There have been a lot of life changes going on for me. I got married. That's pretty awesome! Our wedding was the best day of my life :) On top of that: I also quit my day job to do music full-time! My husband, Brandon, being the sweet, amazing, supportive man that he is, encouraged me to go for it. I'm so happy to be taking this step. I have always felt a bit self-contradictory working close to a full-time job that's not really in the vein of what I want to do with my life, while singing songs on the weekend that I wrote years ago called, "Follow Your Bliss" and "Sweet Music"; songs that have to do with chasing your dream and doing what you believe in; songs that reject the social ideal of "financial security." Though part of me wants to sell all of my material possessions and live the vagabond life simply touring and gigging, I also realize that the "things" that Brandon and I have worked so hard to afford are useful, such as my music and recording equipment, and Brandon's art supplies. It's also useful to have a place to do my recording, and for Brandon to make his art. It will be difficult at first to get gigs consistently enough to hold up my end, but I believe I can eventually get to a point where it's easy to do what I love and get paid for it. It will happen if I can stay diligent enough!The main reason I decided to do music full-time is because I've always felt that if one really wants to be successful, he/she must treat it like a full-time job. I'm devoted to spending the time everyday to work on my craft and get my name out there. I now have the time to spend booking. Looking for new venues to play, contacting venues, and networking with other bands takes a lot more time than you would think- hours and hours! I also now have the freedom to book a show any day of the week, and can play last minute show offers, without concern for work schedule conflicts. I'm also able to travel a bit, and I'm starting to expand my "territory," and play in other surrounding areas outside of Fayetteville. I have more time to practice and work on other musical projects that I'm working on for other people/bands. And hopefully, I can designate some time to social networking and blogging ;)
I quit my job about 2 weeks ago and have played quite a few gigs since then. It was like, as soon as I decided to do music full-time, doors started to open for me. I don't know if it's some kind of divine sign that I'm on the right path, or just a product of all of the hard work I've put in, and the fact that I've put the word out that I need more gigs, and have been tenaciously working at booking. Since I quit my day job, I've played in Little Rock, and Conway in Ar. I've also gone up to Joplin, Mo, a few times to play as well. I'm working on a trip up to Springfield for September, as well as a trip to Tulsa and Oklahoma City that same month. As a solo female artist, I don't feel comfortable taking very long trips by myself, so I'm trying to limit them to just a few days in towns where I know people I can stay with.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What I've Learned So Far:
If you're a musician just starting out, or you're just interested in how one goes about booking shows, here are some things that I have learned about booking: I went and downloaded the "Indie Venue Bible" for my region of the country, as one of the free perks from having my album packaged by CD Baby. Though it's a good starting point, I actually have more luck finding good venues to play at when I'm able to obtain the local weekly newspaper that has a live music calendar for the area where I'm wanting to play. It takes a little bit of sifting through, but if you study it and look at the links of what bands are playing where, you can get a pretty good idea of which venues are compatible to your style of music. As a solo artist, I like to supplement my "shows" with restaurant gigs for money. One thing that has helped me out is going to urbanspoon.com and searching for "live music restaurants" in the area where I want to go. This also takes some time to filter through, as some of the places don't have live music regularly, but just for special events.
It is also a good idea to look for songwriter open mics, or songwriter nights or contests. These tend to only pay if they are a contest and you win, but they are usually on off-nights, like Mondays. They are good opportunity to get your name out there, possibly sell some merch, network with other musicians, and get your foot in the door in a new city. If it is a venue that has larger acts and bigger names on the weekends, it might get your foot in the door to open for them.
Another helpful tip in booking shows is networking. Ask your friends who are in bands with a similar musical style where they like to play when they go out of town. Ask if you can open for them. You might not get paid much or at all at first, but it opens doors for you in new places. And while you're there, have a mailing list and encourage people to sign it, so that the next time you come back to town, you can email them and let them know about your show! I have free stickers that I pass out with my website on them, but having a mailing list is a way to reach out to your new fans, instead of hoping that they will remember to get online, look you up, and reach out to you. (That was a tip given to me by Anna from Handmade Moments, and it made a lot of sense!)
I'm excited to keep learning the tricks of the trade, and share what I've learned with my blog readers! Thanks for reading and joining me on my exciting new journey!
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