The easiest way to decipher the answer to this question is to consider the following -
Where are you or your band at in your career? In other words – how far down the line have you gotten in relation to being able to build a “reputable” following?
If you are a young band starting out and the monetary value associated with your band is practically zero, then you have absolutely nothing to loose and you should play in whatever room your amplifiers will fit into. In some other posts, I even prescribe the crazy idea of trying to get gigs on Monday nights….
However the further up the “reputation” chart your band gets, the more you need to start considering the possible effects of doing or not doing specific shows and how that will enhance or detract from your career.
The secret of finding the answers to these questions is to have a clear understanding from the outset of the type of career your band is looking for. What your real motivations are and what you’re prepared to do and not do in your career to achieve these goals.
If your motivation is to make money, then you’re decision to take shows or not will be based on that. If you’re looking to grow a real fan base and create the building blocks of a solid touring career, then turning down shows even though the money is really good might sometimes be the best option.
The bottom line is that it really comes down to the motivational drive behind the band and the stage at which your band is at.
I relate to this question on a personal level because when I used too work with Waikiki, who are now called Howling Bells, we once put them on a really cheesy national television show for exposure. To cut a long story short, it was right around the launch of their single which was also receiving commercial radio play and there was a big vibe on the band and everyone thought that this was their big moment.
The record label also applied a lot of pressure on us to do the song on the show. We eventually did it and the day after we realized that their reputation as a “cool indie rock band” was tarnished somewhat because of that appearance.
Ouch!
Oops!
Life goes on, and sometimes you learn the hard way but knowing which shows and spots to pick and what to turn down is really all about your motivational drive. Being “cool” in the publics eyes was a very big thing for Waikiki, hence they were really angry after that show. The didn’t care the over 1.2 million people watched and heard their song that night.
Another example I can recall of managing Waikiki was that while we were trying to build their profile and fan base, we did a lot of touring with larger bands. Sometimes we were offered support slots for funk bands that were really big but it just didn’t match our bands career vision, so we had to politely say no.
Sometimes we were offered great money to support crappy bands but we’d turn it down because we knew that they were only booking us because their band sucked and they needed our strength to help sell out the show.
When the lead singer comes to me and asks why I turned down a show that paid $5,000 for a 45min set and I tell them because it will make your band look stupid, they automatically got it and we moved on.
Why? Because they knew what was motivating them.
Sometimes, we were offered ridiculous amounts of money to do private functions – some we turned down because the band didn’t want to be associated with those particular brands while other offers we accepted because they were cool brands and it added to the perceived coolness of the band.
Once we even toured and did a whole bunch of dates with a one hit wonder band called Wheatus – as cheesy and bad as they were, Waikiki was a baby band with nothing to loose and no reputation to protect so we decided to take it and play 1200 people rooms for a couple of weeks.
It was really fun.
Anyway, the bottom line and the point I’m trying to bring home here is that the answer to this question is not black and white, there are no clear answers and as your band becomes more and more popular, you need to consider this question more and more.
It’s a never ending question that should always be at the forefront of your mind. However the biggest mistake you can make is to not do anything at all out of fear that you’ll make a mistake!
That is the biggest mistake of all
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