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LIVE_YOUR_OWN_DAMN_BOOK

Lurching toward a promotional
checklist for bands:

First, read Eugene Chadbourne's            HATE_THE_MAN
"I Hate the Man Who Runs this Bar"

Always have recordings
for sale at your performances.       Tapes, CDs, CD-Rs whatever.

                                        How hard can it be to make
Have flyers for upcoming                a few dozen copies of your
events at every event.                  last performance?

Put out a clip board to
collect mailing list addresses.

   Follow up: use your mailing list.
   But don't over-use it.

Never assume that it's someone
else's job to handle publicity     This goes for *everyone* involved,
                                   performers, events organizers, venue owners,
                                   for that matter, for fans of the music.
Send out press releases,
*including photos*.                   Even conflicting, contradictory
Hit the local weeklies,               publicity is better than nothing.
but also the local dailies.
The local independant
radio stations.                 Online stuff is good
                                too, but don't rely on it.
One more time: you need
publicity photos on file.           Don't forget the Squid List:
                                    The squids like things big
Distribute your flyers in           and whacky, so if you think
music stores, book stores,          big and whacky, don't think
cafes. Post them on                 twice.
telephone poles.

When possible, play for people
who've never heard of you.

   *And* who may never have
   heard anything like you:

   Consider the fact that most people
   are so grossly ignorant they'll
   give you credit for things invented
   a century ago.


If you're running a venue:

   get the doors open on time (if not ahead of time).

   put up big, colorful signs (at a minimum, a placard out
   on the street).

   Think about the environment, at least a little bit, e.g.
   light the stage, keep lights out of the eyes of the
   audience.  Think about heating/ventilating/air-conditioning.

   Supply decent chairs (metal folding chairs need cushions).

   Provide food and drink to the limit the licensing nazi's
   will let you get away with.


Learn to write grant proposals.

Form partnerships with the other arts.
Dance, theater, painting, sculpture.

Do some organizational work for other performers
(they'll scratch your back later).


         (If any of this advice sounds too
         cyncial for you, go find someone         By the way: this is
         else to rephrase it so that it           a long list of stuff
         sounds more postive.  Not my forte.)     here, and you won't
                                                  get to all of it all
                                                  the time.
If it all works out, and you
bust the obscurity barrier,                         Don't waste any
remember that you can look                          energy feeling
forward to being throughly                          guilty about that.
disgusted with most of the                          
people in the audience.

   "Goddamit, in the old days the audience
   was small but they understood the music,
   half of the people here tonight showed
   up just to show how cool they are."





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