"All Of My Friends Were There"

Unless your band is big enough that Ticketmaster sends you a card when one of your parents is in the hospital, you probably have some amount of trouble getting people to your shows. The first thing to remember is that it isn't necessary a direct reflection on the quality of your work. Even The Kinks (referenced in the title of this post) had this problem at some point. There isn’t exactly a simple fix but there are a number of things you can try. Some of you may have tried hiring a promoter. Based on the name of the job, you would think this would do the trick. But if you have tried this, you probably already know it isn’t and if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re off the hook. Unless someone comes highly recommended by another musician you trust, don’t bother. There are a number of things you can try on your own that will cost nothing and a few of them done in combination will most likely lead better results. For starters you can enlist your friends and get more aggressive with social media posts, you can try playing with new bands and/or at new venues or create an entirely different “one night only” angle like an acoustic show or a set of Ramones covers which you should be able to learn during the course of unloading your van.

If you want to get really creative you think of a way to make the show more interactive like letting your fans pick the set list before hand. Even established bands like Yo La Tengo and Guided by Voices have done something like this; featuring giant wheels with songs they wanted play and having audience members spin them to decide what they’d play next. The only limits to an interactive angle are your creativity, your comfort zone, and (unfortunately) the size of your fan base. It wouldn’t be to good for morale if your set list were to be “picked” by two drunkards sitting at the bar and listing White Snake songs. Also, you probably want to stay away from any activity that would make your audience accomplices or co-conspirators. But other than that…the possibilities are endless! Follow the link below to learn more:

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