I fail to see how increasing the stage size is going to bring more punters.
I also fail to see why inviting people to EAT OUT at a bar for $20-30 is somehow making the argument that beer is too expensive, disappear.
Ive been to some of the worlds most famous venues (cat club, roxy, whiskey a go go, gazarri's, etc). They dont have ANYTHING we dont have. Amplifier is bigger than the Whiskey. Nicer setup too.
Hundreds of bands have risen from those venues, to be extremely popular and very wealthy.
Adding two feet of stage at the whiskey, didnt assist any of those bands. They got where they are by excelling at a few things: image, promotion/networking, and sound. Luck doesnt go astray, but damn hard work can more than make up for that.
Now, look at how YOUR band markets itself. Look at the bands around you that have started to get somewhere. Work out what the difference is (and its less about musicianship or catchy tunes).
If you had the best song in the world, how you going to get people on to it, unless you get out there and shove it down people's throats. Dont be scared of promoting your band. Be bigger and better than the next band.
I'll use Voyager as an example, but they just one of a few locals. You KNOW when a Voyager gig is coming. They get themselves an interview, or a promo spot in the street press. They have a good looking poster. They dont have some stupid gig name to dilute the event. They have an image they have all worked out together. They LOOK like a band. They make a show out of every performance. You dont hear about their internal struggles, you only hear about their successes.
Now, I personally don't like Voyager. It's just not my style of music. Im sure most of Voyager hate my prefference of music too! But I can totally respect where they are coming from, and how they are succeeding. They are a tight ship. There are so many more things they could do, but, at the same time, they do sooo many things right. They are a business. You too have to think like that.
A couple years ago I made the offer to around 15 local bands... you wanna hand out flyers, I'LL PAY FOR THEM. One side will be their advert, one side, mine. They were all clients of mine, so we are helping each other. I'll fund it, you guys hand them out. Zip, zilch, none. No-one could be bothered. If bands cant be bothered handing out FREE promo for THEIR band, well, what hope do they have. (for the record, Daz, myself and Musicfinder did a run of flyers to promo WF, and it was quite successful). My most successful flyer promo, was $14,000 worth of sales for $90 in flyers.
Just over a year ago, MDV and I hosted a NYE gig. Two bands handed back $60 worth of posters, and a couple handfuls of flyers, that simply didnt even leave their cars. Why? Why would you not take free promo material, and use it to promo your band? Laziness is the only answer we could find.
Promotional work NEVER stops. I have a waiting list that is longer than two years. I can stop taking orders for guitars for two years, and still not run out of work for two people. That doesnt stop me advertising, or writing articles for the guitar magazines, or updating the website, or doing shows. Never, ever, stop promotional work.
Myspace is a virtual wasteland now, it is too saturated, and everyone's "friend" lists are too big so you get lost. Two years ago, i could send out an update, and get a whole bunch of responses. Nowadays, with 15,000 "fans" i'm lucky to get one response. Facebook is now the new cheap promo tool. For $4 a week, i get somewhere between 10,000-15,000 adverts, and every single week, i get some guy email, via facebook adverts, and he buys something for $50-100. Why doesnt your band use this advertising to market directly to your target audience? Where are you facebook BAND pages? Sharing photos after a gig? Sending out reminder emails? Sending out relevant, interesting updates? I dont see a lot of bands doing this. I see the bands who are getting somewhere do it though...
I dont care what anyone else says. I see 20-30 bands a week come through my workshop. The ONLY guys who are getting somewhere, and the guys who get out there and treat it like a business. You can wank on all day and night about how music is a passion, and you arent in it for the money. Great. Im like that with my business. Id gladly work at some hole like Bunnings, to then pay someone so I could make guitars. But, Ive worked my arse off doing promo work to back up my ability to make a guitar, so now I dont have to worry about where the dollars are coming from... they are just there.
Of course, you could disregard all this, and just work in your bedroom, writting killer riffs in between porno downloads, and hope, just hope, that your mum tells someone at work you are in a 'wicked band'. Cause yeah, thats going to work a treat! Or, better still, compare notes with other guys in bands that also cant pull a crowd... cause three heads that think exactly the same are better than one, right??
