Show Etiquette

Playing a show involves a lot of extra things besides being on stage and playing your songs. From the time you arrive at the venue to the time you leave, a lot goes on and it’s important to be conscious of how you’re presenting yourself. Keep in mind what your goals are. Most likely it involves performing the songs you wrote and sharing them with the world. There will likely be other acts on the bill as well and they have a similar goal in mind, playing their songs in front of a crowd. At the start it can be difficult to find that crowd to perform in front of but that’s why it’s important to stay the length of a show and watch the other acts. In a way you have to be the audience before you can expect to have one of your own! It all comes down to being respectful, and putting care into what you do. Let the other bands know you care about them and will give their work a listen, and they’ll likely stay to give yours a listen too.

A few tips & suggestions with shows when you first arrive to a show:

Find the booker, sound or production person and introduce yourself. Biggest suggestion - regardless of what other people do, if a booker or venue asks you to show up at a particular time for load in / sound check, don’t roll in right before you play! ...And don’t be late. However if you are running late, contact (however you communicated to book the show) the venue or booker to let them know. It’s respectful. You have to treat music like a job, and you wouldn’t show up to your job late!

For up coming or long time bookers and promoters: if you’re located in the same town where you book, be the point person and show up to the venue for the show. Too often there is a gap in communication between the venue and promoter where there’s no point person and people don’t respect the artists who could be traveling many miles. Some artists base their whole day around taking off from work early or cancelling plans / getting rides and/or equipment for a gig. To show up and find no one there and no one in communication makes things very difficult! Please respect what you do & act like you care.

If you’re serious about music here are some other tips:

- treat people how you want to be treated!

- respect requested time slots. (load in, set length)

- artists: be kind to the sound person, their job is not easy & vice versa: engineers try to be friendly to the artists so they’re comfortable

- be friendly & have a great attitude! Your like a business-card but in person. People will remember.

- if you’re open to it, always share your equipment! At some point you might really need an amp or cable! Most of the time people are exactly like you & might need an extra hand if their equipment broke last minute.

- have merch so you start thinking like a business and have products available, something for people to take home as a momento. Also: don’t force your merch on people! Do let them know it’s available though.

In addition to show etiquette you can also carry your support further by almost living a daily musician etiquette- supporting local artists & bands by even going to shows that you aren’t playing, buying merch from touring acts & always remember - you are the face of your brand so do everything you do with care/heart.

Making Goals & figuring out who you are as an Artist or Band

Goal making & having a message is a very important first step, even before creating & writing songs because finding/figuring out your goals, messages & purposes as an artist or band will help you write songs that reflect that. Of course there’s also the natural progression of a band or song writer...naturally writing songs & playing a couple first shows, jamming with people, having a couple bandmates & figuring out over time what it is that everyone wants. If you can take a little time to ask yourself these questions when you’re first starting out or if you even have played for years defining this sooner than later should help eliminate a lot of road blocks especially as you grow bigger. People shouldn’t tell you who you are. You should tell them & this should be the case for most of your career. For example, if you’re working with management or a label marketing team, you should be working with them & communicating your vision that way they can do a great job & come up with ideas. Another example is you might be communicating to a possible producer you may work with so you’ll want to be as clear as possible telling them your ideal sound & also what you stand for. Of course there’s collaboration- that’s what bands, working with people & life is about! You can work as a team defining these things!

What’s your goal as a band or artist? Do you want to tour? What do you want your recordings to sound like? Do you have a message that reflects in your band’s image (how you dress, your art & logos). Do you want to just play once a month weekend shows? Do you just want to record & release songs online & not tour? Do you want your songs on the radio? Do you just want to play solo but have a drummer once in awhile? If so would you hire them or is it a band? Or do u want to build a band? Do you want to write for other artists? There are countless questions you can ask & the more you define them the more you’ll know & be clear on your goals, vision, as well as message.

Your message is what you’ll carry throughout your path as an artist. It’s what will connect you to your audience, your fans, your fellow musicians/bands, and to opportunities down the road. Look at it as a road map for the future, envision how you want your music and yourself to be perceived and received by your audience. This will help in defining your goal. Your goal will be a good indicator of what you’ll need to do in order to reach a certain market and what your path will entail. If you set out to write songs and perform them in front of crowds, what genre do you most resonate with? Which venues would make the most sense for you to begin playing at? Especially if you’re an act just starting out in your home town —Find other bands or artists on a local level who are doing what you envision yourself doing and connect! Go to shows, big and small, and take note of what inspires you. Why do YOU belong on that stage? What do YOU have to offer?