7 Ways to Get People to Shows (Part 3: Events)
Ari Herstand’s article “7 Reasons Why No One’s Coming to Your Shows” has a great idea in the third point: make your shows events.
Doing this takes creativity and insight. What will fit your music, your personality, and your band’s interests?
I thought I’d share seven examples of turning a regular concert into an event that might inspire other ideas for you:
A. Folk the Police
Coincidentally, I’m attending this tonight! I love this idea. Folk acts do hip-hop songs. The event sells out the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, MI every year.
B. Tribute Shows
One of the favorite examples of this is Chris Buhalis‘s annual tribute to Townes Van Zandt at the Old Town Tavern in Ann Arbor every New Years Day. Chris does hours (like six to eight hours!) of Townes’s catalogue, including some Hank Williams tunes as well. No one does a better dedication to my songwriting hero than Chris, who knew Townes and had the songwriter on his own record.
Here’s other examples: Fusion Shows Summer Sing-a-Long events or Alejandra O’ Leary’s Beatles Tribute.
C. Punks vs Pokes
Mixing genres might seem risky, but many styles cross over really well. This punk – country night at Mac’s Bar in Lansing, MI is a cool example. Not only do punk bands and country bands share the same bill, they switch genres for a song or two during their sets!
D. Songwriter in the Rounds
This is a great way to offer a taste of multiple artists to an audience!
Check out this group of friends called the Yellow Room Gang or Ten out of Tenn! Plus, venues have made in-the-round events a part of their calendar, like Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN or Anderson Fair in Houston TX.
E. Shows for a Cause
Like Fusion Shows’s Chris Nance Memorial Shows or MittenFest’s fundraiser for 826 in Ypsilanti, music and philanthropy can create a great event.
F. Pair Shows with Food/Wine/Beer
Teaming music with food is another match made in heaven, and Kitty Donohoe has been doing this as The Wine Gypsy for a while in house concert format. If you are a cook, coffee fan, wine connoisseur, beer geek, why not create a concert around your two passions?
G. Cover Each Other
Bands trading shows are one of the best ways to get into new cities, but it’s sometimes it’s difficult to keep the fans staying for the whole show during three or four band bills. Try having each band cover a song or two of each other!
More tips:
- Part 1: 7 Ways to Improve Band Rehearsals
- Part 2: 7 Thoughts on Gig Frequency
“Thanatos at the Mall”
Nxy: “Have they become
desensitized to his news
of violence again?”
Erebos: “Marvel not!
I watch them talk, but hear their
steps of inaction.”
Hypnos: “Minds ignore,
but their bodies are never
immune to bullets.”
* * *
Written: January 25, 2014
7 Ways to Get People to Your Shows (Part 2: Gig Frequency)
Yesterday, I shared seven tips to improve band rehearsals. Today, I’m pondering the second point Ari Herstand made in his article, “7 Reasons No One’s Coming to Your Shows.”
Herstand says, “You play out too damn often!”
This is not a new warning to bands, but it can be perplexing. This point is rarely analyzed fully, and it’s not a black-and-white issue.
Here are seven considerations about how often to gig.
* * *
A. Recognize cover gigs are not the same as original shows.
Cover gigs are not the same as originals shows. If you only play cover gigs, ignore the rule.
Yes, attracting an audience is always important for all gigs, but most cover gigs can’t expect a solo, acoustic musician to bring lots of people five times a month. Also, if you live in a tourist town, then you can play a lot since there are new patrons weekly. If you live in a college town where 21 year olds go out every night to the same bars, then play covers till your fingers bleed.
To those wanting to play original music, do recognize there is a glass-ceiling to what you can accomplish doing cover gigs.
B. Be aware of the type of venue you play.
While I said a bar shouldn’t expect a cover musician to bring a crowd five times a month, some do. (Even coffeehouses!)
Gigs are a business exchange, for both parties. Be aware of the facts about the venue. Is this a place that has a loyal patron base? Is this a brewery that sells food? Is this a sports bar where you are playing in the corner while people stare at 20 flatscreen TVs?
Is the place a good fit for you and your music style? If not…
C. Stop playing venues with unreasonable expectations.
It’s hard to turn down paying work, or a gig opportunity, but stressful situations often diminish our energy, enjoyment, and earnings over time.
D. Be honest about your draw, always.
My friend Nate Dorough, a concert promoter, has shared this many times.
If you only can draw 5-10 people, maybe that’s fine! The promoter might know of a small venue with a showcase night. Being honest helps a venue or promoter find the right fit for you. Exaggerating gets your booking requests ignored after one poorly attended gig.
E. Use a strategy of overplaying, for a while.
If you are starting out, overplaying can be your strategy for a short while; however, you must choose the right type of events where you can get experience, but not at the expense of someone else’s pocketbook (the promoter’s; the venue’s).
Examples: Relays for Life events, house shows, volunteer events, community festivals, tiny venues that let you play for tips, open mic nights…
To those scoffing at playing for free, I see you in the corner. But I’m not talking to you folks with 20, 10, even five years of live performance experience. There is a time and a place to play for experience. You decide if, when, and where.
