Music Shows

Virtually all people would say the first thing to do is to find a name for the band. Lets start from there s venue we??

The auditions are over, you’ve found your bass player and you all seem to get along really well. The excitement is in the air and you’ve had your 1st performer bonding celebration.

Now its time to start your musical journey together.

Personally, I think that locating a band name is THE hardest decision that the band will ever have to make and consequently one of the the majority necessary decisions as well.

A band name is a wonderfully vital part of the performers identity. It is the first point of contact a punter has with the band.

Does this conversation sound familiar to you?

Them: “Hey, I saw this cool performer last night. You gotta check them out”

You: “Cool, what has been the name of the band?”

Them: “Ummmmmm……. I do not know”.

Arrrrrgh!!!! I get that all the time.

I can’t recall how a lot of times individuals have raved about a performer to me but can’t tell me the name when I ask them. Right there is the was ted opportunity for a band. It frustrates me no end.

This is a optimum example of how extremely important a band name is.

The band name is the 1st thing that a punter will recall. They will not address the band by the names of the individuals in it when they talk to their companions (unless they’re individual companions of yours) they will address the band by its name.

The perfect way to find a performer name is through sheer persistance. Locating a performer name that is agreeable by any person isn’t an simple task.

Here are some band name get together suggestions:

1. Get every member to write down their personal list of potential band names

This can be the first task that the performer might do collectively.  set a date for the first performer meeting and between now and then do that task.

2. Make brainstorming band names the topic of your 1st ever band meeting

When everyone gets together put all of the lists out on the table and go through each one keeping to one side the names that’strike a chord’ (sorry about the pun) with all of you and getting rid of the rest.

As a group try brainstorming some ideas. This is a wonderful way to start formulating what the band is all about, what its image is etc, etc.

3. Start a competition among all your friends /family/anyone else via email

This is a great way to start compiling the beginnings of your performers email list. List all of your companions /family/anyone else that you want to include and their email addresses and compile them all into one mailing group. Send out an email outlining the competition and be ready for the tips to come flooding in.

It is vital to have a cut off date for the competition (perhaps by your 1st performer meeting) and to have a prize on offer. Of course the prize is totally up to you.

Make sure that when you do find a performer name that you announce it through your email group. You’ve just started email promotion of your band.

Whatever you do have fun with the process and do not let the quest to find a band name override the other things that you’ve to do such as writing tunes and finding rehearsal space.

I guarantee that once you’ve agreed on a performer name you will all collectively breathe a immense sigh of relief. The hardest part of the journey has been achieved.

(For the purpose of this article I am going to make a couple of assumptions before I go any further. They are that you’ve a little bit of vocal or musical instrument knowledge and that you also have a fledgling network of friends and contacts)
Starting up a band is a exceedingly exciting time in a artists life. There’s a fine balance of nervous anticipation and the fear of the unknown that follows the whole process.
A band has a diverse dynamic than working as a solo artist. There are other individuals involved, other individual ities, other strengths and weaknesses in character and abilities and because of this it is really important that you’ve a few things worked out before you start looking for band members.
1. Have a good idea of your own strengths and weaknesses
The band members that you want to get will need to be around the same level of competence as you are. The main reason for this is that you may all grow together rather than have one or two artists carrying everyone else. This type of player imbalance causes doubt in the group and doubt is one of the major killers of bands.
2. Know beforehand how the band is going to be run
Is the band going to be run by you or the whole group? The individual ity types of the artists that you select will need to be agreeable to the way the band is going to be run.
3. What instrumentation is the band having in its lineup?
This is mainly determined by the type(s) of music that you want to performance but having an idea of what artists you are looking for will be of wonderful help.
It’s now time to hunt down some band members
4. Ask your network of friends and/or contacts
This is always a good place to start. Ask everyone that you know or come into contact with. If you don’t have much of a circle of friends and/or contacts this will be a wonderful opening  to expansive n it. This is one of the reasons why networking in the industry is so important, for opening s such as this.
Having a artist referred to you has a much better opening  of working than one that comes from an advertisement. This leads me onto my next point.
5. Post an advertisement
Having said that I have had made some wonderful contacts from artists enquiring from a ‘muso wanted’ ad. The key to effective ads is that they need to be concise, to the point, not too lengthy and put in places where artists are exceedingly like ly to see it and read it like in a music shop, a local/regional music magazine or a music classifieds website.
A sample ‘ artist wanted’ advertisement may read something like this:
BASS PLAYER WANTED
To join folk/rock band
Influences include
Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Counting Crows
Some experience like red
Own gear and transport essential
Interested?? Give me a call
Corey – (put home and/or cell telephone  number here)
As you may see, the ad is undeniable in its intention.
It undeniable ly states the artist wanted, the type of music the band is playing, what the music may sound like and that the band has some experience behind it. Ensure you’ve a undeniable contact name and phone numbers (if you want to include an email address as well that’s cool).
Do not put in stuff like ‘work waiting’ or ‘no time has been ters please’. You may judge those sort of things yourself when an interested artist contacts you.
Once you’ve done that the waiting game begins.