From "JAMING" To "GETTING PAID"

[fgl]

Ok. ppl..... at James' request - here we go on the transition thingy...

Fundementally a band will qualify to get paid for a gig if they

1. Are individually and collectively musically & vocally proficient.
2. Have a wide and assorted song repertiore to suit their client's requests or concept of the gig.
3. Can combine pts 1 & 2 with polished stage performance including appropreate dressing, showmanchip, stage personality, rapport with the audience and overall entertainment value.

Remember - when bands get paid - its to provide ENTERTAINMENT for the audience - not to "shiok sendiri" (translation - self wank superstar / passion about the music only and stuff kind of attitude). We are entertainers.

In short when your band has made the transition to include the above mentioned criteria, then and only then do I feel payment would be warranted.

These are my views and do not reflect the views of soft....

Lets hear your views ppl.... 8)

 

[HeartRockSingapore]

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I am inviting you officially to the workshop as one of my panel member!

 

[fgl]

thanx heartrocks'pore but I dont think I qualify to be a panel member lah.... 8)

 

[HeartRockSingapore]

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We are not talking about qualification fgl. We are there, for that particular moment to take the lead in a discussion that hopefully will benefit the music scene and musicians. Some of the more qualified fellows may be sitting on our opposite side and we like them to actively take part in the discussion as well. I do hope you can make it to the event.

 

[soft]

last weekend i was hanging out at fullerton hotel and met 2 musicians who has been around forever! they were playing at the reception lounge. one on flute and the other on violin. but they are acutally multi-instrumentalist. you want a samba party, they will wear their Mexican hat and strum guitar. you want strings at CHIJMES, they will wear tux.

they have done it all man.

it is a matter of whether you got what the customer want.

some places where live music is required - Opening ceremony, product launch, birthday party, school party...

how to get these paid gigs? through contact/agent.
how to get these contact/agent? get as much exposure as possible and send out demo+writeup.

i got someone to do a voice over job for me while i was shopping and saw him doing a live show. just the voice i was looking for. i went over to him and got his contact.

 

[teraslasch]

u don need to be like the most famous shiat or the best player or wad to get paid gigs.. i think playing jazz will earn you quite a bit at pubs as long as ure skilful enough..

 

[Outatune]

Hey fgl,

Some thoughts for widening the discussion:

Cover bands vs. Original bands... why more venues cater to and pay for bands playing covers than for original music.

Using a cover band as a way to sneak in your original material... the tried and true method?

What covers? Why is it so hard to book that melodic death metal act but the guys doing Beatles and Eagles work every weekend?

Food for thought and discussion...

 

[Phil]

Because most people lack faith in a band's originals.
And melodic death metal doesn't appeal to the majority, alas.

 

[Paulo]

in singapore, the commercial pop cover bands get hired much more easily, coz thats where the majority 'paying' market is = clubs and outdoor events. Entertainment is the key word as fgl states.

y cover bands gets hired more than original bands? possibly one of the roots to the case. the laymen in our land are programmed day in day out 24/7 on foreign classic pop oldies or MTV music on Radio/TV. the number of local original artists featured to the masses is a tini-weenie %, extinct on most days. so the acceptance of originals at such events, is a steep hill for now.

 

[soft]

Paulo, do bands approach venue owner? or the owner usually get an agent to source for band?

 

[Paulo]

Paulo, do bands approach venue owner? or the owner usually get an agent to source for band?

For bands that have the market requirement in entertaiment. U can approach venues on your own. Prepare copies of a filed resume of the band's bio/pic/contact and songlist, hand them over to the respective entertainment or floor managers for clubs. Good time to pop in would be 6-7ish pm, when operations are just kicking off.

For outdoor gigs/events, usually handled by events companies. do toss those band resumes their way.

some establishments depend on agents, so that they have less headache and paperwork to do. no harm trying an approach too.

 

[fgl]

I do hope you can make it to the event.

Hmm... How much do the panelist get paid? WAHAHAHAHA... :lol:

I know you're not talking about qualifications heartrock - you talking about the local music scne right? hur hur.. :wink:

On a serious note, I will leave the chairing, paneling etc to the more "qualified" ppl but I will try to make it down nonetheless and may throw in my 2 cents worth, schedule permitting. 8)

 

[fgl]

Hey fgl, Some thoughts for widening the discussion:...

cover bands are the norm as S'pore audiences prefer hearing HOTEL CALIFORNIA and LOVE ME rather than original songs - SAD BUT SO VERY TRUE.

Sneak in org material - yep dun dat b4 and having a little airplay / media coverage helps alot like when my %cs & Love U Aida was on air in 1992.

Covers depend on the club, the concept etc...

good questions u brought up

 

[metalman]

My 2 cents on originals vs covers:

Audiences probably won't mind hearing new original songs if the band in the pub was actually the Eagles.. Which just goes to show that they need to be aware of who the band is in the first place and whether they are perceived to be good enough to warrant their attention.

