December 15th, 2010

What happens when the audience hate you?

Unfortunately not everyone is going to like what you do. For every major band there are legions of people who think they are rubbish. This is a strength. If you can get people to react (positive or otherwise) when they see  you, you have more chance of them remembering you. Some people will look out for every time you post another gig on Live Unsigned or release an album as an opportunity to air their opinion on your band.

Picture by Paul Claassen

Fans aren’t passionate about bands that are OK, bands that are alright or decent musicians. Whether you are Jello Biafra, Jay Z, Nick Cave, Lady Gaga or just playing at the local bar its better to go out on a limb, be remarkable, unusual and memorable.  Polarizing opinion is a good thing because the people who are passionate about your music become the evangelizing fans you really want, the ones who tell their friends, blog about you and make fan videos. The true fans. Be honest in your communications via all your channels and nurture the relationships with the people who love what you do, don’t waste your time on those who don’t like you.

Going down badly in front of an audience happens to all bands at some point in their career. You may be in front of the wrong crowd or have sound problems or you’re just not at the top of your game that night. It happens, be yourself and don’t comprise. Do what you do and focus on the one person in the room who probably does like you, don’t give up and win them over.  Nine Inch Nails got bottled every time they played a support gig with Guns N Roses, but a small part of the crowd loved what they did and they developed a cult audience.

Its difficult when people attack you and your music, unfortunately this (like file sharing) is something you need to accept if you get any level of success. You will get bad blog reviews and attacks by forum Trolls.  Every band you have ever liked have been through this, some people just live to attack others online. This is why some people in the public eye try and avoid the internet. 5 minutes reading Youtube comments and you’ll see the sort of things people say about musicians. Its probably not worth commenting on these kind of posts, but if you can possibly get your fans to defend you this can be a cool way of encouraging debate and building buzz. Passionate exchanges about music are brilliant and exciting and are to be encouraged.

If you’re not hated somewhere online it probably means people don’t care or have never heard of you. Keep being interesting and remarkable and you have far more chance of building a career in the new music industry (even if that means some people hate you).  Getting them talking in the first place is half the battle.

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November 15th, 2010

What bands need to agree upon before playing gigs

When you start a band often the last thing you think of is where you will be in a few months, let alone three years time. But what happens if you get offered a 3 month tour or record deal, will everyone be willing to quit their day job or leave their family behind? Its worth having a few conversations early on to avoid falling out at a later date.

Picture by Paul Linus Claassen

How do you split the songwriting credits? Some bands simply credit the whole band, some the individual writers. Its interesting to note that bands who split the songwriting between the band tend to stay together longer (Radiohead do it this way). Bitterness can set in if a song is licensed to a film and written by a particular member of the band. Suddenly they start earning more money than everyone else. Make an agreement on this and stick to it, this sort of thing splits up bands.

Dividing the costs and paying for rehearsals need to addressed. Its never good when everyone in the band can pay for the practice apart from one person who “hasn’t got anything to put in”.  Financial tensions split up a lot of bands. Will any money you make be put into a band fund for future projects or split evenly?

Another big one is do you want to be a professional musician? This isn’t an option for everyone but what happens if the band grows to the point where its required to progress? Doing music as a career is often poorly paid and involves being away from home, family and partners for long periods. You are often working weekends when all your friends off work and vice versa. Do you want to spend a lot of time traveling but not actually seeing anything? Can you live on back stage food? If you need lots of sleep and privacy touring probably isn’t for you.

This is the excellent avant garde cellist Zoe Keating on touring:

Another valid question is what happens if/when someone wants to leave. Will the rest of the band be able to keep the name? What about the songs written together? What happens to any money you have made together (or any money owed)? Make sure the channels of communication are open between the band members.

Its always best to agree these things sooner rather than later, some upfront honest conversations can save a lot of problems. There will always be things that happen, individuals situations will change and artists can disagree on musical direction. Being in a band is a bit like going out with 3 or 4 people and relationships can be complex. You can’t agree on everything but do what you can to make it work by making some plans for the future.

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October 15th, 2010

How to get the most from open mic nights

Some people think open mic nights are a waste of time, some say its close to karaoke, but they can be really useful to gain experience of live performance and make new contacts.  Check the Liveunsigned.com listings for open mics in your area, its well worth giving it a go. Most people think of open mics as being just for acoustic/singer-songwriter types but you can can strip down to an acoustic set, be inventive and create something original in your own style. Acoustic versions of metal/punk/electro tracks could be very interesting and will certainly stand out from the usual singer-songwriter types.

Open Mic

Picture by Paul Linus Claassen

Open mics are a great place to connect with the local community. Musicians who play open mics are music fans themselves, talk to people and build your real world social network. You’ll be amazed at the amount of opportunities you get just from people you know. Make friends, compliment people if you think they are good (be honest, but tactful) and develop connections.  In a short while one of these acts could be playing bigger venues and want a support act.

