Making A Name Locally by Christian Klepac

Christian Klepac is a writer and musician who lives and works in Seattle WA. He currently plays guitar and sings in the band Stereo Sons. He has a solo album coming soon via Tunecore.

An important goal for any emerging artist is to develop a following at home. Touring, recording, and creating a web presence are all important too, but the surest path to a viable career is building a fanbase from the ground up, starting in your own backyard. Here are some tips on getting things rolling in your hometown.

1. KNOW YOUR VENUES

A major city can have a bewildering number of live music venues, and even a small college town might have half a dozen. Before sending out your press kit or even a friendly email, get to know as much as you can about these venues. Most clubs will have a website with a show calender, though smaller ones might do this through myspace or another social networking site. Find out who's playing this month, and listen to those bands online if you can. You're looking for a venue that books your kind of act. The local heavy metal club will probably ignore a booking request from your twee indie project, or worse may unknowingly set you up for a disastrous show.

Another factor here is the size of band each venue is likely to book. If you're a fledgling singer/songwriter or rock band, you might not want to start your quest for world domination at your local big theater that specializes in high profile national touring acts. Rather, you should find the kinds of clubs that will place you in the company of other bands like yours, so you can meet each others fans and help each other out (more on this below).

2. KNOW YOUR BOOKERS

The brave men and women who book talent at your local bars and theaters are people too! Their days are spent fielding an endless stream of emails and phone calls from bands, label reps, DJs, and other folks who want something from them, not to mention the venue managers, sound and light techs, and bouncers who depend on them to do their own jobs. The best way to stand out is to treat these people with respect and try to make their lives easier.

Keep a notebook or database of local clubs and try to find out who books the ones you want to play. Your local weekly paper will often mention or profile these folks. You can also do some internet sleuthing - the venue's website may have info on the bookers, or you could write to some other bands who have played there. Bookers are often new-media savvy and may be present on Twitter and Facebook.

Note that making a connection here is not the same as stalking these people! Any booker with sufficent experience has had a run-in with a musician or agent who is a little too pushy and can't respect personal boundaries, and will instantly shut down contact with such a person. Respect is key, and if you can help out by offering to book the rest of a bill, or providing needed gear, or hand-delivering flyers to the venue, you're likely to get a good response.

3. SELL BEER

As high as your artistic aspirations may be, and as vital as it is to hang on to them, it's important to remember that when you're playing a set at a local bar, you and your bandmates are in the business of selling beer. Bands who make money for the venue get invited back and placed on better bills, those who don't, don't - it's that simple. Use every technique in your arsenal to mobilize people to attend every show. Often this means (paradoxcially) cutting your local presence down to one show a month - it's better to play once and get everyone you know out than to play five times for five people each time.

Aside from the standard and indispensable tools of flyering and mailing list promotion, try contacting your local radio stations and newspapers about your upcoming gigs - they'll often have a person on staff to handle upcoming events. Consider placing an ad in your local weekly paper, and of course keep your web presence current with blog posts and status updates to remind potential attendees about the big show.

4. JOIN YOUR SCENE

The most important step for local musicians is, for some, the hardest. If you've practiced your chops, trimmed the fat from your songs, and sent out all your social networking reminders, you might fool yourself into thinking that your job is done. It's not! Find out who the bands are in town that you want to play with, then go to their shows. Keep a personal calendar of upcoming events you want to attend. It can be expensive, but it's as vital an expense as guitar strings. At the venue, introduce yourself to your colleagues, ask about teaming up on future shows, or just hang out and have a beer. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

Again, networking is not stalking, or obsequious schmoozing. Think about the good feeling you get when someone comes up to you after a performance and genuinely wants to talk to you about mutual interests. Every musician wants this, and you can provide it to others while making new friends.
Another avenue toward joining your scene is to get involved with local music-related charities and non-profit organizations. Many of these groups put on big benefit shows, and by volunteering your time you can meet the movers and shakers while doing something good for your community.

5. DON'T FORGET TO ROCK

It's sad, but some bands get so caught up in the whirlwind of emails, phone calls and meetings with industry pros that they forget to focus on what really matters. Ultimately, a great song, a quality recording and an exciting performance are the true coin of the realm. Before you turn on the hype machine, make sure that you've created something that you are truly proud of and want to share with the world. If you find yourself getting too caught up in the surface glamour of the music world, go home, unplug your computer, lock the door and re-connect with your instrument until you remember why you decided to do all this in the first place.

Comments

[RJINTINA]

Christian, nice post - and a lot of useful information. I just wanted to comment on your Fifth point - Don't Forget to Rock, it really spoke to me. It's so easy to get caught up with all the hype from the internet fan base that a successful new band can accumulate. But all the internet social networking can be deadly if you don't get out of the house and play. If you don't remember why you got into music in the first place - you'll lose touch with your musician self and stagnate.

For me, it's always been about the music. But the internet can suck you in if you're not careful. I'm not saying don't market yourself, I guess what I'm really saying is - remember why you got into music to begin with, and just go out and do it - for the pure pleasure it brings to you and to others. This is hard lesson I'm learning, but am confident that it will bring me greater happiness in my music career.

Peace
Rj
Rjintina
www.rjintina.com