So its probably the maturity of the whole market that will get us to the stage where people don't mind listening to new "original" songs. No offence to local bands which i personally support, but to the average pub-going Joe out there, they probably haven't really heard of the Ronins, and Electricos and Observatories out there. Maybe in a couple of years when the kids of today who have heard The Suns rock in their school and wouldn't mind paying to watch them at some pub, then we'll get more original songs played live...

 

[fgl]

I remember when I was really first just staring out seriously, I was band leader of a band called SHADES. We actually got our 1st ever fulll time 6 nights a week paying gig at a club in Bugis coz the owners hear our song on the radio and read about us in the papers.

Event ppl those days were really up against it. My big tyme thanx to ppl like BIG - O including Michael & Phillip Cheah, Paddy Chng, Nasir Hussein, the Radio Heart, Redifussion and P 10 DJs who played our CD and Nasir Hussein again for the endless rounds of organising gigs both paid & foc (for promo).... I think it was even tougher then for thse ppl but they stuck to their guns...

8)

 

[fgl]

.............................

 

[Mr_Bear]

First of all, a band or soloist needs to be ready to get "out of the box" ... playing songs that cater the pub patrons which are more into the mainstream pop rock. It also varies on the theme or the core of the pub. Jazz pubs requires you to play all jazz music etc.

Pubs, restaurants etc. will have their so called entertaiment management manager or team which will audition bands or soloist before offering them a job....its like a normal job interview whereby you need to have a portfolio of what you can play or should i say a repertoire etc.. If the pub manager favourite song is in your repertoire...you might have an edge to get the job as long as your version doesn't sound worse than the original.

Your band must have more than enough songs in your repertoire by the time you went in for the audition so that when you get the job it will be easier for you guys...

Be prepared to burn weekends if you really intend to work in ths line ... thats when the crowd and business is at its full potential.

There will be a point in time where jamming session is no longer as casual whereby evrybody are more focus on the objective. It can be stressfull sometimes but hey if you love what you are doing ...you should be enjoying yourselves..

Thats the transition you need to be mentally prepared for if you intend to embarked into professionally playing music.

 

[fgl]

When all is said & done: The transition is complete when you turn from a free spirited music loving fan into a human jukebox play for pay humanoid - ah lile Anakin Skywalker turning to the darkside...

3 types of musos

1. Jammers - get your rocks off in the studios...hey its about the music
2. Functioners - doing occassional gigs .... wedding, D & Ds etc...the fire still burns
3. Full tyme 6 ngts a week working joe - better play what they wanna hear...the passion has become a JOB

I fall into category 2 & 3 but more towards 2 nowdays...

Record number of tymes I ever kena play and sing HOTEL CALIFORNIA in one night is 4 (FOUR)! Damm country & western band I was in - the leader will play request no matter how many tymes it comes in so ...... yes its true, I have proof 8)

 

[Outatune]

So the majority of paid gigs is for cover bands, in pubs. That is not evil or a sell out to the Dark Side, that is the reality both here and around the world. Remember we are talking about PAID gigs. There are places you can gig without having to do Hotel California, but they are harder to get booked into.

With that, What the Pub Guys Want:

1. Tight Band
2. Good Singer
3. Reliable
4. Available

This presumes you have done your homework and have a set list appropiate for the venue. You will not get a Friday night gig at Bar None with three brilliant acoustic sets of Beatles and Eagles, nor will your Slipknot tribute band get booked to play Ballymoon.

Let's look at the four criteria above.

1. Tight band. This means at a minimum you make no mistakes, and everyone is playing in the same grove. Better bands will have a balanced sound where each instrument fits its own sonic space, and dynamics vary both from one song to the next and within a song. Not tight? Go back to the jamming studio.
2. Good singer. Hits the notes, remembers the words, engages the crowd. The Front man/woman of your act, and your point of contact with the audience. Crap singer? Improve or replace. There is no other way.
3. Reliable. You keep your word. Booked to play Friday? You will show up Friday NO MATTER WHAT! And you will act professionally because you are hired help on par with the bartender and the waitress. Bass player tells you today he can't make it for tomorrow's gig because his girlfriend is flipping out? Find a new bass player. Have to cancel the gig? Change your band's name because you won't be working at that venue any time soon and yes, the venue owners/bookers actually do talk to each other.
4. Available. OK, so you've got a tight band, a good singer, and think you are very reliable. Congratulations! You are now one of 127 bands in Singapore! Can I book you every Friday and Saturday for the next three months in my pub? What do you mean the singer has a business trip to Japan? NEXT!

So... tight band, good singer, reliable, and available makes you an average band and puts you in a position to get regular paying gigs IF you do a lot of marketing work.

But what makes an ABOVE average band? What makes you a BAND IN DEMAND?

Thoughts? Differing opinions?

 

[fgl]

Hey outtatune..You should be on the panel that heartrocks'pore band talk lah...