How Many of You Gig Regularly...

  • Thread starter Thread starter IndyWS6
  • Start date Start date
IndyWS6

IndyWS6

Well-known member
How many of you gig on a regular basis? Just curious about how often you play and the specifics of gigging in the geographic regions you're in.

I'm in the midwest (NE of Indy)
We schedule 2-3 shows a month (balance with family/work and other committments)
First complete year for this band - we've played 30 shows
Venues: 95% bars/clubs with an occasional outdoor event
Crowds average 50 - 200 (depends on venue)
3 Sets per show / 4 hours total per gig (excl load-in/setup/load-out)
We take a full PA and lights to every show
Asking price: $600 per gig
 
Very similar to you... We gig once a week. 100 mile radius, our full pa and lights for every show. Bars in winter, outdoor festivals, venues in summer. 4hr set... approx 42songs a nite. Cover everything from Journey/Van Halen to Shinedown/Alice in Chains.. even a few country tunes. I am lead singer and lead guitarist. Keep Rockin :rock:

Cory
 
We gig 5-6 x per year. We have been subing out sound to a contractor who has better PA gear and more importantly, knowledge. The venue pays him $400 for sound and very basic lights. The reason he is so cheap is because of the "sweat equity" the band puts in. The band does not get paid. We demand a charitable donation from the venue, tax deductible to the venue. Win, win for everyone because we get an excuse to play out, the bar owner gets a tax write off, the sound guy gets paid, and the charity gets a donation.
 
Haven't gigged much the last couple of years, but the 25 years before that there was plenty :)
 
2-3 gigs/month plus I end up sitting/filling in more frequently than I would like. We average about $500/gig but things are changing just over the past year. We've had a situation locally where certain bands/performers have gone around to clubs and offered to play for "$50 less than the other guy" which has turned nasty and affected not only pay rates but long term friendships.

One club owner recently informed us (after we had set up) that he was no longer paying $500...that it would now be $100 plus the door. Then he thought we were the "bad guys" when I said to pack it up, we're not playing. We got out money for that gig and I made sure to get it up front, but I'm done with that club. It sucks because its the best room we play with an awesome house sound system but we're not playing those games.
 
Well, until a month ago- when I found myself without a band, I gigged once a month for the past six years. We played around the metro Houston area. As an original band, we made around $400 a show based on draw. Mostly clubs with the occasional festival.
 
I'm in a couple of bands, one just started, other I joined and it was well established before I got there. Play around 4x a month, pay anywhere from $400ish for new band to $1k and up for established. Both bands provide their own PA and the new band has a member who runs sound (and is good at it) and other band has a dedicated sound guy who comes with us to shows. I'm usually happy if I go home with $100 in my pocket.

Playing for a flat rate is almost always going to be better than 'plus a percentage of bar or bonus depending on bar' or 'the door'. It's too hard to keep track of how much a bar is making other than tell they are busy or not - I've played for part of the bar and filled the place, then told that everyone drank beer or cokes all night and they didn't make much money.

When it's the door, unless you can sit someone near the door with a clicker to keep track, it's real easy to lose there too. I've heard bar owners give many excuses why the place was packed but you made $100 extra with a $5 cover - "most of those people came in before we started running the door" - they only started running the cover charge you got a part of when you started playing, we don't charge 'regulars' covers, etc.

If it's a club owner you've known a while and trust, you can do pretty good with the door/bar percentage if you are a good draw. Around here, most bars don't have a built in clientele - it's whatever the band draws. You'd better either have a ton of friends or be established as a good band or it's hard to make much money around here.

Stick to your guns, in the case of the club that changed the rules after you set up... the reason they can get away with shit like that is because someone else let them. Double booking pisses me off too. Nothing like showing up for a gig and seeing someone already setting up. Or soundchecking and seeing some guys start to wheel in gear...
 
Last gigging band did anywhere between 0 and 6 gigs a month, depending upon the time of year (busier around certain holidays and whatnot). Based in Manitoba, Canada and performed in about a 400km radius (Kenora Ontario to Regina Saskachewan to Minot North Dakota).

Stopped playing with them about a year ago due to time issues, but I still occasionally stand in. I've tried putting together a few things on the side but nothing that's panned out. I have an upcoming gig that should be interesting as there's a lot of potential for travel.

All the above is as a drummer.
 
Once or twice a month. We have typically shut things down before Thanksgiving and don't get back together until mid January, so it's more like a 10 month year for us. Last year was 25 dates, this year was 17. We're pretty much a dive bar band. Bring in full PA (when needed) and lights (always) and average around $100 per person for a 4 hour gig. Fairly standard around here.
 
Wow maybe I shouldn't complain.. though we bring our own PA equipment and gear and only play say 4 shows a year right now in my crappy celtic band (where i drum and run some sound), we get anywhere from 500-800$ a show! lol.. what a joke for a fiddle,acoustic guitar, drums, and keyboard playing cheesy bass lines. That said, I'm looking at forming another band where i sing backup and play lead because drums are pretty zzzzz to me now.
 
2-3 shows a month, take time off around the holidays, currently in two bands wondering how long my sanity is going to last...
 
