Another band development

So, I've had my music out on MySpace for some time, and it surprised me the other day when I got a message from someone who was interested in booking a gig for me to play with some other bands. I was excited. It was an opportunity I'd dreamed of. To have a set of my own for me to show off my talents in front of a ready-made crowd. Problem is, I have no band.

No problem. I remember The Player, with whom I played piano some time ago. He's got equipment, connections, talent, etc. Perfect. So I write to him first telling him of my good fortune, and he's willing to help. While I'm waiting for him to respond, I do some light reading on this company that contacted me. Their terms are not unreasonable, but I'm not sure that they'll work out so well for me. There's also a lot of dissention on their practices.

You see, the gigs they schedule are scheduled at good venues, but done on off nights -- usually Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, that sort of thing. They charge a cover charge of $10-$12 for these shows which is a tad steep for an off night, especially when dealing with relative unknowns. You are scheduled with usually 4 other groups, which is fine. Reviews I've read, however, say that the music selection is usually very... eclectic. Which works for an iPod, but not so much for a concert where each group is hoping to gather some fans from the other. I mean, if I play my light rock and you've got grunge, neither of our respective fans are going to like the other group.

Finally, they want you to pre-sell tickets to your fans the tickets are cheaper than the door price $7-$8 compared to the $10-$12, but still... There isn't anything terribly unreasonable about this. After all, theoretically, Billy Joel is expected to draw his fans to his concerts as well. Trouble is, I have no fans. I have no advertising, nor any way of really getting myself out there other than playing like this. So I have a catch-22 of needing the fan base to play, but not able to get said fan base without playing. And then, you want to charge then to see me before they decide whether they're fans or not. Their solution? Sell to friends and family. Not unheard of, but it's a weeknight and they have to work tomorrow. I'm not a salesman, and I'd rather not sell to my family. I'd rather give them a pass in.

Don't get me wrong, though. If you fail to draw fans, you can still play. However, your pay for the gig and your play order are dependent on how many tickets you pre-sell. Hence, you sell only a few, then you probably play first and get near nothing for doing so. I play for the love of playing, so really, none of this is an issue. But I also suspect that my truthfully writing 0 fans and no, not willing to sell tickets won't fly with them. I mean, you get a cut of the door draw...as long as they came to see you.

So it's not unreasonable for a company to expect you to draw an audience to book you. Can't blame them. I'm just not enough of  salesman to give them what they want.

However... The Player has connections. He knows how to book gigs as well. hence, there is a distinct possibility that the reason I got this invite was not to play shows on a Tuesday night while trying to pre-sell tickets to my lack of friends. Maybe it was the call to action I've needed for awhile to form a group and play. After all, I wouldn't have done it had I not gotten this invite. I've always held out saying I didn't have the space or resources or whatever, and yet, I used my resources to form a near instant group when the chance to play came up. Interesting, huh?

I'm curious to see where this goes. I haven't decided what to do with that company, but if I can play gigs without worrying about an audience draw, that would be ideal. That way, I'm not buying fans, I'm earning them. Maybe that's what bugged me...