Feb/Mar Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts

So you have a jamband ? Now what ?
by Cam Duffy

This is one of those articles that doesn't specifically apply to jambands but for argument sake (not to mention publication integrity) we will try and keep it to jambands.

All independent bands have this dream that one day, out of nowhere, the A&R man from Major Label Inc. will somehow, magically stumble into your gig at the local YMCA or (if you're a really lucky SOB, into your basement), immediately piss in their pants over what you are playing and sign you to that golden deal usually reserved for the R.E.M.s and Michael Jackson's (I understand he's fairly popular musician of some sort, somewhere) of this world. Well guess what bunkee ? it just don't happen that way !

If you are in a band of any sort and you want someone other than the neighbors to know about it then please repeat the following mantra (ohms and yoga positions are optional):

Shameless self promotion is a good thing, shameless self promotion is a good thing !

You got it now Holmes ? Shameless self promotion is a good thing !

Think about it. If you are embarrassed to stand on a rooftop and tell everyone within earshot that you play in the greatest band that they will ever hear, then what would make them want to come and see you, buy the album, wear the shirt or tell a friend. it's like having a girlfriend that you never take anywhere (I'll stop just short of offensive with this one!).

Of course now that you have told everyone how great you are, it's time to put up or shut up ! This one goes without saying but in the interest of continuity, make sure you have your musical shit together ! This of course doesn't mean that you know twenty tunes so completely that your set list hasn't changed in three years (don't laugh I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty). This means everyone in the band has their chops down. Jambands can go either way on this one- I've seen some pretty wicked jams and I have also heard some pretty horrendous noise (and that's just at my place on Saturday night !)

Get yourself out there. It is possible that while you were on the roof screaming about how great you are, that you may have missed someone. If you are just starting to play out (bar gigs or what have you) then try and get a commitment from whoever is booking you, that if you do well (and that doesn't mean by head count) that they will book you again within the next month to six weeks. This ensures that if you did well but there was only ten people in the place that really liked it, then the next time you play there, the numbers could double. The old, she told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on ?

The second rule of thumb (or is this the third) is to have product, any product. When the dood who has been glued to your monitors all night comes up after the gig to tell you how great you were make sure that he has a tape to take with him. Tape dupes are pretty cheap to get made and chances are, if they like what you did live they will be plenty happy to have a live tape to listen to so it's not like you have to rent Bearsville Studios for a month. This is now a souvenir of the best evening they've had since harvest time.

The merchandise doesn't have to be musical though and I speak from experience. My jamband (say that proudly) MudStik played a small festival last year, largely to an audience that had never heard or heard of us (sound familiar, anyone, anyone ?). We didn't have tape that I was willing to commit to mass distribution yet but we wanted something that would keep us on people's minds. That's where fashion saved our ass.

A couple of days before the festival we got about fifty T-shirts made with our logo. Because of the style that we play in and the format of the festival it was obvious that the shirts had to be tie-dyed so that's what we did. For two days I had orange hands and red finger nails (during a set break someone in the crowd even asked me what happened and I ended up selling him a shirt) but the end result was that we had product. Not only did we play pretty well but we sold about twenty shirts between sets. Hell, I even sold one to a guy in one of the other bands and he wore it on stage when they played !

So we made a few (very few) dollars but what we achieved is far more important. While selling the shirts (keep it reasonable $$) I got to talk to the folks and get their feedback. They, in turn, got to talk to us and find who we are, where were from and most importantly, where we are playing next (which brings up an excellent point- always have a next gig !)

Because of the great T-shirt escapade I have had people that live on the other side of the lake (Simcoe approx. 1.5 drive) say to me- "MudStik huh, didn't I see some guy wearing a tie-dye ?" The answer was (with a big shit eating grin) ?YEP? ! You can bet that I am going to have orange hands and red finger nails again very shortly what with nice weather coming and all. And the guy that asked about the band ? he'll be at the festival in July to see what all the fuss is about (direct hit !).

In reality, your best asset is to have a good group of players that has it together because you may have the best shirt, logo, Frisbee, personalized bong, whatever in the world but if you suck, well, you suck !

Don't be afraid to head out the door, light out and look all around. You just never know !

Cam Duffy is currently gearing up for this year's festival season by scrubbing the #&%*ing dye off his hands !