We play as many as we can get which is approximately 2-3 gigs a month. We bring our own PA if needed plus some lights to everywhere we go.

What we get paid is from around $400 to about $700 a night plus 24 beers (a case if you will) and meals for six ppl :lol: :LOL: . one set per night all original songs.
 
If you consider P&W gigging, than I gig 5-8 times a month.

When I was in a band, we would gig rarely, usually once every 2 months. Getting gigs in past bands was always a challenge. I do wish I had a band going, but I do enjoy not having to haul gear and dealing with band drama.
 
Between church and the Iron Maiden band 3-4x per month. I have been pleasantly surprised at the reaction we have received with the Maiden tribute band. We are playing 1x per month and getting $50-100 per person for a 2 hour show without a pa. Way better than the cover band scene. Cover bands get $400-700 and must bring a pa and lights. Plus they play 4 hours of brown eyed what I like about you while walking on sunshine with a heartbreaker and sing good bye to you. :thumbsdown: :cry:

No thanks, I'll keep the Maiden. :rawk: :rawk:
 
We play a few times a month with the metal band, Evil Epitome.
used to play out quite a bit more when I was playing with the punk band Phantom.357...quite a lot more. More acceptable bar music and such.
 
rupe":2qmx0sig said:
2-3 gigs/month plus I end up sitting/filling in more frequently than I would like. We average about $500/gig but things are changing just over the past year. We've had a situation locally where certain bands/performers have gone around to clubs and offered to play for "$50 less than the other guy" which has turned nasty and affected not only pay rates but long term friendships.

One club owner recently informed us (after we had set up) that he was no longer paying $500...that it would now be $100 plus the door. Then he thought we were the "bad guys" when I said to pack it up, we're not playing. We got out money for that gig and I made sure to get it up front, but I'm done with that club. It sucks because its the best room we play with an awesome house sound system but we're not playing those games.
Click to expand...
Rupe, you're right. As musicians, we are our our worst enemies. I hate it when I hear about these hobby bands made up of well-off, middle aged players who 'play for the love of it.' They have good paying jobs, carry ultra-high end gear to gigs, and don't need the money at all. They are willing to play for free. They kill the band market for everyone.
 
The scene in the Denver area is terrible. We've been infested with these parasitic "Promoters".
They buy cheap, used PA's and park them in every bar that will let them. Then the get some shitty ex guitar center employee type to run the board and have some stupid chick collecting the door. Next they book 5-6 bands per night and try to pay them $2 out of the $7 cover they are charging at the door with a stipulation that says if you don't get a minimum of 20 people who say that they're there to see your band you will not get a penny. They will book any crappy band because they know that they will at least be able to bring in a handful of friends who will pay the cover (no guest passes) and will buy drinks each only getting 40 minutes to play.
New bands that don't know any better are really getting taken advantage of but if you want to play anywhere in town this is what you have to put up with. This way the bar owner doesn't have to buy a PA and gets his bar filled with customers.
 
IndyWS6, what band do you play in? I live about an hour east of Indy...

I play in an original metal band, we play out on average 2 times a month...But we've played almost every weekend (sometimes twice) since August. We are slowing down now in preparation to write/record a new album. what we get paid varies, and most of our money comes from merch sales. We played with Machine Head in Louisville and made about 1K in merch sales. we generally play 30-45 minute sets (multi band bills)

I also play in a country/rock original/cover band with some friends (all married couples). It isn't serious, but the pay is better. for 2-3 hours, we get from 300-1500 depending. we've only played a handful of shows, though.
 
squank":233ep013 said:
Rupe, you're right. As musicians, we are our our worst enemies. I hate it when I hear about these hobby bands made up of well-off, middle aged players who 'play for the love of it.' They have good paying jobs, carry ultra-high end gear to gigs, and don't need the money at all. They are willing to play for free. They kill the band market for everyone.
Click to expand...

Hey I am one of those guys with a good job, nice gear and a hobby band! :gethim:
But I won't accept lowball gigs or negotiate down with bar owners. Not for any reason other than I don't want to screw the next musician that makes his living that way. You are right when you say that musicians are their own worst enemy though. In the last few years, I've seen more career musicians driving prices down than hobby bands. Largely due to fewer venues supporting live music and the competition for those gigs. The way I see it, I'll play for free, but I get paid to haul my gear in & out. YMMV.
 
3-5 nights a month. Minneapolis to North Iowa. 5 piece band. $800-1000 for indoor bars and clubs. Bring our own PA and lights when needed. Out door shows like street dances/festivals it's around $1,500 -2,000 but we have to rent a sound guy and his system (around $500 for the night). We do a three 60-75 min sets, 4-5 hour show. Play just about all genres classic rock/funk to current pop(with a rock twist) to modern rock/heavy. We have a good following with in 50-60 mile radius of our home town so those bars have no problem paying out. I agree with Rupe that it's a bitch when some low ball band comes in and plays for next to nothing. So we like to communicate with other bands (that are the same caliber) in the area that play the same venues so we can all get paid a similar amount and not step on anybodies toes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top