Looking for local SoloGig

[SpiderTrap]

Has anyone had luck placing an inexpensive ad in a local rag ? , there are about 3 or 4 weekly free papers in this area....other than hitting every pub dive in a 20 mile radius and wasting time and money , seems like it may be an easy idea to pick up a few gigs . Seems gigs are sadly on the way out ...and throwing an MP3 player on - at a click of a button is the latest thing .....per the economy ... but will see.....

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I have to say that I was never overly successful about building up a circuit, but I do know that there has to be a considerable initial investment.

Even for lowly pub/cafe gigs, a "press kit" would be wize - a CD of about 3 numbers, and a small bochure.
You need to know what these places pay, so you do not ask overmuch, AND you need to consider what they want from you - and it isn't, sadly, about music.

They want you to put bums (butts) on seats! - One pub I know will pay you ONLY if ther are an extra twenty people in the pub who have come to see you, and, naturally will buy drinks and food whilst there.

Of they pay you a $100, they'll need to get considerably more than $100 in PROFIT - not takings.

Go out to every music pub/cafe venue - see how they work and see what kind of musos get work there, and talk to them.
Whilst you may expect them to want to protect their pitch, many are willing to give you info.

Some will offer a free gig on a quiet evening (Mondays or Tuesdays) in order to let them see how you operate.

Also they will not want to give up many covers in order to position you and your equipment.

Last thing - harsh I know - but are you good enough to draw a crowd? It's not just about your music, its also about how you engage them and make them want to stay - you need to "entertain" whilst being accepting that there will be many times when you will be playing to a non listening audience - and frankly - that was why I gave it up.

Ask more questions.

[kydave]

Any friendly peers playing in a place who would introduce/you to the owner as a back up or "other night" (than what they're playing) potential musician?
(P.S. IF you don't have any pro-semi pro acquaintances, you might consider changing the people & places where you hang out.)

Any open mics at a venue which also has gigs during the rest of the week?

Any bar/restaurant/clubs that have similar entertainment to what you do, and have various performers? Ask for an audition.

Any charitable group functions you can donate your time to in order to get known?

I did ALL the above back in Louisville in the late '60s, and early '70s. It took a little while, but soon I was one of three solo acts in a fairly big city who were constantly playing all of the solo act venues... a mixture of bars, restaurants, nightclubs... 7 nights a week.

IF you can cut it, go for it and don't expect it to happen overnight.

But don't expect to be owed an audience. You get the exposure, then it's your job to have then react in your favor.

[MikeBmusic]

Forget advertising yourself 'available' - no bars/clubs are looking for players that way. Many use a placement service or person so the manager doesn't have to worry about scheduling.
I've seen a number of people get paying weekend gigs who had appeared at a weekday open mic - and many are not very good, but they asked.

[SpiderTrap]

OK thanks for the advice . Mostly all gigs I've seen, including NOT Myself playing, When a song begins, people begin talking more and more ?? They don't listen - as if it's background music while they play with their cellphones or WIFI stuff...It's also a new generation , and some want to hear very high energy ( ie Yelling Screamin ) stuff....

[Tahitijack]

Sadly, the romance of playing a solo acoustic gig died a long time ago. You are now wallpaper, providing a soundtrack for customers lives. Owners don't want it too loud, so waitress/bar tenders can hear the orders. Customers don't want it too loud so they can hear conversations.

My band is loud and plays a lot of up tempo and danceable songs. Last Saturday we played packed bar and I noticed folks that were not moving to the music looking at their cell phones.

The only place I've been where a solo acoustic works is at the Red Onion in Vail, CO. Even there the audience is loud and engaged in their phones, but when Miss Argentina and her sisters show up after a day of skiing and demands to dance and sing on stage it gets our attention real fast. Love that place in ski season!

[kydave]

Originally Posted by Tahitijack

Sadly, the romance of playing a solo acoustic gig died a long time ago. You are now wallpaper, providing a soundtrack for customers lives. Owners don't want it too loud, so waitress/bar tenders can hear the orders. Customers don't want it too loud so they can hear conversations. ...

None of this is new. If you're a local musician working the local available venues, it was always thus.

My personal avenue toward happiness in that environment (when that was what I did for a living) was realizing that I picked & chose my working environment and that the worst gig I'd choose to work, was better for me at that time, than any straight job.

Even in a noisy restaurant, there were always some folks noticably enjoying what I did. I'd make eye contact and connect with them, and we had our own little concert going on... me as musician/them as appreciative audience.



Prima donnas should not try to be working local musicians. I saw more than a few very unhappy campers in that category.

[Silly Moustache]

Yeah, wallpaper gigs - hate 'em. Fell into a restaurant gig last summer. Just felt like work . I don't need that.

In my area we have developed a circuit of acoustic music clubs (like mine) like folk clubs but not restricted by genre.

The idea is that the audience (admittedly largely other singer-guitarists) go to sit and listen. My club is getting a slow but steady audience of non players who repeatedly tell me how much they like the sound level of un-amplified music.d.

Like folk clubs they are "ARTS" venues - i.e. - "a Right To Silence" for the performers.

