As people call, have a list of questions available.

“Have you ever sung/drummed/played with a band before?”
“What type of music do you like?”
“Have you ever been a part of a working band before?”
“Do you realize that you won’t make a lot of money doing this type of work?”
“Can you practice every week”?
“Can you help set up/break down at gigs?”
“Do you have reliable transportation?”
“Do you have a day job?”
“Does your Significant Other support you and your music?”
“What is your range?”

And other questions.

Then, if they sound like they have potential, (which a phone interview can give you a good idea of), invite them to see you play at an upcoming gig. When I offered these invitations and the potential new players accepted them, this showed me they were serious and wanted to make an extra effort.

If they don’t watch you play, or you don’t have any gigs coming up right away, have a four or five song “homework” list for them. This is what we did when we were looking for a drummer. I had a list of songs they were expected to know and play when they showed up to audition. Here are the songs:

Black Magic Woman/Oye Como Va
Wonderful Tonight
Radar Love
Sunshine Of Your Love

All these songs have different styles, tempos and use different techniques. We needed someone who could play them well. This is what you need to do for a lead singer or a guitarist. Give them a week or so to learn the songs and then have them perform for you. It is best if you can schedule more than one prospect, one after the other. That way, every prospect stays fresh in your mind.

Give them one hour to set up and play the “Homework” with you and the rest of the band. That should give you a few minutes for them to pack out and get ready for the next one. Take notes on all of them. It is easy to forget who did what or didn’t.

Also, take note on the appearance of their gear. Is it maintained well and in good working condition? Are they driving a car/truck/van that is not on its last legs? We hired someone years ago who showed up in a station wagon that looked like it had one more day to live. After we hired this guy, his car died and we had to give him rides to gigs and to practice. I’ll never do that again.

I wish you luck in finding that perfect new addition to your band. If you have any other questions, please drop me a line.

1.) Club address, phone, contact person.

2.) Dates and times band is to perform.

Include set and break lengths. For instance:

“Payday Daddy agrees to play” Friday and Saturday night, Feb 2nd – 3rd, 2002, from 9:00 – 1:30 am… 2 -70 minute sets,, with a 20 minute break in between, followed by a 1 hour and 45 minute set.(A lot of bands do not follow our set lengths, more common are 4 – 45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks in between.) Also note who will provide music will the band is on break.

3.) “Acts of God” clause.

This protects you, and the club if there is a bad storm, flood, fire, or an illness, or something beyond anyone’s control. Neither party will be held in forfeit of the contract if anything bad should happen.

4.) Price.

Make sure to write out the agreed amount as follows. The agreed rate of pay is to be $800.00, Eight Hundred Dollars. This way there is no misunderstanding.

5.) Cancellation clause.

This should read as follows: In the event that “Cancellation of this Contact” is determined, there should be at least a 6-8 week to grace period. This way, the club can’t cancel you a week before your gig because the club owners niece’s cousin’s son that has a band wants to play there next weekend. This also gives you (Hopefully) enough time to re-book that date. And it protects the club from bands that cancel a day before the gig because they got a better offer somewhere else. (By the way, this is a BAD NO-NO, and if you are a band that does this, STOP. Word will get out and no one will hire you.)

6.) Any “Bennies” for the band.

This can include, food, drinks, rooms etc.

7.) Signatures of both yourself or the band’s manager, and the club contact person both printed and signed.

Use carbon paper, or the kind where it will make a duplicate without carbon. You get a copy, and so does the club.

So you have got yourself a great group put together. Everyone knows the songs inside and out. You have acquired all the equipment you need to gig. The van is tuned and ready for action. Your bass is polished and the new strings shine. You found some great looking stage clothes. 2 brand new rolls of ducktape are on standby.

What’s wrong with this picture? The phone is not ringing. Why?

The “Life Blood” of a band, any band, is advertising!! I’m sure you have heard the saying “Any press, even bad press, is good.” Why? If you can get people to hear about you, say your name, talk about you over coffee, without hurting anyone or committing a crime, this is “good”.

The times, they are a – changing

Tougher D.W.I. laws, boomers getting older, gas prices way to high, the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, whatever the reason, people are not going out to listen to bands like they did 10 years ago. Everybody you know, and their cousin, has a band. The number of clubs supporting live music are dwindling. Karioke A.K.A. Crapioke, and D.J.’s are hiring on at much lower prices and bumping us out on the streets. How can you compete?

Advertise!

