RE: Getting Gigs (Borders)

["hazard factor" <artists@hazardfactor.com>]

I played Borders too, as there are 3 within 50 miles of each other. About 5
years ago, I played each one, once a month for 3 years. It was great, 
either
they paid money or got gift certificates (a few years, everyone got
Christmas  presents from Borders). I got a huge book and CD collection
through them. Through their corporate office, we booked shows up the east
coast for grand openings- one gig, we shared with a Tony Bennett book
signing!
We usually asked to play in the 'art' section rather than the café, since 
it
was a big open space, and a lot quieter. They let us sell CDs freely. They
even fed us.
One day a few years ago they cut all compensation for artists- in fact, I
heard that the company had expanded too fast, and was in trouble. The first
to go was the music events. I had played 1 grand opening since, and was 
paid
for it. Any other performances were to be for free. I have done a lot of
free shows in my life, but I can't play for free for a corporation that 
used
to pay me well. 
BTW, Barnes & Noble used to have music, but not pay. Not even free drinks.
I'd rather play for free in a small independent coffeehouse.

Dave Eichenberger 
http://www.hazardfactor.com


 
> 
> Feel free to pass on the info to anyone who might find it useful.
> 
> I used to play Borders a lot, five or six years ago.  Their 
> booking policy used to be determined by the individual 
> stores, and the money varied between $50 to $150 if you 
> weren't a "name" act.  Sometimes it was cash, sometimes store 
> credit, but they always had a PA (they'd done some national 
> deal with Carvin) and the people were friendly.  Then 
> something changed, and suddenly there was a whole lot of 
> paperwork that needed to be signed, a lot of warnings 
> regarding volume, objectionable lyrics, and so on, and a lot 
> of the places (in my area at least) stopped having music 
> except for touring artists and such.  But for a while it was 
> sweet--once you'd played one, you were pretty much an 
> automatic "in" at any of the others (I managed to book shows 
> in the UK from the States, although my travel arrangements 
> fell through, but the stores were good to go).
> 
> On the other hand, there always seemed to be a high turnover 
> in the booking person ("Community Affairs" I believe they 
> called it), so if you tried to book a return gig you were 
> talking to a new person whose first action on the job had 
> been to roundfile the old calendar and all the demos.
> 
> The good Borders gigs were the ones where they set you up in 
> the music department, where it was quiet.  The sketchier ones 
> were the ones in the cafe area, where you had a decent chance 
> of encountering the "Hey--I guess I'm totally invisible to 
> these people..." phenomena.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Douglas Baldwin <coyotelk@optonline.net>
> Sent: Apr 8, 2004 9:26 AM
> To: Travis Hartnett <tiktok@sprintmail.com>, 
> Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Subject: Re: Getting Gigs
> 
> Travis-
>     An excellent description of the gig-booking process. I'm 
> copying it and passing it along to some of my students (but 
> only with your blessings!) . I would add that it helps to 
> actually visit the places you intend to play whenever 
> possible and meet with the owners/managers/steady help. Find 
> out what they want and what they're looking for, and be 
> flexible in your approach until/unless your vision commands 
> significant crowds of moneyed listeners regardless of venue. 
> BTW, a good friend booked a "Borders tour" in the metro NY 
> area by simply hooking up with one, then calling the others, 
> using the first as a reference. Somewhat disappointing is 
> that the dollar figures are probably not much different than 
> I would have encountered twenty years ago.
> dB
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>