Start Your Own Scene
Scott James
http://www.WebsitesForRockstars.comFollow @ihelpmusicians
I hear a lot of people complain that their band can’t really get anywhere because there’s not much of a scene where they live. However I don’t see a lot of people doing anything about it. If there’s going to be a scene, someone needs to have the vision and initiative to start it. So if you don’t have a booming scene where you live – start your own! Here’s how:
The first thing that you need to do is to scout out at least one good venue. What you want to look for are venues that are:
a) inexpensive
b) fun
c) willing to give you the freedom to set up your own shows
The other important factor is bringing in other bands to play with you. You’ll know you’re on the right track when you start putting together shows that you’re genuinely excited about. If you’re excited about the shows you put together then that excitement will translate to your fans. When you consistently put together fun and exciting shows you’ll see the beginnings of a new scene. Other bands will want to be a part of it and you won’t have to beg people to come to your shows. You’ll just need to tell them when they are.
When you put on shows with bands who know each other and who have fun together then people will actually stay for more than one band! They’ll leave happy without having spent too much and the bands can actually make some money too. It’s a win, win for everyone if you do it right.
If you’ve got total freedom over the shows you put on then you can do some things that are outside the box. You can have a comedian or a magician open for you. Be creative. I saw a band once who had made a big wheel that they would spin that would prompt them to do all kinds of entertaining stunts in between songs depending on where the wheel landed. It’s your show. Have fun with it!
Before I moved to Los Angeles I played in a band in Rhode Island where there wasn’t any kind of established scene. There were a couple of no-name venues where we regularly played. One was at a restaurant/bar at the beach and another was a tiny bar in the suburbs. Neither one had bands playing there until we proposed the idea. We brought in bands that we wanted to play with and we played what we wanted to play.
Both of these places that we played at gave us 100% of the door and 100% of merch. One of them even gave us the door plus $100 and free drinks! The bar was a tiny unknown hole in the wall, yet we made more money per show there than when I played in a band that sold out the Viper Room. Those shows were some of the best times of my life. We weren’t trying to reach for something beyond us, we were just putting on the shows we wanted to play and that we thought would be the most fun for everyone. We booked the bands we liked to watch and that we liked to hang out with, so naturally our fans would enjoy the show as well. People would come back to see us again and they would bring more friends and tell more people, to the point that many of them would be turned away at the door.
The idea is to bring people together in a way that’s a win win for everyone. If everybody wins then everybody will want to be a part of your shows in the future. If you want to create a scene, forget about the big expensive venues that don’t care about you, book 6 unrelated bands a night, don’t pay you and that your fans can only afford to go to on special occasions. Instead, find a fun place that’s receptive to the idea of letting you come in and put on your own inexpensive shows. It’s an opportunity for everyone – the venue owner wants more customers, you’ve got fans and you know other bands who have fans (you just need a willing venue), and the fans have a few hours and a reasonable amount of money to spend, and they want good entertainment.
Bring it all together and you’re the hero. So don’t be one of the countless complainers. Be a doer. Amazing things can happen when you’ve got the vision to bring people together.
OMG Scott, we need people like you on our side. We are all music, tv, college radio, ad, promotional, management, etc..execs experimenting with what could hopefully become a “new way.” Before you get into the “book” here, I am from http://www.filteredspace.com and our soon to be terrestrially syndicated radio show Fighting for Air™.
Together we have teamed with the now free (5 year non-compete) Goopking (Greg Stricklin) who was the architect behind Unsigned Music Network and their vaunted Digital Solicitation Point that helped bands from Eminem to System of the Down-Dishwalla to Disturbed. It is an argued subject that he brought the Sunset Strip back to life in the late 90′s to early 00 with KUMN radio and his Whisky Ago go/Viper Room showcases. (1997-2005)
Well here we go again, and we need people like you to help get the word out. Many of us are musicians as well and are tired of the exorbitant rates or, time necessary we pay to promote. Example: Radio Promoter=$4500.00 for a 30-60 day campaign that might spawn one play in Cedar Radids on a 3 watt radio station. Or, we can spend hours upon hours searching for the stations that will play us.
Filtered Space is attempting to bring all of this together with the real world rules in a digital world.
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Right on Scott, Its time to bring it back. That relates to other arts as well.
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This is absolutely true. The venues in my area that already accommodate local bands, make it almost impossible to enjoy yourself. Overpriced admission, poor booking, ignorant promoters that don’t promote.
It’s high time that we started doing things for ourselves.
This article has some fantastic ideas on how to get out there and make it happen.
Thanks for posting!
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Thanks Steve!
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hahaha I love it, Scott. This is a subject I cover quite often when I go off on my anti-Pay to Play rants! I’ve preached the “create your own gig” mentality since the 80s.
Hell, while most bands were shelling out the dough to play the big stages for people who only came to see the headliner, we were packing the dives with people who paid to see us!
Thanks for continuing to spread the word. You freaking rock!
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Nice. Thanks Don!
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Amazing article and so so true. Most people are passive, they can’t be arsed to be pro-active and take responsibility. It is far easier to complain and accept the card that “fate” has dealt them.
I chose to be pro-active. I started a meet-up group called “Rock Bands in London” as London has the same problems for small musicians like LA. Pay to play and Bring an Audience gigs run rampant.
By meeting up we first get to know each other as people, and now we are about to put our own shows. There are enough people in the meet-up to support each other at the shows. No need to beg friends who are not in to live music to come anymore. No mistrust between bands and promoters, everyone is joined together by the group in some way or the other.
Thanks man, this post inspired me to move the Rock Bands in London scene further and with more gusto! It’s been going for 2 years now and we are just planning our first show
http://www.rockbandsinlondon.co.uk
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Good stuff Atul! That’s great.
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Thanks for this post Scott. Agree 100%. The Formula at http://www.thefanformula.com/ shows it is easily possible to make a living as a musician in your local area. Treat your fans well and they will respond in kind!
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Cool. Thanks Eliza!
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Great advice, Scott! I’ve been advising this for years. And I’ve done it myself in Houston where I live. Just get out there and do it. Your article demonstrates what committment and persistence can do. Stop complaining and make it happen.
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Right on Madalyn!
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