Bluewine

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

Ok, here goes. Probably one of the worse gigs I've had in years. The Harley Motor, we left at 9:00 and it was already 80°. I had to drive because we used our heavy production gear ,so no room in the van for me. The Harley Motor is having a rough time of it so they tried something new. A full band at noon instead of our 3 piece acoustic set inside 5:00-8:30. The heat would not let up.90° and no shade. We basically played to nobody. Just a poorly planed idea that didn't work. I did get some bike pics for Dave. Daryl

Thanks Dave, I hope you guys have a good one too. Yeah, August was slow for me. September has been busy. Daryl

I think DI is the way to go for small venues. I use a pretty basic DI. I wonder if I should shop some of the high end bass DI/ pre-amps with all the bells and whistles. Daryl

We're doing an outside 12:00-2:30 full Maple Road gig this Saturday at The Harley Motor. We'll be leaving at 9:00. That's very early for me. This one will be a little different Usually we do our acoustic offering inside 5:00-7:30. I'm hoping there's some type of special event to ensure a decent crowd. I hope we can keep our streak going. We've had 3 really good gigs in a row. Daryl

Very unfortunate and I've been there with other bands. For me it was always the guy that took things too seriously. My current band has been together and gigging constantly since 2007. I've been with them since 2009. Outside of gig confirmation and details there's no Interaction with each othe until we're on stage. We don't rehearse, no list of dos and don't. However there's an unwritten rule, show up at every gig with a positive attitude and have fun.There's also no material suggestions or exchange of musical ideas. I really think it's why the band has been together for 18 years. Don't get me wrong,new musical ideas happen and become apart of our set, however they happen organically. There's never any formal discussion. It's a sad thing when things in a band don't work out and fail. I think it can happen even when initially everyone is on the same page. Daryl

Agreed, I need to gig the Hofner Club and my Gibson Thunderbird more often. Daryl

Thanks Dave, We have 3 " hot" gigs in a row under our belts now. This Saturday we're doing a Harley event with a 12 noon start time. This won't be The Harley Motor Restaurant . I believe this will be a dealership event. Daryl

Beautiful! Daryl