Estimated read time: 3 minutes (pretty short, actually!)
One of my favorite musical projects that went on during my college years took place in Narragansett and Providence, Rhode Island. If you’re not familiar with Rhode Island..well..
- there’s not much going on there 9 months out of the year
- It’s an old industrial state (cotton mills, farm equipment)
- It’s the smallest state in the nation
I put that last point in red because that is the important point here that is going to put this whole thing into context and something that I touched upon in an earlier post: size and locality play a tremendous role in getting shows.
Why?
Rhode Island is the only state that blew my mind just how closely connected everyone was to everyone else by at least 2 degrees. This unique detail that can’t be found in ANY other state in the United States (and arguably pretty rare internationally as well).
How did this work to our advantage as musicians? Networking. Lots of of it.
And the same can be said if you’re living in a small city or a small state. Use the sheer geographic size of your living location to your advantage.
This post is a reflection about how my band back in Rhode Island was the one booking shows and choosing acts to play with us, rather than waiting to be called back by a venue. We positioned ourselves as opportunity makers and influencers in a small state with a deceptively active local music scene and saw the results in a big way.
Throughout this article, I’ll be giving you actionables you can take with your band or musical project to position yourself as the one who can make shows happen rather than continue to wait to be called on by a promoter or venue.
Reaching Out to New Acts Rather Than Waiting to Be Reached Out To
To this day, the lead singer in my band at the time had zero problems about sticking his neck out to ask a favor to anyone. He had zero mental hangups about doing it. To him it was ask, if they say yes then great! If they say no or we’re booked thru X time to Y time, try again later. If they definitely said no, then find a guy on the inside and get in that way.
That mindset got us regular shows at some of Rhode Island’s great spots (unfortunately, many of them have since changed or shut down. Remember what I said about old city…)
- The Apartment
- PVD Social Club
- Fete Ballroom in Providence
- The Spot Underground
- The Roots Social Club
- and many more
Plus other shows in neighboring cities and states.
We had developed our own circuit in Rhode Island. But what was even better was that after we made the right connections with:
- Bar owners/managers
- Independent promoters who worked closely with venues
- Other bands that played regularly at these venues
We eventually developed the power to book our own shows at some of these venues! Rather than being the band that had to ASK for show, we HOSTED shows and summoned other bands in the area that WE LIKED to come play with us.
We positioned ourselves as influencers in our small niche tribe of musicians in the area by constantly arranging shows with acts that we liked to play with.
As a result, we quickly eliminated the problem of never having enough acts to book our own show in the first place. We had our own little Rolodex of acts that we had a connection to whether it was the Facebook of the lead singer, the phone number of a guitar player or the email of the drummer and the singer that we could call up on demand and ask if you’d like to play a show on a given date. More often than not, the answer was yes. Even if it was no, there were more acts we could call upon.
Shared Fans
Birds of a feather flock together is the old saying and it is just as true in music. Fans of one type of music are likely to hang around or seek out bands that sound similar. We had identified ourself with a particular musical sound and actively sought out acts that sounded similar to us akin to how Amazon has the “If you like this, then you’ll like that” feature when you buy something from their website.
We figured, if you like X band, then you’ll like us or vice versa. And the results worked more often than not. We had higher rates of fan retention from show to show and trickled in new fans from other bands.
Now, the key here is to find the acts that are similar to you. We had a hard rock/funk/Red Hot Chili Peppers-meets-Peal Jam sound to us, so we sought to play with acts that had that same musical sound going for them as well. And if the sound wasn’t right on, we looked for other factors like energy and originality. The band I used for the featured image was a White Stripes-meets-Nirvana guitar and drum duo called Our Burgundy which we played many shows together with in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Could they be called a Chili Peppers lookalike band? No – but they were hard hitting and energetic, and we complimented each other very well. Plus, it still fit the “If you like this, then you’ll like that” mold: if you like the sound of the Chili Peppers, you probably dig the ’90s sound of music and therefore will probably like Our Burgundy as well.
Getting Venues:
Now, don’t be mistaken: we didn’t have the power to book out major hotspots in Providence, the capital city in Rhode Island. When we started to book our own shows, our singer had made connections with the local bar owner in Rhode Island. What made the connection stick so well was that our singer was courteous, tipped the waitresses well and we did our share to coordinate and help out the bar with other acts that were coming through. We earned the barkeeper’s respect through work and honesty.
As a result, we were granted certain liberties at the bar. One of those was being able to book shows there.
And so long as the crowd was of age to drink and therefore put some money back into the venue, we could do what we wanted.
The moral of the story is that we worked very small and very locally to get the trust of someone who could help us out tremendously with booking our own shows. We didn’t shoot high and far first (and unfortunately we didn’t get to do much more than that before the band ended).
Summary:
In a nutshell, here are the major actionables for you to consider if you’re looking to become the act that is in charge of booking and setting up your own shows rather than always being the one who needs to seek them out:
- Every show that you play, meet the band that you’re playing with. Shake some hands, talk them up, learn some of their history, share a beer and see if they’re interested in playing more shows in the future. If so, see if you can get an email or phone number. Facebook is ok – but a direct line to a single person is always the best option
- If there is a place that you play at often, like you were a guest in someone’s home, treat the place with respect to earn the respect of the people working there. Though it is no guarantee that they will hand you the keys to the front door, it does put you in a better light with the people who can make things happen for you and your band. If you’re really looking to make things happen, outright find the person who is in charge of booking shows for the bar or venue and ask if they need some help getting shows, pitch yourself as someone who can take the burden off the place and get acts in the door. The place is likely more concerned with getting buying people in the door as well, so if you can book acts that are a draw, more power to you and your efforts.
Being the band that is in charge of getting shows together is an exciting experience. It’s a difference sense of power and satisfaction that you made something happen and gave some opportunity to some other acts. It’s a very rewarding feeling and can do a lot to help you and your musical pursuits as well.
[chimpy_lite_form]
- How to Set up a Pedal Board for Bassists - June 16, 2021
- The Best Bass Guitar Effects Pedals Guide You’ll Ever See [INFOGRAPHIC] - April 24, 2020
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Everything About Bass Guitar Strings - March 20, 2020