This is absolutely silly. If you don't want to or can't play a gig then just say, no-one's going to be offended. This has happened to me twice. Firstly, with a solo artist from t'Lundun. It was more of a general enquiry really, a simple 'sorry, i can't get there/have something on/am not looking for gigs at the moment' would've sufficed. Instead he says i need to get in touch with his manager, who i later find out is actually himself. I don't bother. So i ask a band, a pretty good one, they say they'd love to play the gig but we need to ask their label, so i do, only there is no proper label, it's just a name they used to put out their self-released EP (of sorts). The guy who replies, declining the gig is in the band, ffs. What's this all about? People understand that bands are busy, might have trouble breaking even on a gig, or might simply not want to play it, fair enough, just say. JAYZUZ.
© DrownedinSound.com | From the Archive - The Skeleton Crew: DiS meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs
In my band
we know of other local bands who have 'managers'. We are playing pub gigs for christ's sake. I could justify it if there was money involved and contracts needed to be signed. it's all front. Having said that we created our own ficional studio 'The pilot Lounge'. it was just a bit of fun cus we record our own stuff at our friends house. We liked the idea of airmen sittign around in aviators telling tales of near crash landings and hot stewardesses. ;)
But seriously, if any band are pretending to have a manager. it's the music equivellent of having an imaginery friend.
I love art
It's all wank.
it gets worse....
... when people have a "promotions company" aswell. ie - the drummer puts on the odd gig.
i'm all for d.i.y. but why do you have to set up a myspace and a daft website and come up with a silly name to organise a gig. you dont need BRANDING you just need a mobile phone and a few brain cells to arrange a gig.
these people who say ask our management and they are self-managed
sound mentally ill.
So many bands are in a bit of a dream-world with anything and are obsessed with things like 'management', 'label', 'rider', 'catering.' It's pretty funny.
But surely
If you put on a regular night then branding is essential? Because then people know that whenever you put on a night it's going to be good (or bad!)
That's why a tiny venue in Soho is busy every Tuesday night for White Heat....because people trust what they do?
ah but...
... i said a gig, not a 'night' as you put it.
i get the impression these little promotions brands for gigs are vanity projects, set up to make them and their friends feel like their in a secret club.
I guess a lot of bands
feel they can't get some gigs unless they have some sort of representation.
It’s a bit silly saying ‘you have to speak to your manager’ when if you are in fact the manager though.
I remember when I used to play in a band it was notoriously hard to play places like the barfly unless you had some sort of management or label championing you.
We did play the barfly once though but it was through a different promoter, and was on a Sunday afternoon, and it was downstairs, and it was fucking wank!
^
this
i think bands do it to add a bit of weight to them. I pretty much belive that getting gigs and stuff is, half the time, a kind of confidence trick.
i want a manager
I'd love a manager
i wouldn;t have to do anything on behalf of our band anymore, just play!
if you are gonna do the branding and set up a myspace for putting on gigs you should make whatever you are doing as proffessional and quality as the way it looks. Treat people will respect and gaina good reputation as one of the good guys.
How many people can honestly say they have met more than about 3 nice/good promoters? Most of them are idiots who think promoting is putting on a load of bands and expecting everyone else to advertise it/get ppl to come.
There are some good ones out there, two of my friends do one where i live and bands come away really shocked how great they are, and what decent ppl they are. I live in hope to meet more ppl like them haha.
I've met loads of nice and good promoters!
People who invent managers are obviously going about music in the wrong way.
i think three is about right
my favourites are the ones that don't turn up to the shows they put on
But it still seems a bit weird
when they get the fictional manager to turn down gigs.
I mean I'd understand (but woudln't do so myself) inventing a manager to get bigger gigs but I don't know why you'd get one to say no to something.
Yeah that is a bit weird.
In my younger and naive years we had a promotion company called 'roytunemusic'and looking back it made no sense at all. It even had a hotmail address....haha :O)Ohh the things you do.
But after doing the rounds over the years I quickly learnt that if you impress a promoter (mainly by bringing a crowd) and you build up a good relationship then things get easier.
So yeah I guess the bottom line is - if you don't have a manager / label then don't pretend you do. You end up looking silly.
i haven't worked out
how to actually bring a crowd yet.
except lots of friends.... it all seems a bit unfair to me ie, what if your band is AMAZING, but you don't have any friends. Bit screwed?
I think the key is
to play in a band with loads of members and maximise the friends attendance :o)
yes that would be good
we only have two band members tho
:(
This is funny
Why do bands feel the need to have a pretend manager in order to make themselves look professional? I've never dealt with these types before, I hope I never do.
It's lack of confidence
I'm sure.
Like it said, it's like having an invisible friend or something. An imaginery, make beleive world where 'the man' is only a call away with that big bucks deal. ;)
I think
having a manager opens doors, but only really if he's a well respected one.
A few years back a good manager saw us and liked us and said that, although he didn't have time for us at the moment, he was happy for us to use his name to open doors. And it did.
He ended up becoming our manager eventually....
But if you're using a manager to get gigs, surely once you've been OFFERED a gig, there's no need to keep up the pretence?!
.
I don't understand why anyone would need a manager unless they are signed to a major label.
promoters...
...on the odd occassion that you meet a promoter who's a human being rather then a c**t on legs its very surprising. but for the most part promoters just think that they put a few bands and expect the bands do the donkey work when all they should be expected to do really is turn up and put on a decent show/gig, most promoters do very little in the way of actual promtion.
yeah, plus
managing your own band can be fun!
Plus it's really satisfying when things go well.
Maybe...
but I think it comes down to aptitude as well.
Quite clearly from what I've read of your posts on DiS you and your band have got the organisational skills and the nous to make things happen for yourselves without needing someone to do it for you.
And similarly I've never had a manager so far either and seem to have be doing okay without one (although, to be fair, our label do fuckloads for us that frequently crosses the line towards things a manager would do)
But I do believe the ability or organise and manage a band is a skill and a talent that not everyone has. And whilst obviously if you're band has it then you don't need a manager I don't believe the fact that some bands funtion well without managers necessarily proves all bands have got the ability to do so.
ineed...
i pretty much suck atthat side of things ( although i am getting a little better maybe )
* indeed
it's reallly not that hard though.
It just takes a bit of planning and time to email people and chase them up.
Unfortuneately for my friends and family, my band is the only instance where I am actually vaguely organised. Ask my father. He despairs.
aren't most managers
people formally in bands anyway?
From a Promoters Point of View...
Managers can be annoying, why deal with a middle man when you can go straight to the band for a straight yes or no rather than faffing around.
With the coments about most promoters being idiots - i myself promote the arse out of my gigs, flyers at gigs, shops etc etc, emails, gig listings, forum postings, trying to drag friends etc down.
Now the band also has the responsibility to promote as well. At the end of the day a promoter can promote until their blue in their face, but if the band dont tell their 'fans' and firnds at gigs/social occasions/myspace/whatever before hand they cant always expect a big crowd and a fat wad of cash at the end of the night. Unless ofcourse you are an established night Artrocker/White Heat/Fandango of course.
As i said, i promote quiet hard and tells bands that i book that there is no "bring x amount of people to get paid" - but what i do say is that the more people you can bring along a)you'll play to a fuller room and b) you'll get paid more at the end of the nigh.
Fair?