David Barber gave this seminar called 'The Basics of Gigging - abbreviated' at the COMBO Music Exposition at the Red & Jerry's Event Center in Denver, Colorado on April 18, 2010.

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For more info on COMBO or the Music Expo, please visit: www.coloradomusic.org

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A band is like a team.  You may win some awesome gigs or lose some valuable gear.  But many bands continue gigging way past the time when they ought to have packed it up and quit. Some of the best bands become more like a family than a team of players.  Others may live together and share everything but become as dysfunctional as a soap opera family. Sometimes that makes from great music, but just like a lot of families, sometimes it makes for a nightmare. Based on our observations, there are a few telltale signs that the band isn’t doing well.

Now just because your band falls into one or more of these categories, doesn’t mean you should up and quit right away.  It may be that only one band member needs to be replaced, or that everyone needs a break from each other for a few months, or maybe you just all need to sit down and write some new music that really gets everyone excited again.  If your band can get through the tough times and continue on improving and making great music, you may come out of it better, tighter and more like a family than a team.

Here are the signs, we will discus each one in detail below:

• Attendance at your gigs is falling
• Booking gigs is getting harder and harder
• Disagreements within the band are becoming more common and bigger
• There’s not much new music coming out of your band
• One or more band members shows an increasing lack of commitment to the band

Attendance at your gigs is falling:

As a band improves the attendance should grow, so if fewer and fewer people are coming your shows, it’s a sure sign that something is wrong.  Now don’t take it as a trend after a couple of bad gigs.  Take into account things like weather, holidays, and competing events.  Sometimes bad gigs come in clusters and you just have to slog through them until the better gigs come along.

Now, that said, if your band really does suck, then it will be harder and harder to bring out a good crowd.  We’ve seen it in real life where a brand new band brings 200 or more people to their first ever gig, but they weren’t a very good band, so the next gig was 100 or so and the one after that was 50  and the next one ended up being the last one they played at their favorite venue.

What can you do about it?
If you’re seeing that kind of a trend, you know there’s something wrong.  People came to see your band once or twice and then stopped coming.  It could be as simple as you’re over-playing the market.  Who can really come see your band every weekend? You will need to play less often in that market, maybe spend some time in neighboring towns/markets.  Or maybe the music isn’t very good and you need to go back to the woodshed and practice the songs more as a band.  If it’s jut one member of the band, then the others will likely be aware and should sit that guy down and let him know that he’s holding the band back.  He will either need to improve, maybe take some lessons, or it might be appropriate to simply replace him.  If, as we’ve seen many time, this is the guy who put the band together in the first place or the guy who does all the booking and promotion work, then maybe everyone should quit the band and let him try again with another crew or try to “promote” him up to the Manager position where he will do the most good for the band.

Booking gigs is harder:

If gigs were easy to come by when your band started out, but now those same venues don’t want to hire your act anymore, it may be because of the same reasons we just discussed above.  People aren’t coming to your shows anymore.  The only other reason venues might have to not book you would be professionalism.  If your band routinely pisses off the wait staff, the bartenders or security guys, the booking person will listen to them and unless you are bringing in huge crowds he/she won’t want to bother with you.

You will know that venues don’t want to book you anymore when they stop returning your phone calls, emails, etc.  It’s much easier for them to say nothing than to call you up and tell you that your band sucks.

Remember, booking people know each other and talk to one another.  If you’ve been a no show, no call band a couple times, word will get around and it may be harder to get those gigs.

What can you do about it?
Play another market. For some reason many bands have a hard time in their own market, but are quite successful on the road.  Maybe your genre of band will do better in the next city over.  Those booking folks are less likely to know the ones in your home town and there’s a certain cachet about touring acts.  There’s more expected from them and so your signature squeal might be seen a cool new creative twist instead of an annoying song killing nuisance the way it might come across at home.

And also pay attention to the stuff we said in the above section on attendance.

Disagreements within the band:

Does your band spend more time arguing than practicing? Does one guy want to write only rock-a-billy songs while the others want to write punk? Did your drummer sleep with the bass player’s girl? Did your lead guitar player sleep with the drummer? Have there been fist-fights on stage? If any one or all of these things or similar are happening, you’ve got a problem and it’s likely affecting the performance or soon will.

We’ve seen bands that spend three weeks on the road and then break up as soon as they get back to town.  Touring is the quickest way to break up a band or bond them together forever. Unfortunately, the only way to figure out which way things will go is to tour.  Some guys realize they just can’t stand to be away from home for more than a couple days and will resign from the band. Others just can’t handle the stress of not knowing if the next gig will pay enough to buy gas for the van or not. Some guys love sleeping on the floors of random girls who take pity on the touring band and some don’t mind not showering for days on end. Mix them all together in a van and problems are likely to arise.

