Greenville Scene

by: Keith Groover

A while back, when I was actively trying to get a gig for my band, I viewed getting a gig as something akin to landing a job -send out resumes and hope for the best. I emailed about twenty clubs from all around the upstate giving them a quick rundown of what my band was like, added a link to our website (specifically where the mp3s were), gave them my contact info, and tried to personalize each one to some degree to cover up the fact that it was basically a mass email. The response? One club emailed me back, and it wasn’t to offer us a gig, it was to correct something I had written in my paltry personalization effort.

So, to help out those bands that are practicing three times a week, have been together for a while, but still haven’t played anywhere besides Aunt Rosie’s back yard (for the family’s 4^th of July picnic), this interview series will hopefully shed some light onto how you can gain some traction in the Greenville scene.

First up is John Jeter, the talent buyer for the Handlebar (http://handlebar-online.com/), Greenville’s most celebrated music club.

GS: What’s the most effective way of getting a gig in Greenville?

JJ: A band is a small business. A venue is a small business. How can the band as a small business help the venue as a small business? The venue’s been operating fine without the band for years, so the band needs to know precisely what it’s bringing to the table. Talent helps, certainly, but it’s money that makes the world go round and pays the bills. The band’s number one job is to try to help persuade the venue’s talent buyer that its small business can improve the other small business’s bottom line; it doesn’t work the other way around — venues aren’t in business to “help” bands.

The hardest thing for a band to do is try to prove to the talent buyer they can make the venue money without ever playing the first note. Best thing to do: build a fan base. Play everywhere. Start playing gigs for no cover charge, then move to places that charge a cover, and don’t go back. Build value to your band, your product. Once the talent buyer sees value in your product, a product he can sell to his customers, then his small business will see the value.

Get your fans involved in your business: make them call the radio stations, make them email the talent buyers, make them come to shows. Show that your product is so good that your fans are willing to come out and pay money for the product. That benefits everybody. Music is first and foremost a product and should be sold as such. Talent doesn’t mean much if nobody comes out to hear it, so create value.

A note on competition — hundreds of bands want the same thing. At The Handlebar, for instance, we receive some 3,000 email, phone, snail mail and walk-in inquiries a year for about 400 headline and support slots — about 10%. The bands that make the cut (the bulk of ours have national agents) all show that they work harder at promoting themselves than any other bands. They don’t just play music, they operate their bands as small businesses and work to make that business make money, not just for themselves, but for the venues where they want to play. It’s that simple.

GS: How should a band contact a club?

JJ: A band needs to convince the talent buyer of the band’s value in and to the venue. How? “We can guarantee X number of people. How? Through radio promotions, street team, myspace, etc. We’re also friends with the drummer from Kings of Leon, so if we bring them in, can we open for them? If we help load-in Shinedown at your venue, maybe we’ll get to go on tour with them, that’ll give us huge exposure, then we’ll come back — maybe even with Shinedown. We’ve been to XYZ shows at your venue and we believe we understand how it works — so this is what we bring to the table. If we play ABC benefit concerts, maybe that’ll help build us in the market and in the room. We’ve got this blockbuster creative idea . . . “

A band’s contact with a club should last no more than 30 seconds and should have a direct pitch with convincing evidence of the band’s value — or an email with the same appeal. For more, see our Website: http://www.handlebar-online.com/prodpromo.htm.

GS: What should a band do before they contact a club?

JJ: Create a business plan. A band is a small business. Who’s the CEO? What’s the plan for the next month, six months, year? How do they plan to generate fans, exposure, revenue? “I work for the Greenville Hospital System, which has 5,000 employees, and I will personally sell 5,000 tickets to the show . . .” That’s a pretty good start — for one gig. Do they need/want an agent? Do they plan a tour? What kind of marketing can they, will they do? All these things need to be in place before contacting a club, so that the talent buyer can see that the small business will improve his small business’s bottom line. Talent’s great, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Also remember that talent buyers are promoters, too, and often have 20 or more shows they’re trying to promote at any given time. So the band MUST prove how it plans to do as much, if not more, promotional work for the promoter as the promoter does, and all those issues MUST be answered before the first contact with any venue.

GS: What should a band NOT do if they want to get a gig?

JJ: You’d be surprised at how many bands approach us and say, among other things: We’re from Easley and we can pack your room, but we’ve never been there before. Your room’s too small (500 cap.). Our show rocks, you should come out and see us when you get the chance; we play every Friday at Ma Teenie’s (never mind that talent buyers generally work at their own venues 60 hours a week and are flooded with other bands and don’t want to come out and see anyone.) The bands you book suck, you should book us. We can definitely bring in more people than this band’s got here tonight. Our music is really hard to describe. We require only a $500 guarantee. Can you tell us other places where we should get gigs? What kind of bands do you book? Where are you located? What’s your name again? (In other words, don’t start off asking idiotic questions — know your venue before you even contact the place!) We’ve been together only three months, but _______. We sound just like Journey, only better.

And, I’ve actually had more than one of these, in so many words: You don’t book us, you’re a [jerk]. Bands also shouldn’t: call or show up at a venue after 7 p.m. Duh. And don’t send press kits that don’t mean anything. If you’re going to send a press kit (which we don’t actually accept anymore), make sure it has a concise one-paragraph bio that tells precisely what the band sounds like, what the band’s credentials are and a brief history. Demos are nice, but I tell bands that unless they’re willing to print 5,000 of them to mail to our mailing list, nobody’s going to hear it but me. Bottom line: how do I get the word out that customers should pay a minimum $5 cover to see your band?

Create value. How? Advertise, promote, give away hundreds of thousands of CDs, get your music into peoples’ hands. John Mayer sprayed his stuff all over Napster and generated a huge buzz for himself long before anybody really got a good look at him. Then, when he started touring, his shows were packed because everybody had heard his songs and wanted to see him so they could sing along. Myspace is great, but you’ve got to make sure that people visit the site and download the tunes. I’ve got one band that constantly asks for opening slots for the biggest bands that come through, but they never: come to shows, participate in any battles of the bands, try to get on radio, network with any other bands, go on tour much, if anywhere, or work to create any serious value for our venue. So why should they get a plum opening slot? Venues aren’t in business to help small businesses. Bands are small businesses. Don’t behave otherwise.