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Start-up bands, how long does it take to start gigging?


thebrig

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On 15/01/2018 at 23:04, MartinB said:

How long it takes to be able to gig is simple - as long as it takes you to learn the 30 / 45 / 90 minutes of material you need.

How long it takes to get your first gig depends on whether you have someone in the band who's prepared to do the work of contacting venues and promoters, and whether they have the experience and contacts to do it well. If you get your whole setlist together without figuring out who's doing the booking, there's a high chance of fizzle-out...

 

On 16/01/2018 at 10:37, Jus Lukin said:

A good point- working with what you've got is a good way to go.

A bit of pressure can really help too- perhaps once you have your guys together, lay out the full set and book a gig. Then you have a deadline, an incentive, and a clear route to them.

"OK guys, 25 songs, six weeks, six rehearsals, then we get £50 each for our first gig at the Dog And Duck- start inviting your mates now!"

Instantly goes from an indeterminate period of seeing how things pan out to 'This is what we've committed to- don't feck it up!'

The work rate will likely ramp up pretty well.

Kinda summarises it perfectly!

I remember the first gig where we had gone from a 30 minute 'beer money' set to a 2 hour 'properly paid' pub set and all of the above applied, a couple of years back. Our singer was such a bundle of nerves before the gig: easy to forget that, in terms of learning material, the words to the songs take a LOT more memory than bass riffs, chords or drum lines which are essentially repetitive; combine that with the fact the vocalists have to front the band and engage with the audience and you can understand her nerves. She was completely fine and never such a pre-gig wreck again! We ended up getting a residency at the venue which has been a mainstay for us ever since.

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6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IMO you are going about this all wrong.

Start by getting some support slots at local gigs. Find similar sounding bands on social media, get in touch and ask for a support. For this you only need 25 minute's worth of original songs - no-one will want to listen to a band they have never heard of for longer than that.

You'll need a demo to convince the bands you are contacting that you are worth bothering with so find a decent cheap local studio, book a day and get a good version of your best song recorded and mixed.

It sounds like you have plenty of songs already written, so pick the best 25 minutes worth (plus one cover) and get practicing.

This is good advice.

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My current band I had two auditions playing about half the set.

Then a drummer audition with two drummers each doing the same 8 numbers.

Then straight into the first gig at the beginning of November.

Since then I've played about a dozen shows and about six rehearsals and i reckon we're pretty tight now.

But I learn the material before walking in the practice room and I practice an hour a day most days.

 

Its similar to my experience with amateur theatre - I used to join shows where they would rehearse for about  6 months and put on a really wobbly show at the end of it, no-one learned their lines until the bitter end.

Then I joined an arts club group with a pro director and several ex pro actors and a couple of serious amateurs. 

We would use scripts for the read through then be off the book by the first rehearsal then after about 10-12 rehearsals (Shakespeare as well...) in four weeks we were on stage.

As a student, the theatre group did shows in half that time.

Its about commitment and application.

 

i've also done shows with bands where none of us have played together and some of us have never met before walking on stage!

Edited by dontregartha
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