What can you do about it?
A band is like a family.  You may hate each other one day and love each other the next.  It’s best if you can find a way to work through your problems before they become out of control. The non-involved members of the band should sit the others down and make them talk it out.  Maybe a team building exercise would help. Maybe you should just fire that drummer before he boinks your girl, too.

Lack of new material:

If the band has not written any new songs for a year or more, serious consideration should be given to breaking up.  If you’re a cover band, then the question should be: Have you learned any new songs lately?  Lack of new material to play means the band has gotten used to playing the same old stuff over and over an has become complacent.  Hopefully, this happens when you are in a very successful period.  Gigs are coming easily and the venues are always packed. With no new material, you’ve got no new CDs (or whatever) to sell, and probably not much new in the merch area either. Sales may be going through the roof, but if you’re not preparing something new for the future, eventually the gravy train is going to come to an end.
We’ve seen this most commonly in bands that have peaked out.  They are so busy playing gigs and making money that they don’t even bother rehearsing anymore.  Then some new band comes along and next thing you know, you’re bumped down to an opening slot at a venue you’ve headlined for years.  If the ride lasts long enough, your fans may simply get older and start settling down, getting serious jobs and having babies.  That’s when they stop going out as often and don’t want to party all night, the way they used to.

What can you do about it?
Break up and start an exciting new band with mostly the same guys and a whole lot of new material.  For cover bands, it’s easier: Just learn some new songs.  Original bands will have to get together and hammer out some new stuff.  Hopefully, someone in the band has been writing material all along and is now ready to show it off.  Otherwise, schedule some time off from gigging and get busy!

Lack of commitment from band members:

You will recognize this when guys stop showing up for rehearsal or, worse, gigs.  You may also notice that one or more band members has started up a side project.  If that project becomes more successful than the band you’re in now, guess who’s gonna quit or at least be unavailable for gigs? 

What can you do about it?
Fire that lazy bastard!  Or better, yet, sit him/her down and discuss priorities.  If they are just too busy with the day job or wife and kids, then maybe it’s time to look for another person to play that instrument.  If it’s a side project, at least get a clear indication as to which project is going to take precedence and work around him/her.  We’ve seen well established bands that hit their peak and then as things slide down, every one of the members steps out into other projects.  The original band becomes a side project that only plays when the money is too good to pass up or when they can squeeze in a gig between all the side projects.

Sometimes it may be appropriate to send the band on hiatus for a while.  After six months or a year, a reunion gig might be worthwhile and the band could rediscover the magic that brought them together in the first place.

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Where are you going to practice? Every band needs a place to rehearse.  It's got to be big enough to accommodate everyone in the band and their instruments.  It's got to be located where everyone can get there and available at whatever time of day the band needs it. It's got to be the kind of place where you can play at full volume without bothering the neighbors. And it's got to be affordable.

Most bands start out in one band member's basement or garage. There's nothing wrong with that, and if it works, you might as well keep using it as long as you can. Indeed, these days it's not uncommon for a band member to have an entire recording studio set up at his/her house.  This keeps costs down and usually works out pretty good.  We know a band that lives in a warehouse. Not only can they rehearse and record there, they have plenty of space to throw awesome jam parties.

Unfortunately, not every band can pull that off.  If it's not the parents complaining about the music, it's the neighbors complaining about all the pot smoke billowing out of the windows, or the degenerate low-lifes (i.e. musicians) frequenting their cul-de-sac.

When it's time to go out and rent rehearsal space, how do you decide on a good spot?

There are two basic kinds of rehearsal spaces: Those you rent by the month, and those you rent by the hour.  In both categories there are nice ones and crappy ones.

The spaces you can rent by the hour are usually nicer and come with gear already there, so all you need to bring is your axe.  That's cool, because you don't have to lug your amps and drum kits.  But, on the down-side.  You won't be practicing with your own amps and if your drummer requires more than the standard 5 piece kit, he will have to bring that in and set it up each time.  Furthermore, if you want to just kick back, drink a few beers, etc. and write some songs, there's always that clock ticking in the back of your head.  Many of them have a set period during which they are open and closed.  So, you may not be able to use the place into the wee hours of the night. These places are not exactly conducive to a relaxed creative process. However, if you already know the songs and just need to run through things together as a band, these places can work out great.  You also can come out spending a lot less than if you rent the place by the month, since you only pay for the space while you're there using it.

