So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star?

First, set your sights higher than your local town for gigs. When you get the first taste of what is beyond these your four fields, streams and buildings, touring may become an addiction. In my neck of the woods, bands like Cornerstone, ZZYZX, The Mother Hips, Ten Pound Brown and Brother Gumption do quite well in the outside world, so have no fear, there are nights up ahead for you where you will earn more than twenty dollars. Of course getting gigs "out there" is tough and there are some hoops to jump through that will get you that much closer to getting those magic gigs.

Under the required section of "what to do," is the mandatory package that all club owners will require before they book you. I will not go on here about how amazing it is that many bands I know that do not have these basic bases covered, so I’ll just break it down for you. Get a band photo. There is no need to pay a photographer for this shot, just find a friend with a decent camera. It need not be in color, black and white is perfectly fine. I often see professionally done press shots for bands that are terrible, so go for an interesting position, but not naked, as unless your looking to be booked into a sex club, this would turn most people off. Remember that the media will often use this shot, as will the club, for publicity, so represent yourself in the best way possible. The technology is in most people’s home at this point, but local print shops also can take your photo and lay it out with correct information (band name, contact info) on nice photo paper for a cheap price. Without having the proper info and layout, most photos end up not in a file, but in the garbage.

Also your press pack should have some, uhm, press. Many bands will take positive reviews and paste them on a sheet. Personally I do not read reviews that bands send me. I put more stock in what the "Bio" says and what accomplishments the band has achieved. If you have opened up for David Grisman, or you headlined a benefit show for the Rape Crisis Center or the Green Party, this goes long ways in showing what kind of band you are. Reviews are OK, but they are more a reflection of what other people think, while bookers are more interested in what you have done. If you are a brand new band and have no press, create a biography of the band that tells simply what you are about. No booker has the time to read a 3,000-word tome on the history of your ten drummers, keep it simple. A lot of bands create fake histories for humors sake. Unless you have Jerry Seinfeld on board, talk about what you know, not what you think is funny after a few beers.

Send a CD of your music. Tapes do not work, I still have boxes of tapes from bands that I have not listened to. There is no reason that you cannot find a friend to burn a CD for you. Poor quality is just that, but you do not need the best studio album to get a gig. Three tracks are ample. Put your best foot forward and remember if you do believe in yourself then why should anyone book you? The low-end of home studio production has risen dramatically in the last ten years. Record three songs that you think are the best. Videos are really a waste of your money unless requested by a booker.

So, with press, a photo and a CD under your belt, find a nice folder to put it in. Most bookers I know love stickers, so it doesn’t hurt to throw in some scwhag.

Next month, who to send it to and more advice from the genetic egg-head.

Questions? Yup, I answer all. Contact me DNA@shocking.com