NWB - Community Blog

Speaking just for ourselves. The Credit Crunch has not really affected us due to the fact that I've put more effort into getting gigs and got off mi arse to find those venues, hence new territory for us this year! We've not found it necessary to lower our fee as the venues we play at are professional, and have a good clientele to support the night. We do send posters to the venues, and I personally advertise on their local newspaper websites, but a band cannot be expected to bring a crowd every week. We do have friends who come and watch very often, but not ALL the time. I love 'The Eagles' and 'Ozzy Osbourne', but I wouldn't go and watch either of them 'week in-week out'. Same song overload!.....Being in a pub cover band is really about providing entertainment for the locals of that venue. When a band plays down the road from me, I'll go and watch'em, but I'll not follow'em all around, mitherin''em! lol

2008 was a really good year for us as we properly established ourselves on the NW circuit and by the end of the year, when it came to rebooking, we were in a lucky position of being able to hand pick the places we wanted to play in 2009 and they were the places that look after us and pay well. We make it plainly clear that the price we play at first time is a one off deal, if they like us and want us again then it's the full price.

This has so far worked to our advantage once and worked against us once, one venue reboooked us at the higher price and the other said simply that they'd love to have us on again but couldn't pay us the going rate and the band took a decision that it just isn't worth it. I don't wish to restart that age old debate about what we do this for? I think it is obvious that all of us on NWB do it for the love of what we do but from a personal point of view I don't believe that you should sell yourselves short or do it at a loss.

If, for instance, NWB were a booking agent for us all and they were the single point of contact to book any of the bands currently on the NW circuit then if the venues really wanted to book a band they'd have to go through the agent and pay the going rate. Some venues do take the piss by telling younger inexperienced bands that they can't pay but think of he exposure they will get? Bollox!!! If you are pulling in punters who are buying beer then you are entitled to a share of the booty. We recently were approached by a new landlord of a pub here in Bolton asking to put us on and he said "I can't pay you but you will get tons of exposure and get to play to a new audience!" Our response was probably predictable but he knows not to try to take the piss out of us now and we have now rubbed salt into the wounds by playing just round the corner for a very good fee, and we'll pull all the punters from his pub into that one to see us so he's going to learn a valuable business lesson that night.

If you are good enough, and let's not beat around the bush here because you all know if you are or not? Then you should never sell yourselves short. If you do and you go out for say £100 and you are a killer band then you are actually setting a precedent to the venues that says "why should i pay X £250 when i can get Y for £100?"

I don't believe that ANYONE should play for less than £200 a night. Okay, if you are a new band and you want a gig to get exposure then you should still get £100 plus beer and some grub thrown in. If i were a politician i would make it the law ha ha ;-)


Okay the can of worms is open now so fire away!

In response to your enquiries, as a landlady and landlord of a pub in Blackpool we have always supported our bands by designing 10foot banners for outsied, creating tons of info for /of the band for the web-site...check it out... www.kingedwardviipub.co.uk and yesterday we walked all over Blackpool hand delivering flyers to 5000 residents and businesses to promote next months gigs of all the bands on! So no venue has any excuse not to promote, it's your business after all, and there's nothing better than seeing a full pub watching what you have booked and promoted, it just makes for a succesful night both for us and the artist playing that night.As ex performing musicians ourselves,we always appreciated being offered refreshments, so we always offer food, and throw in drinks regardless of the cost of the band. Now, I must say, we would never ask a band to play for nothing, and have always paid our bands their going rate, but when you pay an extorianate rate for a band, I'm talking 700.00 and we've done the promoting , the banners etc, and you even 'put them up' for the night and 20 people come it's sad.But that's the chances you take as a venue, never expect a band to 'bring' an audience, but do research before you hire them! We only have the best now! We struggle like the next pub, but for 19 months we have not had a weekend without live music, we keep trying, we do everything but drag the punters in by the scruff of the necks!

Give me a shout on 01253 623521 and we'll try and get you in sometime!

ever since last summer things have been going amazing for us, a lot of very hard work has gone into it so whether its down to that hard work and my relentless plugging , being very charming to venues(i dont know any other way) and phone calls i dont know, but were finding that there hasnt been any less gigs for us, probably more so, whether it would have been similar without the recession i dont know but things are going brilliant for us

i think its really important to play the hell out of a gig and really try and entertain and have fun, you can see people smiling as you really get into it and enjoy yourself, its so easy to forget that were all being paid good money for this and we should deliver accordingly, that fact is never ever lost on me and at the forefront of my mind everytime i go out there :-)

Rob

Let it be said that we're only talking about a handful of venues that take the piss by offering nothing! Most of the bands on here wouldn't entertain those places anyway as they know the score but the one i mentioned looked genuineley shocked when we turned down his marvelous offer of no money but plenty of exposure! If we were 18 again and looking to make it then yes maybe we'd go for it but, apart from me of course, we're a set of old bastards looking to pay for our beer and gear. Like Rob we have been blessed with more gig offers than weekends free to play them but we appreciate how hard it is for newer bands toget their foot in the door. We were lucky because our good friends 4 Candles split and we took an all their gigs at all the best venues on the NW circuit, they liked us and rebooked us and that was a real one off scenario.

how many bands go out off their way to help get there freinds bands get gigs, i am going to blow my own trumpet here, i have got three different bands into new venues, and they have picked up further bookings in these places they played, i am shure this goes on all the time, to a greater or lesser extent, but to get to the point, Some body get us a gig please. ha ha. we need a book, egon roneys good gig guide. i am shure the hindley arms would be in it, starting to ramble on now, ta ta.

SABRE: "how many bands go out off their way to help get there freinds bands get gigs, i am going to blow my own trumpet here, i have got three different bands into new venues, and they have picked up further bookings in these places they played"

It's big Ding-Dang-Do from me to you, Sabre! I'm like you, and have got PLENTY gigs for other bands, be it through a venue needing a band due to a cancellation, or just recommending a band. Case in point: Old Isaacs needed an Indie-Pop-Rocky type band and I called them and passed details of 'Northern Riot' on to them, and they got the gig (PLUS subsequent rebookings!)... May I say I'm not bitter one iota about not getting ANY gigs for us at Old Isaacs for the future! I hold no grudges at all about not being given ANY slots for 2009! OR not receiving ANY gig from Northern Riot as a kind of thank you. Life's too short to hold grudges!.......lol. ho ho ho. ha ha. et al.. (? Thank the Lord for my 'Humerus' bone in this here right arm ?) :-)

lets all help each other (venues/bands/fans) and be one big rock community :-)


thats my "i have a rock dream" speech
Rob xx

indeedidoo.....I was 90% joking, with my tongue firmly in mi cheek (not bum cheek....can't reach!)...
;-)

i agree the old bank inn is trying to get a band and she is having trouble accesing parts of the site, she needs some phone numbers to ring.