Quote:
Originally Posted by RustyAxe
Actually, most small venues (bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and such) don't care how or what someone plays ... as long as they can fill seats and keep people in them.
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The negotiations will go something like this:
You: I'd like to play at your fine establishment.
Booking Manager: Great...how many people can you bring on a [day of the week] night?
Now, unless you can promise a decent showing you're likely to never get to the point where they ask to hear a demo.
Private gigs are the ones who will just want to vet your repertoire & apparent skill level/entertainment value with the expected crowd. They're providing the crowd in those scenarios.
In each scenario you can get by with a simple video of a performance. So, I would talk to a local venue, ask them for a half hour on a dead night. Bring all your friends/family, perform & record the performance. Edit to 2 or 3 great takes and upload to YouTube. Be prepared with another hour or so of music above your 30 minute video shoot, in case the crowd is lively enough that the owner asks you to play a little longer. If you have a good crowd with you they will likely do that to sell more food/drinks/whatever.