This is a works in progress, I'm typing live so it might not be as comprehensive as it I would like. Please check back. As ever your feedback to info@antipoprecords.co.uk
DIY Gigs - Step One - With these simple ideas we hope to inspire you and guide you to - Making money, looking cool in front of your peers and having a good time.
This is aimed at young people who may have played no gigs or a handful of gigs and had similar ideas and wonder if it's easy or hard to put your own gigs on. People will often look for the promotors who organise concerts in the nearest city centre of the biggest venue. this is great and can be a good experience but there are advantages to putting your own gigs on. Here's a basic run down of things to think about. If you need further questions email info@antipoprecords.co.uk
There are a ton of basic thing you need to make a gig. The most important are also the most obvious.
WHERE?
VENUE - School hall. Youth Club, Scout Hut, Club House, Shed, or Church hall?
Find the place. Get your smartest friend or most polite friend to speak with the owner or manager. Make a plan before you go so you knwo wwhat you are talking about. If you have drafts of tiem sheets, designs for posters or cds of the music you can take it with you and it will show you are prepared.
Be HONEST - with the number of people you hope to attend, the type of music you have planned and the volume of music you anticipate because you don't want to shock the owner/manager on the night into canceling your gig because you changed the original plan massively.
*Is the venue free to hire? What do you have to do to hire it? Is theer a deposit? Is the deposit refundable? Be careful if there is paper to sign and before you agree to anything. If there is a deal with money to be completed AFTER the gig make sure the deal is black and white and cannot be changed on the night by the owner/manager.
WHEN?
try to plan with as much time in advance as possible. The longer you have the less rushed you will be. Things can always go wrong no matter how much time you have to prepare but the more time you have the better,
Make sure you chose your date very carefully. Make sure the date you have planned is not also the final of the X Factor, the World Cup final, the last ever episode of Coronation St or the biggest concert EVER in the venue next door. Know your competition!
Friday nights are usually the best night of the week to plan gigs. People finish work and school for the week. School holidays are when people are off school, college, university and have nothing else to do.
FACILITIES - does it have electricity? Do you need to plug in amplifiers? Does the place have a toilet? Sink, wash basin? A first aid kit? Car parking? Lots of stairs? What kind of people usually visit the location? Old, young, rich, poor, regular, tourist? How will these people react to the gig you are planning?
HOW?
EQUIPMENT - PA, A public address system or speakers, amp, cables and mixing desk are usually required to give singers microphones amplification. These need to be plugged in somewhere. Make sure the place you choose has electricity and extension cables to stretch power around the stage. Unless you are in a large place tit is unlikely that much more than singers will need to be amplified.
If you don't have any of this stuff you could approach the local music shop to sponsor your event. If they have the equipment to hire but do not wish to sponsor you could approach a local small business and ask them for sponsorship. The money they give to you to pay for the hire of the equipment you can offer in return to put up posters to advertise their shop at the event or include an advertisement in your promotion i.e. on the back of the flyer.
INSTRUMENTS - Do you have the necessary musical equipment? If the bands can share as much equipment as possible you can save time on soundchecking and gaps between the bands, making the night run smoother and faster.
MAKING THE MOST OF THE NIGHT
You want lots of people to attend.
PROMOTION - flyers, posters, spread the word. everybody has facebook, don't they? Messaging friends, with txts, putting posters up in school, college, local shops. Get your most artistic friends to design a poster. Call up the local newspaper, radio station and speak to the arts/entertainments or listing editor. they usually decide what gets a mention in the paper. The radio DJ is the person who plays at the peak time. Usually morning 8-9am and evenings 5-6pm. Or the DJ who plays the most suitable type of music. Ask politely if you can put posters up in the local shops.
TICKETS - if you are printing tickets to sell or giveaway in advance make sure they are numbered and cannot be copied easily. Make sure you keep a record of who has how many and how many there in total.
PERFORMERS
BANDS/DJs/RAPPERS - Choose your bands carefully. Make sure the bands fit the style of music. The more people you know and trust the better.
FRIENDS - you will need help from friends/family. Who is going to drive the heavy stuff? Someone with a car/van. If you are collecting money on the door who is the most trustworthy person? It is useful to keep one sensible person in charge of the money.
TIMES - time the event to start at a time and plan all the set up time and packing away time included. Work out how long a band can play, how many tracks they play. You will need enough time to bring in equipment and do soundchecks with the equipment. If there are neighbours nearby you may need to finish by a certain time.
YOU - try not to stress out too much, don't lose sleep. Do not shout at people, lose your temper, do not drink alcohol. Always be polite and think on your feet. you are the face and voice of the gig. Treat yourself and others with respect. everybody makes mistakes.
By doing DIY gigs you avoid getting told who you play with what time you play how much the ticket is and what you can and can't do. You make the rules, you make the gig, you make the atmosphere. All good experience.
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