It’s not always easy to find a place to play when you’re an unsigned band, fresh out of your family’s Long Island home garage. However, you can try to succeed on the music scene if you know how to work the secrets of the trade: thorough research and fulfilling the venues’ requirements, versatility and good manners, networking, wariness of scams, and most importantly, dedication to your music. Success follows naturally.
1. Start with the Basics
Every successful show starts with good research. Contacting the venue to find out its requirements is the first step in landing a gig anywhere, according to bassist/vocalist/guitarist Aaron Seener of No Rights Reserved. Each venue has its special demands, such as submitting music in mp3 format via email or bringing a CD to Music School, Inc. in Amityville to land a spot on the Unlabeled and Unsigned show at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre.
Vocalist/bassist Tara Eberle of Iridesense is a strong believer that a band should make the effort to release a CD or an EP (extended play) record. “Before we released a CD or an EP, we had nothing to represent what we sounded like,” Eberle says.
The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, N.Y. is deemed one of the most difficult venues to get into on Long Island, according to Seener who contacted the club and eventually landed a gig. “It's a lot of work to get in there,” he comments on the club’s requirement that bands sell a minimum of 50 tickets in advance. This criterion is not unusual for venues hosting unsigned bands on Long Island because they need to know whether the artists will be able to fill a small or large venue.
“First, you have to look at the band’s popularity,” says Ryan Forsythe, founder of Island Wide Booking, who organizes shows for The Crazy Donkey. “If they have the capability of bringing 500 people to a show, you will need a larger venue.”
2. Be Polite and Versatile
The key to landing music gigs is having good manners and a versatile attitude that can mold to any situation. “Even if they’re not giving you the best deal, if you agree to do the show, you have to go through with it,” Seener says.
A band must stay on their toes during the booking process from the moment they contact the venue or booking agent, to the second they play their last note to ensure the success of their shows.
“If they forget to put their name and contact information, they’ll be rejected,” says Rick Eberle, CEO and founder of PopCore Entertainment who does the booking for The Vibe Lounge. “I'm not going to like every band.”
Venues such as The Crazy Donkey have strict rules about the bands’ attitude. “If the band is sketchy or rude in any way during the booking process they will most likely be rejected.” Forsythe says. “If a band is booked and they fail to come through with our deal, they will be declined any future shows.”
3. Network, Network, Network
Hitting the road to visit bars and clubs is a good way for artists to develop relationships with other bands, managers, and booking agents and make their name known in the music business, according to Tara Eberle. “The most important thing is to network,” she says. “The more fans you have the more clubs will want your band to play there.” Artists can extend their fan base and gain profits by selling their merchandise, including t-shirts, CDs, and EPs according to Seener.
Tara Eberle can attest to the efficiency of networking. Her brother Rick Eberle, who is also a vocalist for Iridesense, worked his magic to provide the band with gigs at such large venues as Nassau Coliseum and Stony Brook University.
4. Beware of Scams
Any band can relay at least one anecdote of how they got scammed by a promoter. Co-founder of Long Island Bookings and guitarist for Fleetwood Macked, a band which brings tribute to Fleetwood Mac, Bob Trombley started his own booking agency with his drummer Frank Fleetwood, after an argument over profits with a promoter of one of their shows in Suffolk County.
“Don't take a show that you're not comfortable with or exploits you,” Seener says. “In my experience, if you have the ability to book yourself, do it: those are the best shows.”
5. Stay True to Your Music
Finally, remember that booking agents and venues will give almost any band a chance to achieve fame. Long Island Band Bookings provide all local artists with venues such as Sports Page Café in Rochester, N.Y. and Bartini’s in Forrest Hills, N.Y. “It is more about giving bands opportunities to get more exposure and to make the music scene on Long Island better,” Trombley says.
The Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre, N.Y. hosts the Unlabeled and Unloaded concert. It is organized by Rick Eberle of PopCore Entertainment, in partnership with Warren Mandel, producer of “Unlabeled – Where Unsigned Music Lives,” a weekly show on 94.3 Radio WMJC Radio.
