General Music Chat

We're playing April 22nd at 9:30 p.m. at The Key Club on Sunset Boulevard. Oh sure, we have to sell a shitload of tickets, but I already have a bunch of people coming, so I have enough to cover the club.

So on top of my other business shows, I'm adding band shows, because I'm just simply not overhwelmed enough. I already assembled my street team of people where if they sell 10 tickets, I'll give them a $25 gift card to Danaomi Scents.

Glad to see this all finally come to fruition. This is from banging my head against the wall in December to having a group of musicians who believe in the music and it isn't about the money. Hell yeah!

Of course, the world is going to hell in a handbasket, yep, it must be my time. I think I'll write a protest song or two.

Chaeya

That's good news, and we (Alexander and the Greats) are on the cusp of big things. We are very close to putting out an electronic press kit, with 3-4 studio cuts and perhaps a Youtube vid. We might even win some studio time (20 hours) at the Battle of the Bands, but I'm not counting on it. I won't be surprised if we win though, there's few bands I've heard in Kansas City to match our power, especially a trio.

Congrats Chaeya! Detroit musicians won't do the sell tix gigs, we'd rather play for the door and take our chances.

Work it girl!

I just don't get the big towns and yellow back musicians.
I am in three bands in Minnesota. The owner/client signs a contract and pays up front or we don't play. Booked almost every weekend. If the club has to beg for people than the club sucks and not worth playing. Period!

I recently got a rude reminder of the realities of this situation.

The best explanation is to tell two stories:

The first is of a band I was in in the late nineties. We had agreed to play at a club for $400. We showed up and while we were setting up, we found out they were planning to pay us $200 and appeared to have no memory of the prior agreement. We packed up our stuff and left without playing a note and it never once caused us a problem.

The second is of a more recent band where we agreed to play for the door at a club that was, well, not the nicest club in the area. Nobody came, we didn't make a dime. The gig actually cost me money. I still tried to book us back into that club (which resulted in the band breaking up and now I'm trying to get another band together).

What's the difference? Why would I feel like the first band did the right thing by walking away and the second band did the wrong thing by refusing to play at the club again? Two different clubs, but both were trying to take advantage of the band.

The first band was a good band, the second - honestly - kind of sucked. That bar that we were playing for the door was as good as we deserved. I had hoped that by playing a few of these dives and getting our butts kicked a few times, things would improve, but obviously that didn't happen.

What I learned from all this (actually, re-learned) is that to establish a band's reputation, you do need to take a few sub-standard gigs to start with. I think that second band might not have had to take quite as obviously sub-standard gigs if we hadn't completely screwed up a higher-profile, guaranteed pay gig earlier.

But the first band's experience demonstrates where you want to be. That band had established itself as a good band. We could afford to walk away and we did and it was the right thing to do. It doesn't feel good to be in a band that can't afford to walk away.

Sounds Great C, Good Luck and Rock Those Mofos!

@Bob - Congratualtions, Bob, keep going, you're doing a great job with your trio.

Thanks all.

RG, you're flapping off at the mouth calling people "yellow," and don't know the game at all, so let me educate you, son.

First of all, what you're talking about is a basic cover band. If you play covers, then you get paid. PERIOD. You work it out however you wish, but you can command money.

If you're a brand new band, marketing your own original songs, which I am doing, YOU PAY until you get a following and make a name for yourself. PERIOD or you sit home and whine about how the big evil clubs are taking advantage of you.

The Key Club is on Sunset Boulevard, a few doors down from the Roxy and the Whiskey, there will be people there anyway because it's a Friday night and some big rapper is appearing upstairs from us. It's crowded in that area anyway.

If you want industry people to come to your gig, you play there, it's got a nice sound system, a nice size stage. You do invites and they come because they're hanging out in that area too.

