Steve Browning

As I intimated in my post. He'll be back - but I bet he doesn't admit it here!! 🙂

I hope your resolve is as firm as your pricing in the classifieds - noting the revisions. 🙂

An interesting contribution to a Facebook thread (not from me, I should add) that has relevance ot us here. I’d just like to chip in my views on all of this, as I hold some pretty strong opinions on the state of things right now. I’m both a hospitality consultant and a musician that plays across the UK, so I can see the issues on both sides. I feel this gives me a fairly balanced take on the problems, though I do think the blame rests mostly with venue operators. 1st issue: Many venues book the band but then expect the band to do everything. The ones that offer ticket split type shows are the worst for not promoting anything. They already have their captive audience, but it has to be a team effort when it comes to marketing. 2nd issue: You have to spend money on promotions. Gone are the days where a crappy poster and a couple of Facebook posts were enough. The time has to go into it. We’ve played around 30-40 gigs this year and most of them have sold out. The common denominator is that both the venue and ourselves have spent money on sponsored posts and time on content. That’s the world we live in now. A crappy Facebook event isn’t bringing anyone that wasn’t already going to come. This should be agreed and decided at the point of booking - it pays dividends on the night. 3rd issue: If it’s a fixed fee, the venue and band should decide what’s being spent on marketing, and that should be factored into any payments or costs. For covers and tribute bands, the best policy is usually for the venue or promoter to head up marketing. It makes the biggest difference as they have the captive audience in their area. 4th issue: Venues need to understand that bands aren’t cheap and stop mugging people off. It’s often a 10-12 hour day including travel. £300 between six people should not happen. Bands also need to stop selling themselves short for £5 an hour. If a venue can’t afford to pay a band properly, they need to rethink their goals - book solo acts, duos, or DJs instead who are better quality. If you’re getting £300 bands, no wonder nobody’s coming. It’s because they’re probably shit and you’ve built a rep for having mediocre bands 5th issue: We can’t change the world, so we have to live with it as it is. Stop trying to run pubs like it’s 1970. It’s a digital world now. If you can’t get on board with socials as a pub manager, employ a company to do it all - otherwise you will inevitably fail. 6th issue: I wouldn’t worry too much about pubs having gigs listed on their website. Most pub websites get very few views aside from people checking opening times and menus. It’s handy as a ticket outlet with direct links from socials, but that’s about it. Socials are the absolute decider in whether venues fill or not. Lastly, for bands: Work on actually creating a brand and image for yourselves. Don’t just be another dad rock band or claim to be the number one tribute. Put some effort into creating something memorable that stands out and stop accepting shitty gigs. Be more selective about who you work with and where you play - it all adds to your image. The first thing I look at before booking anyone is where else they’ve played. If it’s a bunch of skanky, run down pubs that are on their last legs, I’m probably going to look elsewhere. In short, both sides have got lazy or are too stubborn to move with the times. Both must. Formula for a dead night: Shit band + no promotion. Cost to average size venue: the band and Running at 50% capacity. Let’s say a venue can take £6k on the bar on a busy night - you lose £300 on a cheap band and miss out on £3k of sales. Gross for the night: £2.7k (without other factors or overcomplicating it). Formula to sell the place out: Fairly decent band (£800) + £200 on marketing. Venue at 100% capacity. Gross for the night: £5k. Even more if it’s ticketed. Plus a growing rep for having the best bands around on. Why venues don’t understand these simple maths is beyond me. There’s no excuse. If a venue says “Even if I promote it, it doesn’t work”, then either you’re promoting it wrong, or your venue is already past the point of no return and you probably need to start thinking of a plan B.

I'm in the hefty discount/return camp here. The marking you have shown, and your description of the electrics are indicative of an instrument that should never have been sent out. Maybe send a link to this thread with your next response. For me, and many others here, good customer service is proven when things go wrong. An acceptable outcome here can enhance the luthier's standing. Not doing so would pretty much certainly lead to a (virtual) boycott of their business. Good luck.

Highly likely. Put some bigger casters on it and enjoy.

I saw a poster at a gig for a chap going under the name Rodge Adultery.

I'd be tempted to offer it for sale and give a good chunk of the proceeds to charity. Those are amazing cabs and someone may be after one. Leave it up for a given period and reconfigure if there are no takers.

That was when I still lived at home. Who was your aunt?

I wish I had kept the directory but it's long gone. They didn't let my mate join as Gabriel F*ck (without the asterisk!!).

I've mentioned this before. When I first joined the MU, you could join using your stage name. This was in the late 70's, and they also produced a local directory, listing the various members by instrument and stage name. The Portsmouth directory of the time listed the bass playing occupant of 14 Highfield Avenue, Waterlooville as Jaco Pastorius. I cannot understand how I managed to join with that name, but there it was.

I played in a band where the drummer was Lenny Tench (real name Dave Pittard). He was always Lenny Tench as far as the general public were concerned, but Dave to his friends. Seems the solution to go for.

I have no great insight. It appears to be in the lap of the gods, more often than not. In any event, you always play your best and treat every gig the same. A guy I know played Woodstock and treated every gig with the same mentality.

He was certainly board (I'll get me coat).

The bit that intrigues me is your comment that your friend is a good singer. It sounds that he is demotivated and may be asking for your opinion to confirm his own. Have you asked him what he thinks? It's difficult. If someone asks your opinion, it's disrespectful to be dishonest. That doesn't mean you have to be unpleasant about it, but criticism (in its literal sense) is always helpful. That is equally true when it's not entirely positive.

Unfortunately, this is my view. How will you feel if it turns out to be a serious medical diagnosis and the guy is struggling to process it?

This is always my priority. You and the drummer are going to be the foundation of the band. Be seen to be aiming to lock in with them. The drummer and the sound man. Your two biggest friends on a stage.

Our singer/guitarist handles the announcements but we all chip in, off mic, when we are inspired. Usually for the purposes of urine extraction.

The Bass 400 was the same. As I have said in the past, I actually gave up (shortly after getting it) and reverted to a pair of Orange 120s (I was using a pair of Diesel 2x15s at the time) until I pulled myself together and persevered. It was well worth it!!

https://www.theguitarwrist.co.uk/ I send mine here, but there may be other local makers who do something similar. Maybe you know someone who can do this. They don't get many from me!!

I have seen him regularly in Winchester.

He could have done with that in Colditz.

I recall Maureen Lipman saying that gentiles should not play roles depicting Jewish characters. I believed that was what acting was. Not sure what 'ology' covers that.