Getting Gigs

[Travis Hartnett <tiktok@sprintmail.com>]

>travis.....would be so kind as to give us some pointers as to how we 
>could go about getting some "gigs".....there >are several "starbucks" 
>here in town and a good number of other "coffee house/gallery" 
>venues.....what do you >think is the best approach?

First, you've got to make sure that you'd be a good match for the venue in 
question.  Starbucks/Tully's are pretty middle-of-the-road in their taste. 
 Currently I'm concentrating on solo acoustic guitar instrumentals, which 
is right up their alley.  Most of their branches don't have music, but the 
ones that do (tend to be the larger ones) are usually looking for no more 
than a trio, acoustic based type material.  Singer-songwriters tend to 
prevail, but you get the occaisional pianist or classical guitarist.  

If you're doing something more on the edge, the corporate chains probably 
aren't going to be interested.  I'd look for the more alternative, 
independent coffee places in that case.  Bear in mind that there are two 
sorts of places that have live music: those that have a customer base and 
want to improve the atmosphere of the place, and those that are looking to 
musicians to bring in customers and added revenue.  I tend to avoid the 
latter, since I don't have an audience that follows me from place to 
place, and I don't enjoy playing somewhere where the guy behind the 
register is scowling at the register tape all night.

>How do you approach the venues? 

I just give them a call, and ask who does the live music booking and how 
to get in touch with them.  Usually I talk to that person on the phone 
before hand, describe what I do.  It helps to be able to describe "what 
you do" in one sentence, such as "Acoustic guitar instrumentals".  Pretty 
much everyone understands that, whereas "illbient glitchcore live looping" 
doesn't usually go down quite so smooth.  It also helps if you can quickly 
rattle off two or three artists who are similiar to what you're doing.  
Or, at least in the ballpark.  Since I can say that I play coffeehouses, 
Starbucks, etc. regularly, about half the time they don't ask for a CD.  
If they do, I send  them one.

The best thing that's happened in the last few years is every musician 
getting a website.  If you're looking for places to play, find someone in 
the area who's in a similiar bag to you, check their website and hit up 
all the places listed on their gig calendar.  There's no point reinventing 
the wheel, and I believe it all turns into synergy over time.


>What is the pay (if any)? Or do you rely on CD sales to make it worth 
>your while?

The pay varies.  On the low end, we've got free drinks/food and tips.  If 
there's any sort of audience, that usually translates to $15-$50.  I put a 
pile of six-track CD-R's next to my tip jar (always bring your own tip 
jar, and label it "Tips For The Musician" and don't put it anywhere near 
the barista tip jar) along with a stack of FAQ type postcards I made that 
give a brief explanation of who I am, how I'm doing this, my website, how 
to get in touch with me, etc.  And a sign that says "CD's Free With 
Donation".

The better places give a guarantee, between $50 and $100, plus the tips 
and goodies.  Since I'm solo and most of my gigs are within a fifteen 
minute drive of my house, this makes it worthwhile.  I've got a handful of 
out-of-town (30-90 miles) gigs coming up later this month, so we'll see.  
Out-of-town gigs are an investment for the medium term usually--the first 
few times may not pay off financially, you've got to keep going back.  
These gigs always have a guarantee.

One note: I've never discussed the looping aspect of what I do with any of 
these places beforehand.  I just tell them I'm an acoustic guitar 
instrumentalist and I want a gig.  It never comes up at the show, although 
later I found out that one guy who booked me just assumed I was doing 
two-handed tapping or something, since there was already a bassist playing 
there who did that sort of thing.  Audience members sometimes ask, but the 
people working at the venue never do so.  They're busy pulling drinks and 
whatnot.

TravisH