by Ian Wise

Created on: February 17, 2007   Last Updated: March 14, 2007

You see articles all the time that tell you how to get booked at bars and clubs, and it's mostly the same thing over and over again. "Make a few calls, learn some covers, and completely compromise everything you ever wanted to create." There are ways to get around doing what other people think will sell and doing what you want. Here are some basics I used for years while playing in bands.

Making contacts with other bands is probably the most important thing. If an older band that's already somewhat established is doing a show and they need an opening act, ask them if they can get you a spot. The worst they can say is "No", but even then, they'll remember the next time around. I can't tell you how many times I have seen older guys in bands see 16 year old kids tear up the stage and start yelling "These kids are awesome!" and helping them get more shows right off the bat.

On the same token, make band contacts from out of town. MySpace makes this really easy nowadays, because you can literally search for bands by genre, influences, and location and have a list of bands right in front of you. E-mail them, mail them your demo, and get to know them. Offer them a show in your town in exchange for a show in theirs.

Once you get something booked, promote it like crazy. If you have friends that work in record shops or clothing stores, print up quarter page flyers and have them hand them out at the shops. Print out larger flyers and put them up in the shops and all over light poles, restaurants, and other "cool" places (tattoo shops, hangouts, bars, etc) around town. Make sure everyone in town knows you're playing. If you do this for every show, word of mouth will do even more and you'll start having bigger and bigger crowds. After a while people will start showing up just because they see your name everywhere and want to know what's going on.

Get to know who books the bands you want to see. If some band you love is playing at a club in town, find out who's booking the show and call them about it. Usually you can't get a spot on that show, but you'll get a contact and someone to drop your demo off to that could possibly hook you up with bigger shows in the future. Don't annoy these people too much or they'll stop returning your calls.

Finally, and this is very important, be nice to the people who help you out with shows. I'm not telling you to constantly suck up, but when you get to play, be sure to go out of your way to thank the club owner, the promoter, the sound guy, and anyone else who was nice enough to give your music a chance.

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