I mentioned in my most recent blog post that I am on a journey to have more success as a live performer. I would love to just get more live gigs playing my acoustic guitar and singing in pubs and bars. I have played several gigs and every time I play a gig, it seems to go very well. The audience gets into it and they seem captivated. I even usually attract a handful of people that come to the bar mainly to see me. I would think that the advantage of this for the bar itself would lead the bar to want to have me back. However I have found that they rarely ask me to come back and getting new gigs is even more difficult.
Now, up until now, my main strategy, which has not been too successful has been to take cell phone videos of myself playing live and shop them around as demos. A lot of my demos are from open mics because I did not have any paying gigs yet when I started making demos. I used to call venues on the phone to get contact info and send the demos to the address I got. I eventually stopped even doing that. I did not see the advantage of calling ahead when I could get the email off the website. Although I have limited data because the gigs I got with this strategy were few and far between, it did seem that calling first seem to end up in getting gigs more often. As a whole though, this strategy of shopping demos around online was not yielding many results, and I eventually was at a loss as to why I could not book any gigs.
At the time I am writing this article, I still do not have nearly the number of gigs I want, but I am willing to try a new strategy. I have been talking to other musicians that I have become friends with, and I have to say, I love these local musicians as a community. Not every community is the same, but I was fortunate to find some real connections. Here are the ideas they gave me:
They said that shopping demos around online is a low effort, low yield strategy. It is wonderful when you do get gigs that way, but it helps a lot to talk to the venue in person. Hang out there, try to talk to the owner. Ask about a gig, and you may have to follow up later. Go to several different places with your guitar and be ready if they ask to hear you play then and there. Make friends with other musicians and they may ask you to play gigs that they book and have to cancel/want a supporting act. Of course I had some questions:
If the goal is to get away from sending demos over email, what do you do when you talk to an owner in person and they ask you to send demos? Is it very awkward talking to an owner the second time after you already asked for a gig and they have not gotten back to you? How do you pitch yourself during the first conversation? How do you approach the follow up conversation?
For the most part, these are questions I will probably have to find the answers to myself. I will try to keep this blog updated with what I find out, but if you are a musician note that different strategies may work for different people and venues. At the moment, if you are in a similar position, I would encourage you not to get discouraged, whether you decide to continue pursuing music or not. I am confused but not discouraged. I will continue this endeavor and keep this blog updated with what I find out. Thanks for reading!
Edit: I am not sure I have seen much of a difference as far as going into a venue and talking to the owner as the first step in trying to get a gig. It is definitely a saturated market and it takes almost as much time hunting for gigs as it does practicing for them. But there is no secret formula to making this all work. At least if there is I haven’t found it. I am still trying to have fun with it.
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