How to book yourself, get gigs, play more shows

An Excerpt from an Interview by Derek Sivers (sivers.org) with Amber Rubarth about HOW TO BOOK YOURSELF!
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"What are the biggest lessons you learned from working with the agent?"
(Amber interned with a booking agent at a prominent Hotel in Reno Nevada)

    As a musician, make sure you’re providing something - not just asking for something. Let the booker know whether you can bring people out, or whether you’re going to do all that you can to get the media involved. Let them know that you’re putting effort into it.

    Tell them straightforward, that you’re reaching out to people on MySpace, that you’re going to write a press release up and ask them for a media list. They like that, even if it takes them an extra minute to send out their media list, they like knowing that you’re putting the effort in and that you really want to make it a good show. That you’re not just expecting to go there and have a built audience and have them do all the work. You know?

    A booker receives tons of press kits. Certain ones are going to stand out and certain ones aren’t. So what is the difference? What does that?

    Following-up. A lot of press kits sat there because nobody called and nobody asked about it.

    There’s definitely a point where people can follow-up too much, but I think that if you’re just consistent and looking for an answer, whether it’s a yes or no, and understanding that these people have a lot on their plates and they’re shuffling through everything. Remind them that you really want to play there or that you really think that it would be a good fit.

    There were all of these factors that I had never considered yet - and then I kind of got a little taste of that.

ADVICE ON BOOKING TOURS
Booking your first gig outside of Reno - in San Francisco - how were you able to do that?

    I just Googled “music in San Francisco”, which is what I do any time I’m going to a new place really. Also finding out who does a similar thing to me, and where they were playing.

    I put a press kit together, and sent it to the venue. I had built a website that was simple but had everything, and showed that I was playing a lot of shows in Reno. I just told them, “I haven’t played outside of Reno, but I would really like to play in San Francisco and I’ve heard about your place.” I’d seen a couple other people who’d played there, and they had really liked them.

    I was just enthusiastic in wanting to do it and being willing to put the effort into bringing people out. Enthusiasm does a lot. It doesn’t have to be hyper crazy enthusiasm, but I think it’s just good to be really into it, and letting them know that you’re putting your best effort into it. People enjoy seeing that.

Then let’s pretend you you wanted to play somewhere you’ve never played - like Atlanta. How would you approach it?

    Maybe we should pick a different city, because when I was at the Folk Alliance conference, I met Eddie from Eddie’s Attic, a top venue in Atlanta. He told me, “Come play Eddie’s Attic any time you’d like. Just come in.” So I would just do that.

Interesting! Good answer. So just by being out and about at Folk Alliance, you meet people that would book you in Atlanta. Let’s pick somewhere else. How about Billings, Montana?

    Yeah. Let’s do Billings, Montana. I would start online, searching “Billings Montana concerts” or “music”. It will come up with venues, newspapers, or people’s MySpace pages with listings.

    I’d find a venue that’s a good fit and that makes sense first. Then I’d first contact the venue by email, so that I can write a better introduction.

    Then it’s important to ask for a specific date! I learned this when I was booking gigs in Reno for others. A lot of people would write and say, “Oh I’d love to play in Reno. When would be good?” But you can’t do that. Instead just pick a day, like, “April 27th or April 28th I’m available.” Because then people can look at their calendar and say, “Oh yeah. I do have that day.” or, “I don’t have that day - but the 29th would work.” That’s a huge thing. You don’t want to leave it open. You want to tell them specifically what day you want to be there.

So a booker says, “OK. I can fit you in on Tuesday March 15th.” Would you take it if they gave you a Tuesday night or would you say, “No, I want Friday!”

    It all depends. If you deserve a Friday then you should ask for a Friday and if you deserve a Tuesday then you should take the Tuesday. You know?

    Ideally, yeah, everybody wants to play on Thursday through Saturday nights. Especially if you’re new to an area, you shouldn’t be too picky, but you shouldn’t be a pushover either. But if you can do a Tuesday and you think it’ll work then do a Tuesday.