Gigs

If you are too young to DRINK there you are too young to PLAY there as far as I know.

I just got some gig tickets today in the post and on them they say stalls standing, what does this mean, will I be in the part near the stage?? It at leeds o2 academy if that helps thanks xx

Yeah, you’ll be standing (in the main bit near the stage)
Stalls just means it’s the bottom tier (as a pose to the balcony)
(:

Who gets the Gigs and the concerts to the bands? The record labels, or the booking agencies?
What does a record label do? Do they only produce the CD’s in huge quantities to sell?

a record label fronts the money for recording, mixing, mastering, publishing, promoting, marketing, and distributing of a bands album. they can also set up tours for their bands in order to help promote their albums.

if i own a punk label and have 3 bands signed, i would contact venues that hold punk shows and try to book shows and start a tour for my artists. this way we can get our music out across the country, as well as sell records and make money. when you add band and label merch to the tour as well, there is a decent amount of money that can be made, especially if the artists are talented and popular.

anyone can book a show. if my friends band is ready to play shows, they can call venues or even i could call venues at set up a show. granted its harder for newer artists. the venue wants people that can draw a crowd so they can make money off of drinks and things.

a lot of independent bands will call and set up their own tours. if there is a good enough market for your genre and people that want to see you, anyone can start a tour or at least book one show. but you can’t expect to book a show at madison square garden if you can’t even sell out the hotel bar venue.

Im looking for free events and etc in London for Teenagers. Are there any websites for free events, let me know. Thanks

There is always something going on, you just need to know where to look:

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?show=FREE

You can also look in your local paper/school/college notice boards, either online or on compus )

my band is planning on going on tour soon. Right now, we prefer to use multiple cars to go on gigs, and thats what we did on the last tour we went on, but im starting to think that we should invest money into a real touring vehicle. My mom has a 2003ish toyota sienna (v6, 270ish hp and 270ish ftlb torque) that weve used to go to gigs in a single car, but i dont know if that would suffice for a tour (she said i could use it). Money is somewhat of an object, i dont have an unlimited fund, but i think between the 4 of us we could scrounge up a pretty penny. we’re also thinking about another guitarist. anyway, the things ive been looking at are
trailers: itll carry the gear well but theyre a pain in the ass to drive with and easy to come loose or steal.
Pickup truckes: i would probably get a used toyota tundra or nissan titan, those being hte most reliable and inexpensive trucks. I would add a shell to the bed, and maybe pull a trailer.
Ford e-350/Dodge sprinter/chevy express: i dont really know much about these, but ive seen them while out on tour and theyre pretty common for bands.
rent a u-haul for a really long time?: i know nothing about u-haul….
Large SUV, like a chevy suburban, nissan armada, or ford expedition: would be very expensive, but might be worth it. Probably gets the best mileage of the bunch.

anyway, id love to hear some opinions, so thanks.

oh right, stuff were planning on taking (weights are rounded up);
2 half stacks, plus an extra head, 350 lbs (heads are in cases)
1 bass 2×12 and a preamp (plug straight into the PA, albout 50 lbs)
4 guitars, 2 basses. (lightweight hard cases, about 100 lbs total)
5 piece drum kit, with 5 cymbals, hi hat counts as 1
1 microphone (we can probably leave this behind, its just to look cool)
not a whole lot of merch
personal affects. We don’t have alot of pedals or cables or anything, but we’re keeping our pedals, wireless, cables, and other stuff in our bags. We are limited to small duffle bags (think PE class in high school) for clothes and whatnot.

any and all opinions are appreciated, provided they pertain to the question.
i forgot to mention, for the trucks, it would be a crew cab. that is to say, a very large truck. The kind that exists in no country except for america here were so insecure about ourselves :]. i know that that can comfortably fit 5 people, i just dont know if theres enough room in back for all the stuff. If i get a trailer wit ha truck, then we even have a place to sleep.
i really hope that one dude responds; the reason i didn’t add an RV is because i dont know shit about them. Like, what is the cost and stuff? i dont even know any RV marques (except like…winnebago…thats an RV right?) so i dont know where to look online.also, it seems like it would overkill. I mean yeah, itd be comfortable compared to what weve done in the past, but also if that shit breaks down then were pretty much screwed right? RV’s are not easy to fix, i know enough automotive to know that. I can do basic reparis, but i have this feeling that basic doesnt exist with those behemoths

1960 VW Bus

seriously though – you would be better off with a van.

