Band Stand – November 2016
Harvey Brindell & The Tablerockers
Booking Your Band Part 1 “The Following”
Booking a band is an area that I have considerable experience and expertise in. I often get questions from other musicians about the best way to get a band booked. One of the biggest frustrations I hear is what to tell club owners when they ask “how big is your following.” As we all know, that’s unpredictable. You can consistently pull in a great crowd in one place and go to another place and have few people show up. And you certainly don’t want to lie to club owners about what they might expect if they hire you. So how can you handle this?
When I initiate a contact with a new venue that I’m trying to book my band into I always tell them who we are, what we do, and provide a link to my website, Facebook page, ReverbNation page, and You Tube page.
And of course, one of the first things that some club owners often ask when they respond is “how big is your following”? That immediately makes me think, “this person didn’t follow up on the information I sent them about my band.” A brief visit to my website provides everything you need to know about my band. Beyond what kind of music do we play and are we any good at it, which our recorded live videos will tell you, our schedule should provide some hint at what our following may be. If we’re playing every weekend, if we’re playing twice on most weekends, if most venues have us back in, over and over again, doesn’t that tell you what you need to know about my band.
The information on my website also answers the question about whether or not my band is a good fit for any given venue. I make it absolutely clear that we play Chicago Blues. We don’t play blues rock, or classic rock, or rock and roll and then throw in a few blues songs. We bring exactly what we say we’re gonna bring, Chicago Blues. So the question then becomes, does this club provide an atmosphere and support a crowd that will dig a night of Chicago Blues?
When I was living in Lincoln, NE I got booked into a club in town that had just started doing live music and seemed to be looking for their identity. It was a cozy room with a nice stage and a great sound system. Because it was a local venue, a lot of friends that came to our shows at other local venues came out to hear us in the new place. First set went great but as soon as we took a break the guy running the sound system turned into a DJ and cranked up the hip hop/ dance music at a volume that made small talk difficult at best. Most of the people that were there to hear the blues left during that break. And on each subsequent break, the same thing happened. We played that club one more time and it was the same story.
So when a club owner asks “how big is your following? “ I usually direct them to my website and ask them to look at my schedule, watch some of my video, look at the pictures of my band and then consider whether their club can provide the right atmosphere for people who would likely come out to hear what the information on my website portrays my band to be.
Up next: “Website vs Social Media”
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Lloyd Jones
Looky Here Everyone,
As summer comes to a close and the holiday season begins, we look forward to “hangin’ with friends and family back home.
This was the best summer ever (got to play at a Castle in Denmark, take the subway to a gigs in Manhatten NY, and play some wild California fests too) but let’s look ahead — way ahead!
Just confirmed Saturday December 17 at Jimmy Mak’s to put on a Special Holiday Show with the “Sweet Angels”. The magnificent Teresa James is coming in from Los Angeles to join me along with LaRhonda Steele, and Lisa Mann!!
With Louis Pain on organ and Brian Foxworth on drums, this will officially be a ..”Supergroup”.
The show will include Angelic Feature songs and Sweet Duets to make a unique one of a kind event. Get your tickets now either show!
Here’s are direct links to purchase tickets for Dec. 17th Jimmy Mak’s show(s):
7:30-9:30 pm show: https://www.tickettomato.com/event/4154 (doors open at 5pm)
10 pm show: https://www.tickettomato.com/event/4157 (doors open at 9:30pm
