advice and opinions wanted.

[PABassPlayer]

I'm not sure how it might work in other states/countries, but here is a situation that my band is in right now.

We are being "looked at" by a local management company. We have always done our own booking and managed ourselves. In this area all the "A rooms" are management booked only. So if you don't get management, you are destined to play B, C or D rooms the whole time. They are the only clubs you can walk into and sell yourself.

So here is the dilemma, when you sign with management you basically lose all your "artistic freedoms". Sure, you get to play in the best rooms the city has to offer, but they can tell you what songs to play, what clothes to wear and I have talked to some managed bands that have told me that the drummer has to play to a click track so they can't "improvise" anything. We are alot more edgy than the average club bands, but they have approached us. So first, is the scene like this elsewhere, and second, would you compromise your show, songs and integrity to play larger A room clubs?

[whitemike]

In short, no. Stick to your own style man. Tell the management to fuck themselves if they aren't letting you be the band they are signin in the first place. I'd rather stick to my own shit and keep a small local, loyal following than be some flash in the pan that everyone realises shot to popularity via clever marketing and being molested by current trends.

[BassPhemy]

Tell them you do things your way or they can go fuck themselves, and proceed to tear shit up on stage even more.

[Pfl?yd]

Management involves contracts and telling them to "fuck themselves" breaches that contract and sets you up for legal liability, an ugly situation you want no part of if you take playing music seriously.

I'd say "fuck that". I'm an artist first and foremost and no one will have a hand in telling me how my art is presented. The types of places that you could get into by having management are also the type of places I wouldn't be caught dead playing.

[PABassPlayer]

Management involves contracts and telling them to "fuck themselves" breaches that contract and sets you up for legal liability, an ugly situation you want no part of if you take playing music seriously.

I'd say "fuck that". I'm an artist first and foremost and no one will have a hand in telling me how my art is presented. The types of places that you could get into by having management are also the type of places I wouldn't be caught dead playing.

just out of curiousity, what part of the world do you hail from, just wondering if it has the same political bullshit.

[croninburg]

Don't do it. Do your thing in the clubs where you can be yourself, if you're good then word of mouth will do the work for you. If you build up a good reputation, people will go to see you regardless of where you play.

[SuicideNote]

Real bands have managers. If you want to be big time you will need management. If they are good managers they will tell you how to dress, act and tailor your music to market to the biggest audience and get the most exposure. If you don't want exposure and want to remain small time don't hire a manager. Your job as a musician is to play music and focus on playing the best that you can (as a band). The manager's job is to book gigs, promote your band and arrange payments from the clubs that you play at.

When you agree to sign with a management company make sure that their cut is less than 20%. Also in the terms of the contract, you'll want to require them to book a certian number of paying gigs per time period. Say 4-5 per month, or whatever. If they fail to get you the gigs then you will have the opportunity to find new management.

That's my opinion. For others' check out getsigned.com or some other sites like that.

[PABassPlayer]

We are hoping the fact that they are soliciting us, rather us soliciting them that it might give us some leverage. There is a buzz around our band for the last few months in the small rooms that we are pulling pretty decent crowds and I think some of the bigger clubs are hearing it. While it is flattering to have one of Phillys largest management companies call me, it is also a big decision. If we decide to do this and fuck it up, we will never get another chance like this.

I go out and see these "cookie cutter" managed bands that the members rotate from one to the next and don't even miss a show because the members are interchangable. They are all playing the same shitty music, and all managed by the same companies. I'd like to think that our band will break that mold. That there is a "target" audience for our music. We have picked up a following of about 30 to 40 regulars every show. So what we have to do is start a new trend within the management company, probably a fat chance of that happening.

Anyway, we play a showcase in March for the management rep. I guess we'll see how that goes and negotiate from there.

[PABassPlayer]

I know there is alot of shit in here, but it makes us appeal to "our crowd"
This is our current song list. tell me what you think. I won't be offended, I'm not in love with all of these songs either, but someone in the band is, so se play them. We try and put 2 or 3 new songs a month and rotate out 2 or 3 to keep things fresh.


