One-Sports, Bridge of Don.

[One-Sport]

Hi there,

My work, One-Sports in Bridge of Don, are basically letting me take control of the music area of things and I am trying to get bands to play on Sunday nights, starting on the 22nd which would go on for about 4 weeks. Depending how successful these band nights are, this may become a regular thing.

We are looking for any bands that would like to play on these nights. Some publicity would be arranged too. This is a great opportunity for new bands, as it gives them extra experience.

We do not have our own equipment, obviously as this is just a new thing, so you guys would have to get your stuff here.

If you are interested or would like further information then give me a call at work (01224 828288) or message me on here or via aol or hotmail (gigglemunch@aol.com, crow_catcher@hotmail.com).

Hayley (nastylittlemidget).

(Also, any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated!)

[Cloud]

What kind of advice would you like? I know a bit about putting on gigs in places like that - mainly how hard it is to get anyone through the door :|

Feel free to message/email me on MSN if you want - my address is mikey316@hotmail.com.

[One-Sport]

Just basically anything that you think may help, I'm a first-timer with this kind of thing and don't really know what to expect. I understand that one draw-back is us not having any equipment to offer for bands, but storage for their equipment shouldn't be a problem.

I was asked about genre's/types of bands to play. Obviously for somewhere that plays pop music all the time over the main stereo, then a hardcore band isn't really going to appeal to a lot of our customers, whereas a lot do listen to indie bands.

Personally, I would love for any band to play but, I have been told that the manager "must be able to understand what is being sang", so screamo vocals is a no.

I am aware that there are a lot of younger people who travel from Bridge of Don and surrounding into town a lot, so hopefully this would appeal to them.

Plus, I have been asked to mention that there are Student Deals on bowling, and alcohol (for those 18+).

[Cloud]

(I'm assuming throughout this that you won't be charging people to attend)

Okay, if I was in your position, I'd look at the following things :

First and foremost, you have to look at what the bands need. Bands should be expected to provide their own equipment, but a big problem with local bands is that none of them are likely to have their own PA system. You'll find that bands that play Drummonds/The Tunnels/etc will have their own amps and drumkit, but it's rare for a band doing that kind of gigs to possess their own PA system. I'm not sure if a vocal PA would suffice - it should do the job, but even then if it is, you've got the issue of hiring one in (and I know how hard it is to convince people to spend anything!). I would drop a pm to "soundian" on here and ask his advice - he'll know if you can get away with it or not. Either way, if you can't supply a PA, then you're going to have to pay the bands to get it - which could make the whole exercise pointless.

Don't worry about other bits of equipment - there should be no need for you to supply amps and a drum kit to bands. If they need such items, they can rent it themselves from various places.

Secondly, you have to look at what kind of figures you're expected to achieve - and what your budget is for achieving it. If you have £300 a night to spend, you could probably get a good covers band that'll play for ages and will play all the songs to make the audience happy - but if you've got £100 a night to spend, then your options become a lot more limited.

Thirdly, you have to look at the actual bands that you could get to play - and importantly, what they can do for you. It's tricky in the summer as the student market on the doorstep (kind of..) at Hillhead is all gone - so you have to rely on BoD residents to actually attend. This is a lot harder to do than it sounds - people (as a general rule) just aren't interested in music that's unfamiliar to them.

I don't know if you're working from a solid start with a regular crowd (I know there's sometimes music there, but I don't have a clue what, despite living nearby), but if you are, it does make your job easier. A lot of it is successful marketing - can you package the music in with something to make it a worthwhile trip for people? Offering drink discounts and cheap bowling might work during term time, but during the summer, it might not be as good as it sounds.

What I would do, if you can -

Sit down, work out how much money you've got to spend and how much they expect in return - and then look at numbers like the average spend per head in the bar and the amount of heads in the bar when there's been music on previously. If you don't have numbers like that, then find out what the expectation is - roughly speaking, take the amount of people in the bar on the night that you plan to do music on and aim for increasing that bit by bit. Don't expect miracles - a successful result would be making more money and getting more people through the door.

As for promotion and marketing - this can be a killer if it's not done right. It's all too easy to spend a fortune on it, only to get no results at all. Depending on your budget (again!), you can do various things - but a golden rule is to remeber that everything should be pushed as a package and not individually.

