What's your no.1 selling point of getting your own gigs?

[Stuart Elliott]

quick reactions to your website.

1. There is not a button on the home page for hiring you/the band.
You might want to put a "hire us" type link on each page.
2. The calendar, which may be automatically generated by Wix from your Google calendar, shows up blank. It might be better to have page that just lists recent and upcoming gigs. And some news regarding your CD, etc.
3. You might want to ask for an endorsement from some of your gigs.

[christianm77]

Always be project oriented. Even when you play straightahead gigs.

I have loads of projects (probably too many!)

The project could be a concept (some bands seem practically written around their Arts Council applications) others are based around the compositions of the leader, other bands are more a combination of certain musicians.

But the project needs to be strong focussed. It should have a couple of strong set of around 45 minutes, be well rehearsed and be well put together. You then make a demo video of it and you email the fuck out of everyone, chasing every couple of weeks until they either give you a gig or ask you to never email them again or they'll call the police.

Generally ATM I've been flogging my group Hot Club of Jupiter to death, which is an easy sell because it's (basically) swing music and has a teeny bit of singing in. That's been pretty successful actually, I've managed to book quite a few gigs so I'm pretty emboldened by this.

For the other stuff it's more ellusive. Balagan my world/fusion/jazz/thingamajig project is largely sold (I think) on the instrumentation (including violin and cello) and the eclecticism of the repertoire - I could see us playing jazz clubs, classical style concerts and festivals or even folk festivals, but definitely listening audiences.

I also have a 55-bar style jazz/rock thing, and I have no idea who to sell that to haha :-)

Other groups are more function oriented.

Two more groups I want to work on hustling are my trio (which I will start writing for) and perhaps a bop quartet. These groups are in their infancy though, so they need development artistically and we need to play together more...

I've found this has got me a lot further than just selling myself as an individual. As it very much were. And things take a while - it can take years for a band to really pick up speed.

But you if you are professional guitar player your job is actually to spend at least two hours a day sending and responding to emails. Treat it like a full time job and that'll keep you on track. Good luck!

[drbhrb]

This sums up the worst aspects about trying to perform as a jazz musician. Pop musicians typically know they need to practice a lot, but good jazz musicians know they can get through it or fake it, and so are reticent to practice.

The tunes on your site are great. If you're having trouble it's not because of anything wrong with your music or playing.

Well, if it's a standard gig then a good jazz musician should get through it without rehearsals. If a gig is paying $100 I'm not spending a few hours rehearsing standards...

Original projects, event bands(higher $), etc are different but I hate when someone books me for a gig with no mention of rehearsals and then frantically tries to schedule 3 in the few weeks before the gig. Time is money and if you are asking me for more time I am making less money. Simple as that.

[christianm77]

I've had a look through your website. Looks very nice!

TBH my website has a lot of problems IMO and I need to redesign it - mostly to simplify it. Less text = better...

The thing that jumped out at me is I have no idea what country you are based in without looking at your bio. The same is probably true of mine.

Make sure there are some gigs in your diary (I'm guilty of this, haven't updated my calendar)

I don't think the website will necessarily sell anything for you of itself - if it's anything like mine it mostly gets checked out by people who are thinking of booking me, and mostly by other musos!

Thinking a bit more I do have some personal selling points. In my case I am a solid swing rhythm guitar player with a good repertoire of early jazz tunes - I can only think of 10-15 players in my city who would be able to dep the gigs I play to my level, in fact. That's a bit of a niche. I can think of 100s of good modern jazz guys.

(That said, I can only think of 10 (or less) hardcore straightahead/bebop players. Most of the modern guys want to be Gilad.)

I also play decent Gypsy Jazz guitar and have general jazz musicianship, which is not such a common combination. Plenty of great Gypsy players, not so many who can read.

But these niches were all developed through playing with projects. People will book you to do what they hear you do. If they hear you play rock/pop they will associate you with that music but won't call you for bebop gigs, for example. I get mostly called for acoustic swing.

You have some influence over it (I am moving towards doing more electric stuff, for example) but you don't have full control haha.

[christianm77]

Well, if it's a standard gig then a good jazz musician should get through it without rehearsals. If a gig is paying $100 I'm not spending a few hours rehearsing standards...

Original projects, event bands(higher $), etc are different but I hate when someone books me for a gig with no mention of rehearsals and then frantically tries to schedule 3 in the few weeks before the gig. Time is money and if you are asking me for more time I am making less money. Simple as that.

That's exactly why it an awfully good idea to have a working bad that can come in and SMASH any gigs you have. No dithering between tunes, everyone used to playing together, slick arrangements and so on. Sure deps and so on will always be needed as good players are busy, but having that core is tremendous help.

Nothing worse than a pick-up gig when everyone takes 20 minutes to decide the next tunes and every song is head solo solo solo fours for 20 minutes. That stuff must be so boring to an audience, it's no wonder people switch off.

I'm not talking about 'dumbing down' just having a think about how performances can be made interesting to the listener. Listen to those Miles prestige recordings of standards - great little interludes and arrangement touches. Not just four bored musicians in a room playing the 20 tunes they learned in college.

By having a working band you can focus rehearsal time and have something really good. And you need to be willing to invest time and effort. It does pay off. People do care. Non musicians know when a band doesn't quite know what it's doing.