Pearl Jam - Black
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Seether - Remedy
Stone Temple Pilots - Sex Type Thing
Metallica - Creeping Death
Metallica - Fade to Black
Metallica - Bell Tolls
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Godsmack - Whatever
Godsmack - Keep Away
Godsmack - Bad Religion
Korn - Blind
Korn - Falling Away From Me
Poison - Every Rose Has a Thorn
Fuel - Hemorrhage
Nickelback - Figured You Out
Ramones - Sedated
Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
Lit - My Own Worse Enemy
Bush - Machine Head
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Black Sabbath - NIB
Velvet Revolver - Slither
Disturbed - Sickness/Stupify
System Of A Down - Aerials
System Of A Down - Toxicity
Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff
3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
Staind - Mudshuvel
Alice In Chains - Man In The Box
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
Ozzy Osbourne - Flying High Again
Pantera - Walk
Pantera - Cemetery Gates
Pantera - Mouth for War
Iron Maiden - The Trooper
Slipknot - Duality
Candlebox - Far Behind
Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction
Danzig - Mother
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
Judas Priest - You Got Another Thing Coming
Ratt - Round and Round
Kiss - Cold Gin
Motley Crue - Helter Skelter
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
Aerosmith - Walk This Way
Aerosmith - Train kept-a-Rollin'
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name Of

[SuicideNote]

Umm, so you are a cover band? I wouldn't worry about all of that cookie cutter stuff you were talking about. If you play cover songs, there are no less than 100,000 people in Philly/Jersey that could play in your band. Since you do play covers you should be doing whatever you possibly can to get more people to your shows, cut your hair, fire the lead singer for someone who's more attractive and can get chicks, that kind of thing.

[PABassPlayer]

Umm, so you are a cover band? I wouldn't worry about all of that cookie cutter stuff you were talking about. If you play cover songs, there are no less than 100,000 people in Philly/Jersey that could play in your band. Since you do play covers you should be doing whatever you possibly can to get more people to your shows, cut your hair, fire the lead singer for someone who's more attractive and can get chicks, that kind of thing.

already did that, but I refuse to play American Girl, Blister In the Sun, American Idiot and Pink Houses because some agent says "thats what the people want to hear". I know the people...and that's bullshit

(My original project is a studio project. We haven't played out yet.
We're a bunch of perfectionists)

[SuicideNote]

Umm, so you are a cover band? I wouldn't worry about all of that cookie cutter stuff you were talking about. If you play cover songs, there are no less than 100,000 people in Philly/Jersey that could play in your band. Since you do play covers you should be doing whatever you possibly can to get more people to your shows, cut your hair, fire the lead singer for someone who's more attractive and can get chicks, that kind of thing.

already did that, but I refuse to play American Girl, Blister In the Sun, American Idiot and Pink Houses because some agent says "thats what the people want to hear". I know the people...and that's bullshit

(My original project is a studio project. We haven't played out yet.
We're a bunch of perfectionists)

Do you have any samples of your original music? I'd like to hear 'em.

[PABassPlayer]

http://broadjam.com/

go to search, and put in
song name: Pretty Miss Mess
Band name: The Defiance
Drums are a drum machine, it has been redone with
a drummer, and re mastered, but you get the idea
of the tune.

[PABassPlayer]

http://broadjam.com/

go to search, and put in
song name: Pretty Miss Mess
Band name: The Defiance
Drums are a drum machine, it has been redone with
a drummer, and re mastered, but you get the idea
of the tune.

I should mention that I am not the writer of the music or the lyrics.
I am just the bass player in the project. I don't want to take credit that isn't mine.

[SuicideNote]

That song sounds pretty good, audio quality is great.

[PABassPlayer]

That song sounds pretty good, audio quality is great.

Its the guitar players home studio.
Ironically, the band consists of all members of different cover bands in the area. If anything comes of it, we'll go to a pro studio of coarse.

[Pfl?yd]

Management involves contracts and telling them to "fuck themselves" breaches that contract and sets you up for legal liability, an ugly situation you want no part of if you take playing music seriously.

I'd say "fuck that". I'm an artist first and foremost and no one will have a hand in telling me how my art is presented. The types of places that you could get into by having management are also the type of places I wouldn't be caught dead playing.

just out of curiousity, what part of the world do you hail from, just wondering if it has the same political bullshit.

Outside of Pittsburgh, but I live in Omaha now.

If you're in a cover band, then artistic merit isn't a priority anyway. You're just in it for money and, as such, should be approaching it from a business standpoint which is "What brings in the most profit?" Even if you have to play Violent Femmes tunes it should be enough of a boon to your income to make a small personal compromise.

[whitemike]

http://broadjam.com/

go to search, and put in
song name: Pretty Miss Mess
Band name: The Defiance
Drums are a drum machine, it has been redone with
a drummer, and re mastered, but you get the idea
of the tune.

That's cool, kind of like down. Good shit

[Revolver]

Ramones - Sedated

Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name Of

[S]

cover bands are for assholes and pedophiles

[PABassPlayer]

Well, I met with the agent last night (which by the way, she's super hot) We booked 2 nights in one of Phillys B+ rooms, so they can see what kind of crowd we draw. The only thing she asked is "you guys don't wear leather pants and shiney shirts do you"
Anyway, we'll have to see how it goes, if we get a good crowd and make the bar money, then I guess they can't make unreasonable demands of us. ie: what songs to play, what clothes to wear (gonna have to kill a steer and get me some leather pants!)

