Yesterday The False Dots performed our 8th gig of the year and the 136th of our career! To put it in some sort of perspective, that's about as many as The Ramones used to perform in a year and we've been going for 47 years! But we were pretty inactive between 1986-1990, took a complete break from 1990 to 2002, only played sporadically between 2002-2020 (3-4 gigs a year max) and have done a third of that total since 2022. Now if you are a covers band and want to earn cash, you probably want to be doing 2-3 gigs a week, if you can. But if, like me, you want to play your own material and you are not in a band with management and a label support, you need to have a strategy that works. Our matinee show yesterday got aa great crowd and it was amazing to meet new people who had never seen us before, including Roy who came down specially from Grantham!
There are various tiers of bands and each tier has a decreasing level of expertise, experience and backup when it comes to making gigs successful. The tier 1 bands are the likes of The Rolling Stones, Madonna, etc. They sell out the big stadiums and do world tours. They largely just have to turn up and deliver onstage. The same is pretty much true for tier 2 bands, those that play the bigger venues but not quite on the level of The Rolling Stones. The likes of Paul Weller, Madness, etc. They have loyal followings and well oiled machines, headline slight;y smaller festivals and their gigs are nit quite the big events of a Stones at Wembley, but are still pretty big. They have to put a bit more work in to self promotion etc. They are all pretty established and on top of their business. The tier 3 bands headline Big halls, think Hammersmith Apollo/The Roundhouse etc. Often they are on the way up or were big a few years ago. They will also play support slots at festivals etc, as they have decent sized fan bases. The top three tiers of artists tend to have teams to do stuff for them.
Then there are the tier 4 bands. These are bands that play smaller clubs, such as The Jazz Cafe, Dingwalls, etc. They often have decent fan bases, but are either on the way up or had a catalogue from a few years ago and a loyal fanbase, which makes it worthwhile gigging and touring. They usually have management to arrange stuff, but have to pretty much promote themselves and if they are savvy have a decent contact list of sympathetic media types to help them.
Then you get to bands like The False Dots. We sit on tier 5. We can get gigs, have a small established fan base and a play smaller venues regularly, but have to do all of the work ourselves most of the time. We play venues such as The Dublin Castle, Nambucca etc. We have our contacts in media and gig promotion, that generally we've built up over a few years and they look after us.
And finally, there are tier six bands. These are the band who are just starting out, have very few contacts, and often little idea how to go about anything. I'm sort of guessing that these bands are the ones who this is most relevant to, but there are always lessons to learn.
Now you may wonder why what the Rolling Stones do at Wembley has any bearing about you getting a gig at the Dog and Duck and making it a successful night? The answer is everything. A tier one artist almost always get it right, they have a team to book the gigs and they get the best venues, they have a PR team to promote it and maximise their reach, they have a team to make sure all of their gear works, they have a team to organise their rehearsals and a team to make any travel arrangements, ensuring the band are on time. What I am saying is that whatever tier of band you are in, the job is always the same it is just the scale. So what do you have to do?
1. Get a decent show together. Notice I use the word "show" not set. People come to see a show, to be entertained. If you want people to spend their hard earned cash on your band, you need to give them a good time. Any band can learn a set of songs and trot them out. That is easy, The harder part is to make something that people will tell their mates is good, will have interesting social media clips and might just get a buzz going. You have to do more than just learn a set of songs at rehearsal. Work out your interactions. Work out which songs will get the best audience reaction and if you can put a bit of theatre in there, all the better. That doesn't mean cheesy skits, it means making the audience get it. If you don't have a decent show to put on, why are you bothering? Always try and build in something to the show that will help you sell it in your promotion campaign. You need to say more than we are a great band and we have brilliant songs. Everyone says that. Give people something they can buy into. Know your genre.
