I’ve dealt with it all and I’ve seen it all. So I know these things with my past experiences of trying to get gigs. So you’re a band or a solo acoustic artist, trying to get gigs at venues around the scene and having a hard time trying to get gigs? There are several reasons why this could be.
1) You don’t have a large enough fanbase – (if you don’t have enough draw, you don’t get a gig. The only thing venues care about these days are pulling people in ’cause all they care about is making money. They don’t care whether you’re good or bad at playing music, they won’t book you unless you have a big following)
2) Their egos and bad attitudes can get in the way – (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dealt with this, when asking for a gig. I’ve gotten really rude responses back by some of them, sometimes tempers even flare in a back and forth e-mail chat, when all you wanted was a gig, and they seem to enjoy giving bands a hard time ’cause a booking agent at a venue wants to think they are better than us)
3) They are amateurs about booking bands and don’t have much experience or knowledge dealing with them – (Bands & musicians are more professional acting than anybody, but the way some of these guys book bands at the venues are absolutely horrible. Disorganized, unprofessional and half of them don’t even know what they’re doing)
4) A lot of them focus on the popularity of a band/artist, rather than the talent – (As explained in No. 1, this one is a little different. The talent of a musician or band is usually ignored. There are so many unpopular talented bands & artists around here who struggle to get gigs. Just because a band isn’t popular doesn’t mean they suck. Remember that. There are venues that are appreciative of music and will book bands & artists ’cause they are talented, but we need more of that around here)
5) They are usually terrible at giving information on things (If you want to know stuff about payment, whether they provide P.A. System or not, how long your set is, directions to the venue, etc. They usually get too confusing about this stuff. If you’re going to be in charge of the booking at a venue, and you don’t know this stuff, then you’re not qualified to be in charge of booking, SORRY!)
6) They are getting strict on handling booking online or by phone these days (Since the internet is getting so huge and wide today, the venues try to do whatever it takes to avoid a flood of booking requests. I’m sure they get overwhelmed by the large number of phone calls or e-mails they get. They only answer phones at a certain time and most of the e-mails, don’t get answered)
I can keep going but those several is what I can come up with. I’ve had a hard time booking gigs over the years, as I’ve been turned down by plenty of venues. The way I always get gigs, is that either I would ask for a band to get on a show, or they would ask me to play on one. That’s how I usually continue to play the same venue that way.
There are a few venues that actually accepted my request to book a show with them, though, like Slow Jed’s, Lena’s and maybe a few others, but most gigs I either asked to be on or I was asked to be a part of it.
The booking around here is bullshit, for sure. Can’t deny that. Although, I have a feeling that when I start getting back out there playing live, I’ll start experiencing these things again.
Kev
K'Brocking 
Unfortunately, you have already established yourself in the community and have a reputation. I suspect that you are getting negative responses based on that. Also, you really can’t blame a venue for not booking an artist that isn’t going to draw. Why should they have to put up with having no people on a night, which in turn costs them money, if they can book an act that WILL draw a crowd and MAKE them money?
I understand venues need to make money to keep the business going, ’cause business is business, but they need to show the bands & artists a little more respect, and be a little more professional to them.
Kev
I see, but you’re number one point is speaking about exactly what I just mentioned…. seems like maybe you expect a booking even if they know you’ll draw no crowd, or worse, empty out the joint.
I’ve had plenty of venues in the past turn me down ’cause they thought I couldn’t draw and even tried explaining to them, that I could. I guess I need to market myself better and promote myself more which is getting worked on. If they think I suck and think I don’t have what it takes, fuck ’em. Move along to the next venue that will hopefully accept you. I guess that’s the name of the game being a musician. Go through all the bad venues until you find the good one that will respect you.
But, I’m sure all bands goes through the same stuff I listed above. I’m sure I’m not alone.
