The Correct Understanding Of Gigging Language

It's time for something different. Here's an excerpt from How To Make Your Band Sound Great that talks about how understanding some basic gigging language can be the  secret to getting your band booked.

"The following was in a widely circulated email that went around the music community.  It’s from Memphis promoter Chris Walker who explains both how to get gigs, and more importantly, how not to get them.  If you want the hard cold facts about club gigs for acts with original music, read on.

Load-In Time

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING: If a band has a load-in time of say 6:30, from that time they may attempt to enter the premises and inquire about loading in their gear. If they by chance happen to arrive early, they can occupy themselves with other activities to fill in the time, such as visiting the library, worshiping at a local church or synagogue, or beating up the homeless guy living in the dumpster.

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: If a band has a load-in time of say 6:30, they arrive at 1:45 in the afternoon and knock incessantly on the back door. Usually they knock while the owner is standing knee-deep in water in the basement working with a plumber to fix a leaking drain pipe. After trudging all the way upstairs to find 5 snot-nosed kids asking if they can load-in now (and hang out all day!), they are politely told to screw themselves and come back at 6:30.

Promoter

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING: This is a person who actively works to promote a show. He promotes by distributing flyers, plugging the show wherever he can, and tries to get as many people as possible to come to the show. If he has an out-of-town band booked on the show, he takes financial responsibility to ensure they get paid and are taken care of in whatever way they need. He also takes charge in organizing the show and making sure all the bands know when they are scheduled to play and how the money works for getting paid.

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: This is a person who, after asking repeatedly to put on a show, does the following: 1) fails to promote show in any way, 2) fails to communicate any show details like lineup or order of the bands to the club (or the bands themselves), 3) makes themselves very scarce at the show, assuming they show up (they sometimes make a pathetic phone call just before doors open to say they've just contracted a rare disease and to please take care of the out-of-town band). If they do show up, when questioned about things like band order, who's taking care of the bands etc, they only respond with a blank stare.

Gas Money:

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING: Gas Money is a term used to designate an amount of money to get a touring band to their next show. It sometimes includes a little more than that so they buy themselves some fast-food on their way or if they’re lucky enough, cover a room at a Motel 6. Generally gas money would be considered anything from $30 to $75 and depends on how well the show goes.

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: $200 is not gas money. $200 is, “We're partying all night on the East Side” money.

Touring Band:

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING: This is a band that is engaged on a "tour". They come to the Creepy Crawl while on their tour and often come from far away places such as the far corners of the country, Canada, Europe or Asia. They are on the road for extended periods of time, sometimes for several months at a time, in a van or bus, and experience many new places along their journey. These bands are always entitled to at least gas money or more.

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: Driving up from Festus (about 30 miles away) does not make you a touring band.

A "Following":

CORRECT UNDERSTANDING: A "following" is a collection of fans that attend the performances of a particular band. This is what bands try to develop and grow over time to get ahead in the business, and is a measure of their general popularity. The larger a band’s following generally means they will be booked more often and on better nights at the Creepy Crawl.

INCORRECT UNDERSTANDING: A "following" does not mean all the people that attended The Queens of The Stone Age show you opened for counts as your band’s following (perhaps the rush to the bar by the entire audience and club staff when you started playing was an indicator). And, yes, this means the Jager girls at the club that night probably didn't come to see you and probably won't be following you to your next show.

Now you get the idea of how cynical and jaded booking concerts can make you."

If you want to read more excerpts from How To Make Your Band Sound Great and other books, check out the excerpts page at bobbyowsinski.com.

----------------------------------

Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

Sign Up For The "6 Keys To Musical Prosperity" Teleseminar

Are you in a musical career rut?

Not doing the things in music that you thought you’d be doing?

Are you frustrated because you can’t seem to get the better gigs you think you deserve?

Then 6 Keys To Musical Prosperity teleseminar might be just the thing you need to kickstart your career.

I'm inviting you to a free 60+ minute telephone seminar I'm offering next Tuesday, September 24th with a group of my music industry friends like Dave Pensado and Paul Ill who currently work with hit artists that have recorded some of the classic songs that you hear on the radio every day.

If you're not making enough money or working with the best musicians and people in the industry, it's time to find out how to overcome the common hurdles that block musicians, engineers, and producers from doing the things they've always dreamed about.

