I'm really glad to see there are others who think like me. The guys above are spot on. I'm going to add a few of my own tips and then I'm going to talk about the business end of things. I'm going to write a small book, but I think it's very important that we as musicians all get on the same page. My ramblings are more geared towards those that are new to playing clubs. It doesn't matter if your 16 or 50. At the point you take money for a performance you have an obligation to provide a professional service. Hopefully the postings here will help you become the pro you need to be.

A few other tips:

Do's:

Always pitch and praise the club your in.

If they have drink specials pitch those.

At the end of the night always thank the club, staff and audience for having you.

Say something like "Hey if you had a really great time tonight and got fully hammered, Please don't try and drive home. The Club will be happy to call a Cab for you. We love you and we want to see you here again"

It's always good to remind bar patrons to pick up and close out any credit cards they might have at the bar and also remind them to please tip the staff generously.

Always ask the management how they want you to handle fights. They're gonna happen and most of the time the band is in the best position to see them break out. Some Clubs like you to stop playing and yell for security over the mic, others don't. So ask before you put yourself in a bad position.

Warm up before the show in some quiet out of the way place where you won't disturb anyone. Not on stage 10 minutes before show time.

Don't:

Never argue with the staff or patrons....EVER. Their always right period end of story.

Don't noodle around with your gear before the show. Turn on your amp and pluck a sting. If it makes noise your ready to go. Put the guitar down. Don't tune your drums. If you didn't tune your drums before the gig your a ******* and should go back to delivering pizzas. Remember there are generally people eating dinner in the club when you come in to set up. They really don't want to hear your personal rendition of "Stairway" while they finish dinner.

A few words about set up, tear down and sound checks:

When setting up and tearing down do it as quickly and a quietly as possible. Generally we open the doors and load everything in at once. In general everyone in the band should then help set up the PA. It's really a ***** to pull speaker cable over and around drumkits and amps. So set up the PA first THEN set up your gear.  When it comes to tear down don't fart around.  I don't care how hot the chic is. If you can't get her number in under 3 minutes you aint gonna get her anyway. Don't leave your band mates hanging. Pack up your gear in a quick orderly fashion. Stage it on the dance floor and then everyone in the band should help carry out and load all the gear. Don't just worry about your gear. One person should always stay with the gear. That means on the stage and at the truck. This is a great job for a girlfriend. Remember in most cases the bar staff has been there longer than you and they want to go home. So make quick work of packing up and getting out of the club.

Sound checks:If your using the same PA night after night there is no need for a sound check. Check your sound in a big studio, set it and write down the settings if you need to. Then at the show all you need to do is tweak EQ. This can be done while you are playing. Don't mess with your gear. If you constantly go over and turn up your guitar amp your going to blow the over all mix and make the hole band sound like S***. Set your gear up where your happy with the sound and DON'T F*** with it. Basically Set it and Forget it. If you need more volume. Turn the whole band up from the mixer. Also remember to keep the volume in check. Low early in the evening and only increase the volume as number of people in the room increase.

If you are using the clubs PA or a PA you've never used before then a sound check is in order. Get there early. One or Two songs should do it.

Here is some general business information relating to night clubs and bars.

No one ever talks about this so I'm gonna be the bad guy and break the taboo. When I first started out nobody would help me with this. I had no idea what to charge or how to book the band or what an agent was. It seemed musicians were like magicians and nobody wanted to let out their secrets. Why I don't know? Because we all make the same thing and it been the same since the 70's. Not educating the up and comers has done nothing but hurt our industry.

So here's the scoop. In the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas expect to make $100 per man per night in the local night clubs and bars. Some guys make more and others less, but the average is and has always been a BUCK. So if your band is new to the scene expect to make a little less and expect those that are well established to make a little more. I will tell you that due to the current economy there are some serious problems and I will address those later.

BOOKING:

There are two basic was to book. You can pound the pavement and market yourself or you can go through an Agent. Your gonna need a few things to use either method. First you need a demo CD. Just a few minutes of about 5 songs is good enough. You'll need some business cards and 8.5x11 picture of the band. Then hit the bricks and start begging for gigs.

Agents: To me agents are like lawyers. Need I say more? Here's how agents think it should work. Some clubs won't book unless its through an agent. So the agent holds the club. To get in you need the agent. Of course the agent gets a cut. Generally 10%. So the agents think they're the gods that you can't do without. They expect you to be loyal to them (meaning never book around them or use a different agent) in other words bow to the almighty agent and you will work. Here's how I see it. The agent gets a commission. So last time I checked that makes him a salesman. That being the case since you pay his commission that makes you his boss. That means the agent needs to work his A** off for you if he wants to get a commission check. So if your agent isn't booking you every weekend and pitching the hell out of you. FIRE HIM. You don't need his fist full of clubs that pay $125 a man. You'll do way better booking around him and putting the 10% in your own pocket.

When you finally do land a gig all of your communications regarding the booking should be done via email.  Always recap the dates, times and how much you will be paid. Print this out and bring it to the gig. Keep in mind that while some club owners and managers really have their stuff together, most are morons. Anything beyond writing your name on a calendar is way over their heads.