Any questions, feel free to ask

[One-Sport]

Yeah, I was worried about the issue of a PA system...but I know that the first band who will be playing on the 23rd have one so that night is sorted.

And there will be a door charge, we have had several customers love the idea of coming to see a live band as well as many friends of staff loving the idea too, so a crowd hopefully shouldn't be too difficult to get, but then again when it comes to the crunch...

Thanks, you certainly have given me some more ideas on how to organise this!

Would anyone from the Bridge of Don area be interested in coming to the band nights then, from these boards? And if not, what are your reasons?

[Cloud]

Okay, I'm from the Bridge of Don and just down the road, so I'll comment...

I don't think I'd be interested in coming if there was a door charge - I know it sounds silly, but I can go see decent local bands in a purpose built venue for £3/4 at most - so to pay for one band in what's essentially a sports place wouldn't really float my boat so to speak - especially when the sound won't be professionally mixed and so on.

I think personally, the door charge does knock a lot of the appeal out of it - unless the drink was priced at a really good rate (student discount wouldn't be enough to tempt me, I'd be looking for no more than £1.50 a pint/£1 for spirit/dash).

However...

If it was a well known local band, and the door charge was no more than a quid, it would be more tempting, especially if they were playing a set of at least an hour. It all depends on what value there is - maybe if it was packaged up with something (pay to get in, get a free drink, maybe?) to add appeal, then it would be more tempting.

Either way, good luck with it, and feel free to throw questions at me if you need to

[Guest MDP]

wow...mike being helpful...erm...WOW***

[soundian]

The size of PA depends you need depends on how many people you expect to get through the door(and the size of the space), if you're looking at around 50-100, you might just get off with a vocal PA, although the sound quality could leave a bit to be desired. And of course there's the monitor issue as well, it's pretty hard for someone to sing if they can't hear themselves.

A full PA, capable of doing up to about 300 odd people, with monitors, engineers etc will probably set you back at least £200 a night and take about 60-90 mins to set up BEFORE soundchecking the band/s.

Most bands don't have a PA, and I can think of only two in Aberdeen who have a full PA, rather than just a vocal PA.Very few bands that play their own material have a PA (they tend to play in music venues who have their own equipment), a lot of cover bands do (they play a lot inpubs/clubs who don't put on enough gigs, or arent big enough, to warrant their own PA).

I certainly wouldn't worry about drum kits/amplifiers etc, if a band doesn't have their own, it's their responsibility to hire it.

You'd be best to sort out the PA yourselves, that way you can ensure consistent quality and no one can rip you off by overcharging and pocketing the difference (I imagine a few sharp operators would hire their own PA to themselves as well). There's also the chance that you might be able to cut a deal if you're going to be requiring one on a regular basis.

*puts on other hat*

You can advertise your gigs for free at www.gcguide.co.uk which also does a printed version monthly.

There's also a list of about 150 local acts, and links to most bands websites/spaces so you can check them out before booking them.

(Bands/artists/DJ's: If you're not on the list, feel free to fill in the online form)

[One-Sport]

Obviously I'm with you regarding the door charge, but that wasn't my decision it was managements. Depending on how successful this trial period is, then hopefully this would change.

I had just said that it's a pity that the only band they seem to get in is some Irish band every couple of months, and was then told to do something about it.

As for drinks deals, well again, management have only said that there shall be Student Deals (I have pushed for answers, but...) many drinks being only 1.

I do understand the viewpoint that why go to some bowling alley that is more known for it's football pitches and bowling than being a place that offers live music, but several of our customers have said that they love the idea of being able to just walk to their local and see a live band on a Sunday night.

As for a PA system, again, this is just a trial period therefore I cannot convince the Directors to pay for hiring or buying one when it may not be a long-term thing, so again, we shall see how successful the trial-period is and then serious talks shall have to take place.

I really do appreciate all your advice though, and it shall be shown to the Managers. They are as naive as I am when it comes to arranging music nights, which I know does not seem the most professional but everyone has to start somewhere

[One-Sport]

Well just to let people know, Abdysma are playing this Sunday, starting at 7.30pm. Hope to see some people there!

[One-Sport]

Another reminder that Abdysma are playing at One-Sports tonight, at 7.30pm and there willl be a door charge of 3.50. They will be playing a 2 hour set.