Our qualifiers can be summed up as follows:
- We generally work with original artists; not with cover bands. Sure, a few covers in the set list are fine, but they shouldn't take up more than 25% +/- of it.
Most of our shows are headlined by touring acts, from out-of-town places
- We do business in music rooms, not bars. Sometimes the lines can blur, but in general our shows take place in venues with a raised stage and where people are walking in the door to see the band, not their friends and bartender. This can range from 100-seaters all the way up to theaters and festivals. Most of our shows are in the 100-800 attendee range. We also offer advisory servicesw to venues, festivals, promoters, and artists.
- You must sound good. Check that, you must sound very good. Subjective, to be sure, but how else would it work? We're not going to hire you without putting our ears to it. Yes, we are picky.
- We work in many genres, with a few exceptions: no rap, no hip-hop, and no urban-pop. Simply put, we can't stand that stuff, so why would we torture ourselves? We seem to specialize in a few specific genres: Americana; alt-country; indie and roots-rock.
- You must buy into our "formula". Our "gig steps" for local acts are: 1) playing support for a larger local/regional act; 2) playing support for a touring act; 3) headlining in a small room; 4) supporting a touring act in a larger room; and 5) headlining a larger room. If your band is new and not yet established in the local market, you would start out at Step 1. Others might skip a step or two. But that is the general way in which we help develop local talent.
- Point us to your website/Facebook site, where we can listen to you. Correct: we prefer listening online to receiving CD's from you for a first listen. We also like to see a large number of followers/friends on your Facebook page --- that tells us that you "work it," as far as cultivating a fan base. You have an email Fan Club? Very good.
- It is also very beneficial to you if you have a great looking Video on the web somewhere. We like to link-out to these from our Upcoming Events / Ticketing pages and email alerts used to promote our shows. If it's a 'tie' between two acts that we are considering for a gig, the one with the video clip wins. Often, the video is the first contact we have with finding out what a band is all about. So, invest a few buck in a good quality one. Find that kid from high school that went to film school .
- Be realistic when it comes to the "how much ya gonna pay us?" part. If you're a support act in a small room, don't expect much of anything. Consider it an investment. If you do the mental math on these types of shows, you realize that there really isn't room (financially) for a support act; hence the reason there usually isn't one. Still, we try to do it as often as possible, for the reason stated at the very beginning here.
- Get into -- and stay in – our loop. Go to our shows and make a point of saying 'hi'. Don't be bashful--we're not!
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