Monthly rental spaces can be harder to come by. Most are tucked away into old warehouses, defunct factories and places like that.  They can be in dicey neighborhoods with alley-only access.  Some have been trashed out by previous bands, rat infested, smelly and downright dangerous.  Some places have little or no security and others have walls so thin that it's almost impossible to practice when the death metal band next door is doing their thing.  When you find a good space, it will have parking, security doors, sound insulation and a reasonable price.  In many cases, you can share these spaces with another band or two, thereby cutting the cost down to half or a third.  Be careful, though, the more people who have access, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be a crack head who will eventually steal everyone's gear. Being able to leave your gear in the space, all set up and ready to go can be a great advantage, and if you aren't sharing the space, you can use it at your leisure, coming and going at all hours of the day.

If you go with the monthly space, make sure they have great security and also make sure that you don't have any homeless/couch surfing band members who might wind up living there.
Also, be really careful to pay the rent on time every month.  If you don't, the landlord may have every right to lock you out, and keep your instruments until you pay him off.  If you don't pay even then, he may be be justified in selling your gear off to pay your bills.  Getting locked out unexpectedly can be a real problem when you show up to load your gear out to take it to a show and discover that your gear is locked up and you can't get to it.  You don't want to have to cancel a gig over an unpaid bill. If one band member is assigned to take care of paying the rent, make damn sure that guy, or gal, will follow through and be dependable.  Make sure it's someone with a good day job or otherwise has no financial problems.

Here's a real life story:

A local band was renting a space by the month, and they had been happy there for several years.  They shared the space with one other band.  One day they showed up and the space was empty. All their gear was gone! After a little detective work, over the course of several months (the cops weren't much help), they finally figured out that the thief was a drug addicted associate of the other band.  He just happened to know there was a painted over window that he could break in, wriggle through to get in and then unlock the door from the inside. They actually managed to get the guy arrested and convicted. However, they never recovered the majority of their gear.  Some of it turned up at a pawn shop, but the rest was long gone.  The criminal, after serving a short stint in jail, was required to pay back the band for all the gear that wasn't recovered.  However, he's broke and chronically unemployable, so the band members each make do with a few bucks a month from a victims compensation fund.  At those rates, it'll take 10-12 years to pay for all that gear. The worst of it, though, was that the band lost their master recordings.  They had been working for a couple years on a new album and had the bulk of it recorded, mixed down and ready to go.  Needless to say, that took the wind out of their sails and they lost a couple band members setting them even farther back.  That album was never finished.

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Microphone technique: How do you hold a microphone properly while singing into it? In short, you grip the mic by the handle and then place the bulbous end right up close to your mouth, even touching it with your lips.  Keep it that close at all times, unless you desire a volume lowering effect, which you can create by moving it away from your mouth.  If you are using a mic stand, place your mouth up close to the mic and keep it there.

Here's some things you should NOT do with a microphone:

Don't cup the mic: We've all seen this done, usually by hip hop artists on MTV.  This can cause feedback problems for the sound engineer and marks you as a total amateur.  The truth behind why you see this being done by huge artists on TV so often is because they are trying to hide the fact that they are actually lip syncing.  This is done by artists of all genres on TV because they can use a pre-recorded track, with perfect sound, and lip sync along concetrating on their dancing or theatrics. Also, since their mics are not on, they don't have to worry about feedback.

Watch where you move the mic: Don't squat down in front of a monitor with a mic in your hand.  That's asking for feedback.  Similarly, never place the mic directly in front of a speaker cabinet or amplifier.  Again, that's just asking for feedback and can cause headaches for the sound guy.  It's Ok to dance or strut around the stage with the mic, but watch the other instruments and mic cords.  You don't want to trip and fall, or tangle up the cords and accidentally unplug something or knock something over.  Oh, if we had a dollar for every time we watched a mic cord knock over a beer!  We've seen drinks knocked over directly onto pedals, amps and pretty much very thing else on the stage.  If you are one of those artists who loves to roam all over the stage, it might be worth investing in a wireless microphone system.

Don't swing the mic around by the cord: Yes, it's cool when Roger Daltrey, of The Who, does this, but he can afford new mics.  We've seen a variety of perfectly good microphones smashed to bits by over-enthusiastic vocalists trying to be cool.  If you really think this kind of stunt will help your show, buy your own SM-58 (or better) mic and bring it to use at the show.  If you do ruin a microphone, be prepared to pay for a new one.

Don't swing the mic stand around: Yeah, it's cool to watch Mick Jagger, of the Rolling Stones, swing his mic stand all over the place, but he can afford to buy new stands all day long.  If we had a dollar for every mic stand we've seen destroyed on stage... we wouldn't have to write books like this one. If you bust it, you will probably have to pay to replace it.  It will likely come out of your pay at the end of the night, too.  If you want to play around with the mic stands, bring your own.  We've seen local bands bring it custom mic stands so sturdy they had steps built into them.  The singer could climb up on the stand for... whatever reason.  But it's his own stand, so he can do whatever he wants with it.  Don't try that kind of stuff with the house gear.