When Payday Daddy gigs, every gig, we are constantly selling ourselves. Not only through the music we play, and the stage show we do, but we always push our name. On every table, in every club, for every gig, is our full schedule. This shows where we will be for the next year. The phone number of every club is listed on the bottom of the page. This way, if someone wants to come out and see you again, but they are not sure where that club is, they can call for directions. Chances are, if they had to take the time to look it up, or call information, they wouldn’t do it. Also, on the schedule, our webpage address. The website has the full schedule, always updated, easily accessible. Also included is our email address and home phone number. This allows your adoring fans to get in touch with you in whatever way is easiest for them. You must be willing to be available.

The mailing list

This is a very expensive, time consuming endeavor, but it will pay off. Doing a mailing list involves work, a lot of work, for someone. Along with your schedule, you will want to include your “Mailing list sign-up form”. And you will need to remind the people, many times, that it’s there and what it will do for them. First off, it will allow them to be “First in line” on any changes in your calendar. It will make them one of the “Elite few”, and they will like that idea. So, what you need to do is make you up some forms, 6 to a page works great, and what it consists of is their name, address, and zip code. Very easy stuff. Once you have their valuable information, you need to get a good program such as ” My Mailing List”, and enter the info there. Every 2 months or so, you will send a postcard to the mailing list folks. This is a card stock paper, that is available a places like “Kinko’s” or “Minuteman”. I take in my master copy, and have them print it up and cut it for a very good price. The work and cost comes in the stamps @ .20 each, address labels, and your return address stamp. We deduct $20.00 from every gig to help support the mailing list. This way, no one person is out of pocket more than the others. Make sure you don’t forget to change the address on the cards that come back to you, or delete them out completely if they have moved to the ends of the earth.

Posters

Posters should be put up a couple of weeks (ideally) before you play that club. That gives ample time for people to see you, and your name. Put them up yourself, if you can. That way, you know it will get done. Sometimes, you will have to rely on the club to do it for you. If this is the case, call them and follow it up. Chances are, if you don’t, those really cool posters will sit on the contacts desk, and sit, and sit. If you can afford it, go all out on your poster. After all, it represents you, and you want to make a good impression, right? Nothing looks worse than a badly photocopied picture. Include the dates and start times on your posters, and hang up a couple extras if you can. Some will be damaged, torn down, ripped, or even stolen.

Newspapers

Introduce yourself, in person, along with your schedule, photo, and a bio to the “Entertainment Section” person as soon as you can. Be polite and professional. This person can be your best friend in the advertising game. Ask them to please run your photo along with a write-up on where you will be playing. If they do it for you, call them and thank them. A little appreciation can go a long way. Don’t expect them to run your photo more than a few times a year, if you are lucky. This is why you are doing all this other stuff. Contact them the week before your gigs, to remind them of where you are going to be, club’s address and phone number, and if there will be a cover, and how much.

I hope this has inspired you to really go out and push for your group. If the people don’t know where you are, they won’t come, and you won’t be hired back. Don’t count on the clubs to do it for you, they won’t. That’s why it’s so important to do it yourself. Good luck!!

The first thing they will see is the packaging you sent your promo in. If it has coffee stains or bacon grease on it, you might as well go back to bed. It will end up in the garbage can. What happens after you mail it is no reflection on you, but if it’s nasty when you send it, you have made a fatal error. I buy large padded mailing envelopes at Office Depot. You can purchase a dozen for about $10.00. These have sufficient size and padding to prevent damage to your CD or band photo. I have often thought it would be a good idea to use more colorful envelopes, which are available. But these don’t offer as much padding and are more costly. The choice is yours.

I use report covers to hold Payday Daddy’s promo info. These look clean, neat and professional. The first page is a cover page. It has our band logo, and also shows we were voted the #1 Band in West Puget Sound for 5 years. This is the first thing the owner will see – this is our first impression.

The second page is a letter of introduction combined with a band bio. We combined the two because, as I said earlier, you don’t have time to mess around. You may only get a minute, so pack all you can into the smallest space possible.

Most word processors have a letterhead you can use, or you may want to create your own. Payday Daddy’s letterhead has the name of the group and contact information: the manager’s name (me), address, phone numbers, email, fax, website, and mp3 site.

If you know the name of the contact, start your letter with the name and address:

Bob Smith
Picks or Fingers Club
100 Fender Way
Activebass, Cyberspace
99999
(111) 111-1111

(Fill in the following blanks with your band’s info.)
Dear Mr. Smith:
This letter is to introduce you to our band, Payday Daddy. We are a 4 piece group that plays Rock and Roll covers and originals. We pride ourselves on putting on a great show, and we always make sure the audience has a memorable time whenever they see us. We have a mailing list with over 500 people, and we do whatever we can to promote ourselves at any club we play. 

(Hopefully, you have a mailing list. This is good information that the club needs to see. If you don’t, please see my article “Getting the gig and keeping the job” and “How to advertise yourselfand your band.” These go into more detail.)

