Yes, We Sign Boobs
In a previous post, I talked about dead air, and how it can bring down the momentum of an otherwise great show. If you think about it, you have no good reason for dead air, because there is always so much to say. However, it’s pretty easy to draw a blank when you’re in front of a microphone trying to think of something.
A few months ago, I printed up a list of “show talk” for my singer that he now brings to every show. It sits on the stage right next to his set-list so he doesn’t have to worry about forgetting to say something important.
Here is that list, along with descriptions:
Band Name – Unless you’re the Rolling Stones, people might not know who you are. They could be there for another band, or maybe it’s dart league night at the bar. You need to say your band’s name. At least three times. If you’re in your hometown, you can get away with once or twice, but on the road you have to beat it into their brains. Keep in mind that people need to hear something several times before they’ll remember it. And a few times more before they’ll buy your CD.
Merch – If people don’t know you have merch, how will they buy it? Point them in the direction of your attractive merch display, with an attractive, enthusiastic person waiting to sell it to you. Tell the people what you’ve got. Also tell them that you’ll sign anything they buy. For some reason, humans have this desire to collect signatures.
Website/Myspace – If you’ve got a dot-com website, and you should, tell people about it. Drive traffic to your presence on the web. Tell them to listen to your songs on Myspace and add you as a friend. Keep in touch with your new fans through the internet.
Mailing List – If you have a mailing list, and I know you do, let them know where to sign up for it. Have a nice, professional looking sign-up form at your merch table. And make sure that anyone who buys merch signs the guest list. If they like you enough to give you their money, they’d probably like to know what’s going on with you and when you’ll be back in town.
Street Team – Street Teams are a great way to have people help spread the word about you. Joining your street team makes them feel like they are a part of something truly special and important.
Upcoming Shows – This one can be tricky. If you have a show in two months at the same venue, definitely promote the hell out of it. However, it’s at a different venue a few blocks away, best not to mention it into the mic. Club owners can get angry about promoting a competing venue.
Recent News/Press/Accolades – Had a write-up in a magazine? Getting air-play on the radio? Mention it. It’ll add to your credibility. But don’t do this too much.
Thank-You’s – There are always people to thank. The venue or owner for having you there. Other bands for sharing the stage or inviting you onto the bill. Sound guy for making you sound good, even if he/she didn’t (you will greatly benefit from a happy sound guy.) Bartenders for working hard and keeping your fans happy (you can greatly benefit from a happy bartender.) Thanking people shows a professionalism that venues love. Gratitude goes along way in this business.
In general, just talk to your audience. Let them fall in love with your personality. Make a joke about any unfortunate circumstances, like a flat tire on the way to the venue, or rain at an outdoor show. The fans will love you for it.
Things to avoid:
Telling Stories – Long stories, even when humorous and interesting, can slow down the momentum of a show. And usually they’ll be seen for what they are: time-killers. Don’t fill up your set with stories. Keep to short-but-sweet anecdotes.
Belittling Your Audience – This works for very few bands. If you decide to make this part of your gimmick, be careful.
Begging – Don’t beg people to buy your stuff. Pity will get you nowhere.
Being Negative – Things aren’t going great? Don’t be negative. And don’t apologize, unless your show is delayed. Drummer messed up the last song? Make a joke about it! In her book “Gigging”, Rachel Shih says, “…making mistakes oftentimes endears you to your audience, because it shows your human side. If you can keep your cool and laugh it off, you will win your audience to your side even more.”
Always remember: you are performers and entertainers. Keep the audience happy. Keep them on the edge of their seat, and begging for more.