I was at Reading Festival a couple of weeks back.

Muse, Wembley Stadium.

easily one of the most EPICEST things I’ve ever seen.

I really enjoy singing, and have sung for the past 8 years (except for about a year when I had some severe vocal cord problems). My style is generally alternative/pop/folksy (kind of like Missy Higgins or Sarah Blasko)I really want to get some performance experience because I’m doing HSC music, specialising in performance and composition. For the past six months I’ve been trying to get a group of people from my school together to start a band but either people aren’t interested, or they have their own bands/other commitments. I want to look outside my school but don’t really know where to begin.
I also want to get performance experience at Triple J-based functions, or something similar. I considered entering Unearthed High last year but didn’t know if they’d accept my entry because I didn’t have a band. I got some gig offers from ReverbNation last year, but they were all to perform in the United States, which is obviously out of the question at the moment (I’m in Sydney). I also thought of maybe getting a job as a bar singer, but would I have to be over 18 for that?
If someone could give me some advice on:
1. How to find band members the same age as me (or similar – gender is not a problem), and in my area.
2. How to get performance opportunities (i.e. Triple J-based concerts – not majorly important ones like Homebake or anything, I mean all-ages gigs, small functions etc., sports matches, other functions etc.)
3. How old you need to be to get a job as a bar singer.
@Laura, last year when they announced there was going to be X factor in Australia, I considered it, but after seeing the songs Kyle Sandilands chose for that kid Mitchell (i.e. choosing Justin Bieber for him), who had such an interesting, distinctive voice, I instantly decided I didn’t want to go on it. I prefer to be in control of my song choices, and generally sing my own original songs.

well in london they have something called live and unsigned.
they must have something like that in australia.

im 13 and my friend does, and she’s invited me a few times and i’ve always turned her down. do most ppl do it, or should i start to be a bit more confident?

I think thirteen is a little young.
I’m fifteen and I still get my dad to drive me to gigs, even if he doesn’t go inside. You haven’t really stated the travel, but I think when you get a little older, you’ll be okay.
It also depends on the genre of the band.
For example, something like Girls Aloud would be quite a calm gig.
Something heavy, like Lamb of God (first thing that popped into my head hehe), would be quite rough and tumble.

Mark Christopher Band is a group with fine equal mixture of blues, rock and jazz. They are a guitar driven machine, or as Phillip says, "A different kind of blues with a kick!: To put a label on it, it’s a modern type of blues with high energy, not normal blues, more like high end blues. The band is guitars, bass, drums and keyboard, along with lead and background vocals. They’ve been playing out together for some time now.

Mark Christopher Band knows that In these times of the explosion of the Internet there is plenty of room for anyone to make it in the music business, play the clubs, cut a record, and even have some fun. But what makes musicians want to do it? According to Phillip Friedland, bass player for the edgy rock jazz band MARK CHRISTOPHER BAND, "I can’t get the music out of my soul," says Friedland, who also works a full time 9 – 5 job. "I need an outlet. It’s like eating, drinking, exercising, sleeping and breathing. I need to express my self creatively," he adds.

My Dad lives in Wales and was coming to meet me in London to see the Pogues. Unfortunately, the coach he’s taking hasn’t arrived and probably won’t be meeting me now.

He has the tickets. If he rang the venue explaining the situation, would they allow me to still go with all the correct information?

Thanks. Its today and I’m GUTTED.

Get your dad to phone the company he bought the tickets off, to see if they can email confirmation to him or you. Some ticket companies actually give you the option of printing off your own tickets, rather than relying on the post. You get an email with the tickets in an attachment, and you just print them off. That might work?