playing too many shows?

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I posted this on the bands thread on ILE, but I'm copying it ova here:

Do you guys believe there is such a thing as "playing out" too much? We have 5 shows in a month lined up and more offers rollin' in. Should we just go for all of them? Plus I just lost my job and could use the scrilla for rilla.

Plus, we now have a myspace where you can see and HEAR US. (only one song, and it's with the OOOLLLDD DRRRUMMMMERRRRR.)

http://www.myspace.com/tenderhooks

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I mean, my justification for playing out as much as poss was always this:" it is fucking Knoxville. You do not need to "play the game" in Knoxville. It's meaningless. Play as much as you can and hone dem chopz. Right?

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

I worried about this at times because our shows seem to come in bunches - 3 or 4 in the space of a month or two, then nothing for a month or two. Basically, what I concluded is that if you are a new band, you should play as many shows as possible, because it's all about exposure, getting people to here you. Once you have a set fan base, then you have to worry a little more about playing too often, because you theoretically reduce how many of your fans are coming to each show, making it look like not many people are there. But if you don't mind not playing to shitloads of people, I say just go for it and play whatever seems fun.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:11 (nineteen years ago)

We've always played like once a month. I think we're just trying to do a quick blitz, play as many venues as poss, and with as many local bands we like as poss. It's like 5 shows in a month, though.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

we should call it our "knoxville tour". From downtown to...the Old City.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

It's a tough call. Knoxville is a pretty small town, so I guess you don't want to be playing out all motherfucking the time until you feel pretty solid with your songs, since people will get to know who you are pretty quickly and the impression you make on them will last. But you guys sound pretty tight, so I don't think it's a worry.

Otherwise the only concern is whether you can actually bring people to all those shows. If you play too much and no one comes as a result, bars will stop booking you.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, it's probably ok, because we haven't been playing out for long (since June, maybe?) with this lineup, and before that we haven't played since about mid-December. And every time we play, we seem to be making more fans and getting bigger crowds. OMG DOES THIS MEAN WE'RE GOOD

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

Probably yes.

Do you guys know Dixie Dirt, btw?

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:23 (nineteen years ago)

Sure! Their drummer Pete was in my first ever band!

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:24 (nineteen years ago)

Hooray!

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

We played shows with them. They're neat. We may have had this conversation already a while ago, as I'm getting deja vu.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

Angela can drink like no woman I've ever met, and could probably beat me up too.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:34 (nineteen years ago)

Seriously. She's a nutter. Their old drummer Simon is a pal of mine, too.

Pete used to be in a ska band! haha bravery/killers style outing

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

Play all you want in your home town, get those chops sharpened, but don't expect your friends to show up for every show.

Last year the band I play keybs for played a show which was fantastic and then played a bunch of other shows with little to no turn-out. After seven shows in like 3 months with fewer and fewer people, we decided this was madness. Now we play one show a year. People show up and we play a great show. One awesome show > many shrugworthy shows.

That said, if they pay, play. Especially if they pay well, or if you need the moneys.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 6 October 2005 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

Agreed. Unless your pay is contingent on forcing everyone you know to come to the show, in which case you'll alienate more people than you'll gain.

BTW, I liked yer stuff enough to send an add thingy on myspace, so if you aren't the one that handles such things, let whoever it is know. My myspace username is just as creative as the one I use here.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 7 October 2005 00:01 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I like your stuff too. I'm adding you - American Altitude

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:08 (nineteen years ago)

In a band I was in a few years ago we played London so many times one year that we calculated if you spaced them out equally we played once every 12 days or so, which is a lot for one town.

A few people told us that it didn't matter if they caught or missed our gigs becuase there would be another one fairly soon.

― mzui (mzui), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:45 (nineteen years ago)

In a band I was in a few years ago we played London so many times one year that we calculated if you spaced them out equally we played once every 12 days or so, which is a lot for one town.

A few people told us that it didn't matter if they caught or missed our gigs because there would be another one fairly soon.

― mzui (mzui), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:45 (nineteen years ago)

Gah, Sorry bout that...

― mzui (mzui), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:45 (nineteen years ago)

**A few people told us that it didn't matter if they caught or missed our gigs because there would be another one fairly soon. **

I know what you mean - there's always a next time. But we LIKE playing live, so try to play as many new towns/cities in the country as we can, usually as support to someone who will bring in a decent hometown crowd.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:17 (nineteen years ago)

Thanks for the adds, guys.

Yeah, Knoxville is kinda bizarre. There are bands who only do the playing once a year thing, but they're burned out and never want to leave Knoxville, so their doing a Knoxville career-building thing, you know? They want to be a very popular local band. I think we don't want that. It's nice, and we want to be as popular as we can here, and we're doing pretty good, lots of people like us, BUT we want to get a lot of practicing done here on the local level before we do things like tour.

Also, Knox is weird. If people like you they'll come see you all over the place, twice in one week even. And playing with one different band can get you some whole different crowd. It's all about band you're playing with, venue, and how many hardcore drunks are into you. Haw

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Friday, 7 October 2005 14:36 (nineteen years ago)

I told a promoter no to a few last-minute shows, saying that we're working on a record and only doing one show a month in town and he accused me of having a manager!

― Old School (sexyDancer), Friday, 7 October 2005 17:05 (nineteen years ago)

Does xcptr have a STYLIST?

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

DIY, dood.

― Old School (sexyDancer), Friday, 7 October 2005 17:44 (nineteen years ago)

Do you have a CHEF?

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 17:50 (nineteen years ago)

According to W3bst3r H4ll, support acts do not get buyouts, but do get "snacks and booze".

― Old School (sexyDancer), Friday, 7 October 2005 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

I wish tenderhooks had a masseuse.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstagetour/lilbowwow/lilbowwow4.html

GET 1 RIDER

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:17 (nineteen years ago)

pwned :(

― Jonothong Williamsmang (ex machina), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

tube socks and fried chicken?

― Old School (sexyDancer), Friday, 7 October 2005 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

If you do play a lot, here's a tip: don't put every show for the next three months up on your web site at once. Otherwise people really will say, "Oh whatever, I'll just see them next time."

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:17 (nineteen years ago)

Interesting, I don't know why that never occurred to me. Probably because we use the website mostly so the band members know about the gigs!

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

Ha!

Yeah there's actually a little something called yahoo calendar that we use for reminders. It comes with the free yahoo account and gives you reminders on the band account -- assuming you all check it. We all check it rabidly because we have no lives otherwise.

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 7 October 2005 20:21 (nineteen years ago)

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