For any of you who have booked shows, recorded bands, booked tours, or anything involving the need for a band to show up, be on time, and be professional... you will know exactly where I'm headed with this post.
Now more than ever, there is so much competition in the music scene/industry... It's a fast-paced, churning stew of bands out there, all fighting like dogs to get their name out. This has created opportunities, and also a lot of new problems that didn't exist when I was trying to make a run at the "career-band" thing. This is why reputation is SO important. It always has been, and always will be, but it's a much bigger deal now. Most promoters/producers/labels/managers/booking agents/whatever will not give you a second opportunity if you fuck up, and none of them will even think of working with you, if you have developed a reputation of being fuck-ups.
Some very simple/easy things to keep in mind, and ways to keep your reputation clean:
1. BE ON TIME... this is so huge. It is easily the most controllable part of being in a band. If you are late to a show, or a meeting, or a recording session... this displays the image that you don't give very many fucks. Why would anyone want to invest/work with a band that doesn't give very many fucks??? Get it together. Make sure your transportation is working properly, or secure another way of getting there. Make sure that if Mapquest says "33 minutes" you leave at least an hour before that even applies. If something goes awry, you need to have some time to be able to come up with a "plan B." Of course, shit happens... and if it's legitimately out of your control (sudden death, car crashes into you, government shut-down of all major highways and thoroughfares due to a disease outbreak or zombie apocalypse...) most professionals will be irritated, but understanding.
2. Don't be a dick. To ANYONE. EVER.... if you have someone in your band that thinks it's cool to be a dick to fans, or doesn't have time to take a picture with someone/sign something... sit them down, and show them baby pictures of themself.... reminding them "you used to shit in the tub just like everyone else... get over yourself." .... This is extremely important these days. You don't know, that kid you blow off might have 2,000 friends on Facebook or Twitter, make one post about you, and you've just lost yourselves some serious respect. If this happens consistently, you're on your way to becoming a band that no one wants to go see.
This also applies to promoters, local/opening bands, soundguys, etc.... Just be nice. It's not that hard... and if you treat these people right, they will treat you right. Remember, pissing off a sound guy is like pissing off a waiter... the waiter might spit in your food, and the sound guy might shit on your mix.
I always hated seeing the local/opening bands getting treated poorly. If you are one of those bands, you probably know what it feels like. If you're in a band that's in a position to be headlining local shows, or co-headlining regional shows, take the extra 20 minutes to catch some of the openers set, and find something nice to say to them after the show. Chances are, they worked as hard, if not harder than you to bring in whatever kids are there...
3. Be professional. (this is a broad statement... It will most likely need it's own post someday, but here are a few things that tell me a band is in it to win it.)
Whether you show up in your mom's minivan, or a brand new Econoline with a big matching trailer, you need to at least look like you know what you're doing, and look like you've done it before. Nothing creates more lulz for the big-boy bands than seeing a band show up at different times, in different cars, with gear that doesn't have proper cases. Sometimes, until you can afford a better way of doing things, this is your reality... but if you've gotta do it this way, at LEAST show up at the same time, load in quickly and efficiently... and before you set out for the show, make sure you're organized, so that you can at least get your shit out of your hatchbacks and sedans before the other bands have much time to pay attention.
Spend the necessary time and money making sure that you have reliable, decent sounding gear. I don't expect everyone to be able to afford top of the line stuff... but for people who know a thing or two, it's really easy to spot the bands that are super new to the game. People tend to not pay attention to you if you look like you're rocking a guitar you bought at Wal-Mart and your drummer looks like he doesn't know how to properly set up a drum set (let alone, if you also SOUND like that). Spend time dialing your tones, learning how to properly tune/set up drums, and even if you have the worst gear on earth, you still need to know how to pull the best possible sound out of it. Then, if you are sounding legit, and overall looking like you know what you're doing... you can be taken seriously. This also includes making sure that your guitars are all in tune, all the time. Have them properly set up by a professional. Make sure that you have fresh strings before every gig, and you stretch them, and tune them as much as possible before the show, and then tune as much as possible during the show (without creating super long, awkward silences between songs)
BIG TIME LISTEN THE FUCK UP: Have at LEAST one backup guitar. Tune it before the set, and have it easily accessible. (when shit hits the fan, you need to be able to snag that thing before your stupid breakdown drops.. or else you will all look like fools). Also, make sure you have extra strings, drumsticks and picks... and make sure EVERYONE has their own tuner (in their signal chain, for quick tuning). If you can't afford these things, cancel your fucking shows, get a job for a month, and THEN present yourself to the world.
I really believe that your reputation is everything. Chances are, you sound a lot like a bunch of other bands... and you probably have similar haircuts, and similar tattoos or piercings... Your band name might even have some of the same words in it... so, if you're not going to change any of those things, you need to be able to separate yourselves from the herd.... and your reputation is what does that.
-Ryan
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