CREATING
THE BAND (PART 3): THE GIGS AND PUBLICITY
Last
week we covered equipment needed for a band. This week is all
about the gigs and publicity.
There
are many ways to create public awareness of your band. The most
obvious are publicity, competitions, and live performances.
The
easiest way to make a name for your band is to enter competitions.
Don’t be too selective about which competitions you enter.
Any publicity is good!
The
more competitions you enter, the more experience your band will
get playing under pressure. You may also want to try putting your
hand up to play at functions or at public events, like school
fetes.
Organizers
are always looking for cheap entertainment, and it’s a great
opportunity for the public to hear your sounds. Who knows what
type of people the audience may include!
When
you first start playing in public, avoid original songs. Popular
cover songs are much safer, as they are just that – popular!
Play them well and the audience will warm to your band. Once you
have built up an audience, then you can slowly try mixing in original
material.
Even
though playing cover songs may go against your creative processes,
remember that if you want to make it as a live act, you are at
the mercy of your audience. You must do everything to attract
and hold your audience. A proven formula is the cover song. Find
ones that genuinely reflect the type of band you are. This will
give the audience a feel for your band without hitting them full
on with your presence. It is easier to build up a fan base this
way.
Just
because you are playing covers doesn’t mean that you can’t
be unique either. Research other bands, see what they are doing,
and do things differently. Play against the norm. It’s a
lot easier to attract attention when you are swimming upstream.
Your uniqueness will stand you out from the crowd.
A
large part of attracting an audience is publicity. Make sure you
play to this by getting as much publicity as you can. Local media
is a good start. They are always looking for a new story. Contact
your local newspaper or radio station before gigs or after any
success in competitions. Tell them what you are up to. Often they
will find an angle to it and it may lead to some much needed free
publicity. Developing your own website is always useful as well.
It may come as a shock to newbies, but the fact of the matter
is that the product only counts for 10% of the success. 90% is
advertising and publicity, so do what you can to spread the word!
No
matter how popular the cover songs you pick are, or how frequently
you perform, your band will fail without performance consistency.
After working so hard to attract an audience, you don’t want
that audience labeling your band as inconsistent. There is no
excuse for a bad day in the live music industry. If you’re
going to take this seriously, make sure you have had enough practice,
and air out any problems (be they technical or personal) before
you hit the stage.
Now
you have all the parts to forming and maintaining a successful
band! It can be a tricky process. There will be ups and downs
for any band. The test of a good band will be how they survive
the lows. Keep working at it, because the highs completely over
shadow the lows.
Remember:
Guitar Tips love to hear about your success stories! If you have
used Guitar Tips and have managed to start a band, drop us a line
and tell us about it!
