Gigging W/O Burning the Midnight Oil - Who Does It?

Warrior

Warrior

Power User
Been thinking about putting something together for a while but I really don't want to get into the typical bar scene where you play 3 sets until closing time.

Wondering if anybody else is in the same boat and what you found works for you?
 
We play bars that close earlier. So we're usually wrapping up by midnight. Still hurts the next day.

I definitely prefer Saturday night gigs. Anything Tuesday through Friday and I'm rushing from a full day of work to a gig which makes for a very long day. And anything Sunday through Thursday means I'm up early the next morning to get to the day job.

We also try to gig no more than twice a month so it doesn't wear us down. It's supposed to be fun for us, not a second job.
 
Partly commenting to subscribe, as I would like to do something similar myself.

I have a buddy who got back into performing a while back and while his first gig was sort of like that he was able to book a fair gig that paid well and allowed them to open for a somewhat name act. His secret? He formed a tribute band. I think he found that he could book better shows for good money that way.
 
I'd love to gig regularly again. My job is worship director at a church, a church with few competent musicians. It would be so nice to let loose with some other players... and hey, maybe bring them in to play (make the higher ups happy!).

With a family, it would be a tall task. Then again, I already need to teach to try and make ends meet. I like teaching, but need to play, too.
 
Genghis said:
His secret? He formed a tribute band. I think he found that he could book better shows for good money that way.
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When I did the tribute band thing (Duran Duran) we definitely did better gigs (casinos, nice clubs, etc.) but we had to work whole weeks. Friday - Sunday stints were common. And usually we'd be traveling too. There's what they call "The 401 Corridor" that runs from Southern Ontario to Montreal -- we'd play along that at least one weekend a month.
 
I have 2 bands that I regularly gig with, 2 kids and a "real" full time job. I also will do side man jobs/fill ins as well as sessions. I've been performing live for 25 yrs and have had the day job for 18. It can sometimes be a juggling act but if you are an organized person, it's doable.
One of the bands is a "classic rock" cover band, the other is a tribute. The cover band plays 4-8 times a month, the tribute plays 8-12 shows a year. With the cover band, we started booking any gig M-F as 8 or 9 start time, and we play 2 longer sets instead of 3. We are usually done around midnight 12:30 so we're not getting out of there and home so late. .We've found (and have convinced a lot of bar owners) that the live music crowd really thins out after midnight as they tend to be older and the young crowd that likes to stay to closing time prefers a DJ or recorded music over the venue's system. A lot of the places we play have recognized this and agree to it. If a venue won't go for it, we may just not book it. Makes no sense to be playing to 10-20 people at 1:30 am. I think the smarter owners understand this and realize they get more for their money with an earlier time frame.
With the tribute, like @Genghis stated, its typically fewer shows for a lot more money and shorter sets. When you can make $4K for a 90-120 minute show with production provided, it's hard to say no to that! There is however the fact that you must travel sometimes.
I have a family, 2 kids in HS and M-F job. I guess I just can't sit still very long, I like to be busy and I like to be organized. I have quality time with my family, don't cut corners on my job and can still gig regularly, it can be done. Its not always easy, but again if it's organized, it works. Above all though, I love doing it.

I'll add that I always make sure I regularly schedule some weekends off for family and/or living a life outside of a band. We schedule months in advance so it's easy to do that. I'll also decline a date if the schedule is getting too busy for the away time. There has to be a balance.
I think you just have to have a plan for you and stick to it as much as possible. Anyway, my $.02.
 
Been playing in cover bands for a long time, and I just had to settle with the idea of being up late regardless. Generally, you play for people who work 8-5, so you're going to be playing when they can be there and not at work... nights. We do have a couple of early gigs, 7-11ish at a local restaurant/bar, but the norm is going to be through midnight which means getting home in the early a.m. hours. Private gigs tend to end earlier, and we got into more of those by widening the song selection we could play. So, that would be my best suggestion... have a very wide selection of music that covers as many popular genres as you can. Those have been the best paying/earliest ending gigs for us.
 
Warrior said:
Been thinking about putting something together for a while but I really don't want to get into the typical bar scene where you play 3 sets until closing time.