Kev
if a solo performer or a band is REALLY looking for gigs, they will go to open mics so that they get to play in front of a crowd and possibly in front of the person who books the place. it’s not hard to do. and the truth of it is: good solo performers/bands get booked – band ones don’t. sometimes rejection is protection. the booker of the establishment knows what works in their room. getting gigs isn’t hard.
No I think you’re alone. Younger bands that are just starting out have this issue too, but you’ve been around for about 10 years. You should have enough of a fan base by now to draw a crowd. But as Butters said, your reputation preceeds you.
I’m positive other bands go through with it, even the established and well known bands. You see bands complaining about the way venues book shows in forums and craigslist, all the time.
Kev
If you can’t book a show then you are not marketing yourself enough. It’s your fault plain and simple. That goes for you or any other established band. Go market yourself like any other successful musician does. Having a controversial blog is not going to get you fans or shows. Network, network, network with headlining bands and venue owners. Hand out free demos to everyone you meet. Let people download your music for free. Play in other bands. See what I’m getting at? Stop complaining, get off the Internet, stop criticising venues and musicians out of jealousy, and go out and make some friends that can influence where you play out. You’ve had at least 10 years to do this.
I don’t understand why some people out there keep thinking my blog is hurting my music. It’s not. It doesn’t hurt a thing and I think my blog just helps my music even more, no matter how controversial I get. Me being a controversial blogger, is a small part of how I got myself out there in the past. Whatever though, people are entitled to their own opinions.
I do agree with you though, that I need to promote myself and market myself better, which is getting worked on. That is why I re-designed my site, and why I have more social media pages like a facebook fan page for my music, twitter, youtube, etc.
I’m always going to be real and honest about the local music scene though. It’s not out of jealousy either. Be real about music, is good for yourself as a person and for your music. I don’t see how it can hurt anything. I plan on getting myself back out there soon. I’ll be writing new songs again and hopefully get back to playing gigs again in 2013. I know how to book shows and get myself out there. I used to play out regularly all the time. I’ll market myself a lot better next time around.
Kev
I’m not saying you need to quit blogging. What I’m saying is that blogging is your main thing instead of marketing and networking, and that stategy is not going to get you gigs. Redesign your site all you want…put a genie on it that grants wishes…it’s not going to help that much. The social media sites are a great idea. Now go to shows and make friends. Play every open mic you can get to every week. Your criticism of local venues and musicians can have no other cause other than jealousy.
Have you ever seen that old skit of Dave Chappelle “when keeping it real goes wrong?” That’s what you’re doing to your music career.
Even if a band is terrible, they’ve got friends. If those friends are venue managers then kiss your chances at playing the venue goodbye. You confuse free speech with responsible speech. For example I have the right to call my boss a jerk over Facebook, but if he sees it I’m probably going to get fired. My mouth would get me in trouble, just as yours does. Your misfortune is your own doing. Plus you’re a lazy marketer. All this is your fault.
No offense. I’m just keeping it real, like you do.
My blogging is not just my main thing. I have some supporters and fans of my music, both at the same time. There are people that support my blog and not my music, there are people that support my music and not my blog, or both at the same time. I’m happy with either.
It’s okay to be honest and real about bands & venues as long as you don’t talk about them by full name. I made that mistake in the past before and got some bad karma out of it, won’t make that mistake again. If you don’t talk about them by full name, then your reputation will be fine. You won’t get a backlash on the internet for it, and you won’t get banned from clubs, and all that stuff.
The stuff your saying about my blogging skills is your opinion, dude. I’ve got people out there that enjoy everything I do and don’t take it seriously, they know it’s just the internet. Oh, and when I criticize bands & venues, it’s not about jealousy at all ’cause there’s nothing to be jealous about.
You have to be real about stuff if you want to go somewhere with your music. Would you rather want to be the real person or a fake liar just to be friendly at everything? I’d prefer to be a realist. Nothing wrong with it.
Kev
On top all of this, I don’t see how my blog is controversial to begin with. It’s no different than all other blogs on the internet.
Kev