F. Recognize venues have different booking schedules.
That local bar gig down the street might book for this weekend with a few days notice, but venues have different schedules. Small club shows (100-500 capacity) often need 3-5 months notice. Folk series that do six shows a year might book a year in advance and have a long waiting list. So…
G. Have a calendar and plan one year ahead of time.
It’s almost February in 2014. Wait, you don’t have a rough plan for the entire year by now?
Caroline Aiken shared this tip at a workshop: Have a calendar and plan out your booking goals a year, even two to three years, in advance! Plan in how early to pitch to venues, too.
* * *
Right now, I make my living as a cover musician who plays 200+ gigs a year, many in my home state. I recognize there is a time in my career where this must end if I want to do only original shows.
Both, Nate Dorough and Ari Herstand are advising correctly. The fact remains that it’s more productive to play one sold out show in a town every six months, then many little gigs with sparse attendance in that town.
7 Ways to Get People to Shows (Part 1: Practice)
Ari Herstand’s article “7 Reasons No One’s Coming to Your Shows” spread like wildfire across the musical corners of the Internet yesterday.
Some readers thought Herstand’s article is too negative or too blunt. I don’t feel like it is.
Instead, Ari’s article got me pondering in a positive fashion, and I thought I’d share seven, positive actions for change around each one of his points.
Today, I’ll start with the first one: “You Suck.”
1. You have an opportunity to improve.
Try:
A. Taking some lessons
If you feel like you are above lessons or vocal training, read this article about “Coaching a Surgeon” from the New Yorker.
We all need coaching at times! All musicians reach plateaus in their playing, and we often need another set of ears to give us a new techniques and exercises to grow.
B. Beating the computer distractions
There are days I spend too much time on my computer that my time practicing.
If you fight this distraction, too, download a widget or app on your computer to turn your Internet off during a set practice/rehearsal time. (Read the book 4 Hour Work Week for more on this idea.)
C. Conquering the beasts
Band practices can get redundant, especially if we spend too much time on the easy parts of songs, and not enough time on the difficult parts.
Spend more time conquering the beasts–often sections, not full songs–during rehearsals. Save the songs you know for the end. Some songs might only need to be played during the set list run-through.
D. Keeping a list
My prolific wife, a full-time writer, would tell you to hang a whiteboard in your rehearsal room.
Keep lists of goals. This list could include parts to songs that need improvement, the week’s setlist to rehearse, whatever. But write it down, and keep it posted so the band is on the same page.
E. Estimating how long it will take
One of the easiest things a teacher can do to improve student homework completion rates is share an estimate of how long it will take to complete.
Same should go for bandleaders. Plan out how long rehearsing parts of songs and set lists will take. Make goals for what needs to get done before band practice.
F. Disabling mobile distractions
If your bandmates are checking Facebook between songs or texting grocery lists to their partners, you have a problem. Distractions extend rehearsals and impair focus.
Bandmates should advise significant others not to call or text during rehearsal times, except for emergencies. Or plan in breaks where texting can happen. Respect band practice time like work.
G. Practicing less, more often
Is band practice two times a week for four hours not helping the band? Try doing three practices a week for two hours. If band practices are unproductive, it might be because you are trying to do too much at one time.
* * *
Herstand’s first point ruffled the most feathers, but I think it was the most important reminder.
Getting people to attend shows is difficult, but if the music performance isn’t where it needs to be, nothing else will overcome that obstacle. Plus, practicing is something the band controls with the least expense!
OK, I’ll address number two, tomorrow. I should go rehearse before my gig tonight.
Keeping your eyes, ears, mind & heart open
Susan Cattaneo, a professor of songwriting at Berklee and great songwriter, wrote an article about the magic of songwriting published in American Songwriter today. (Read the first article in a five part series here: “Abracadabra“)
“But, writing songs is something everyone can (and in my opinion, should) do,” she says.
That point jumped out at me, and I can hear some silent naysayers scoff, “Ha! I’m not creative! I’m not a songwriter. I don’t have the magic.”
We believe that there are some people who are creative and others who aren’t. Which isn’t true. We all have an imagination. We all have an inner artist waiting–needing–to emerge.
Question: Everyone enjoys coloring with crayons when we are children. Everyone enjoys hitting pots and pans like drums when they are toddlers. Why do some close off this allowance of creativity as adults?
Answer: Fear.
And it’s dangerous to close off your inner artist.
Closing off the inner artist allows violence to brew, negativity to fester, sadness to drip inside us like drops of water from a leaky faucet.
Plus, the last decade has been so focused how the digital world is changing how we read books, how we listen to music, how art is shared, we have lost sight of the bigger picture. Technology is just the tool. We will always face the great big questions of the human experience, that are often unanswerable.
Only finding your inner artist can help us do that.
Susan Cattaneo’s article reminds us that being a writer is simple about keeping your eyes, ears, mind and heart open.
That’s the same trait that makes us better friends, partners, parents, teachers, neighbors and citizens.
I’m excited to read her second article the next Tuesday.