Together we'll teach you things that 95% of all musicians don’t know.

To register for this call, which is free except for your normal long distance charges, go here now:

http://www.bobbyowsinski.com/6keysteleseminar.html

Once registered (remember, it’s free), you'll receive all the details to join the call via return email. I look forward to "seeing" you on the call next Tuesday!

Brian Ray On Getting The McCartney Gig

Here's an interview with Paul McCartney guitarist/bassist Brian Ray from my book "How To Make Your Band Sound Great." In it he explains how the got the job with Sir Paul. As you'll see, sometimes the gig of a lifetime happens in an unexpected way.
-------------------------

"At my birthday party my friend Abe (drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.), who toured with me with Mylene Farmer and Johnny Hallyday, told me he was now working with Paul McCartney and they were going on tour but were looking for a guitar player who could play bass.  I just put my arm in the air and said, “I’d love a shot at that,” which was way out of my character to do something like that. I’d always gone from gig to gig by word of mouth and I was normally too shy to stick up for myself like that.

A couple weeks later I got a call from Paul’s producer David Kahne to come to his office in Hollywood. We just talked music and then he handed me a bass and I played a little while we were just chatting. Then he handed me a guitar and we chatted some more when he finally said, “We’re doing one song at the Super Bowl in 2002 and we’re looking for someone to play bass. Are you into it?”  Of course I was into it!  He said that they were looking at a couple of other guys but he had a good feeling about me and would put my name forward. The next day I got a call to see if I could be on a plane to new Orleans the day after that to play a song with Paul McCartney! 

I played the gig and it seemed to have worked out well. I was shaking Paul’s hand at the end where I said, “Thank you.  It was a real privilege and if I don’t get to see you again, thank you very much,” when I realized that I couldn’t let go of his hand (laughs), but he invited me back to the bar for a drink with the rest of the band.  At the end of the night he was saying his goodbyes to everyone when he said, “Welcome aboard, Brian.  Stick with Abe and Rusty (guitar player Rusty Anderson) to show you the ropes and I’ll see you in five weeks.” I couldn’t believe that I was in after only one song! So I just ran home and started woodshedding and cramming.

I set myself up like I was training for the Olympics and went through all his material from The Beatles to Wings to the solo stuff and just applied myself to it for five weeks, knowing that he may come in and change everything that I learned or even just let me go. So I didn’t treat it like I had the gig, I treated it like I had another audition. It just so happens that we had five days of rehearsal as a band before Paul got there so we were all prepared by the time he arrived. After the first rehearsal he said, “Hey guys, sounds great.  I’ll see you tomorrow.” That was really the first time I allowed myself to think, “I’m going on tour with Paul McCartney.”

You can read additional excerpts from this book and others at bobbyowsinski.com.

----------------------------------

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

A Strategy For Getting Gigs

Musicians are in bands so they can play in front of people, but getting gigs is probably one of the most difficult things to occur during the lifetime of a band. I came across the following article about getting gigs at your local venue in CD Baby's DIY Musician, and it really made sense. Here are the main points.

Step 1. Get familiar with the venue’s calendar – There are many inside tips and secrets that can be gleaned just from consistently checking out a venues calendar. Most clubs are meticulous with their calendar (which are usually posted online). Start looking for specific clues. Do they have a standard number of bands on the bill every night? Is there a night where they tend to give new bands a shot?

Step 2. Look for holes in the schedule – Once you pick up on a club’s booking patterns, you can start finding holes in their schedule where THEY are in need of a band.

Step 3. Make sure your music is a match – Now that you have identified the shows where the venue is most likely looking for bands, narrow it down to the shows where you music is a true fit (time to be honest folks!). Remember, in order for this strategy to work, you must only pitch to the shows where you fit!

Step 4. Target that specific show in you email pitch – Now you are prepared to approach the club booker in a way that HELPS THEM out! Just put the show name and date in the subject line of your email and politely let them know that you would be a good fit to round out that bill (Keep the email brief!). The chances of getting a response to your email, and better yet a gig, just went way up!

Go to the DIY Musician for the entire article entitled, A Booking Strategy That Works.

----------------------------------

Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating the music business.