(Also NY musicians are the hardest working motherfuckers I've ever met - they seem to rehearse properly. Maybe that's one reason why they are so good?)

Have a product worth selling. Don't be lazy. Represent your art.

[drbhrb]

That's exactly why it an awfully good idea to have a working bad that can come in and SMASH any gigs you have. No dithering between tunes, everyone used to playing together, slick arrangements and so on. Sure deps and so on will always be needed as good players are busy, but having that core is tremendous help.

Nothing worse than a pick-up gig when everyone takes 20 minutes to decide the next tunes and every song is head solo solo solo fours for 20 minutes. That stuff must be so boring to an audience, it's no wonder people switch off.

I'm not talking about 'dumbing down' just having a think about how performances can be made interesting to the listener. Listen to those Miles prestige recordings of standards - great little interludes and arrangement touches. Not just four bored musicians in a room playing the 20 tunes they learned in college.

By having a working band you can focus rehearsal time and have something really good. And you need to be willing to invest time and effort. It does pay off. People do care. Non musicians know when a band doesn't quite know what it's doing.

(Also NY musicians are the hardest working motherfuckers I've ever met - they seem to rehearse properly. Maybe that's one reason why they are so good?)

Have a product worth selling. Don't be lazy. Represent your art.

There's different types of gigs. I'm in a few projects that have rehearsed arrangements and sets. That's great for listening audiences, festivals, "real gigs". There's also background music gigs playing for receptions, events, etc where they just want pleasant background jazz noise. I don't see anything wrong with (quickly) calling tunes on those types of gigs. Maybe I just am lucky enough to play with guys that know enough tunes and have good enough musical sense to get through those situations.

Who said I had any art?

[christianm77]

There's different types of gigs. I'm in a few projects that have rehearsed arrangements and sets. That's great for listening audiences, festivals, "real gigs". There's also background music gigs playing for receptions, events, etc where they just want pleasant background jazz noise. I don't see anything wrong with (quickly) calling tunes on those types of gigs. Maybe I just am lucky enough to play with guys that know enough tunes and have good enough musical sense to get through those situations.

Who said I had any art?

I'll be clear. I'm not saying that I find it hard to play standards gigs. And I know loads of excellent players. It's about what you bring to the audience.

Sure, background gigs are open to more experimentation - but my experience background gigs are most enjoyable when they are used for something - running through lots of standards you haven't played in a while, trying out a few little arrangement ideas, perhaps even playing a few originals (provided they fit in with the vibe.)

Actually, I'm often surprised by how much people can be are aware of the music on those gigs. And they do appreciate it if it's good. So I think even in this case where you aren't so on the spot, it's still worth being mindful of the difference between performance and practice.

A big problem IMO, is that often solos are allowed to drag on too long. I prefer punchy solos (1-2 choruses) and lots of tunes on those sort of background gigs, because if you are soloing and no-one is listening what's the point? But their ears will prick up when they hear a tune they like.

In a project/listening gig you often won't solo on every tune, so when you have a solo feature you can stretch a bit.

I have no problem at all with doing someone's pickup gig and playing whatever tunes they want however they want it. I actually really enjoy playing with a new group of people and just jamming through some tunes (if everyone is a good player and are listening, which is usually the case I'm pleased to say), but it is not ultimately just about what I want :-)

[roegtr]

quick reactions to your website.

1. There is not a button on the home page for hiring you/the band.
You might want to put a "hire us" type link on each page.
2. The calendar, which may be automatically generated by Wix from your Google calendar, shows up blank. It might be better to have page that just lists recent and upcoming gigs. And some news regarding your CD, etc.
3. You might want to ask for an endorsement from some of your gigs.

Thank you! Great suggestions!

[roegtr]

Always be project oriented. Even when you play straightahead gigs.

I have loads of projects (probably too many!)

The project could be a concept (some bands seem practically written around their Arts Council applications) others are based around the compositions of the leader, other bands are more a combination of certain musicians.

But the project needs to be strong focussed. It should have a couple of strong set of around 45 minutes, be well rehearsed and be well put together. You then make a demo video of it and you email the fuck out of everyone, chasing every couple of weeks until they either give you a gig or ask you to never email them again or they'll call the police.

Generally ATM I've been flogging my group Hot Club of Jupiter to death, which is an easy sell because it's (basically) swing music and has a teeny bit of singing in. That's been pretty successful actually, I've managed to book quite a few gigs so I'm pretty emboldened by this.

For the other stuff it's more ellusive. Balagan my world/fusion/jazz/thingamajig project is largely sold (I think) on the instrumentation (including violin and cello) and the eclecticism of the repertoire - I could see us playing jazz clubs, classical style concerts and festivals or even folk festivals, but definitely listening audiences.

I also have a 55-bar style jazz/rock thing, and I have no idea who to sell that to haha :-)

Other groups are more function oriented.

Two more groups I want to work on hustling are my trio (which I will start writing for) and perhaps a bop quartet. These groups are in their infancy though, so they need development artistically and we need to play together more...

I've found this has got me a lot further than just selling myself as an individual. As it very much were. And things take a while - it can take years for a band to really pick up speed.

But you if you are professional guitar player your job is actually to spend at least two hours a day sending and responding to emails. Treat it like a full time job and that'll keep you on track. Good luck!

That is good insight! Thank you!