Problem - you need to find a suitable venue - a function room at a pub separate from the bars, or a small church or village hall that you can afford to hire and hope that the honesty box will more than pay for.

Then you need to get an audience - I had one cold February night when one person turned up! He helped me pack up and we went back to my house for coffee and talked music. We made an album a year or so later.

[Chicago Sandy]

A good rule is that you’re either going to get paid decent money or attention--not both. And sometimes neither.

Press kits without references from musicians and reviewers venues trust (saying you’re a good performer and can bring a draw) are usually ineffective. At best, your CD will get played on the venue’s sound system when there’s no live music. And a studio CD--unless it’s gotten enough airplay that fans who’ve heard it will want to come out to see you--is pretty much useless. It tells a venue nothing about how well you will either relate to an audience or avoid interfering with a dining clientele. For a listening room, the best way to get booked is from their open mic. And the sad truth is that a mediocre performer with lots of friends, relatives and loyal co-workers will gig more steadily than a good one without a draw (especially without much of a social circle). As SM says, “bums in seats” trumps everything.

[Tahitijack]

Adding to what Chicago Sandy said.

We all need to remember the owner calls all the shots. At the end of the night the owner must pay the waiter/waitress, bar tender, kitchen staff, rent, utilities, insurance, security, maintenance, janitorial crew, city fees, music fees, advertising, inventory cost, food cost, equipment cost/lease, loans for furniture, fixtures and equipment not leased, contingency money and probably several pages more of bills. The owner hopes that there is enough for him/her to pay their own living expense and if they are very lucky a profit. Otherwise why do this? So, when we show up the owner looks at us out of the corner of their eye wondering how much food and beverage we will generate. The big question is "Will we pay for ourselves".

Owners get into ruts with bands and solo acts that are known quantities. Jimmy and The West Catalina Rockin' Blues Band pacts the house. Cindy and Yesterdays Trouble maybe draws 30 drink sippers. As one local bar in my area says on its website: We know what works in our place, no hard feelings but you may not be as good as you think you are.

if you read enough bios of the successful artiests, they all have the same thing in common....starting out playing anywhere and everywhere that would have them, often for little to no pay.

I always remember every owner or booking agents that said those magic words "Yes, I'll book you next month on the 23rd." Whew! All you can do after that is say thanks, and do your very best.

Sorry for the term paper. Hope this is helpful.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by SpiderTrap999

When a song begins, people begin talking more and more ?? They don't listen - as if it's background music while they play with their cellphones or WIFI stuff...

Unfortunately, good LISTENING venues are getting harder to find.

As a LISTENER, I find it very annoying.

Originally Posted by kydave

Even in a noisy restaurant, there were always some folks noticably enjoying what I did.

That would be ME. Well, OK, I haven't seen YOU . . . but that's the way I am. Unless the music isn't something I like . . in which case I usually don't go in the first place because it's too loud.

[SpiderTrap]

I've played solo a few local places not asking for any compensation, one surprisingly a 2 day art festival - got suckered - the guy set me up a block from the main performers and about an hour later here come all these youngsters wanting to use my equip , saying the manager told them , there was a guy down the street who would, who was me .. well I was nice about it and let them play, but left that evening and wont ever do that again . A local place I played on the outside patio once in awhile just burned down ? I played that night , left at 10 happened at 3 AM ? Guess Karaoke is a big thing. I walked into one place and the music was SO LOUD , I couldn't figure what song it was...so loud and distorted,,, some Marshal Tucker song, did a 180 and left ... there are several possibilities close by ...but I hate playing for yelling drunks . May find a venue to start up a song writers night ? I Duoed with a guy ( elec) in West Palm in the 90s for a few years but times have definitely changed ..Doesn't take much equip doing by yourself , less hassles..I have never put out a tip jar , and people have tried to pass me money and I graceously say no thanks .....

[Chicago Sandy]

Originally Posted by SpiderTrap999

I have never put out a tip jar , and people have tried to pass me money and I graceously say no thanks .....

I never turn down a tip if it’s offered, even when I don’t put out a tip jar (unless I’m getting paid by the venue or via door charge). It’s one thing to play for free, for the joy of making music and entertaining others. But by refusing an offered payment in one form or another, you’re sending a message that music should be free--and worse, that it has no monetary value. For those of us who earn some money, but not our keep, from music it’s true that it may seem there’s no harm done. But you are doing a disservice to those comparably talented individuals who do make their living from performing full time.

Also, by turning down a tip, you are also indirectly belittling the taste of the person who’s offering to pay you, and depriving them of the satisfaction of having “paid it forward.” If you truly don’t need or even want the money, at least encourage them to make an equivalent donation to their favorite charity. I once busked--back when Chicago had just launched its busker-license program--at a train station notorious for police officers busting buskers (repeat three times quickly ), in order to educate the officers about the brand-new ordinance. I had my guitar case off to the side, but people kept throwing money into it. About 50 yards away were some Girl Scouts selling cookies. So I stopped, made a little sign saying “If you like what you hear, go buy some cookies” with an arrow pointing to the Girl Scouts, and put it by my case. After I finished playing, I used what tips I got to buy some cookies too.