www.myspace.com/southshoremuse
Congratulations to Six Foot Sunday!
CAPE's MOST DANGEROUS BAND!
Sundancers, West Dennis, MA
Staff:
The Muse- founder, webmaster
Finn Maguire- writer
SHANNON GRANT- PHOTOGRAPHER
SouthShoreMuse.com is a non-profit network created for musicians by musicians!
SouthShoreMuse.com is sponsored by BANDZOOGLE!
"So easy even your drummer can do it!"
Would you like to advertise on SouthShoreMuse.com?
E-mail us for information.
Join the SouthShoreMuse.com street team and get listed as one of our staff members. Now accepting positions for Street Team Leader:
Your job:
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Help bands post their gigs on the calendar
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Help spread the word about SouthShoreMuse.com at gigs and on myspace.
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Report local band news for weekly/monthly newsletters
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Anything else you think will help local musicians
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Of course- this is a non-profit website so your payment would be knowing you helped a musician/band and continued supporting live music :) What's better than that??? E-mail me if you'd like to apply for SSM Street Team Leader
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Review
Great review of the Hands Off Love Affair posted under Reviews! Click here to read!
Onslaught Entertainment
Onslaught Entertainment offered us the perfect solution, while booking us a great gig at Bill's Bar on Lansdowne Street in Boston. With no money paid upfront, we were given 60 tickets to sell well-in-advance, and a website through which our fans could purchase tickets online through a secure server. On the day of the show, money from ticket sales and unsold tickets would be returned to the club. The band would receive a profit for every patron that said they were there to see the band on the day of the show. Onslaught Entertainment didn't pressure us into selling all the tickets. In fact, we were simply told "just sell as many as you can." But, obviously, if you want to play this club again, you would have to have a good draw and bring people to the club. That goes without saying. Venues and promoters need to earn money. If your band doesn't bring them business, why should they hire you?
My biggest concern with playing a new venue (especially for the door) is that there is an honest staff member taking inventory of the fans for each band. Like many of you, I have had experiences with dishonest door people and booking agents. However, at Bill's Bar, and through Onslaught Entertainment, I was tremendously impressed with the accuracy of the head count and professionalism of the staff. I was positive that each fan was accounted for. At the end of the night, and thankfully after a great turn-out, the band was given their fair share from the door, thanked, and offered more business in the future.
If you are an original or tribute band interested in booking any of these clubs, SouthShoreMuse.com believes you will have a very positive experience working with Lionel from Onslaught Entertainment! Lionel was a pleasure to work with and we have absolutely no complaints what-so-ever! We look forward to doing business with him again.
Onslaught Entertainment is/has worked with:
BILL'S BAR
MIDDLE EAST (upstairs)
MIDDLE EAST (downstairs)
AXIS
AVALON
PARADISE ROCK CLUB
PARADISE LOUNGE
GREAT SCOTT
TOMMY DOYLES
and
COPPERFIELD'S
Onslaught Entertainment is an independent booking, promotions and production agency based in Boston, MA. They work directly with Artists, Venues and other Entertainment Industry professionals on both a local and national level.
CONTACT INFO:
AOL IM: onslaughtenter
Email: onslaughtpromo@yahoo.com
October 17, 2007
Yes, the blogging has returned....
I use to spend a lot of time blogging (i.e. rambling) about the music scene on the South Shore. In fact, thanks to you folks, I was even selected as the "South of Boston Blogger" by the Old Colony Memorial. After a few more blogs, I decided to take some time to clear my head, and focus on my own personal music direction. And wow, a lot has changed in one year.
I'm so happy to be performing original music once again. After about four years in the cover band circuit, my heart kept telling me that it was time to pick up the pen and paper once again, and write some songs with an original band. So I did! Since then, I've been having so much fun playing the local and Boston club scenes during the last five months. And, I have noted quite a few changes.
I thought I'd share some with you....
1. The venues that once only opened their doors to cover bands, are now soliciting original acts for their establishments. At one time, that was unheard of unless you were a national act or brought over 200 heads. Local venues are now willing to give original songwriters and bands a chance to perform. Take advantage of these local places. Build your following at your home base and try to take new local fans with you into the city! As long as you can bring people, local venues seem to be open to all genres of original music these days.
2. The club scene in Boston is getting smaller. Small clubs like the Skybar in Somerville, and larger venues like Axis, have closed their doors forever. What does this mean? It means that the competition to get gigs is stronger than ever. Many places have one booking agent that not only books their club, but also books all the surrounding clubs. So, if you are not in with that agent, you're not playing those clubs. For example, a very popular booking agent is not only booking the Middle East, but also Bill's Bar, and Avalon etc.