Also, if you're gonna pay to play, the Key Club is your best bet because you get 80 tickets and you only have to sell 40 at $10 a pop which is how much it costs to get in, meaning I can work my ass and get 80 people to come because (1) I work at large company with two offices and a lot of people who know me, I got 20 people paying to see me already, (2) my bass player has a following, (3) the guitar player has a following from his band (4) I'm an entrepreneur anyway. shut the f**k up and get your ass out on the pavement and market your band. Meaning the club makes $400 and I make $400 for a 35 minute set, not $400 for playing four f**k hours like we have to do with our cover band. At least we have our money UP FRONT and not have to listen to the lies of the club owners about how they didn't make that much.

Once you pack the club once, your obligation to sell tickets goes down because then you've proven yourself to be a draw. My friend band plays there and they don't have to sell tickets anymore because a lot of people come to their gigs.

I work on the business side, so I know how much these clubs need to bring in every night to turn a profit. They are competing with a bunch of other clubs and the last thing they need is some band coming in who can't get their flakey friends to show up to their gig. You times that by 4 bands, you'll have a sorry ass night. That isn't their problem. They are paying a shitload of rent, they have to pay their employees, they have to pay licensing fees for live music, insurance fees which is sky high. Many clubs have gone under since the 80s because they weren't bringing in the people.

Yes, here in LA you have to beg people to come because there are tons of clubs and they're all competing for crowds, they all have ads in local newspapers which run thousands of dollars a week and a month. There are thousands of bands, so why should people come and see you? You have to get off your ass and convince them.

That's how it is and it isn't going to change. If I lived in some little ass city, I could get people to come too because they don't have sh*t else to do; however, in LA you have tons of restaurants, tons of hang outs, tons of bars, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Universal City Walk, you have all those hang outs on a Friday and Saturday night with drinking holes you're competing with. That's why a lot of bands move here then fail because they have no idea just how much competition they got to get people in to see you. So if a band is going to make it, they better learn how to think like a corporate business man, an entrepreneur and learn how to market or they will fail. Flat out! It ain't all about the music.

Chaeya

RG, you're flapping off at the mouth calling people "yellow," and don't know the game at all, so let me educate you, son.

Your a funny girl, good luck.

Go rock em like we know only you can !! Wish I could be there but I hate flying . Hope its a great turn out.

Good luck with the gig Chaeya!

We've not got any bookings in the near future but have some already for summer.
I find it odd that people will call and book us six months in advance.
It it were not for the fact that the call was from a trusted friend we have made as a result to our being on Bandmix I would have to wonder about it all even more.

Just today we were asked back to the Independence Day celebration on Lake Palestine at the UMC there.
Was a crowd estimated in the thousands last year
( primarily for the fireworks show they put on )

I'm excited ... for you, and us.

Yeah Chaeya! Go get em' girl! I always wanted to play the Key Club. Let me know how it goes, and if the staff there is cool.

If you sell all those tickets they'll want you back, no doubt. This is your chance to prove yourself.

@ George Over where I'm from most clubs are always booked four months in advance.

You know this lady is putting it all together. I know I brought this up before. She is doing exactly what a major would have done. Promote.

God I wish I was out there to go to her show. Chaeya and Cisco are great and they have tremendous belief in their music. I do TOO.

Sorry for being so non political. C&C you guys GOOOO. Love Glen.

It's good hearing about everyone's success and breakthroughs. Makes me forget 2010 a WHOLE lot easier!

So far I've seen things from:Crip, Jimmy, Santos, Chaeya, Bob, Klugmo, Sans, Shredd, Phil, JW...did I forget anyone else?

Keep it up everyone!

Ha ha!

I have my Danaomi Scents booth at the Long Beach Mardi Gras celebration tomorrow so I made up 100 little flyers to give out to people. I'm calling the club tonight to find out how much their rum shots are and I'm making up coins where whoever sells 10 tickets to their friends, bring me the money, I'll exchange the tickets for two coins to buy a shot of rum each. Or whoever sells 10 tickets gets a Danaomi Scents gift card worth $25.

I'm finding all sorts of ways to market.



Chaeya

Congratulations, George!

Actually, that's not unheard of, especially for certain corporate sponsored gigs and festivals. Last year, Cisco got booked for a corporate party in February that was for November. Talk about planning ahead. I'm submitting my promo package to perform at some events now that's in July & August.

Chaeya