I started writing this piece today with the goal in mind of expressing three or four pet-peeves I’ve developed over five years of booking shows and dealing with agents, bands, fans, PR firms and ticketing companies. Once I got about halfway through the first entry, I realized that a singular post wouldn’t suffice to effectively get across the points I’m attempting to drive home. Therefore, this is going to become a multi-part series-of-sorts here at jerseymike.org. Casual fans and showgoers- I hope this sheds some light on what it’s like in the life and times of an indie promoter. Bands and agents- I hope these entries help you in some capacity in the oft-turbulent world of live music.

Enjoy–

I’ve been booking and promoting shows for just about five years now.

In that time, there have been sell-outs, moderately attended events and, of course, the duds.

Overall, I’d estimate that I, along with a rotating cast of sub-promoters and local scenesters, have done or been involved with just about twenty five hundred shows with probably fifteen hundred bands.

Every year, someone new pops up on the local radar with promises of bringing the “revolution” to the limping live music scene here in the Midstate. And every year, that new guy usually fucks something up and disappears. Leaving not even a footnote in the blog pages and events listings of the area’s events listings and critic pages.

All of that said, I think I’ve paid my fair share of dues and have garnered enough experience to allow me to gripe now and again- and this piece, my friends, is a gripe. I’m going to get a few things off of my chest- citing examples and offering suggestions to some of the most irritating characters an independent promoter in a tertiary market has to deal with.

Gripe number 1: “It’s the venue’s fault that there were only fifty people at the show”-

This one is SO aggravating it’s not even funny.

We recently had a band whose agent hammered me for weeks to get a date. He referenced a plethora of opening and high-profile slots the band had played locally. He also made a point to mention the “huge draw” the band would have in the area. (the band’s name isn’t important because there are a thousand bands that make this excuse constantly)

After checking out all of the credentials and moderately-impressive press kit, I decided to give them a date.

Once I offered the date, the agent came back with a ridiculously high quote for their standard-performance rate.

I held firm in what we would offer and, of course, the agent came down to my price.

The band sent one poster- a giant one with a liquor sponsorship logo that was more prominent than the band’s name- and we posted it inside the venue.

Move ahead to the day of the show and they came in- all pomp and circumstance- set up their gear and elaborate merch display and played their set at 11:30 PM- to about forty five people.

Thirty five of which were there to see the supporting band.

Now, don’t get me wrong- this type of thing happens from time to time. And my standard way of dealing with it is to either a) not book the band again or b) offer the band a support-slot their next time in.

The agent predictably emailed me about two weeks after the show asking for a return date. I replied promptly and informed him that, although I thought the band was fantastic (they really, really were), the draw vs. what we paid them didn’t balance out and that I’d offer the band a support slot down the road.

His reply didn’t surprise me, but didn’t make me smile either.

The agent went on a mini-tirade implying that the venue “didn’t do enough to market the show” and the people who WERE there wouldn’t have known about it “if it weren’t for the band’s MySpace blast”.

And here’s what drives me absolutely crazy about those statements- my venue hosts twelve to fourteen nights of music per month. Normally, there are at least two bands on each bill and four of the nights per month are open-mic’s- which mean there are no less than six bands and solo acts playing those nights. So over the course of a thirty-one day month, we see about twenty five bands play our stage.

And to market said live-music events, we have a pretty far reaching system in place. In addition to monthly print ads in three publications, we’ve got a monthly emailer that blasts out to several thousand people, two MySpace pages plugging the shows, this site, Jambase.com, in house posters, a quarterly paper newsletter that goes out to over five thousand people and posters plastered all over the building here.

But some bands actually think that if a show doesn’t go well, it’s the venue’s fault.

This is sort of like a “chicken or the egg” debate.

If there weren’t venues willing to pay a fair rate and host bands on a consistent basis, there wouldn’t be places for bands to develop fan bases and (hopefully) grow and mature into nationally touring phenomenons; selling out rooms and dodging bras and panties onstage.

Conversely, if there weren’t great bands willing to put their souls and spirits on the line and play their little hearts out to drunken patrons in rooms spanning from frat houses to firehalls to dive bars to established music venues, there wouldn’t be fun little hotspots of new music and great shows to see.

So basically, one doesn’t exist without the other.

That said, everyone plays a role in a successful show and, depending on what the draw for the night is, someone either gets a pat on the back or a kick in the ass.

If a show is successful and hundreds of people are there to get down and boogie the night away, oftentimes the band is quick to pat themselves on the back and boast about their huge numbers.

If is show is a dud, on the other hand, a band can be quick to point in every direction with the exception of themselves.

“Oh, this other band that has a similar fan base to us was playing right up the road and everybody was there”

(What does that mean? That the other band is better than yours?)

“We didn’t have enough time to promote the show, we only knew about it two months ago”

(*rolling eyes*)

“The weather was shitty”

(This does happen from time to time and is definitely taken into consideration)

“The venue didn’t do enough to promote the show”

When you boil it all down, the single most important thing a band needs to do when booked anywhere is to get as many people out to the show as possible. Call your friends. Hit the streets with flyers. Poster everywhere you possibly can. Utilize the MySpace and the Facebook and the Friendster and your email lists.

And then show up and play to a (hopefully) packed room.

A band, inherently, is a business. And every business needs to market it’s goods. If that new brand of vodka or tequila or beer doesn’t sell well, it’s not the bar’s fault. It gets pinned back to the marketing department of the new spirit.

Same goes for a band.

If a band doesn’t do well (attendance-wise) it’s not a reflection of the venue. It’s a reflection of the bands’ ability to market themselves as a business.

And that’s what it all comes down to.

You’ve practiced your ass of in the garage for months, you’ve passed the point of your friends and family coming out to your gigs…and now it’s time to hit the streets.

Get out there.

Sell yourself.

Make it happen.

‘Cause nobody likes an excuse maker.