“We choose by merit,” Eberle says, encouraging bands to give out EPs at the end of their performance, so people would leave the show with more than a fading memory of their talent exhibition. “They have to have a tight sound, dedication to their craft, they have to be willing to get out there.”
1. Start with the Basics
Every successful show starts with good research. Contacting the venue to find out its requirements is the first step in landing a gig anywhere, according to bassist/vocalist/guitarist Aaron Seener of No Rights Reserved. Each venue has its special demands, such as submitting music in mp3 format via email or bringing a CD to Music School, Inc. in Amityville to land a spot on the Unlabeled and Unsigned show at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre.
Vocalist/bassist Tara Eberle of Iridesense is a strong believer that a band should make the effort to release a CD or an EP (extended play) record. “Before we released a CD or an EP, we had nothing to represent what we sounded like,” Eberle says.
The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, N.Y. is deemed one of the most difficult venues to get into on Long Island, according to Seener who contacted the club and eventually landed a gig. “It's a lot of work to get in there,” he comments on the club’s requirement that bands sell a minimum of 50 tickets in advance. This criterion is not unusual for venues hosting unsigned bands on Long Island because they need to know whether the artists will be able to fill a small or large venue.
“First, you have to look at the band’s popularity,” says Ryan Forsythe, founder of Island Wide Booking, who organizes shows for The Crazy Donkey. “If they have the capability of bringing 500 people to a show, you will need a larger venue.”
2. Be Polite and Versatile
The key to landing music gigs is having good manners and a versatile attitude that can mold to any situation. “Even if they’re not giving you the best deal, if you agree to do the show, you have to go through with it,” Seener says.
A band must stay on their toes during the booking process from the moment they contact the venue or booking agent, to the second they play their last note to ensure the success of their shows.
“If they forget to put their name and contact information, they’ll be rejected,” says Rick Eberle, CEO and founder of PopCore Entertainment who does the booking for The Vibe Lounge. “I'm not going to like every band.”
Venues such as The Crazy Donkey have strict rules about the bands’ attitude. “If the band is sketchy or rude in any way during the booking process they will most likely be rejected.” Forsythe says. “If a band is booked and they fail to come through with our deal, they will be declined any future shows.”
3. Network, Network, Network
Hitting the road to visit bars and clubs is a good way for artists to develop relationships with other bands, managers, and booking agents and make their name known in the music business, according to Tara Eberle. “The most important thing is to network,” she says. “The more fans you have the more clubs will want your band to play there.” Artists can extend their fan base and gain profits by selling their merchandise, including t-shirts, CDs, and EPs according to Seener.
Tara Eberle can attest to the efficiency of networking. Her brother Rick Eberle, who is also a vocalist for Iridesense, worked his magic to provide the band with gigs at such large venues as Nassau Coliseum and Stony Brook University.
4. Beware of Scams
Any band can relay at least one anecdote of how they got scammed by a promoter. Co-founder of Long Island Bookings and guitarist for Fleetwood Macked, a band which brings tribute to Fleetwood Mac, Bob Trombley started his own booking agency with his drummer Frank Fleetwood, after an argument over profits with a promoter of one of their shows in Suffolk County.
“Don't take a show that you're not comfortable with or exploits you,” Seener says. “In my experience, if you have the ability to book yourself, do it: those are the best shows.”
5. Stay True to Your Music
Finally, remember that booking agents and venues will give almost any band a chance to achieve fame. Long Island Band Bookings provide all local artists with venues such as Sports Page Café in Rochester, N.Y. and Bartini’s in Forrest Hills, N.Y. “It is more about giving bands opportunities to get more exposure and to make the music scene on Long Island better,” Trombley says.
The Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre, N.Y. hosts the Unlabeled and Unloaded concert. It is organized by Rick Eberle of PopCore Entertainment, in partnership with Warren Mandel, producer of “Unlabeled – Where Unsigned Music Lives,” a weekly show on 94.3 Radio WMJC Radio.
“We choose by merit,” Eberle says, encouraging bands to give out EPs at the end of their performance, so people would leave the show with more than a fading memory of their talent exhibition. “They have to have a tight sound, dedication to their craft, they have to be willing to get out there.”
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