I’m almost in that situation in the land of the pub gig.
I’ve been in a Classic and Chart Rock band for about three years, in terms of our set, playing ability and singer I’d put us up against all but the very best and longest established of the local pub bands. There’s lots of competition on the local circuit and pretty much every gig we get is hard won in terms of phoning, messaging, calling in person, repeating all those steps.
My other band is a Glam Rock band that’s a little over a year old. There are very few similar bands locally, musical snobs could very easily look down their noses at what we do, pubs have been approaching us and working hard with their diaries to get us back and they also pay us more.
At a stretch you could say that this band has that element of popularity, the whole experience is more “fun” because it’s by no means easy but it’s not quite as crushingly difficult to run the diary.
To address a point that also came up, I realised a while ago that what I enjoy about gigging is the audience response, not just the act of playing the music. A small audience where even one or two people are making eye contact and obviously enjoying it is enough to make a gig a joy, a roomful is obviously the best. I’m only human and as much as I give it my best at all gigs, the fact that a fantastic gig can result in me and the band raising our game to another level has to also mean that there is a level below that which I thought was 100% but isn’t.
I’ve been in a Classic and Chart Rock band for about three years, in terms of our set, playing ability and singer I’d put us up against all but the very best and longest established of the local pub bands. There’s lots of competition on the local circuit and pretty much every gig we get is hard won in terms of phoning, messaging, calling in person, repeating all those steps.
My other band is a Glam Rock band that’s a little over a year old. There are very few similar bands locally, musical snobs could very easily look down their noses at what we do, pubs have been approaching us and working hard with their diaries to get us back and they also pay us more.
At a stretch you could say that this band has that element of popularity, the whole experience is more “fun” because it’s by no means easy but it’s not quite as crushingly difficult to run the diary.
To address a point that also came up, I realised a while ago that what I enjoy about gigging is the audience response, not just the act of playing the music. A small audience where even one or two people are making eye contact and obviously enjoying it is enough to make a gig a joy, a roomful is obviously the best. I’m only human and as much as I give it my best at all gigs, the fact that a fantastic gig can result in me and the band raising our game to another level has to also mean that there is a level below that which I thought was 100% but isn’t.