JTUK

We tend to have a power and energy that it is hard to ignore, so that is the plus side, but of course, it is hard to get interested playing to a poor turn-out. We accept it is our total responsibility to turn out but you also have to accept, IMO, some venues aren't right for you. There are many pubs we just will not play...and the follow-on from that is that we can struggle a bit in pubs..particuarly new ones, but then for special gigs we can draw very well....and these are ticketed, so the two don't really marry up in any sense. And because we aren't predominately a pub band, and our set is more middle ground/modern we aren't lumped with the pub rock bands.and so when we take parties, we aren't confined by their limited appeal ( hard rock and birthdays tend not to mix ) and more, importantly, their fees. I think we have positioned ourselves as to what and where we want to play as opposed to starting in the pubs and staying there. We certainly arfen't a function band either...so I'd put us firmly in the party/festival band camp , but we don't play a specific chummy party set. Most gigs we may look to throw in a few originals as well...

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1406719180' post='2514014'] Keep your backline volumes reasonable. The sound guy will make sure it sounds good out front if you give him some headroom to work with. If you're blasting out from the back you're effectively removing yourself from his control [/quote] Only if you are talking about small P.A's and stages. Any decent stage will have a mon engr anyway.

Not sure about being asked but we look at how this two way street may work. We did one for free last year and paid ourselves out of the kitty... The organisation was ok... and the crowd was big, but we donated 45 mins and they wanted us to cut that short, so it is as well they don't ask us again. For a good charity etc etc ...we will pay ourselves from a fund, but we have to be convinced the event will work... For a good cause, I'd rather support it or send in a donation...

Get 50 people to turn up...

[quote name='DogHammer' timestamp='1406639662' post='2513292'] Forever Sun in Dorset. Only max capacity of 5000 but was pretty good [/quote] My friends went and blew out a very good local one so I will find out from her what the deal was...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1406534366' post='2512109'] Isn't that the whole point? [/quote] So they say.... but I never see the follow up announcements. Funnily enough, one of the bigger Beer Festivals we do probably has a music budget of around £5k ( cost of bands ) and it is a ticketed event and they publish charity donation figures within a week or so of the event. Whereas the multi band events that still charge entry but have an entirely free bill ( as in bands play free ) are less forthcoming. That may be me missing the announcements as surely some are very creditable, but I also note some of these are run by 'eventers' as their bands are always on the bill. The Sound and stage is free ..?? doubt it, somehow. I think if a band is desperate enough they could 'work' the whole summer at these free fests... Not against them as such but if I want to support a charity, I can always throw my money in a bucket.. Just as there are sooo many beer festivals now... there are also so many charity versions as well... I may be cynical but I just see it as a way of cutting costs and dodging red tape...

It is going to be difficult to get all that right. What nakes a start-up project a headliner..? $300 per head means pulling in a $2000 show, which means you need to make sense of the market they are in/aiming at. I don't see how anyone can committ until they see the money and the diary and someone wanting that money is going to expect it to be there right away otherwise they'll be taking other bookings. Not saying I would regard them as dreamers but you wouldn't put all your eggs in this basket until things firmed up, which could end up a waste of time for both parties... If things are contracted, I'd want to see the contracts ...not an unreasonable ask..? They are asking for a lot of faith, IMO.

Making money from music is one thing... and if you make enough that is making 'it' but in the sense of the OP I would regard making it as people that are well known and/or in well known bands. So, people I know aren't always people I have played with... I've played with ... ( but not in those bands ) Richard Coughlin. Caravan Jeff Britton Wings Rick Dawson... It Bites Steve Washington Texas, Take That, Nik Kershaw Clive Jenner Groove Armada Noel McCalla Artist Manfred Mann Geoff Richardson Caravan Hazel Dean Artist Steve Large Squeeze Dan Pearce Shuffler, X factor ( he played drums ) Ben Mills X Factor Gary Barnacle L42, Tina Turner Pete Barnacle Yngwie Malmsteen Steve Cameron Hot Chocolate Katie Bradley Hope she is an up and coming blues star.

Now, I am far from a P-Bass guy but the Sadowsky P works really well aesthetically, IMO.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1406521475' post='2512061'] I subscribe to [i]"there's room for all".[/i] There are some guys that will say [i]"playing for free takes business away from my band"[/i]. I challenge that notion. My band has a fee structure, some bands play for free and merely want to be creative and have fun, no problem or shame in that. I don't think were in competition with those bands. Blue [/quote] No, but the event is in competition for people that go and see live music. Of course, a good band should be worth paying to see but there are so many festivals on at the moment that people may baulk at paying to see a band as they get out of the habit of doing so. You can't really be against a good cause but jeez, these charity shows must be collecting a LOT .. I'd like to see the books......

I think there is a difference between not taking a fee, and not being able to get one. Without wishing to derail this, most weekend gigs with go up against a 'free' festival at quite a few points during the summer. And quite a few of those can only exist/operate by getting free bands ... And strangely, they seemed to be handled by an events organiser who also dabbles at bands and promo... I am sure it is very hard work but do they buy the 'free' service as well..???

Made it..??? before or after? Mostly the latter with me, but not sure what that actually says.

