FEATURE: Life As An Unsigned Band Part 2 - The Promoters
Friday, 14 May 2010
Written by Daniel Lynch
Where would we be without fantastic stage shows, pyrotechnics, massive moving figures, flying drum kits, and thousands of people crammed into venues, or up to the eyeballs in mud? Such is the diversity of live performances among modern bands that the show is as important as the music itself. You could be witnessing the spectacular lighting show of a Muse gig one night, the giant walking Eddie at an Iron Maiden gig the next, or be treated to the masters of stage presence such as Eddie Vedder or Steven Tyler on another day.
However, none of these bands woke up one morning with the money and expertise to build such amazing shows. They all cut their teeth in local bars and clubs learning their trade as musicians and performers. They are what many unsigned bands aspire to be.
In Part 1 (LIFE AS AN UNSIGNED BAND PART 1 - THE BANDS) I looked at the bands themselves. But what is their next step when they've got a full line up, a few songs, and weeks of practice under their belts? They must then get their music into the public arena through any and every means possible.
One way of doing this is through live performances. In order to get gigs they must apply to gig promoters in the hope that they might be able to get a place on one of their bills. However, promoters can't just give any band a gig. They must be confident that the band can pull a crowd, are reliable and can play well. Bands who are unpopular with promoters rarely last long and this makes the job of promoters especially valuable in life as an unsigned band.
I asked Belfast gig promoter Mark Dunn, whose website www.giggingni.com opened doors for him to get into the promotion side of things, what encouraged him to get involved in the local music scene.
'Well before I even started my project Gigging Northern Ireland, I was a regular attendee at gigs - local bands or not. I couldn't help but think to myself, "I'd love to do this one day!" There's nothing that beats the feeling of a packed out room with some great bands playing whether you're a fan or promoter. And when I started Gigging Northern Ireland, I built up a lot of contacts and I guess a little bit of reputation too and soon after I was asked if I wanted to start my own night so I couldn't refuse.'
SONI's Phil McCarroll was encouraged to get involved to make a difference to new bands in the N.I scene through his experience both of being in a band and of poor promoters.
'My background is in performing, and having played many hundreds of gigs over the years, in a few different bands - including my current outfit Pay*ola, I naturally fell into the role of "organiser". ie. I book the gigs, organise supports, promote them and effectively stage manage them on the night (amongst other things). Having worked with promoters and venues in the past that I considered to be quite poor at fulfilling their roles, it was not a massive step to transfer my experience with my own bands to running my own shows. The "inspiration" as such, was to do things right, and make it easy for bands to deliver a great performance. Plus, I love gigs and live music, and I genuinely enjoy making shows happen.'
Similar to local bands, the promoters I spoke to had one major factor in common- their passion for live music. All got involved to make a difference in the local music scene, to provide a new opportunity for bands to get their music out there. However, it's not simply a case of contacting bands, printing posters and showing up. A lot of work goes into establishing yourself as a top promoter.
Phil (SONI): 'We (myself & SONI partner Ian) purposely started things on a smaller scale, in order to test the waters and build things organically. We started with a monthly night in the Duke of York (Belfast), which was originally free admission, and then 2 pounds in! These gigs became extremely busy, and required us finding new venues. We are now running 5 gigs a month in Belfast and Lisburn, including bigger showcase nights at the Empire Music Hall as well as working with other events and festivals in a booking capacity - but we still have a long way to go. A lot of time and hard work is required, and an ability to deal with knock backs is necessary - but if bands have a good experience of playing your shows, they will want to come back - that helps.'
Dominic Brogan, who organises the 'Gifted' nights at Belfast's Empire Music Hall added that it's a gamble for any venue allowing a new promoter to run events in their bar: 'It takes a lot of hard work, especially early on to get people to break from their usual nights out and to consider going to a local bands night. It also takes a lot of faith from the venue to allow for what will inevitably be a quieter period when you first start out.'
Bruised Fruit, a Belfast based promotion company running gigs and club nights in various venues, benefited from an early lack of similar companies. They rose quickly to establish themselves as a benchmark for new promotion companies and one of the country's top promoters.
