| How do you get venues and/or bands to actually respond? | |||
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| Noosa | Posted: 02/08/2012 06:38 am | ||
Joined: 01/31/2012 01:15 am
Posts: 3
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I email same genre bands all the time, or even bands that I just like personally, to play shows with us but no one ever responds. Why is this? When I get asked, I ask everyone immediately and have an answer at least that day sometime. I do realize that people have lives but so do I, as the rest of the band, but we always want to play! So is it just bands not caring or not wanting to play? Any comments? Ha, do we just fucking suck or what? Feedback please! | ||
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| guitarist21 | Posted: 02/08/2012 09:45 pm | # 1 | |
Joined: 10/20/2011 06:02 pm
Posts: 10
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Do you mean emailing local bands for support or just in general? In my experience, lots of bands limit the times they'll play in a certain city to maximize their draw. My band, for instance, really only plays in our hometown 3-4 times a year. When we do play a hometown show, we'll usually contact a touring band we love so that we can give them a chance to have a great crowd in a new town. We used to play shows with almost any touring band who asked, but then our draw in town fell pretty sharply. We're a lot more selective about it now. It's nothing personal! :) |
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| indieonthemove | Posted: 02/08/2012 10:09 pm | # 2 | |
Joined: 10/20/2011 05:31 pm
Posts: 35
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Sometimes it just comes down to what you are writing and how you are writing it. Also, something to keep in mind is that the bigger bands in a certain market usually organize their own shows there and will only play on Friday and Saturday nights. You have to be willing to work with the younger/newer bands if you are playing a weekday show. | ||
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| Noosa | Posted: 02/13/2012 05:07 am | # 3 | |
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Joined: 01/31/2012 01:15 am
Posts: 3
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I just mean in general. We're just now branching out of the city and I can't get anybody from other cities to respond. I am willing to work with anybody. I know you have to limit your local shows for a good crowd but if I want to put together a good show, no one will respond. Even with a respectful, "sorry we can't". My question for you guitarist21, is when you play out of town, how do you go about it? Should the "touring" band do all the work (flyers, find bands to play with, etc) if the touring band is the one trying to book the show? | ||
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| guitarist21 | Posted: 02/13/2012 06:27 pm | # 4 | |
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Joined: 10/20/2011 06:02 pm
Posts: 10
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Yeah as much as it's a pain, we do usually do all the work with flyers, finding bands, etc. Every once in a while we'll find great locals that help us set stuff up, and it definitely happens more now that we've been touring for a while. But for the most part, we're on our own. One thing that has helped my band a lot with this is reaching out to local press. Sometimes a great writeup in a local paper gets a few extra people out to a show. Clubs take notice and then are a little more willing to help you next time you come through. |
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| Noosa | Posted: 02/13/2012 08:41 pm | # 5 | |
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Joined: 01/31/2012 01:15 am
Posts: 3
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That's pretty much what I thought. If you ask for the gig, you do the work. If they ask, then they do it. One of my bandmates wanted to argue with me, saying it was bullshit that since I got the gig, that we shouldn't have to find the bands or promote it. Like I said, if we had been asked to play, it'd be different. | ||
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| GrassRootKids | Posted: 04/24/2012 04:28 pm | # 6 | |
Joined: 04/24/2012 02:48 pm
Posts: 4
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In my experience, its all about finding that line between persistence, and irritation. It seems to me that most bands and venues will either reply after a long time of waiting and wondering or not reply at all. If youre serious about a particular venue, write them at intervals of 2 to 3 days, or call them until you get a solid reply. Same with bands. When I'm looking to book a show in a market outside of Nashville, the first thing I do is look up several clubs/venues in the town that host bands in our vein and have an attendance level that is relative to our ability to draw, assuming that we will have 3 other bands that draw comparably, and I write those club bookers an email that is more or less requesting the date in question with the promise of filling the bill with local talent that has proved itself at the venue. These bands you can find on the calendar of the venue. Name names and provide links to those bands. Do not say those bands are confirmed but mention them to establish you have some understanding of their particular crowd. If you get a reply, and I do mean if :p , it will say 1 of 2 things. a. A straight up rejection :( b. An offer for the night with either you getting the bands for the bill or the booker getting them :) Once you have a venue confirmed, write bands then. It always helps me when Im writing bands to have a venue confirmed and as many details as possible. Im also a big believer of splitting the venues pay out evenly between bands, unless thats impossible because of venue rules or voting systems or whatever. |
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