All the highs and lows of performing in one weekend!

[diablomozart]

my old band opened for sonata arctica at the masquerade and got paid exactly zero...lol...and we actually sold probably 35 tickets...but in the end the experience was worth it...i have a hard time recalling a night i had more fun...d.m.

[clifffclaven]

Are you a comedian? Thats almost laughable. A written signed contract to play in a bar or club? Thats funny.

huh? our band rarely plays anywhere without a contract. Theres one club in town that we play for the door, because we know we can usually make 800-1k for the night. The others? Contract stating pay, play time, and free draw beer for the band.

[triplehold]

Don't sweat the dough, just keep playing out and hone your chops, your stage show and your tightness as a unit. As long as everyone is having fun and you are like a team in the big game it will pay off in the long haul. It is a good idea to have a "money guy" in the band, one who will stick around to get paid and not take any crap from any club owners. Welcome to the music business- it is sleazy.

[joelayres]

Are you a comedian? Thats almost laughable. A written signed contract to play in a bar or club? Thats funny.

If thats funny to you, you have no place in the music business. If you don't take yourself seriously enough to treat your band like a business, why would you expect anyone else to take you seriously?

[Sinistas]

Venues in the northeast don't operate that way.

[joelayres]

Venues in the northeast don't operate that way.

Don't know about today, but when I gigged there back in the mid 80's thru early 90's, that was standard operating procedure. I'm talking in PA Indiana, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Altoona - WV Wheeling, Fairmont, Weirton - OH Toronto.

I'll look through my files and see if I still have a copy of a signed contract - I'll post it if I locate it.

[Spivonious]

Man I wish we could get paid $100 for a gig. We're still building up a following and do a lot of free shows until we can get a demo recorded to send out to the paying clubs.

It might be different for cover bands though; we're all original. Even though we don't get paid (yet) it's still tons of fun to play out.

[992gnt]

Ya this is definitely a cover band town - the bands playing the A rooms pull in $1000-$1400 guarantee per night and more. We aren't any where near ready for A rooms, but we seemed to have started to make the leap from C rooms to B rooms already. If even half of the speculative gigs for next summer happen, it's gonna be crazy busy. Personally, I am just as happy playing for the door at a C room as playing a big festival on the river, but that latter seems to bring with it a more satisfying sense of accomplishment.

[jgcable]

If thats funny to you, you have no place in the music business. If you don't take yourself seriously enough to treat your band like a business, why would you expect anyone else to take you seriously?

Again... thats funny. You really should stop playing music and start doing stand up. Do you realize they probably pay the guy standing at the door taking the money more than your band gets?

Lets talk about your "business".... shall we?
You rehearse UNPAID for countless hours. You buy all your own equipment. You have to pay to get it to the show. You have to set it up yourself... again.. UNPAID. You play for a few hours but actually you have "punched the clock" in for a solid 6-8 hours min between loading up for he gig, unloading, setting up, sound checking, playing the gig, breaking down, loading up, bringing the equipment back to the studio. There are probably at least 4 of you in the band. You probably had to buy strings and other things for the show. You probably had a little bar tab. You probably went to the diner after the show. ALL UNPAID. All that for $350.00 split 4 to 5 ways. Yea.. a contract is mandatory for that kind of pay. Do you have a lawyer negotiate the contract? After all.. thats a ton of dough.
I guess your correct... I need to take my bands business more serious.

One more thing.. club owners and booking agents never take bands seriously. You will NEVER get a club to sign a formal binding contract around the tri-state area unless you are a national signed touring act and have lawyers and management doing it for you.
Think about my fellow JCF veterans... long hair Johnny walking into a club to book a gig with a binding contract for the club owner to sign!!! How about calling the booking agent in a club and after a million calls you finally get through and before you can commit to the gig you just friggin BEGGED for you need the club owner to sign a binding contract!
Laughable.

[toxikdeth]

When I play out its not form money its for fun

[clifffclaven]

Again... thats funny. You really should stop playing music and start doing stand up. Do you realize they probably pay the guy standing at the door taking the money more than your band gets?

Lets talk about your "business".... shall we?
You rehearse UNPAID for countless hours. You buy all your own equipment. You have to pay to get it to the show. You have to set it up yourself... again.. UNPAID. You play for a few hours but actually you have "punched the clock" in for a solid 6-8 hours min between loading up for he gig, unloading, setting up, sound checking, playing the gig, breaking down, loading up, bringing the equipment back to the studio. There are probably at least 4 of you in the band. You probably had to buy strings and other things for the show. You probably had a little bar tab. You probably went to the diner after the show. ALL UNPAID. All that for $350.00 split 4 to 5 ways. Yea.. a contract is mandatory for that kind of pay. Do you have a lawyer negotiate the contract? After all.. thats a ton of dough.
I guess your correct... I need to take my bands business more serious.

One more thing.. club owners and booking agents never take bands seriously. You will NEVER get a club to sign a formal binding contract around the tri-state area unless you are a national signed touring act and have lawyers and management doing it for you.
Think about my fellow JCF veterans... long hair Johnny walking into a club to book a gig with a binding contract for the club owner to sign!!! How about calling the booking agent in a club and after a million calls you finally get through and before you can commit to the gig you just friggin BEGGED for you need the club owner to sign a binding contract!
Laughable.

wow. Then i guess you need to move. No contract? No gig for us. Except the one bar that i know the owner..

[jgcable]

wow. Then i guess you need to move. No contract? No gig for us. Except the one bar that i know the owner..

It must be a location thing. In the tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT I have never talked about signed contracts to do a gig in the 30+ years I have been gigging.

[joelayres]

Contract below. Note that this was from 1989, so in 2009 dollars it should be around 650.00 vs door.

[Sinistas]

I wish it was like that now up here. If we bring 2 or 70, we usually get stiffed. Thank god we're not in it for the money.

[jgcable]

Contract below. Note that this was from 1989, so in 2009 dollars it should be around 650.00 vs door.

Over 30 years of gigging in the tri-state area and this is the first one of these I have ever seen. :think: