As for Kickstarter, I think one big difference with it is that it shows direction. You can argue against this, but shows don’t display as much direction to people (unless they are part of a tour). First of all, everyone has nightmares about the one local show they saw that was really baaaad. And unfortunately, even though they’re your friend or your family, for that one night, you’re still too much like that dude in the local band or the guy at work that is constantly inviting people to nightmarishly shitty shows.

Also, When I’m gigging a lot my friends constantly ask when the CD is coming out. A CD or digital release is a tangible symbol of progress and direction. When a CD is done, within a month or so people are asking when the next one is coming out, as though we’re just not doing enough. Kickstarter shows my friends and family that the project is going in a direction and that we’ve put the work in beyond just writing songs; that we have a plan. I can’t tell you how many times in the past year friends would ask me “what do you REALLY want to do,” as though I was going to say “neuro-surgeon.” But now that I’ve set up a campaign people are like, “Hey, Craig is really serious about this band. I think I’ll give him $5 to pursue that goal.” I think that’s awesome.

You’re right, you have to start somewhere, and getting friends to shows is the obvious solution. Asking friends and family for an initial kick start is essential. But I hate doing it. I love that they support me, but if I keep on asking, they’re going to hate me. With us, we want to make a kick ass recording because that will get us more fans than posters and facebook ads. And eventually fans will spread the word so I can stop bugging my ex-girlfriends and bullys from High School to go to my shows.

(I was drunk when I wrote the previous post, so hopefully this offers more clarity). As far as fighting it out in the trenches, you will always be doing that. Even when you make it to Ozzfest, it’s always a fight. They make video games about this shit; being in a rock band is practically in the preamble of the US constitution. So, you’ve gotta align yourself with people who aren’t taking advantage of you and with people who are pursuing similar goals. Bookers in general are trying to screw us all…especially at the level that our two bands are at. Here’s the business model for a booking agency: create a mailing list of bands, book the first 4 that respond at the same shitty venues that are completely inaccessible to anyone in humanity, demand that they bring a minimum of 20 people to get paid (oh…paying customers at the door), from that payment deduct blanket fees for “production and promotion.” I once emailed a booker asking, “So if the show draws 76 people (19 for each band), nobody gets paid?” he asked if I was serious, to why I replied “dead serious.” You and I both know how easy it is to book a show in the first place. And we both know what we’d like to make and we both know what is a scam…so ask yourself why you keep getting scammed. Maybe even create your own mailing list of bands (we did) and build relationships with the people who are on their way up too…one day they’ll call you and invite you to play the House of Blues.

Some ideas, at your next show, find out how people heard that you were playing. If no one says “from the venue’s ad in the newspaper,” in your next contract for the show ask the venue not to list your show in the paper to save you $150 on the grounds that those advertisements don’t reach your audience. btw, most venues charge $150 per show for advertising and run the ad the week of, but include ALL other shows that week AND any “big” shows they want to push. So you’re getting ripped off. Ask them who they’re advertising with, then call those papers and find out how much it costs. Guess what, it likely costs $150 per week to run that 2″ by 4″ text box with 100 shows. Call them on it and you might earn $150 more.

Ask for food not beer. This for some reason seems like a weird request, but you don’t NEED to get drunk. However, you will be at the venue for 6-8 hours so you’ll need to eat. Don’t let them make you a customer. For those 8 hours you are their employee and you’re entitled to a meal. If they refuse that, tell them you want a $30 food and drink tab (or equal to 2 $5 drinks per band member)

Play shows where there is a built in audience. This way you don’t have to harass your friends and feel unloved. Do what you can to open for a national act. Otherwise, make friends with a big local. OR! get creative and play for a captive audience, like at comicon or a college orientation. Or even play those shitty shows and capitalize on the other band’s fanbase (because you can’t play 5 shows in a month in Champaign and expect 50 people to turn out each time)

But seriously, don’t give your job away to “booking agents.” You could do their work 1000 times better and you should be getting paid for it. OR if you do give that job away (like the Waling Shadows did) give it to someone who is on your side. We contacted the local music schools saying we needed someone to help manage us, and we found Ali who had a touch of learning to do, but is now a great help…plus he’s motivated and actually likes our band.

As for bandmates getting all whiney, dunno, such is the nature of the business. Martin Atkins says, “it’s always YOUR head that goes through the windshield,” so if you’re the driving force in any band (or any business for that matter) you’ve gotta take responsibility and figure it out. And I’m not talking slugging it out in shitty bars until you turn fifty and all the while promising the band that things will get better; you’ve gotta work smart, not hard, before your head hits the glass. Dunno, the worst thing you can do is start whining back that everyone is whining, because it says that you’re just as scared as the rest of them. Take responsibility and then things get better because you stop trying to please everyone, you stop deliberating, and you start making decisions.

Avoid saying things like “I’m trying to do ALL this stuff. it’s tough.” Well, yeah, tough, you fail. So look at the failures and learn from them. Then instead say “so here’s how we’re going to run our next show” or kickstarter campaign, or recording session, or rehearsal.

And then talk to your band members about their issues with things. Don’t let them become your enemy or your rainclouds because then you won’t have a band.

Lastly, get shit done. This isn’t about playing more shows and getting more and more people out each week. You’ve gotta create landmarks and show people that there’s more greatness to come:

We’ve spent a looooooooong time on a five song release, and it largely hasn’t been done because of a lot of talking…mostly about our fears. “I don’t know if we should master it,” “what if we release it and then we have 1000 copies in our apartments for the next 300 years.” so what, that’s what could happen. What if you sell 1000 copies in 300 seconds? But it mostly sucked because I was telling people about it for like a year…5 songs! Lady Gaga puts out an album every year…and tours…and those albums have like 16 songs. Eventually even your mom will lose faith in you if you don’t get something done. So I pulled the trigger, mixed the damn thing, made a video and set up a campaign. I raised $1000 in a day, and now we’re about to see change. And ultimately, that work was really easy, and it’ll be easier the next time we want to release a record. Now I’m getting donations from ex-girlfriends who I haven’t talked to in 12 years. Family, friends, band members, High-School Bullys, and you all want to see PROGRESS, because that’s proof that you have a successful band. So instead of talking about how “we need a new CD,” “we need more people at shows,” “we need a manager,” take action and make a move to get all those things done and don’t stop pursuing them until they are done.

My guarantee with this is you will find out who is actually with you and who is against you. It sucks to be a hard ass, but get rid of anyone who is against you, they’re not worth your energy.

You’re going to tell me that this all seems obvious, but it’s not. We musicians are too clouded with the emotional side of this business that the obvious becomes elusive.

–C

Your response is distressing to me because the only solution you’re offering is to work hard, get kicked in the face, work harder, repeat process, maybe you get lucky. That’s like what bigwigs say to folks stuck in minimum wage jobs to give them something to work toward. That type of attitude is why there are so many old musicians in my town who never even got to tour because they never expanded their view of going somewhere with their music since getting face-kicked became a normal thing. The solutions I want need to describe HOW to work hard. If you’re doing the same thing over and over again and it isn’t working, if you don’t have any guidance on other modes work, how will you get further? I guess this post is passively asking for suggestions but instead panders for pity. Wah.

I find it particularly interesting that you say you don’t want to exploit your friends as fans, to pay to see your performances, as you are currently running a kickstarter and advertising it like crazy right now TO your friends. Crowdsourcing your acquaintances sounds similar to the thing you are poopooing. And I do go to my friends’ workplaces when possible to stop by, say hi, maybe purchase something small, because that’s what you do. At least, that’s what I do as do my close friends. I’m not trying to put myself on a pedestal or anything, it’s just a nice thing to do and, on the cold-calculated side I’ve realized, it’s also an excellent way to network regardless of your trade. The people I associate myself with tend to do that as well, especially when a friend is working waitstaff at a food location. That is my background coming into that. The biggest issue I was having during the time I wrote this with friends is I had people tell me both online and in person that they were catching my show or coming to my party and then not show. They’d flake and that hurt. It’s one thing to decline the invitation straight out, it’s another to say one thing and do another. I had a LOT of people not show when I was expecting them a couple gigs in a row and that sucked a lot.

On the clinical side of things, friends coming means they bring their friends. It’s a mode of networking. I do not expect them to come to every show, but it is helpful when they bring another person along who otherwise would not have known about the show as radio stations get remarkably poor at returning phone calls when it comes to putting local music on their stations, even when its the college stations. Ten years ago here the big thing to do if you weren’t going to the frats was going out to see live music. It petered off as I got more familiar with the area as the big guys in the scene matured, settled down, and got families, and a few people are trying to raise that torch up again and getting a lot of resistance.

I don’t date people that don’t respect my musical choices. I AM A UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE.

I’m not really familiar with “everyone” being in a band and making music. I know a lot of people are in casual bands around here — not all of them play out. Those that do play out have certain communities they associate with to bring them out. Perhaps my problem, as you say with needing to find fans, is more of a networking to the right crowd as I’ve exhausted my friend outlet. That means getting not just me, the starving artist with little income, out to see other shows and meet other musicians and promoters, but other band members as well out there. However, more on that issue would be airing some band laundry, and I don’t think this is the forum for it. I’m not eloquent enough for it haha.

As for usefulness I’m not saying my music is going to change the world, but it IS something to do, and everyone is looking for something to do on the weekends. Round these parts, people pay cover just to get into a bar or a house party to drink alcohol, so why not do that with some live music blaring instead of the jukebox? We do play a few covers to get some familiarity into the set, and I’d like to think I’m something to look at as are a few of my stage comrades. The consequences of getting out to a show are social: meeting new people who have similar music taste to yourself or maybe your favorite drink. For people on the prowl for a mate, it’s a way to meet potential partners. That can lead to future friend and romantic relationships, which I label a good thing. Personal reward for me is having a venue believe that we have pulling power therefore marketability in the future, and different groups of my friends get to meet each other and hang out. The consequences for the patron isn’t business-based, but it is for my band and for the venue. I’m providing the other side of the experience to those who haven’t been a part of the band side of things.

I am trying to stick it out but when your support team doesn’t pull through for you, and your short-sighted band mates get bitchy or lazy about what we’re doing, it’s a frustrating experience. I thought providing the back end view of things would expose the amount of power one person’s deciding “eh i’ll see them next time” leads to.

Ok. been there. constantly there. But the thing is there is hope, there are explanations. However, I think the place where those two things lie is intrinsically repulsive to most musicians.

Firstly, the explanations. So, people don’t go to shows because people largely don’t go to shows anymore. No long or short to it, that’s just it. A big reason for this (speculation) is the advent of the internet, sharing, and social media…higher bit rates, HD etc. So they stay at home and watch bootleg copies of Robot Chicken instead of going to local shows. shit, can you blame them? it’s FREE, the experience is guaranteed, and all in all it’s convenient.

Think about this: Musicians are not just competing with piracy or other mediums of entertainment, or even with each other…they’re competing with accessibility (and I mean literally, “does this require putting on pants?” kind of accessibility). Music’s bastard son was Napster and that begot the mp3 player, which sired the ipod and cellphone ringtones, which begot the two ultimate tools of convenience, the smartphone and (remind me why I need this fucking thing) the tablet PC. So I dare you to make your shows more convenient than Angry Birds or Pandora. Then people will show

Hmmmmm…ok. Second, let’s stop asking all our friends to go to our shows. Are we selling Amway? what the fuck? Those people are not fans, they’re friends. There’s a very important difference. Never try to capitalize on friends. If they don’t show up to your concert, it doesn’t mean they don’t like you. It just means they don’t like going to shows, or they don’t like your music, which is not a reflection of who you are. Think about it this way: you’ve probably dated people that don’t take your music seriously (whether it be your original music or your Megadeth collection), yet that seemed inconsequential in comparison with all their other qualities. Your friends will never see you as a musician, not because they don’t take you seriously, but because they support YOU and not your “job.” Likewise, you wouldn’t constantly go to the drugstore your friend works at just to show him how much you cared that he works at Walgreens.

I applied for a job the other day selling insurance. They told me that they were going to hire me on the spot but I needed to present them with a list of 100 people that I could approach TODAY to sell insurance to. My first thought was “I already do that kind of shit with my band,” and then I told the guy I couldn’t petition my friends for business like that. so again…they’re either friends or they’re clients or fans. Don’t get mad because they don’t show…don’t blame them if they don’t need insurance.

Artists always get into trouble because we feel a deep emotional connection with our medium so we want “support” but we also want to treat it like a business. You can’t get emotional support from your client base…it just doesn’t equate. So you have to decide what you want. I’m sorry to say this, but if the goal of your art is to give you some sort of emotional release, if it’s therapeutic to the point where you need your friends by your side every time you get up there to share it…then it’s not business-worthy. I deeply want to believe in the power of my music to “move people,” but at some point I’m trying to attribute financial value to my emotions and then sell those to my friends…fucked up.

Usefulness. So the examples you set up: a lawyer, a web designer, and a drugstore clerk. Unfortunately, all of those perform a much more important and useful role in society than a musician. And here I’m talking in terms of “would I give them my money for their services.” Please argue all you want about the transcendent qualities of music, but ultimately, whether or not your music lives on after you has little to do with people ever going to your show (word up Emily Dickinson). so if I don’t make my music no one gets sued, businesses still connect with their clients, and (perhaps the most useful of all) prescriptions still get filled and AIDS patients get to live another day. Same thing if I do make my music. Because there are no consequences surrounding my music, there is basically no usefulness in it.

Ok. so, now that I’ve killed my own dreams like killing puppies, where’s the hope? Maybe there is none, but here is what I can tell. People don’t go to shows, but EVERYBODY…fucking EVERYBODY makes music and has a band. It’s worse now than it was last year. or a month ago. It gets cheaper and cheaper to start a band (you know the two member “ensemble” where everyone has mustaches and sweaters) and so it also gets less desirable to go to a show (regardless of convenience, client base etc.) BUT! This is the proving grounds. As Coldplay said right before my threshold of pain was reached “Nobody said it was eas-say.” so you gotta stick it out. Fortunately the record labels have less and less power by the second, but that means you have to win the fans. Your friends don’t decide your fate…your fans do. And that’s why the new business is scary. Because there is no middle man. We fund our records now with Kickstarter and Indie Go-Go, but that money ultimately comes from the fans first.

So those shitty clubs with one guy in the audience are where we decide who will be the next GNR. Bad news for shitty bands. Tough news for bands that don’t bleed everytime they take the stage. But great news for the committed few that make a fan out of the sound guy at every show.

Steph, it’s frustrating, I know. But either way, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The question shouldn’t be “why is no one coming to my show,” but “who is this show useful for?” Who is your audience? My friends are not my audience. So I’ve gotta seek out fans. Both our bands may be lost to some club out in West Chicago that no one has ever heard of (with one guy in the audience to witness our end). But, you should keep fighting. No matter how impossible it seems, if you are strong enough to keep this madness up, surely you will outlast the competition long enough to learn how to improve and gain fans…elsewise, your friends might finally show up at a gig to tell you it’s time to stop.