How hard is it to get noticed in 2007?

irlirishkev

Hey,

Not sure if this was the correct forum, so apologies if it isn't!

Can anyone tell me what the gigging scene in Dublin is like these days?
I've gigged around dublin before, but not for 10 years. I'm sure things have changed.

-How hard is to get a gig as a new unsigned, unheard of band?
-We have a good demo. Do venue owners actually listen to them?
-What are popular venues to play these days, ie where gets crowds in on spec?
-What are the best nights to gauge a reaction from the audience?

Basically any advice offered would be appreciated!

Cheers,

K.

Thomas from Presence

I'm a venue manager and I listen to everything though myspace is easier as CDs get lost!

Fibbers is my place, it gets crowds but the band will be expected to be some sort of draw if playing original music in order to get paid as covers bands serve a different function (entertaining the crowd already there).

If your band is genuinely good you will have no problem getting gigs. SOunds obvious but a lot of bands are not really good I am sad to report.

(Maybe put this thread in Bands?)

Phantron

Getting a gig in Dublin is no problem. You can go to a venue or a promoter.

Getting HEARD; that's a different matter.

What's your MySpace? I like to listen to all new Irish bands.

miju

Phantron wrote:

Getting HEARD; that's a different matter.

its actually not that difficult to get heard by the right people if you are clever, develop your contacts and research who actually "needs" to hear you. Irish music industry is probably the smallest industry in the world for our population in terms of whos , who

Anthony_1980

unless u a girl band and showing tits and ass , u wont

sex sells in todays market unfortunately

always the best musicians never get signed

lets face it so mant bands still trying , it be like the lotto now , in right place at right time

my mates the rags are moving to london in jan because the irish scene is dead and other friends royseven mainly tour in germany as they signed with universal germany and promote over there mostly

Phantron

miju wrote:

its actually not that difficult to get heard by the right people if you are clever, develop your contacts and research who actually "needs" to hear you. Irish music industry is probably the smallest industry in the world for our population in terms of whos , who

I totally disagree. How many Irish acts have broken out in the last few years? I wouldn't count Director or Humanzi because their albums did poorly outside of this country. JJ72, yes, but their music was never good enough to warrant them being successful, and eventually that took its toll. Even Damien Rice doesn't do so well outside of Ireland, even with the Closer soundtrack.

But if you were to include those, that's 4 acts in the last 8 years or so, compared to one every two weeks in England. I could be forgetting one or two, but that furthers to the idea that there's no one really big from Ireland.

On an aside to what Anthony said there, I think moving abroad is probably a band's best bet. But I disagree with the sentiment that the Irish music scene is dead, because there never was one to die in the first place. A lot of the music coming out of Ireland over the last few years just isn't good enough. Too much Shoestring Indie, Plain Rock and imitators.

the fnj

It's not very complicated, if your band really is good enough you'll get noticed,

If you're good but not about to change the face of modern music you're really just in a lottery with every other Irish band.

Phantron

irlirishkev wrote:

Hey,

Not sure if this was the correct forum, so apologies if it isn't!

Can anyone tell me what the gigging scene in Dublin is like these days?
I've gigged around dublin before, but not for 10 years. I'm sure things have changed.

-How hard is to get a gig as a new unsigned, unheard of band?
-We have a good demo. Do venue owners actually listen to them?
-What are popular venues to play these days, ie where gets crowds in on spec?
-What are the best nights to gauge a reaction from the audience?

Basically any advice offered would be appreciated!

Cheers,

K.

Just realise I never really answered your questions within my rant! Here's a second shot:

There's not really a scene like the singer-songwriter era of the early part of this decade. It's more electronica-y than anything else right now. Just don't play any grunge music. IT'S NOT COOL ANYMORE!!

Getting a gig is easy. Get in contact with www.soundgatemusic.com or http://www.garageland.biz/ and they can hook you up with a slot within a few weeks.

Venue owners may indeed listen to demos as Thomas up there does, but most places will let you play so long as you front cash/guarantee a crowd/aren't too controversial.

Eamonn Doran's and The Voodoo Lounge are your first stops for a gig. How many people would you be looking to attract? There are larger, maybe more suitable venues around too, but for more cost.

And if your band is good, I wouldn't worry about audience reaction. The thing about Dublin venues (and Voodoo in particular) is that anyone that's already there has very little to do other than watch the band.

Hope that helps