Posted by Steve Dedman on April 07, 2001 at 00:39:47:
In Reply to: Tips? posted by Thor on April 06, 2001 at 14:39:31:
In no particular order:
Get with the area convention and tourism bureau. You might get a gig playing at some business conventions/dinners.
Play for free/nominal fee at every civic organization in town: Rotary Club, Lions, Elks, Moose, Masons, Shriners, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis. Take a box of business cards with you. A lot of the most prominent businesspeople in town will hear you play, and might remember your group when it's time to marry off the young 'uns.
Do the shopping malls. Tacky, maybe; but you'll get seen by a lot of people. Christmas there is a given, but try some other holidays, too. Lots of well-to-do people buy valentines day gifts at the mall the weekend before valentines day. Pop open the case and throw a few seed bucks in the bottom.
Find the closest watering hole to Symphony Hall that orchestra patrons might like, and get booked to do a couple of quint sets there after an orchestra concert (assuming that you aren't playing the concert). Buy an ad in the symphony program announcing your gig. Maybe the manager of the restaurant/bar will split the cost of the ad with you and offer up some specials for ticket-holders.
Contact the local radio and TV stations and offer to record some ad jingles for them. That way you can tell potential customers: "You know the Crappenjunker Subaru jingle? That's our group."
Contact the local churches/synagogs. Even if you never play an Easter or Christmas gig, they might provide some leads on upcoming weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc.
If you have a theme park nearby(6 Flags, King's Island), try to get a gig there. Who knows? If they like you, it may turn into a semi-regular thing.
But most of all, treat it like the business that it is. That means contracts, disclaimers, and the possible legal fees for their preparation. You need a logo and a business card. Post that business card anywhere and everywhere that someone interested in a brass quintet might even think about looking (especially bridal/tux shops and party supply stores). Even a seperate business phone number and bank account aren't bad ideas. In the business world, it's called branding.
Split the money 6 ways-1 part for each musician, and the 6th part for new music/transportation/business expenses/supplies etc.
Doing things with each other helps keep the interest up. Say the rehearsal this week was at my house. After rehearsal, maybe my wife and I light off the grill, and we all have dinner with our spouses, etc. IOW, developing the relationship further than the quintet will go a long ways to ensure its survival as a group. It doesn't hurt to find four musicians that you like as people as much as you respect tham as musicians.
Decide who is in charge of bookings, and anything else that needs to be done. Also figure out in advance the process for personnel changes. Since everyone is helping buy the music, what happens when someone leaves? Establishing those types of things off the bat saves problems down the road. Every business has to have planning and contingencies, and this is no different. Keep a master calendar of everyone's commitments, so that the person in charge of booking can either accept a potential gig, or say "I'm sorry, but my horn player is out of town at that time."
Do some arrangements of your own for special purposes, eg. since I live in Knoxville, I would definitely have arrangements of The Tennessee Waltz and Rocky Top for all those Big Orange fans. These crazy people even use Rocky Top as a wedding processional. Some people even hire quintets for 15-minute tailgate gigs on game days. Figure out which customers just want a little music, and which ones want to be entertained, and then deliver the goods.
I could go on, but I've rambled enough. Just be as creative with your marketing as you are with your music and you'll do fine.
Steve "who wishes he could find the other 4" Dedman