Band 101- Shows, Shows, Shows.

A wise actor once said there are no small parts, only small actors. The same is true when it comes to playing shows. There are no small shows. Grind that idea into your head. Every successful band started out playing to a handful of people that were probably mostly family members and friends at the coffee shop down the street or the bar that you wouldn't even suggest your worst enemy check out. One time I went to see Starflyer 59 and there was this opening band that maybe a handful of people were paying attention to. That band's name? Death Cab For Cutie. Imagine if they had gotten frustrated and stopped playing shows after that. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I heard U2's first gig was at Edge's brother's birthday party.

Unless it's one of those horrible pay to play situations (which is something I'll save for a future post), take every show you are offered. Even if no one shows up, you might impress the guy in the back doing dishes and maybe he'll buy a CD and tell 10 of his friends and now you've got 10 people coming to your next show. At the very least you should be networking with other bands which can lead to more shows and many other opportunities. So get out there and make yourself known to every venue, coffee shop, shake shack, and park bench in town. It might take awhile to get to where you want to be, but eventually you'll build up a following.

Brax.