Related Posts: Video Killed the Crap-Faced Guitar Player
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Get Your Ass Off the… on Hot Mic! Check..um…… Scelza on Is Myspace Killing Music? stuckinmilwaukee on Hot Mic! Check..um…… Steve on Hot Mic! Check..um…… Eric Leyendecker on Hot Mic! Check..um……
Another great post! Few things bother me more than dead air, and your suggestions for filling it are spot-on. What bothers me more than dead air, then? The things you listed as “Things to avoid”! Especially “Being Negative.” More often than not, if you or your bandmates make tiny errors, the crowd can’t even tell. DON’T DRAW ATTENTION TO IT! Just pick the beat back up and move on. Think of it this way: You’re playing soccer. A ball is crossed from the corner and you’re running toward the goal to nail that perfect header into the upper 90. You time your jump perfectly, but your hand is too high, too close to your head. The ball glances off your knuckles (rather than off your forehead) into the goal. What do you do? CELEBRATE! Run back to your side of the field! You just scored a goal! You don’t pull your hands down, act guilty, and apologize for the handball if the whistle isn’t blown!
Maybe you hate soccer (or analogies). If so, suffice it to say that you just have to keep playing and don’t get hung up on the small mistakes. Your attitude greatly affects the attitude of your audience.
i will say this (and i know i’ve said it to you in real life at least a few times, but whatever) — people don’t like to be on mailing lists. newsletters, on the other hand, are awesome.
@ Erik – Yes, little mistakes are easily forgotten. They’re usually there and gone in a moment, and unless the audience knows your music back and forth, they probably won’t notice, or remember it by the time the song is over.
@ Jemitu – ugh, they’re the same thing.
Fantastic blog! I discovered it through stumbleupon and although the live stuff doesn’t apply to me so much yet seeing as I don’t have a band, the online marketing stuff is really helpful (and it’s all interesting and well written btw).
And Erik that was a horrible analogy. Soccer is a sport with rules that need to be followed. There are no rules in music!
@wobinidan – Thanks man! StumbleUpon has been really good to me so far. Don’t forget to give my posts the thumbs up so more people can find this blog.
Many bands don’t realize how important on-line marketing is. And this is part of the reason I started this blog.
While the anarchist part of me wants to agree with you in that there are no rules in music, the rationalist side of me realizes that if there weren’t no rules in music, I would have nothing to write about. There are rules, and sometimes breaking them in interesting ways can greatly benefit you.
Nice post! Getting your music noticed now days is tough stuff!
I’ll be staying tuned to this blog for sure!
Thanks Dan!
I wouldn’t be so quick to put MySpace up on this page. If anything, MySpace is killing the music industry as we once knew it. Any 12 year old kid and his friends can now create a band in 10 minutes on MySpace and put their half-assed 4-track (if they’re lucky enough to know what a 4-track is) up on their Band’s MySpace and invite every single friend on their own personal MySpace page to “Add as Friend”.
Then if you are to search for a specific music genre or band name, etc., on MySpace, you’ll most likely come up with 20+ hits on a bunch of sites that have less than 30 actual fans on the list of people who’ve actually sat through and listened to the song that pops up as soon as you click on said band’s profile.
A totally different thing can be said however on bands that actually take the time and effort to put up a personal ‘.com’ for their music and info. This means that the band is serious, committed and ready to do whatever it takes to make a name for themselves. They ACTUALLY believe in themselves and what they are REALLY capable of rather than being some pre-teens who made a little 3 minute song that they made when they were bored and were fooling around on their older siblings instruments and equipment.
MySpace is killing music.
Scelza!! I made a whole post in response to your comment. Check out “Is Myspace Killing Music?”
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@Wobinidan – I couldn’t disagree with you more! Rules are what turns sounds and noise into music. Sure there’s a whole radical argument that could be had here on that point, but for me, I’ve never been one to subscribe to the “everything is music” argument.
mruff!
yea good read and love the title:) Had never through about that, things to say when you fall short of words. Ill keep that in mind.
I dont agree with the your input on Myspace though. It was the first and biggest social network of its kind and set forth the model for all the rest of them. Myspace is huge in every aspect. Having more wannabes does not kill the music industry, it simply deludes it. But the proportion of good bands getting exposure counters that.
Anyways, we got a blog for aspiring gigging bands. Check it out and tell me what you think:
http://www.gigdoggy.com
Keep in touch
GigDoggy
[...] Yes, We Sign Boobs In a previous post, I talked about dead air, and how it can bring down the momentum of an otherwise great show. If you [...] [...]
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