Bluewine

Agreed. Would you agree that some pubs and bars are just not good for live music. After 15 years, I have to say we turn down more gigs than we accept. And we play close to 65 shows a year. Of course a lot depends on your location. We still have a few live venues with a built in crowd. Meaning when we play there we'll have a good crowd without exception. And how about the gig where the venue is packed and the crowd has zero interest in your band or anyone else's band. And here's another thought . What some of us think is a good crowd might not be a good crowd to someone else. When we play The Bend Theatre we always have close to a full house. Last month we sold 230 seats . The theater holds 300. We were not fully responsible for selling 230 seats. It's an established well organized venue with a " built in " crowd. I'll post the puc from from the last gig we played at The Harley Motor Museum & Restaurant. It's an example of poor planning by inexperienced people. Daryl

Really nice photos. Daryl

Nice cover. Sounds really good. Daryl

Agreed. I learned a few unspoken rules in my band years ago. Don't suggest ideas for new songs or any intros or arrangements. We might have rehearsed once in the last 5 years. I think some bands are not cut out for rehearsal. We gig enough, we have more than enough material and very in tune with each other musically. I truly believe it's why there are no band tensions,disagreements and the reason we've been together since 2007. Don't get me wrong. Overall rehearsals to me are a big part of being professional. It just doesn't work for this band. Daryl

Dave, I'm not sure you'll be able to access the video clip. I know you use earbuds. You'll be able to hear my " meat and potatoes " bass lines. Nothing fancy. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1K5pZJcYJe/ Daryl

Nice gig! Daryl

Would you agree that it depends on the type of originals band and the location? In my neck of the woods there's practically no originals scene. And what there is would come under the " not being sufficiently entertaining " category. Daryl

I agree. However this pic shows how hard it is to give that 110%. Lol Daryl

We're not a wedding band by any stretch of the imagination. But we've been wangled into doing a few. All of them were bad. It's usually when the bride or the groom just happens to like our band. I don't think it occurs to them to hire a band their guests would like. Daryl

Some bands even if they're good will not and will never attract big crowds. Most of the Milwaukee bands that draw large local crowds consistently are established cover/ show bands represented by one of two large booking agencies. These are well organized special event type gigs where these bands are guaranteed big crowds. Daryl

It sounds like the originals band had someone with connections and motivated to book gigs. There are plenty of band better than my band. However, some hardly ever gig because while they're great musically nobody in those bands had booking skills. Daryl

Sometimes. However I've seen young top notch cover bands playing at poorly attended events. Daryl

I'll give it to the pros that can go from a packed room on a Friday night and emotionally handle playing to an empty room Saturday night. This is an area I need a lot of improvement in. Daryl

I'm a 4 string 60s guy. I could never wear shorts for a gig. And nobody wants to see 71 year old legs. Lol Daryl

Love the Marc Bolan cut-out story. I remember once we an outside event on a farm where we ended up playing to the livestock. Daryl

In the pics posted we sold 234 seats $18.00- $20.00 at the theater gig. Maximum capacity is 300. Very unusual for us. However it was in our hometown and The Bend Theatre has built a fine reputation as a premier live music venue. They book 2-3 national touring bands every week. Daryl

I think it's easier to take when the second gig has the big crowd. Playing to a packed crowd on a Friday and then playing to a few " lost souls " on Saturday is hard to take. Daryl

We don't play any pub gigs anymore. However, when we did many times we'd have to cancel gigs if there was a major "play off" football or baseball game on game on during the gig. Daryl

It's nice when any of us play a venue with what we call a " built in " crowd. The Zeigler Winery put a lot of thought and resources into establishing themselves as a music venue. Not live music as an after thought. Daryl

I think it was merely some very inexperienced folks at the venue that thought you could just throw live music at their problem with no real thought put into it Daryl

Please share any new thoughts on dealing with poor attendance at gigs. I've been dealing with it for years, yet I still struggle with weak attendance. I know it's part of the job. Take a look at the contrast we've all had to deal with. Daryl

Agreed. On to the next one. Daryl

Thanks Dave, There was no special event to support the gig. Just us, no advertising and we can't pull a crowd on our own in Milwaukee. Dave, it was bad. Daryl

Dave, Your Gig sounds good to me. We had a major disaster of a gig at Harley yesterday. Daryl

Join the club. We had a not so great gig yesterday. A real " downer " after 3 hot gigs in a row. Great pic though! Daryl