DO NOT EVER play for a percentage of the bar.  The club owner isn't going to let you count the money at the end of the night. He is going to rip you off guaranteed and even if he doesn't your gonna feel like you were anyway. Make a set price and stick to it.

Let's talk about those economic problems.  Clubs are trying to drive the price down on all of us. Again the average 4 piece gets about $400 a night. That being said I've recently had club owners come to me and say we're only paying $250 right now because of the economy. I tell them gee that's too bad because we make $X per night so we won't be able to play here until you can afford our rate. When you're ready for us here's my card. When you accept a gig for that kind of money all you do is drive the price down for all of us. IT'S KILLING OUR INDUSTRY. If the club owner can get someone to play for $250 why would he ever pay more? He won't. So here's the problem. New bands will do just about anything to get their foot in the door. Including play for next to nothing. If you're one of the people doing that I have to ask you this. If the rest of us have been playing for $100 for the last 40 years without a raise, how do you think your ever going to get to that level when you're willing to play for $62.50 and driving us all down to that level?

Here's how clubs work.When you're out looking for clubs to play the owner or manager is almost always going to ask "How many people will your band draw into the club"? My answer is ZERO. I ask back how many people will be in your club if there is a crappy band playing?  The fact is people generally always go to the same watering holes. And they generally pick the one that has the best entertainment. The people who come to see me at Club X don't go to see me at Club Y.  If the people who go to Club X have seen me there before and like me they will come back when I'm there. But they generally won't leave their watering hole to come see me across town. (some will but not many).  Now if your a good band and your playing that type of club and the owner try's to lower your rate tell him to kiss off. When he hires the newbie bands with little to no experience that in general SUCK. His patrons will start to go elsewhere. He'll drive them to the next closest club with good entertainment. If he's smart he'll hire back the good bands. This is your chance to strike. The price is no longer $100 per man. It's $200. Since 1970 the price he charges for drinks has gone up by like 500%. Well guess what? All of my expenses have gone up too. And this economy making thing even worse. So we we now HAVE to raise the rate for our product just like the club owner has done with his drinks. This has to be done by all bands if we're going to keep live music alive.

Here's my new business model for a general cover band that plays local bars and night clubs. A price list you might say. Remember this is for clubs ONLY. Some owners FREAK OUT when they see this. I don't really care I'm sticking to my guns.

Book me 1 time $1500

Book me 3 times in advance (paid at each gig) = $800 per gig

Book me 6 times in advance (paid at each gig) = $550 per gig

Holidays are way more. The big ones are New Years, St Paddy's and 4th of July . Shoot for $2000 or more.

Basically what I'm saying is if you book me 6 months in advance I'm going to give you a quantity discount. But if you want me just for a 1 nighter then your gonna pay for it the same as anyone in the private sector. The same rules apply when he buys liquor.  If he buys 1 bottle he pays full price but if he buys a case he gets a discount. Why should you the Musician be any different than any other vendor?

EVERYTHING is done on a contract. Regardless of how big or small the club is. Cancel any of my bookings with less than 15 days notice and you have to pay me in full for the gig. If you book and cancel then you've taken an opportunity away from me to play somewhere else and make money. That's just not OK. Getting paid for those cancellations can be tricky. The last thing you want to do is take a club to small claims court. You will win if you have a contract but you will never play that club again or any of that owners friends clubs. So be careful what you do.

One other word of advise. Regardless of where you are, communicate in a positive manner with your band mates. Say what you mean but don't say it mean. You are a team, these are your brothers and sisters and no matter how F'd up you think they are, you picked them as band mates. So the problem is always reflected back to you. Deal with problems in a calm manner and suggest possible solutions to the issue. Trust me it will always works out better in the end. If you can't resolve your differences and you can't be nice about it, then YOU need to leave the band and find something new.

Never end your differences at a gig. NEVER!!! If you walk off stage in the middle of a gig everybody loses. But know that no one will look like a bigger a-hole than you.

GOOD LUCK

This is some great information and only one post here really got it, HAVE Fun and remember even if you have to fake it let the crowd know your having FUN.

The quickest way to not only loose the crowd but also to not get a return gig at the current place is to show either bad vibes or unprofessional ethics.

• Lighten up on the drinks, you might think you sound better but you don't
• Always refer to the audience or a neutral person and ask about the set, are they having fun; like the music etc
• Bring at the very least 2 guitars; always. I can swap a guitar string in less than a minute on a hard tail but grabbing another guitar less than 15 seconds.
• Its not a sonic battle between members, everyone should be basically at the same db level
• Finally while its cool to have a 100 watt guitar monster amp; in 30 years I have never used more than 1/4 of available power. Get a small wattage combo they are lighter and almost always better (Unless your in a metal band and you like the looks of stacks and have loads of roadies to move the crap).
• Finally and yet again; its all about having fun playing music.
  

When I was in Tops in Blues I learned something that stays with me even today. Its 75% presentation and 25% being a musician.