Wondering if anybody else is in the same boat and what you found works for you?
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Get a booking agency and tell them your parameters!
 
dpeterson said:
i'm a big fan of making my mortgage payment lol...
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Yeah, I stopped touring back in the early '80s. I tell people I picked up a bad habit on the road -- eating food -- and I couldn't support my habit.

These days I play in a cover band, and in our town, there really aren't any late-night gigs around anymore. It used to be there were 5 or 6 bars in town running live music from 9:00 PM to 1:30 AM six nights a week. We'd set up on Monday afternoon and tear down after the Saturday night show. We'd have Sunday off, then do the same thing the next Monday at a different bar. These days, there are only a few bars or casinos that have live music, and it's strictly one night at a time, usually Friday or Saturday, and they end at midnight. We also have another semi-regular gig on Tuesday nights that runs from 6:00 to 9:00, which works out well for us. (We all have regular day jobs with the exception of the drummer, who's self-employed doing everything from drums to running sound to computer repair to drone photography.)
 
This is a subject that is near and dear to me as well.
Full time job (22 years at the same Corp Company), wife and kid, and still gig 60+ times a year.
In Boston, you play until 1:30 or 2:00. It hurts the next day when your 2 year old is climbing on you at 8am.

The only way to gig and not have that schedule is to do either Corporate/Wedding gigs (that usually end by 11pm) or do solo/duo acoustic stuff during happy hour (6-10).
I have not been able to bring myself to do either of those full time (instead of a regular bar cover band)....but at some point, my body will tell me it's time to go that route.
 
dpeterson said:
I think live music should cut off at 12 like said above. Times change bars need to change too. It's hard to keep a crowd that late anymore.
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My most recent (current) gig has managed to play either things like festivals or park shows that end by dark, a couple of late afternoons, and one bar that had us from 8-10 (sadly, that bar just closed). So we'll have to see what we can pick up - once we get to winter, the Park City ski crowd likes to party late ;-)

My previous band was pretty popular around Salt Lake and played 4-6 shows a month, Fri/Sat night doubles. So at least the first night we could leave our stuff and get home an hour earlier, and then the second night we just had to show up. But yea, the last set from 1200-100 would usually have a lot fewer people either night. We tried moving some of our most popular songs to that set but it didn't help... people just wanted to get out of there around 12. I always hated playing that last, climactic, emotional song... to 5 people and the main lights on ;-(
 
Lots of "non-traditional" kinds of gigs around here - IF you're not looking to earn a living doing it. If you only do it for the enjoyment theres some options. I think many of gigs around here might be more around the culture of this area. But theres a few things - wineries, distilleries, brew pubs - especially in the summer- all have events, parties, etc and are looking for live entertainment. Hell - there are walk/runs/biking events around the city where bands just play to people running by. I've done it ! Its actually a lot of fun.
The other bonus is - these places want to keep things at a pretty low volume - which means, no racks of gear, no miking drums, sometimes no PA, and no walls of Marshalls...
 
Jimmytwotimes said:
Lots of "non-traditional" kinds of gigs around here - IF you're not looking to earn a living doing it. If you only do it for the enjoyment theres some options. I think many of gigs around here might be more around the culture of this area. But theres a few things - wineries, distilleries, brew pubs - especially in the summer- all have events, parties, etc and are looking for live entertainment. Hell - there are walk/runs/biking events around the city where bands just play to people running by. I've done it ! Its actually a lot of fun.
The other bonus is - these places want to keep things at a pretty low volume - which means, no racks of gear, no miking drums, sometimes no PA, and no walls of Marshalls...
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Cool, Portland Oregon! I am in Klamath Falls these days, but a good friend of mine is a drummer up around there and he gigs a lot. He's got at least a couple of steady projects and fills in for everyone he can when the drummer can't make it. I won't mention his full name, but do you now a drummer named Charlie? Kind of a long shot, but he's been around a long time and knows a lot of the musicians around there.
 
muudrock said:
That's a good reason. But, like anything, It all comes down to what you want and what you're willing to do. To me it's not hard work to do the bars and work a job. I look at is 2 jobs/ 2 careers. I tell myself it keeps me young-LOL.
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Yup I have a 9-5, sometimes interferes with the weekend warrior routine, but I have a lot of vacation per year, so I use it when needed if we have weekday gigs (which are few). In the tribute band now, so it's a different type gig than the regular bar scene of 3-4 sets.
 
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