Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

Hey Bandmix...
We're a new band (none of us have any band experience) and wondered how many songs we should have prepared to play as an opening band?
Is it better to do all originals or is throwing a cover in there a good idea?
Thanks!
Nina Nightingale, The Cigar-ettes

I would say start off with about 24 well played and performed songs and spend your time and effort on a booking agent and not a producer. The producer and records deal will come later. Watch lots and lots of youtube girl acts on you tube "live performances" and learn from them. You will need to learn how to play live. So, I would suggest you play in front of family and friends to start out, then start playin' the clubs and venues.

My general rule of thumb is 10-12 songs per set, depending upon their length. I try to play for 40-45 min, the break for 15-20.

If you're gonna prepare to play an entire night around here, you need about 40 songs for a 4 hr night. 30 for a 3 hr one.

thecigar-ettes wrote:Hey Bandmix...
We're a new band (none of us have any band experience) and wondered how many songs we should have prepared to play as an opening band?
Is it better to do all originals or is throwing a cover in there a good idea?
Thanks!
Nina Nightingale, The Cigar-ettes

Hails from Chicago!

Where are you playing? It really depends on the venue. If you are an original band, places like the Mutiny, Coles, Empty Bottle, Double Door, etc. are the places for you. Come to think of it, Chicago is mostly an Originals town. 45 minute openers are standard.

Good luck Cigar-etts!

You only need one song.... Just make it a long one. [Whipping post] [Mountain jam]
Good luck.

Depends entirely on how long a set and how good your songs are. Almost all my sets the last ten years consist of nine tunes. But occasionally we work out intricate songs that are much longer. I played in a band with a horn section and two guitarists and we did a 25 minnute version of Blues With A Feeling. That'll shorten the set list obviously. Posting some of your own music on your Bandmix profile is a good idea also, you'll get more response from prospective band members. Good luck and looking forward to hearing your material...

However many songs fill 45 minutes to an hour....

Depends on for whom you play and you best be prepared to be flexible.
At one of our shows in 2010 we had to shuffle our set list twice at the event promoters request. ( this was after sound check )

Don't remember too many times where we were not given a " signal " when to start and stop a set for announcements and such.

Three hours of material is what I would consider an minimum.
Be ready to shift on the fly.

At the end of our 2009 July 4th show ( we played about two hours and 45 minutes ) The event coordinator came up and said " You guys keep playing through the fire work show ... Can you do that ? "

You bet we can! we said, and fired it up !

That is show biz.

I must be going through the musical equivalent of the man not wanting to ask for directions or some kind of ego-mania thing related to dealing with those in charge of booking bands at various venues 'round Phoenix, AZ. First let it be known that I have been there, done that in terms of experience playing out over the past decade and a half. Now I'm in a band I formed, doing a style of metal that is not riding the bandwagon. Its available on my bandmix site. But getting a gig is proving to be a lot harder than I figured. As I mentioned in one forum, we auditioned at one of the best venues in town, we played and sounded great got a great response. By all accounts we should have gotten a gig. I followed up with the guy who books the bands, he even did sound for us that night and was impressed. That was Jan 12. Now I've sent my URL to another club I played at years ago, per the owners request. So he's gonna take a listen to the two songs on bandmix. And I've got several other clubs to hit up yet. There's always a tsunami of advice that comes rollin' in most times, and it can be overwhelming at times c'os you got 10 different ways to do one thing. I don't think there is any one right or wrong way to approach it' for me its the promoting of the gig once you get it that counts. That part I have covered, and it never stops, that promotion machine. But things have changed A LOT since I last played out in 1997. In some ways its easier with the web and email but technology has also messed up the business. Bar managers no longer deal with musicians, they hand it all over to a Webmaster and are distant and evasive. Well, just more so than ever. Never met one yet that wasn't a bit of a freak.

philbymon wrote:My general rule of thumb is 10-12 songs per set, depending upon their length. I try to play for 40-45 min, the break for 15-20.

If you're gonna prepare to play an entire night around here, you need about 40 songs for a 4 hr night. 30 for a 3 hr one.

ditto here. Plus, make sure that you rehearse 3 or 4 hours so that it won't be an exhasting task when the real thing comes alon.

toxicmetal11 wrote:I must be going through the musical equivalent of the man not wanting to ask for directions or some kind of ego-mania thing related to dealing with those in charge of booking bands at various venues 'round Phoenix, AZ. First let it be known that I have been there, done that in terms of experience playing out over the past decade and a half. Now I'm in a band I formed, doing a style of metal that is not riding the bandwagon. Its available on my bandmix site. But getting a gig is proving to be a lot harder than I figured. As I mentioned in one forum, we auditioned at one of the best venues in town, we played and sounded great got a great response. By all accounts we should have gotten a gig. I followed up with the guy who books the bands, he even did sound for us that night and was impressed. That was Jan 12. Now I've sent my URL to another club I played at years ago, per the owners request. So he's gonna take a listen to the two songs on bandmix. And I've got several other clubs to hit up yet. There's always a tsunami of advice that comes rollin' in most times, and it can be overwhelming at times c'os you got 10 different ways to do one thing. I don't think there is any one right or wrong way to approach it' for me its the promoting of the gig once you get it that counts. That part I have covered, and it never stops, that promotion machine. But things have changed A LOT since I last played out in 1997. In some ways its easier with the web and email but technology has also messed up the business. Bar managers no longer deal with musicians, they hand it all over to a Webmaster and are distant and evasive. Well, just more so than ever. Never met one yet that wasn't a bit of a freak.

All this is true AND there's many more people trying to get into fewer and fewer paying venues. One bar owner said he's got over 300 demo CD's to listen to and dozens of other referals to various websites. DON'T play for peanuts, or worse yet, for FREE. DON'T get desperate. Too many idiots willing to play for nothing. Kind of makes it hard for people to earn a fair share of the profits. That's all I ask for and seldom get. Just a fair share of the profits, I'll even accept minimum wage (I count my hours as soon as I start loading my car to when I get back home later that night). Hopefully you'll start getting a few nibbles and gigs after that...

I learned the hard way - figure out how many tunes you'll need and time it to be sure. Then add three more songs. It's amazing how fast you run through your material at a live gig. Particularly if the venue is not crowded when you start playing.

A good trick is to use some rehearsal time with everybody not looking at anyone else - sometimes we subconsciouly que on other people's movements which we might not be able to see at the show. And at the show - you'll need to luck straight ahead at the audiance anyway.

Good luck or should I say, Break a leg!

Talbot

MikeTalbot wrote:I learned the hard way - figure out how many tunes you'll need and time it to be sure. Then add three more songs. It's amazing how fast you run through your material at a live gig. Particularly if the venue is not crowded when you start playing.

A good trick is to use some rehearsal time with everybody not looking at anyone else - sometimes we subconsciouly que on other people's movements which we might not be able to see at the show. And at the show - you'll need to luck straight ahead at the audiance anyway.

Good luck or should I say, Break a leg!

Talbot

Now there's a jewel of advice I had not heard before. Thanks!

10-12 songs should do it, and maybe have a couple of extras incase you do get a good response and they allow more.

One reeeeaaaally long one, jam band-style.