Band Management: Blog 28: Booking Shows

“Band A” had it’s first show in a barn. With six songs. They had a projector, a smoke machine, and a bubble machine – just to make sure. And all the adults left the barn and their kids ran around and played with the bubble machine. One piece of grainy video (thanks Bobby McHugh) documented the event – and makes the band look way cooler than the actual experience. There were months of practice, sleepless nights, before and after. Then there was a sandwich shop that allowed the band to play the back-yard patio, once a month, through a summer – streamers, the smoke machine again, the bubble machine again, balloons, silly string, and a large papier-mache tarantula that dangled from a branch of a nearby tree. There were the The Town Pump Tavernshows, The Mothlight Mondays, and The Odditorium on Wednesday night, and a disaster at an open mic at the White Horse in Black Mountain… And here we are 5 years later… 
So I’m managing “Band A” – and I have to start booking shows for this fall. August was easy. Two venues contacted me – and friends in a band from WV (Tucker Riggleman) are touring through the area and I found them a show with “Band A” opening. I have a spreadsheet of about 25 venues in the region. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the news that Band A was played on the radio, has been reviewed, and is on a label. So will the breweries book “Band A” – ?? Will my favorite underground music venues give a fuck? Can “Band A” put together it’s first tour – I’m pretty sure we can book shows in Morganton, Greenville, Moorefield WV, and Johnson City… Also, things are changing – interest in this underground sound, hard blues / garage rock / punk rock / surf rock is growing. The Styrofoam Turtles are headlining at The Orange Peel and The Grey Eagleare showcasing local heroes Tongues of Fire and Drunk Mums. 
Anyway, I’ll document all of this. And you can contact me if you want an example of the email I’m sending around. At the end of the year I will compile all the blog posts, the lists of radio stations, publications, labels, all the interviews, and all the press releases and email I wrote… And probably some choice rejections…