You’re a nice person. You’re whole band is actually pretty friendly. You’re road manager is even kind of not a jerk sometimes. You’re monitor/sound guy is easy enough to get along with too.
But you know who gets to start dictating the tone and experience for your show…
The door guy.
Yep, you might have an awesome warm and friendly team, but your fans aren’t likely to interact with any of them.
But they are certain to interface with the door guy.
He’s the first (and at the end of the night, the last) line of interaction. The first line representing YOU.
What if the door guy was nice instead of nasty or indifferent?
What if you went out of your way to make sure the door guy was comfortable, fed, well taken care of before he started ripping your fans tickets?
What if you got him a chair?
What if you invited him in…explained how vital he is for the night to be a success, invited him into the vision?
What if you tipped him? Before and after.
If the door guy is a jerk, it’s probably not going to ruin your fans’ night.
But if the door guy is friendly, interactive, human and maybe even smiles, it will bring the night one step closer to unforgettable for your fans.
Put effort into stacking the deck in your favor.
p.s. And by door guy I mean the door staff, the ticket takers, be it one person or a dozen or a hundred people.
Some of you probably subscribe to Bob Lefsetz’s blog, insights/rants/criticism/advice/opinion about the music and entertainment business. If you don’t, you should, at least for a season to give it a shot.
Last week he wrote a worthwhile post and it makes sense for me to just copy and paste it so that you can sift through it all yourself, rather than me quoting and commenting on selected parts.
Here:
Subject: Artist Rules
1. Inspiration trumps execution.
Write a great song, it’s more important than knowing how to play it.
2. Audience is everything.
If you don’t want to reach as many people as possible, stop now. You’re too afraid to make it, you’re not a real artist. Artists believe in themselves and want to share their work, they believe it will change the world. You can only do this by having an audience, hopefully a large one.
3. Artists never stop learning.
Once you stop testing limits, once you revert to formula, your death warrant is signed.
4. Real artists ship.
If you’re trying to get it perfect, you’re on the wrong path. Life is imperfect, your goal is to reflect it. People relate to that which has rough edges, just like them.
5. Artists are insecure.
If you think you know everything and have all the answers you’re not an artist. An artist lives for feedback, and decodes and deciphers it to see if he’s on the right track. You don’t have to abide by criticism, but to avoid it is a mistake.
6. Artists want to get paid but are willing to leave money on the table.
Your goal is to get it right, your vision down. Sometimes this means you get paid less, or not at all. But if you don’t know your worth, no one else will.
7. True artists are humble.
They realize they’re part of a great continuum, inspired by the past and grease for the future. No one is forever, never forget that.
8. Artists are jealous, but the best channel that jealousy into their work.
It’s tough to see someone get more acclaim and make more money. But rather than be sour grapes, be inspired. No one likes someone who bitches, someone who complains someone stole their opportunity.
9. Risk.
You know when you do your best work. But take chances, you never know what will resonate with listeners. You’ve been doing it so long that you’re never going to do something bad, let the audience decide what is good.
10. Don’t try to be something you’re not.
Just because country is hot, that does not mean you should cut a record with a banjo. Just because TV delivers eyeballs, that does not mean you should be a judge. Do what you do, it’s your only chance of lasting success.
If things go well, you’re going to have an opportunity for your songs to be heard.
You will be given a chance. And you will either have the hit…or you will be found out.
So there’s a couple things to consider and appreciate.
Don’t wish for giant opportunity too soon. You might not have the tune(s) yet. Where, even if you could schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning with Daniel Glass or Irving Azoff, or to play Glastonbury, what good would it really do?
The best way to prepare for opportunity is to have the song. That’s the ace up your sleeve.
You’ll get the big gig, you’ll get the big meeting where light will shed on exactly how good you are.
EXACTLY how good you are. Accurate and eye opening. Sounds risky doesn’t it?
I hope you get the opportunities. I hope you have the songs.
It’s really easy and cheap to be critical of (fellow) bands and artists when you see them at a club show.
It’s a club show, not an arena show, so its safe to say no one is getting or giving the benefit of the doubt.
But what if instead of dwelling on all the things each act is bad at, you try to find one thing the act is doing really well.
Because there’s something in there.
The band might be a hot mess, pitchy, bad rhythm section, bad fashion…but when the singer goes to get people to clap, people actually clap. How did they pull this off…especially in a club?
Looking for something going right may mean you have to lean-in and pay attention a little more.
But it will be much more impactful. And isn’t impact why you showed up in the first place?
Every act you watch is doing something right. What is it?
p.s. On the flip side, for all the critical things you’ve thought about the fellow bands on the bill, have you ever expressed them in a helpful way?
Probably not. The critiques are usually just a means to feel superior in the moment.
