How do you get a gig?

Answer 1

if you sing then you can get a gig.

this answer is NOT definitive. "if you sing then you can get a gig." the term Gig in the music ind. refers to the scheduled show the band or performer has booked. as for how to get one, it is very dependent on what your art is. example: if you are a vocalist whom plays acoustic and sings solo (no band) you might start by seeking out cafe's or lounges which host local talent, if you are a band member who is looking to get his ensemble booked you first need to find the correct venues, IE: rock band needs a bar which both plays rock and has live acts. choose based off your band level. IE: entry level bands mustn't be too choosy. once a suitable venue is found, seek out the manager speak with them about "opening" for one of the recognized bands which is booked. at this point you will not get much pay.. maybe the door($5 cover per person and/or in some cases you'll be given tickets which show how many people you've brought in and you'll be paid based off of that) or none at all. but is important to keep the goal in focus. if your band is good enough once you've played as an opening act for a group which is followed your bound to impress some of their fans and thus start to develop your own fan base(these people will come to see you over and over if you entertain them) as your band gains recognition your undoubtedly going to need a "demo cd" to offer the club/bar managers in order to canvass better paying gigs, IE: My old band got $1000 per night plus a room playing the last two sets (45 min play lists of tunes) thurs,fri & sat offering the door to the opening act. but it took time(yrs) these figure were only obtained after starting at the bottom and gaining recognition and selling our product, being good at what we did and encouraging the club patrons to "party" and "Tip" and "keep on drinking them beers" this attitude impressed the manager as it drove up alcohol sales and it got us great word of mouth to the local "Rocker" community as a great time, and the waitresses were happy to see us as we raised the tips for the night by 50% we utilized advertising like posters in places "Rocker" frequent and busy bus stops etc. and provided a good demo with a band Bio. this is very important to your band as at this point it is your job. but to stay focused you need to start by finding your club base, and focusing on getting the material tight inorder to get the manager to "give you a try" if your not ready (you suck) you will never play there again and you will become labeled. one well recorded demo should be provided and a cheap but accurate pic and bio. Example: shot of the band in pose mode. bio should be short and to the point this music influence, play list, band name and members. these apply to all styles of music being played by you or your band. this is only my knowledge and I hope it helps more than "its a gigabyte(1000megabyte)" or "a place a band goes to collect rotten tomatoes" Pffft its a simple question if you dont know ....dont answer. it defeats the purpose of a site like this.. and has been the down fall of many other "ask" type sites, just another "opinion forum... that is why I try to answer questions I know something about.

Hope this helps

RJ