Yes... I think I'll go back and try a few...half pints, mind..!!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1406461718' post='2511598'] I'm not entirely sure, sediment from the natural ingredients I presume, think of a processed American beer made from chemicals in a giant vat that comes out as fizzing orange water, well a proper ale is the opposite of that [/quote] Which is why Beer festivals are SOOOO popular. The thing around here is that they don't involve CAMRA...don't need to for the better festivals, and then they'll pick local micro breweries for 85% of their product. They also had 16 Ciders and one of those was Chill Cider... WTF...!!!!!!!!!

Great up for it crowd at a very good Beer Festival. We put a LOT into it but not sure what returns we got out of it. I've heard the tapes from the desk and there is a LOT of ambient noise in it as well as we mixed the tape sources... the place was manic and that came across but not sure we will get decent enough seperation to be of any use. The reviews and feedback seem pretty good so sometimes you just have to settle for that... Apart from a few tempo's being a bit racy..I am not sure any technical issues could be put all at our door anyway... Stage sound was pokey and dynamic and we played very well..so came off pretty pleased at that point.

I am keeping my eye on those...as an alternative to Berg 12's which I sometime use. At first, I was thinking I wanted the larger 1126 but those type of gigs are covered by others very well, so I can be thinking in terms of small and punchy S112s..maybe, as long as I can fit an amp on top as I don't have a mini/class D... Having said that...that could change as well. I could move on the Bergs and Thunderfunk for the small class D rig. It would still have to get loud tho at times.

I think shelved ports are easier to build but I dislike them,...they unbalance the look of a cab. I've never minded rear-ported myself if you want to put it out of the way. I like the general look and vibe of the TKS cabs but I don't like the idea of top dollar cabs with a design compromise, IMO... Talking bass cabs here, not bins...

We run a kitty and of course, you have to feed it. A minimum pay-out on a gig is £270. and anytime we don't hit that figure, we are running at a loss. The most we have paid oursevles per head this year is £150... and sometimes to make the show special we may augment the band. When you add in P.A and lights costs and possibly transport exes, it is hard getting beyond that £150 per head unless we make a jump to beyond £1500. We are talking about a gig fee/retainer but all that will really do..and all it can possibly do, is even out the top and bottom payers so for most in the band, it is as broad as it is long. We earn what we earn but we may consider robbing Peter to pay Paul certainly in the summer when we have more chance to get the better paid gigs in.... It does depend on a stable line-up etc etc ...and i think we will consider it for one member only...to keep the figures under control...

Glad they got rid of the shelved port....

Seems like a startup band so I would take their 'ambitions' with a pinch of salt...and therefore their 'requirements' would follow that as well. If someone wants that sort of committment up front...they need to be able to deliver their end as well... so I'd want to know what the money was. It doesn't add up as well as it should... If they were established, then the ad would stack up better, IMO.

Sean Williams of East Enders fame has a soul band as my friend did some backing tracks for him for solo stuff, but he also put a full band together. Not a bad singer, as it happens and a really nice guy to boot.

Not that close together... and all we will be carrying is back line...but we have 2 festival dates on the same day. We have left plenty of time to enjoy the first before going to the second but these gigs are dictated by the lead singers voice being about to handle them. We are doing 2x1 hrs si an 1hr at each. This is as much as we do at any gig, but the extra problem here is we may have to do the vocal killer numbers twice in a day but we may be able to legislate that to a degree by having a better on stage P.A/monitor mix

[quote name='jonsebass' timestamp='1406056187' post='2507930'] So we're not too far off really, but why do you charge for taking PA and lights? Isnt that like charging extra to take your guitars, or is it that you've got a separate sound/light guy? Sorry if that sounds sarky btw, its just something thats always narked me. [/quote] We bill the gig at a minimum £270 as we pay 5x50 plus £20 to the guy who owns the P.A. ( currently me ) Since the P.A is more than 2 boxes and benefits the band as a whole, as do the lights, we pay to hire them of who ever owns them. You also need to consider who carrys them, loads them etc..it all adds up to extra work in addition to your own gear. On bigger gigs, we will pay the P.A and lights a max ( so far ) £100 so the outlay for the gear is gradually paid off. I don't want to own the P.A ...but I didn't want to carry it either so I hore it back to the band.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1406042052' post='2507784'] As with all things, it sounds like there is a range of results - and I'll admit, I was myself treating Molan's comments as an outlier. Not as a fallacy (though, I'll admit, I'd love to see the tax returns), but perhaps as the exception which proved the rule [/quote] My story of the solo act buying his house outright in 2 years came about as we were talking about so few 'muso's' earning enough. It always depends what you need to earn.. If you live with Mum and Dad then ( with a bit of dole money ) and a couple of gigs and some busking and you'll likely have some decent spare cash... If you have a mortgage and no partner, you'll need £20k or so... If you come out of a decent job, run a nice car, go on holidays, keep up all the old luxuries like Sky and a loan or two and some CC's..all of which you may have been able to afford when working 9-5.. then you'll need £30k or so.. and once you put a figure on what you need to cover... you then back fill the gigs to hitting those figures... but the money isn't always there..you might loose a gig ... and you have to GET the work in the first place. By contrast, IMO..a salary is easy.

For that type of event and line-up..I would say 14:00 is not that bad a time.. For many festivals, it is as much about the time slot rather than the 'prestige' fo going on late. Hope it goes well.... if the weather is good..the crowd will be there by that time, I'd suggest