The next section should be about the members of the group. For example, “Lesa McCabe on bass and lead vocals; Kent McCabe on rhythm guitar, harmonica and vocals; Richard Arriola on lead guitar, guitar synth and vocals; and Mike Craig on drums and vocals.”

Be sure to add your business card to this page. Use a paper clip. Do NOT staple it on! No, no, no. Tacky.

If you have any kudos you can brag about, this is the place for them. Here are some of ours: we opened 2 shows for Paul Revere and the Raiders in 1999. We won the “Best Band in West Sound Award” for 5 years. We have 3 CDs, and 2 are getting radio airplay. Facts like these look wonderful. This gets the club thinking, “Hey, these guys MUST be good. Look at all this STUFF!”

Next in your promo should be newspaper stories and other Articles about your band. (If you don’t have any, see my other Articles for help.) Follow this with a band photo. Black and white is standard, but I like to add a color one also. And last but not least, include your band’s promo CD. This should be a 4 to 6 song CD, as the club will not listen to more than a few seconds of each song. Throwing in a 38 song collection would be a waste of your time and money. Instead, pick 5 of your best tunes, and get a good recording for each. This is where a trip to a studio will pay off. If everyone shares in the price, it won’t be so bad. Go in prepared, so you won’t be spending hours going over that one drum part at a cost of $40 an hour.

After you send your promo to the club you really want to play at, give it a few days and call your contact. Good luck!

The Manager is the poor slob that gets the job no one else wants. The person that can talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and about anything, and do it well. It is my job to make contact, keep in contact, and keep the contact happy. This involves many things, please, allow me to explain…

1) Record Keeping

Keep records of all the clubs you are interested in playing. A little black address book works very well. Keep the contacts name, the phone number of the club and the contact’s home number if you can get it and (this is not an easy thing to get, trust me..) the full address of the club.

*And very important* !! The date you sent the promo! When they received it, and what your conversation involved!

It is very easy to become confused when you call 10 clubs a day!! Nothing says “rookie” better than calling back a person you called yesterday, and they said no…AND, even if they say no this time, maybe they won’t next time, so, always, always be polite and respectful.

2) The Gift of Gab

Having the “Gift of Gab” is a blessing. You MUST be able to make small talk, and be sincere. I know all of my “Contacts” spouses names, their kids, and even the family dog. You can’t be business all the time, and coming across as a friend makes you more real, and them, more willing to work with you.

If no one in the band is able to do this, you may have to enlist someone from the outside. A spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend. Every Christmas I send cards to the club contacts and also the people at the local newspapers, and I thank them for their help in the past year. This not only keeps “My band’s” name upfront in their mind, but it is a show of my appreciation of what they have done to better my career.

Is it just luck that our photo is in the “Entertainment Section” 2 to 3 times more than other bands? No. Also, if a special feature was done, or an article, I send a thank you card right away. This is not only good business, but good manners.

3) Your Promo

Your promo is the first impression, not only of the band, but also of yourselves. Always include a bio on every band member. What experience you have, how long have you played, points of interest. Don’t make it too “Busy” though. Figure, on average, you have less than a minute to capture this persons interest.

Any press release material on you or the group always looks good. Include an 8 x 10 black and white photo, also a color one if you can. A schedule can also be included. This shows that you are working steady, and they like to see that.

A CD is a must; cassettes don’t cut it anymore. Studio time can be afforded if everyone pitches in. After all this is a group effort, right? A video is optional.

4) Your First Gig

Once you are able to get that first gig, show up early, get everything set up nice. This means tape your cords, so no one is hurt in a “horrible tripping over a cord accident”. Strange things happen when alcohol is involved, cover your rear. Also, tape cords on stage. This looks clean and professional.

Start 5 minutes early, if you can, clubs love this. When you take a 15 minute break, take a 15 minute break,or even better, a 13 minute break, not a 17 or 20. They will be watching.

Always act professional. Most musicians get a bad rap, because of a few idiots. We NEVER drink when we are gigging, some bands do. In my own personal opinion, if you want to drink, wait until you are done. Contrary to popular belief, you do not sing or play better when you have had a couple – trust me. Go listen to karaoke some night if you don’t believe me… It’s not pretty. Be polite to the help, and always remind the crowd to tip the waitresses and bartenders. Why? Because if you make it a point to look out for the other people trying to make a living, like you are, they are going to greatly appreciate your acknowledgment of them, and that means more tips. They are happy to have you there, they will be in your corner when it comes to hiring bands for future gigs.

P.S. if someone tells you to turn it down, do it immediately!! Do not argue or complain, you are working for them, you are not in charge!!!!

I hope my years of frustration and mistakes will help you to be more successful in your musical career. And remember, the most important thing of all… Have Fun!!