how to get your first gig

Winnie

hi,

i am playing with a band who are reletively new and we are nearly ready for our first gig and wondering if anyone had tips on where to look or what to do to get our first gig!!

cheers

knobbles

voodoo lounge on the quays give new untested bands a shot some nights,
sundays i think, decent venue to start off in if you can get numbers in to support you.

Mr. CooL ICE

My very first gig was in a youth centre in shannon town. It was tiny (40 teenagers seated), but successful. I'm not sure how we got it, but we played with 2 other bands, used the headlining bands' drumkit and the other bands' amps, but our drummer contributed his cymbals and hihats.

So what you could do is find another band, preferably someway experienced, and play a gig with them and share equipment if you don't have much of your own.

Doctor J

If you have a rough demo, even something you record yourselves on a cassette recorder, which you can play to people to show them what you're like, it would be a big help. A website with a biog and mp3's might be a bit much at this stage but can prove an invaluable asset when someone wants to check out your band. There's a thread here about gigs over Christmas run by Debasement gigs run by Paddy, he's a good fella and will alwyas give new talent a chance. Give him a ring.

As said already, you'll mostly find yourself playing through the main bands gear but as a rule, your drummer will need to bring kick pedal, snare and cymbals (sometimes cymbal stands depending on whose gear it is), guitarists bring pedals and leads.

Make sure you're well rehearsed and your gear is in good condition, there is so much that can go wrong at a gig that you can't plan for, so it amazes me when I see guitarists whose straps come off every 30 seconds, crackly leads, badly out of tune or even don't know the song. Put in the work beforehand and your gig will run smoothly and be much more enjoyable for both band and audience.

Most importantly, have fun.

Good luck

masto1983

NEVER do a gig if its "pay-to-play" either!!

Voodoo is probably your best bet, on a monday or tuesday night. It used to be Shay that booked bands, dont know if he still does it. Just ring the voodoo and they'll give ya his number.

Yeh, paddy's cool aswell, but afaik he asks some bands to sell tickets!!? We did a few gigs with him, but there was no tickets or sh*t involved.

Gud luck with it anyway. :cool:

Winnie

cheers guys. hopefully all will go well :-)

masto1983

Just out of interest, whats your set like? i.e. How many originals/covers?

Winnie

its all covers at the moment until we get experienced enough, then we can start writing when we do a few gigs. its mainly rock kinda stuff, placebo, hole, blondie, etc.

maccamad

first time gigs you should contact - 087 9741329
slatteryslivemusic@hotmail.com
paddy