A low profile open mic night may be a great place to get confident with new songs and to see what works (and what doesn’t) in front of a real world audience.  Confidence in front of a live audience can only be gained by playing lots of gigs. The more you do the better you get and no amount of rehearsal room practice will do that. Think about how you speak to the audience, think about making it a conversation rather than you talking at them, ask questions of the crowd and get them involved. Keep the way you present your overall performance in line with your overall artistic vision. Everything you do on stage is performance, not just the music including how you dress and what you say.

Watch the other performers and learn from them. If you see 10 acts performing in a night you are bound to see people who do things that are great and others that are less so. Learn lessons from both, great live performers are always looking to improve and watching others is a great way to do this. Sometimes you can take away a lot from people who go down really badly, although as the audience at open mics tends to be other musicians you will most likely find people to be very supportive.

Take along CD’s and some cards or flyers with your website and contact details.  A friend of mine sells CD’s at open mics by allowing people to pay any amount they want for them, he finds he makes more than if he sets the price. You never know who is going to be there. Often promoters check out open mic acts for better slots in the same venue. If you play well and make the effort to bring a few people you can find yourself playing on better nights and decent support slots. Its a good way of opening doors.

Don’t forget this is another opportunity to create web content – videos, blogs about what happened and photos on Flickr. Why not take a photo of the audience and tell them its going to be on your website or Facebook fan page the next day (don’t forget to mention your website when playing)? Try and get the email addresses of people you meet that like your music, build your email list. There are loads more ideas for using live performances to create web content here.

Open mics are a great opportunity to connect with people and tell your story. It should be a case of the music is all that matters but building real world relationships with people is vital. Make connections!

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October 8th, 2010

10 ideas for gigs in unusual places

Are you bored of playing the same local venues as everybody else? Looking for a way of getting press by doing something special? Here are some places you can play that are unusual and interesting both for musicians and audiences. Get people talking and make things interesting (some of these ideas may require approval by authorities/local councils!) and remember to put a listing on Liveunsigned.com so people know about it :

1 – House Concerts – a big thing in the US and growing around the world, house concerts involve having a band play in your home. Hosts invite guests and ask them to make a donation for the artist, often the host provides a bed and food for the musicians. Many bands use house concerts as a way of filling days off between gigs and connecting with their most loyal fans. Why not email out to the people on your mailing list and ask if anyone is interested in hosting a concert in their home?

2 – Skate Parks – Skaters are often into music and skate parks are brilliant places to play for punk and metal bands (and others). Hire a PA and make it an event, collaborate with the skate park owners.

3 – Guerilla Gigs/Busking – Many artists started their career busking but many well known artists still like to play live on the streets, its often referred to as a guerilla gig. Laws on busking and what you can get away with vary from place to place. Tweet about it and get people down, even if it is at the last minute. Amanda Palmer from the Dresdon Dolls does this on her solo tours and it gives her a great chance to connect with fans (especially younger ones who can’t get into over 18′s clubs).

4 – The Launderette – London band Real Fur have converted their local launderette into a pop up venue – great idea and it got them a lot of press. Innovation gets people talking.

5 – Art Galleries – Great for ambient/acoustic artists and a chance to play to an audience you otherwise may not get a chance to play to. You’ll be amazed at the response from the art community if you just ask – offer to play for free and sell CD’s.

6 – Squats – In many cities there are whole squat scenes that attract an exciting art punk crowd. Watch out for an upcoming post on the Live Unsigned blog about squat scenes in more detail.

7 – Shops  – Oxfam hold regular charity events in their shops called Oxjam, sometimes having well known bands play. Record shops and book shops often have live gigs. I once saw The Buzzcocks play in Selfridges!

8 – Museums – A friend of mine does regular gigs at the V & A museum in London as an experimental soundtrack to silent films. Museums often hold events, approach them and see if you can provide some appropriate and interesting music. Build relationships with people and see what happens.

9 – Bandstands and the great outdoors – Have you got a generator (or can hire one)? Then head out to the forest, park, bandstand or any open space and play. In London Bandstand Busking organise regular events in the bandstands in the squares of Central London (apparently the council turn a blind eye). Its even easier if you are an acoustic act. Doom metal band Kyuss used to play in the local desert in the early days.

Of Montreal – Bandstand Busking, Regents Park, London:

10 – In the back of a cab  – OK you’re not going get a big crowd into a cab but the Black Cab Sessions is a great example of people doing something interesting and developing an online following. The idea is people play live in the back of a cab and its recorded and posted on the internet. There are loads of other interesting ideas for “microgigs” from sheds to offices to cellars.  Think of something personal that ties in with your vision as a band.

The point is you can play live anywhere there is a space – some acts may need more equipment than others (and its a good idea to keep an eye out for what the local council might say). The more interesting the better as this gets people talking on Twitter and Facebook and makes a great story for the press and bloggers. Ustream and video the event so you can share it with your online audience. Its got to be more fun than another gig at the same pub that everyone is playing at hasn’t it?

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