Moving Abroad

Repoman11

Hey,

Have been playing in a band for 2 years now and have really enjoyed it up til now. me and the band have decided we wana give somewhere in States a try for the Summer. Has anyone done this before or does anyone know any good citys in the states that have a good music scene and how to go about promoting yourself over there?

Miguel_Sanchez

Moved to Bands & Musicians.

lonestargirl

Are you guys students eligible for a summer J1? If not I don't see a way to get a suitable visa for what you want to do.

drumdrum

Ive known a few bands that have done this (well, go to the USA and Canada) and all I will say is best of luck to you! Find out where the right scene is for your band first by trolling myspace and or googling around american forums.

Just a word of advice.

Go out there with a decent demo/EP/product in hand. You will need this to try to get people to your shows and to try local promotions. Radio is a whole different kettle of fish over there, with hundreds of radio stations that cater to most genres, so if you can get some air play of your tunes when your over there then all the better. Irish radio is a pebble compared to the mountain that is American radio, which is more influential than it is over here.

Either way, if you make it over there or not, have a blast! There are tons more bands over there as well so standing out can be difficult, but by all means have fun. From the few bands that I know that took the plunge, they all said that they loved every minute of it, so I guess thats what should count more than anything.

KeithTS

I'm speaking form experience across Europe rather than the States but it's much the same.

Firstly, you'll need a good demo, and try to circulate it well before going over, this is important, you probably won't get any gigs without it.

Make contacts before booking your flights, and check out how you'll get equipment to use/or transport your own as it can be pricey.

You want to know where you are going and have contacts in venues, pubs, clubs before going over there.
I know quite a few folks who have gone abroad expecting a similar setup to what we have where you pay to play or meet a dublin underground type crowd who will let anybody up on stage. Chances are high that you'll come across neither of these.

Troll myspace, facebook and any other mediums you can to meet bands of a similar genre that can help you out in the areas you plan on hitting.

Repoman11

thanks for the replys so far.

We have a high quality demo, our press pack is ready to go and we have a fair bit of experience playing. I understand about the radio wars over there and the pre - plugging before we go, thats why i'm tryna sort out where to go now so i can start building up contacts, make first contact with radio stations, promoters and stuff but Just tryna find the right city to go to with a good live music scene. I've heard of some people saying Chicago, Denver and New York but don't know why? any ideas anyone?

Furious-Red

lonestargirl wrote: »

Are you guys students eligible for a summer J1? If not I don't see a way to get a suitable visa for what you want to do.

You can apply for a musicians visa or something but its quite expensive

Repoman11

I'm Hearing Texas and Denver ave a good music scene. Anyone been there before?

KeithTS

http://www.sanantonio.com/nightlife/live-music-clubs.html

I spent a litte time in SanAntonio if you're thinking of heading that direction.
Check out the link above, it's a list of pubs/clubs/restaurants that might entertain you for a gig.

Didn't play there but staggered into a fair few good places where the locals were doing their thing.

Fandango

South By Southwest is in Texas each year so i would imagine they probably have a pretty lively live music scene. If ya havent heard of it, its basically a massive showcase of unsigned bands with record companies/promoters/producers etc etc from all over the globe, most of which would be from the US so could help set you up there. Never played it myself mind, but from what i hear its well worth it if you want to make contacts over there. I think its on around March or April but you have to apply and be accepted to play at it but may be worth a go. As far as i remember its pretty cheap to enter (altho if not accepted, you wont get the cash back im guessing) but was about 8 years ago when i was looking at it so may well have increased since then.