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.
Guitar Tips
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!