(If you don't know who he is, I suggest you do your homework or you are not meeting the right people.) That also means that if you burn your bridges with that one agent, you could quickly run out of places to play in the city. It's a scary thought. Promote, stay professional, and always remember to say thank-you!
3. The "Pay to Play" game is back and stronger than ever. Many bands are jumping on the "sell tickets to open for a national" band-wagon. Although, you could potential earn lots of exposure, you may also find yourself broke and in a less than desirable time-slot. Think twice before you pay to play. Can you really sell those tickets? Do you really think people won't know you paid to play? They will. Especially industry people. Although, there may be a great opportunity to play with some nationals, you need to think about your bands financial situation. Do you have a CD, pro-photos, great gear? If not, you may want to spend your money elsewhere.
4. No one has a website anymore! The days of websites seem to be long gone, thanks to Myspace and Facebook. Hardly anyone has a .com or a .net anymore since you can build one easily and for free on these networking sites. But what happens if your account gets hacked and you loose all your contacts? What happens when a new reality show airs and they want your URL? What happens when an industry rep wants to see your website? You need to consider these things. If you don't have a website, you don't look professional. Get one. And, if you desire, continue using myspace or facebook to direct people there. If you don't know how to set up a webpage, try our sponsor, Bandzoogle.com. It's as easy as using a word processor. Or, contact me and I'll build one for you at a very reasonable price.
5. I've also noticed that many "cover band venues" are now booking bands that are playing modern rock and heavier music. Long gone are the days of "Brown Eyed Girl"! You can finally play some hard rock again!
Turn in your open chords for some power chords and start shredding!
6. All the venues are finally promoting their events! I can't believe it! I'm receiving e-mails from all types of bars informing me of their calendar. This is great! A few years ago, the only promotion was hearing their calendar on the radio the night of the show. If you were lucky, it would be in the paper too. Now, club owners and management have joined the modern world of technology and they are promoting. Send them your digital flyers! Most clubs will promote with you.
7. The sound systems at the clubs are improving. When I was in my original band back in 1999-2001, the sound systems were pretty awful. Not anymore! Well, with a few exceptionsof course. For example, we played a gig at Goodtimes Emporium in Somerville a few months ago. The venue provided pro-sound, 5 large plasma TVs which projected your performance, and an incredible stage and lighting. This place would be the perfect venue to have a video shoot!
8. The pay is going back up! Many of you have noticed that there was a huge decline in the pay for local cover bands after 2004. Blame it on the economy, blame it on the crowd, blame it on the band....whatever! Well, after speaking with many of my local friends that perform in both cover and original bands, it seems quite clear that the club owners are getting more confident in paying the bands with the hopes of a financial return. Double-check your asking price with some of your peers. You may be able to up the price. But, be careful. If your band isn't drawing, a higher asking price could be the end of your days at that venue.
9. Recording has become more affordable! New recording studios such as Orange Freeze in Kingston and Mad Oak in Allston have made recording much more affordable than it had been in years past. Why? They are competing with all the home studios that have invested all their money on mediocre software and recording gear. But, think twice before you invest in a home studio. If you are a novice, or even an intermediate engineer, you may spend more money than you would in a pro-studio and end up with an awful recording in return. Trust me...I've heard so many awful demos from bands that have spent 100s of hours and thousands of dollars on their home recording. Is it worth it? That's up to you to decide. Now, many venues such as Club Aurora in Taunton will provide you with a live recording after your show. Give that a shot if you need something just to listen to. After all, it's free.
10. Bands are not investing in a pro-photographer. Now that everyone has digital cameras, bands are taking on the task of photography themselves. Or, they are having their girlfriend take the picture. YOUR PHOTO REPRESENTS YOUR BAND JUST AS MUCH AS YOUR MUSIC! You will never look professional in your cover or original band, if your press pack is sporting a photo taken by a 10 dollar camera while the protographer is standing in the middle of a crowd. If you are on a budget, check out Shannon Grant- the official photographer of South Shore Muse! Her photo of Rich Cronin was recently featured in People Magazine! Depending on her monthly special, you can probably get 100s of photos for around $150. Go to www.southshoremuse.com/photography for some examples.
Ok, well...I'm finished for now. I'll be back next week with some more thoughts. Feel free to respond to any of my blogs, but please remember to keep it clean and be respectful to other members opinions.
"We're all in this together"- Just Plain Folks
Have a great gig!
The Muse
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