I spoke to Jennie McCullough: 'Initially we started just to help out a few friends who were musicians. There weren't a lot of opportunities at that time for new artists who were just getting started in the business, so that's what inspired me to start putting on shows. At that time there weren't a lot of promoters doing smaller local shows, so we got a good reputation fairly quickly.'
That there are so many promoters in Belfast alone, not to mention the rest of NI, is testament to the amount of quality bands there are, the variety among the bands and the wide range of venues willing to exhibit local talent. I asked the promoters if they found it difficult to keep line ups fresh and, if not, was this down to an improvement in the standard of NI bands?
Phil (SONI): 'The venues we work with give us 100% "artistic license" with which bands go on our bills. Nevertheless it is a challenge, and you do have to keep checking out new acts as much as possible. Not all are going to be world-beaters, so sometimes you have to dig a little deeper - but when you chance upon a band that really gets to you, it's worthwhile. Has there been an improvement? Probably, yes. SONI works with a lot of very good acts, but I accept the fact that I'm in a position where I'm seeing more bands than ever, and by and large I'm choosing who I'm seeing - so of course I'm experiencing an improvement in standards! Joe public may beg to differ though!'
Dominic (Gifted): 'It's tough to consistently come up with fresh bills full of quality bands. Alot of the stalwarts of years gone by have moved on to bigger things and the new wave of bands who could replace them are only now starting to emerge. Without a doubt there has been a rise in the quality of what we're seeing at a local level. It's becoming more and more professional and some of the bands could teach touring bands a thing or two about playing well!'
Jennie (Bruised Fruit): At the minute there seems to be a never-ending stream of great bands to choose from! But it hasn't always been like that, and we've taken some chances on bands that haven't always worked out! But that's a good thing as well I think. Because new bands have to start somewhere, and just because their first live show isn't great doesn't mean that their tenth won't be. The standard of live music has got consistently better over the past few years. Bands have access to some much more information now about what it takes to be successful. They're smarter and they're generally more switched on. The larger success of Northern Irish bands has raised everyone's game.
Mark (GiggingNI): 'In my first year running my weekly gig I haven't had any difficulty in keeping the line-ups fresh. And it helps thatI'm usually unrestricted when it comes to the bands I book as the venues are confident in my ability to book great bands Obviously you don't want to keep playing the same band every month but in Northern Ireland we don't have to. There are a lot of bands in this country, and ten times more when you dig a bit deeper. I like putting on new bands, so even if I've never seen them before but I like the sound of them (or another friend recommends them), I won't hesitate to give them a chance to play. The quality of bands has improved greatly in all different genres locally. New bands are popping up and sometimes they are just as good as bands that have been playing for years and years so that's definitely nice to see.'
When it comes to organising a night, promoters have to sort through a myriad of potential bands and choose the best combination of bands they can. I asked what characteristics promoters looked for in bands and how much they influenced whether a band was chosen for a gig or not. Interestingly, things like Myspace hits were low on the list of priorities for promoters. Surprising maybe, given the recent surge of bands like the Artic Monkeys who were discovered as a result of such websites.
Mark (GiggingNI): 'Firstly for me it's the love of their music. I'm a big fan of local music (my favourite bands are all local) so if I hear a song that I can't get out of my head and can't stop singing the words to, I'll definitely try and get them down to play for me. Ability to draw a crowd is always a bonus but in my opinion it's mainly the promoter's focus to draw the crowd. Temperament of band members I don't really worry about - if they start being rude to me or anyone else, they are just letting themselves down and will probably lose a lot of respect from everyone'
Jennie (Bruised Fruit): 'Quite often we'll have a bill in mind and so it's a case of looking for bands that complement each other. At UITA (Up In The Attic, Bruised Fruit's live event) we try to keep it fairly eclectic with rock one week, ska the next, and hip-hop the next for example. We also prefer to work with bands that we know are hard working and are able to help promote the shows themselves to an extent.'
Dominic (Gifted): 'Some bands I enjoy the music of and want to hear again. Others may suit a line-up well and some just draw a crowd. Generally I try to have a mix of all on the bill if at all possible. Myspace hits have less of a bearing for me. It's nice to see that a band have a lot of hits but the decision to have them play will generally be based on personal experience of the band live or that of other promoters.'
