NWB - Community Blog

You've got to play where and when you can. We would play two pubs next door to each other if the alternative was not playing at all.We were told once by a pub in Ramsbottom that if we play the Railway we're not welcome in this pub. Take your music (even if it is somebody elses) and your show to anybody thats willing to listen.
Gene

We don't play more than 2 venues in the same town and don't gig them within 6 weeks of each other. We don't want people to get bored with us.

There's lots of venues we (Wrecked) can't play because the venues we do play don't/won't like it (thats just the way it is). We try and keep dates in the same area as far apart as poss.

We try to avoid it. The only example I can think of is that we play The Talbot and Sanctuary in Burnley but they are both very different gigs with different crowds, and we keep them well spaced out. Would never play same town in the one weekend.

Tend to agree with Bad Horise Mick, We are only playing mainly one venue per town, but on the odd occasion we are playing two, as long as the gigs are spaced out over the course of the year you shouldn't have any issuses. We always try to stay loyal to venues that book us on a regular basis.

for us, most venues within Bolton that we play are in completely different areas - this is true for all but 2 which i have made a concious effort of sharing one gig quota between the 2 over the year.

As a rule for example, clientelle from the Bottom Bull in Breightmet wouldn't go to the Seven Stars in Harwood, even though they are officially only a 10 minute drive away from each other, they are in completely separate areas of Bolton with entirely different audiences.

It IS nice to venture out of Bolton every so often, but its also nice to be within a 15 min drive from home and have entertained different groups of people each week...
... didnt they say Bolton was a city? once? maybe? lol x

from a punters perspective, i used to get bored seeing the same bands play too regularly in town (bury). I don't think, in my opinion, it helped the local scene (which has now all but dissappeared compared to how it was 2 or 3 years ago).

yeh Jez - i see where ur coming from with that one - but all the venues in Bury were in the actual town centre all within a 5 min stagger from each other - if thats the case ur getting at Nic then i wholeheartedly agree
but, some towns are extremely large - theres an 8 mile radius between one of our Bolton venues and another... not exactly local to each other?

yeah, that's why i named the town. It was great whilst it lasted but it is a really small town. So I think the fact bands played too often and too small pool of punters didn't help. I would think in Bolton there is a much greater turnover of different punters on any given night.

Don't want to name one of the pubs but they almost ended up with a house band!!! Ended up doing a u-turn in the doorway most weeks! Don't get me wrong, they were good; just not every bloody week! lol

:0)

We use a very old fashioned system that seems to have all but gone out of the window in everything these days, but then I'm surprised that the government hasn'y actually passed a law stopping us gigging too often in any particular place or venue. They could fine you and make more revenue for their expense fiddles.
Anyway, I digress - the system we use is called 'common sense', but you've probbly never heard of it.

AYP

We're just hired guns at the end of the day, but would try to leave healthy gaps between opposing venues in the same area !!
Tex & The Rock n Roll Sluts !!!

If you are starting off and looking to get a following then just go for it. However at some point the whole town will have seen you and that is the time to back right off. No more than once every 8 weeks. I am personally comfortable with one/two a year.

I usually don't play within a couple of miles of an existing venue within a couple of weeks either side.

surely this has got to depend on the town and the number of venues? Doing one gig per week on the Blackpool circuit from lytham to cleveleys you can play for half a year before you play the same place twice.