Guest post: Susan Kemman resides in South Park (no kidding), is a Prog music nut and is the Assistant Director of – and talent scout for – the The Highest Independent Music Tour in the World, The South Park Music Tour. Take it away Susan!
The Summer will be brimming with competitions, festivals, tours and holiday bashes; many opportunities for getting your Band a gig or a little name recognition. Talent Searches, Tours and Battle of the Bands pay out prize money or comps equal to what you would earn at a gig, ALL for just a one hour performance. Networking with the Bands and Industry people at these Events can offer tremendous earning potential by breaking you into new Venues.
Here are some simple tips to get an edge over your competitors:
1. Play original songs. You're allowed only one cover song and it's got to be perfect.
2. Your song should have basic structure. Like in writing; intro, body and conclusion.
3. Songs shouldn't be longer than 5 minutes.
4. Play for your allotted time or less, but never more.
5. Move. Everyone in the Band needs to be active at the same time.
6. Your timing needs to be impeccable. It proves a Band is well rehearsed.
7. Spend very little time with sound checks; one song only with minor quick adjustments if absolutely required.
8. Get the audience moving. Play your hottest beats and most gut punching riffs from song one and don't stop.
9. Demonstrate your instrument or vocal talent with a solo. Have a focus song. 45 seconds of fame.
10. Try to go last in the line-up, leaving a lasting impression.
These competitions not only put cash in your hand but promote your Band. You will need to register early or go through an acceptance process with small fees to be a performer. They're usually sponsored by radio stations, sound companies or huge corporations. Seek out Talent Searchs, Tours and Battle of the Bands to compete and “be seen” in your area. No matter how small the Venue; if you come out as the winner, it's a feather in your cap so toot your own horn and post that big win on your message boards.
Many “battles” are popularity contents, and none of these rules really apply. But for those that do actually judge bands, I think these are all pretty good points for a band to consider. Having been a judge for several “battles” and band competitions I would add the following.
1) Be professional, or at least appear professional, before, during and after your performance. Time between songs should be short, no asking each other, “What’s next?” or “Are you ready?” You rehearsed for this right? Tune up before you go on, and mute when you are tuning up during the set. Set up and break down quickly so the other bands can play their allotted time.
2) Be prepared. You should have backup instruments in case a string or head breaks. There is no time to make a string change when you have 15 minutes to perform. Make sure you have all the cables and connectors you need, plus extra in case something gets damaged. At one event I judged, a member of one of the bands forgot the extension cable for a piece of gear and he refused to play without it. None of the other bands had had one so he scrambled to find one making the band go on late. And, they felt that they should still get to play their full set anyway and played past when they were told to stop. (See “Be Professional”)
3) Be nice to the audience, other bands, everyone. You might need to borrow something from another band (see above example). Try borrowing a cable from a band that you pissed off; it’s not going to happen. And, it doesn’t matter how good you are, if you piss off someone in the audience they probably going to vote against you, and they are definitely not going to buy your CD. Also, you might not know who is a judge and you’ll need their votes. Another band member from the same band above knocked into me with his amp, and then later on spilled a beer on me, and didn’t excuse himself either time. It wasn’t until after his performance he found out I was a judge that he went out of his way to apologize. By then it was too late, my vote was cast. Guess which band lost.
Wish someone would write a blog post “How to judge a battle of the bands. What we really look for from bands.” Things are always from a band perspective and bands seem to never learn. Maybe from the judge’s perspective would help see another side.
Just a thought.
Judging one of these Events was my inspiration for writing this little blog.
The Event could offer a criteria for the Bands prior to their performance or Judges could offer their written observations and scoring pitfalls of the performance at the end of the Event. Maybe the Bands, having something like a checklist in their hand, would concider their participation in a battle not unlike a workshop or mentoring experience.
Judging was my inspiration for penning this list of tips.
1. I would wholeheartedly agree with your point of “professionalism”. I touched on this with “sound checks”, but should have expounded.
2. Your point of being prepared was right on target. Changing a broken string can seem like a monumental time lapse. This was a point I missed, but had experience with at the “battle” I judged. The lead guitarist opened a song where he was a heavy player, broke a string at the intro and left the drummer and bass stranded with only the beat, no vocals and a lot of empty air. They should have shortened the song and rebounded with one they could perform comfortably without that lead.
3. Being nice builds the network. There’s no room for attitude or excessive ego. Being condesending to the audience will get them throwing rotten tomatos behind your back.
Thank you for adding your points.