Phil(SONI): 'If I hear a band who hit me in the gut immediately, musically speaking, I will book them regardless of the other aspects. I believe talent should be rewarded. After that though, their desire to work, alongside myself, to improve their crowd pulling potential is vital. No matter how good a band is, I can't keep bringing them back for shows if they aren't putting the necessary effort in off-stage as well as on. Myspace hits can be very misleading for example! As can any form of Internet hype.'
Despite the abundance of established local talent, there are always new acts looking for that chance of a first gig. As with any business, it is a huge risk to take on an unknown quantity, but local promoters are always willing to give new bands a chance to open shows and work their way up bills.
Phil (SONI): 'Having both (established and new bands) on the bill is ideal, with a new band kicking the show off. If they want to become the haedliners, it's up to them. If they want to go from an opening slot in The Bunker to a headliner at the Empire Music Hall, it can be done relatively quickly if the desire is there.'
Jennie (Bruised Fruit): 'Always. From the very beginning of UITA it was the intention to have one brand new, unknown band on every bill. We've given gigs to bands who have never played live before, and bands we've never heard before. It doesn't always work out, but sometimes you can find real hidden talents that way.'
Being such a vital part on the ladder any unsigned band must climb makes the job of promoting a difficult task, even with such a wealth of talent at their disposal. I asked the four promoters what their biggest challenges are. Commanding regular audiences came high on all their lists.
Dominic (Gifted): 'The usual balance of money and enthusiasm. It can prove difficult to stay enthusiastic about running a night, especially as usually there is some money tied up in promoting the show. Another problem would be reaching a wider audience. With the council's vigilance to fly postering it's proving tougher to get word out there through traditional means and web based promotion is only so effective.'
Mark (GiggingNI): 'Depending of where you're holding the gig, it can be standing out from the crowd. There could be ten other gigs happening in the city and you have the challenge of making sure yours is the one everyone comes to. So definitely it has to be getting the crowd in. That's probably the only real challenge of it for me - I love the rest of it.'
Jennie (Bruised Fruit): 'At the minute the city is pretty saturated when it comes to live music, so audience development is always an issue. If there are two great shows on at the same time sometimes both suffer as a result.'
Phil (SONI):'It's a challenge to make sure you don't become complacent and let the standards slip, just because you're running a lot of shows. Also, putting together the best possible bills, musically, whilst weighing up the fact that a night must justify itself financially. The main challenge though, number 1 above all, is getting people through those doors, and giving them a good night out. If you can do that, they'll come back y'see.'
Phil however, went one further than the rest, identifying the bands themselves as a challenge. While NI bands aren't full of Pete Dohertys, co-ordinating un-contactable and potentially unreliable acts can still be one of the most difficult jobs.
'It's a challenge to stop myself murdering bands who are horrendously unreliable (bands who cancel at the last minute, for example) - though we've been very lucky in this respect. Bands who do that quickly find themselves with no gigs. No matter how good a band is, I can't keep bringing them back for shows if they aren't putting the necessary effort in off-stage as well as on. A lot of bands are happy to be what I call "passengers" - ie. happy to play a gig with the "sure, the other bands can pull the punters and we will play to them" attitude. Unfortunately, if everyone took that stance, every gig in the fucking country would be empty. So, you quickly learn who those bands are.
One worrying thing I have noticed though is an inflexibility about bands - they'll come to you looking for shows, you'll offer them about 6 different dates, and they can't do any of them because the nose-flute player has to baby-sit the next door neighbour's ferret or something. , I loathe laziness and complacency in the live scene. It's even more annoying in the good bands! A band you know you can rely on, on the other hand, is a special thing. Dedicated, gig ready bands with all members working in the same direction are the ones who'll get places.'
Of course not all bands are examples of this and most are professional and reliable. As Phil says, those with poor attitudes to performance and promoters will soon be found out and won't ever rise through the ranks.
Promoters have massive influence over life as an unsigned band. Bands who are reliable, courteous and talented will always prosper and be given the chance to play bigger and better gigs as word spreads about their music and attitudes.
Next I'll be looking at another way an unsigned band can publicise themselves and get their music heard by a wider audience. As said by the bands in part 1, the recording of material is vital for a band to get gigs, get radio play and to win the attention of record labels. I'll be speaking to some of Northern Ireland's most influential sound engineers and assessing their roles in life as an unsigned band.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
