had no demo, our free performance was basically our demo... plus the guy that hires the bands knew we would only play once for free. he knew we were after a paying gig... if he had offered us nothing or less than the going rate for potential future gigs, we were going to take our show else where, but he came through i personally don't have a problem playing for free when starting out, but if and only if you are playing on a night the bar does not normally have live music. i don't think a band should play for free and take a gig from a band that would get paid, but if you play on an off night it could just get you the exposure you need to get started, just my .02... Valid points. Do you have a video now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 Valid points.Do you have a video now? we now have some video and are working towards making a promo pack in the future... we are all in our late 20's to mid 40's, most with families (plus kids). this kinda limits us to how much we want to gig and how far from home. thus far, we have only agreed to play out 4-5 times a year, not that much... and with a regular gig at the same bar every 3 months we aren't in a huge rush to further promote ourselves. with that said we do want to get a promo pack in the near future since there are several other bars in the immediate area we should be good to play at... doesn't hurt having a couple of friends that work at those bars either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 16, 2008 Members Share Posted July 16, 2008 Not at all, and I understand the less shows with age thing...our band consists of one in the late 20's and the rest in the 30's. I hate getting old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 17, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 17, 2008 Not at all, and I understand the less shows with age thing...our band consists of one in the late 20's and the rest in the 30's. I hate getting old. come back and talk to me in 20 or 25 years about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 17, 2008 Members Share Posted July 17, 2008 Not at all, and I understand the less shows with age thing...our band consists of one in the late 20's and the rest in the 30's. I hate getting old. just wait it only gets worse playing live is still a blast, no matter your age.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted July 17, 2008 Moderators Share Posted July 17, 2008 just wait it only gets worse playing live is still a blast, no matter your age.... its the load in, set up, tear down and load out that gets worse every year:poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crazy88Fingers Posted July 20, 2008 Members Share Posted July 20, 2008 If it's an opportunity that will most likely generate paying gigs for you, and you don't have to go too far out of your way, then go for it. Just don't let anyone know you're doing it for free! And at least get a free meal or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarNoobie Posted July 20, 2008 Members Share Posted July 20, 2008 And at least get a free meal or something. okay this reminds me, when we did play for free (and ended up getting a paid gig out of it) but the bartender did comp everyone in the band's tab, as well as our significant others. not to mention an irish car bomb shot/drink for everyone in the bar after the show was over. so in reality, we probably drank (between all of us), at least $150..., plus got the future gig... good move for my new band... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 21, 2008 Members Share Posted July 21, 2008 Happy to hear that it worked out so well for you.....I don't drink beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rockerdiva Posted July 21, 2008 Members Share Posted July 21, 2008 Not at all, and I understand the less shows with age thing...our band consists of one in the late 20's and the rest in the 30's. I hate getting old. It's how you choose to see things. I'm 44 and I certainly do not feel old! I think people talk about getting old too much. Sometimes I think it is just a handy topic, similar to "beautiful weather we have been having lately, huh?" No, at 44 I don't like hauling my gear but as I recall I never liked that. But getting too old to gig? No way! I can think about the fact that I have a 19 year old son and say, whoa - how is that possible? On the other hand, those 19 years did not "fly by" like people always seem like saying. To me it is nonsense. 44 years has been an eternity. I feel as good and as inspired right now as I have ever felt. Considering that I could easily live another 44 years, wow - to me life is long, long, long. No, I probably wont be gigging at age 88. But I'm not cutting back on gigs anytime soon, and re: getting old - I'm definitely not doing it - so I'm never going to say I am! lol EDIT - I didn't even address the original question of this thread did I? Sorry. Think very carefully about playing for free. Best to only do free for friends privately if you need to get the hang of the work. As soon as you can start charging for regular gigs, because as someone else said - once you start giving it away it is hard to charge. But I remember years ago being a newbie and playing some $30 gigs. Yeah, the pros probably saw me as another dumb up and comer. But you have to get the first few gigs under your belt somehow, don't you? Not everyone I approached for work after that knew I had played for so cheap. They just knew I ahad at least done it (been hired) a few times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 21, 2008 Members Share Posted July 21, 2008 The thing I notice most is I don't like hauling my gear. It seems harder...and I am in decent shape. I find I keep looking for smaller setups now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Poker99 Posted July 21, 2008 Members Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's how you choose to see things. I'm 44 and I certainly do not feel old!I think people talk about getting old too much. Sometimes I think it is just a handy topic, similar to "beautiful weather we have been having lately, huh?" lol that's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fuzzball Posted July 21, 2008 Members Share Posted July 21, 2008 Good point, I have just been run down a bit latley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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