[SuicideNote]

Post pics of gigs and hot manager.

[Firestorm]

Post pics of gigs and hot manager.

now

[PABassPlayer]

quote of the night, after practice we went to see our booking agents acoustic show. One of our good friends... "Dude, I'm fucking your booking agent"

by the way...I'm trashed!!!!

[Bukkake Tsunami]

do your own shit and fuck the management. music is an art not a business.

[Chewbacca]

If your in a covers band then what the fuck do you give a shit about "artistic freedom" for? Just fuckin sign, cut your hair (if you have any?), put on your baggy jeans, don the gay'ist guitar you can find and you will no longer be cast out to play the seedy little metal bars in your slum, but soon to be playing the "A" venues like Madison Square Garden.

[PABassPlayer]

I know we are nothing more than a "live juke box".
I'm way past the "make it rich with my own music" phase, but I love to play.
At least this gives me the opportunity to still play.
I play originals in another project (as I said before) I just don't
have the time that it takes to really shop it round and "sell the product".

[Browns Town]

http://broadjam.com/

go to search, and put in
song name: Pretty Miss Mess
Band name: The Defiance
Drums are a drum machine, it has been redone with
a drummer, and re mastered, but you get the idea
of the tune.

Not bad dude.

[\m/vulgar\m/]

http://broadjam.com/

go to search, and put in
song name: Pretty Miss Mess
Band name: The Defiance
Drums are a drum machine, it has been redone with
a drummer, and re mastered, but you get the idea
of the tune.

Not bad dude.

sweet tune dude...kinda reminds me of down alittle bit man...again...sweet tune \m/

[PABassPlayer]

...and the plot thickens

Well, it looks like we have already been screwed by the management co.
There is a bar franchise in the area (5 locations) and they booked us at one that was quite far from our area, but it was St. Pattys night, so we figured that there would be a crowd there no matter what. They contacted me and told me they were opening another place closer to us and thought it would be a good idea to play there instead because we would draw our following as well as the regular St Pattys crowd. We agreed.

Last night I stopped at the place and talked to the manager, while the place is finished, they still have not had the inspectors come in to give the ok to open. They are hoping for wed, but have no idea if they are even going to be open this friday (St Pattys) If not, we lost a show because they have already booked a band in the original location we were supposed to play. Worst part, we can't really bitch about it because we still have another show booked with them the following week at a even bigger club and we don't want to lose that one.

This whole deal is starting off bad.

[Bob Heebert]

what you should do is play along with their shittyness, until you get some class A recognition, but be planning your own shit thats good, and blow the audiences mind away one gig when you have a large audience, this should spread the word about your band, and it would royaly piss off the management co.

[Eyemaster]

I dunno man, somehow it seems to me, that the management isn't always telling you what to do, but that doesn't make it shitty. Just look at Pantera - i mean, what they did in 10 years, with the management never telling them what to do, what to wear, or what popshit to play, and don't tell me that they've done less than, i don't know, Metallica, whatever, by NOT selling themselves to managements n' shit, don't you think?

I mean, for example, look at their fucking tour manager Guy - he's drunk all the fucking time, and did they miss a show, did they ever not get on a stege where they were s'posed to?

The thing about this is that you don't always have to have a cool manager to be cool yourself...

[trendkiller]

post mp3's of your band

[trendkiller]

The cd player thing on your site is impossible to use

[Firestorm]

The cd player thing on your site is impossible to use

[DeathSion]

I have talked to some managed bands that have told me that the drummer has to play to a click track so they can't "improvise" anything.

How does playing to a click track make it to where you can't improvise?

[PABassPlayer]

The cd player thing on your site is impossible to use

It doesn't work, because there is nothing there yet.

We're still in the studio, I have some rough cut stuff that still needs to be mastered (was in the studio til 12:00 last night finishing vocals)
If you pm your e-mail I'll send you a few. (just have to convert to mp3 first)

[PABassPlayer]

I have talked to some managed bands that have told me that the drummer has to play to a click track so they can't "improvise" anything.

How does playing to a click track make it to where you can't improvise?

that should be play to a click track "and" can't improvise.
They want songs structured, no deviation from the original.

[trendkiller]

Sign up if it'll get you better gigs. Cover bands dont have much artistic freedom to lose

[yousucks]

SHUT UP fascist.. you are the worst shit in this board.

racist doode.. you sucks

Sign up if it'll get you better gigs. Cover bands dont have much artistic freedom to lose