2.Get the right gigs for your band. I know what it is like when you start out, you just want to play somewhere, anywhere and you don't feel you can afford to be too choosy. This is a mistake. When you are a brand new band and no one has seen or heard you, it is easier to get mates along. So make sure you loose your virginity as a band at a venue where they will enjoy you. I don't mean wait until someone will put you on at Wembley Stadium, but if you can get a support slot at a decent, well run venue that will be far better experience than a gig at a local pub where you have to sort the sound out yourself and you don't know how the PA works! Don't be intimidated to ask promoters. I always try and check venues out for the band before I play them. It saves a lot of tears. Local festivals are another great place to start, as they have a crowd already. Try and identify promoters that do a good job and work with them.
3. Promote the hell out of your gigs. Once you've got a gig, make sure everyone who you can reach knows about it. Promote the hell out of it. Set up social media accounts for the band. Don't expect a million followers overnight, but nag your friends and family to share like hell. This is where you start. Don't expect promoters to deliver an audience for an unknown band. They won't. It is down to you. Studies show that you need about seven social media engagements before people start to take notice. My advice is always work on a six week cycle of promotion and use all of the tools. Facebook groups for your music genre, Tiktok, Instagram. I even plug stuff on Linkedin! It doesn't matter, but post 2-3 times a week over the six week period and post different and interesting content. My band play Ska music, we have many fans who are interested in football, so we use both of these things both in lyrics and in our promotions to engage and interest people. If you have recorded music,try and get it played on the radio. Use services like BBC Introducing and also try and get played on online stations. Follow the show hosts on social media and engage with them, if you can build a rapport, ask them to play your music and plug your gigs.
4. Sort out your gig logistics. You've sorted your show out, you've got the gig, you've promoted the hell out of it and there is a buzz going. What could possibly go wrong? You'd be amazed how often the business of getting to a gig undoes a band. Allow more time than you need, always be early for the soundcheck. Make sure members don't go AWOL or get drunk between the soundcheck and the gig. Musicians often get nervous and drink to cope. It rarely helps. Also make sure you have everything you need. If you have gear that needs batteries, make sure they are charged! These things can undo you.
5. Engage with your audience when they arrive and after the show. If you make friends with your audience and show them love, they will come back. They will buy merch and they will tell their friends. Your fans are your secret weapon! Never forget that or take them for granted.
6. Always try and have another gig to promote, but don't overgig. We tend to play our regular gigs like the Dublin Castle 3-4 times a year. That keeps it fresh. If you get in with a decent promoter, be loyal to them. They will look after you, but you have to give something back. Make sure they know you are working on promotion etc.
7. Always use gigs as opportunities to get great social media content. Not just of the set, Try and get snippets before and after with fans. Once the gig is done, post content afterwards to show people who didn't make it what they missed!
8. Watch the other bands and engage with them. All bands have networks of fans and friends and it is a great way to build a following. Their fans are at the gig and the promoter thinks that the two bands are compatible. Video them and share on your social media, they will then share and it will raise awareness of your accounts.
9. Remember why the venue are hosting you. The sad truth is that most small venues put bands on to sell more alcohol. They suffer promoters and bands as a means to an end and so long as the cash rolls in they are happy. The promoters do not usually get a cut of the beer money. Promoters need to make cash to make it worth while. When bands criticise promoters for 'not doing anything' they forget that they have to organise a doorman, a soundman, sort out line ups, deal with landlords and listen to bands saying they'll bring 50 people when they bring their Mum and Dad. Good promoters like Tony at Bugbear, who runs the Dublin Castle's music puts on a huge number of bands every year. They post on social media and put posters up around the pub. He puts the False Dots on because he knowns we will do what we can to get people through the door. The fact he likes the music and we have a craic with him is a bonus.
10. Make it fun. If you are enjoying yourself, the chances are that the audience will. In my career, I've played with hundreds of other bands, many of which are technically better than us, but who have been so uptight and miserable that they sunk like lead balloons. We always have a right craic and that rubs off on the audience. For us, that is in our DNA as a band. I am not saying that there is no place for dark, moody music. If that is your show, that's great, but when bands play jangly, bouncy pop, whilst looking as if they've got diarrhea and a migraine it really doesn't work.
In short, to sum up, if you want to be a successful gigging band, do your homework, do all the things that need to be done, as well as you possibly can and try and have some fun at the same time.
