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Jayplay 8.19.04
BOOK 'EM DAN-O The skinny on booking bands in Lawrence
By Mike Bauer, Jayplay reporter
packed they turn up.
Brad Chun, who books shows at the Gaslight Tavern, says the Gaslight tries to book as many different types of acts as possible. In a given week, the venue will have DJs play a couple nights and live bands typically play Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The acts booked at Gaslight range from electric bands to acoustic performers to funk bands.
Taylor gets around 300 emails daily from bands wanting to play, and many have to be turned down. "We literally turn hundreds down a month. I will refer them to other venues if I think it will make sense but most of the time there is just too much music going on in Lawrence and the bands will have to pass us by," Taylor says. If there's no room in the schedule or the venue for a band, Taylor will move the show to a bigger Lawrence venue.
You see calendar lists in Jayplay, The Pitch and on venues' Web sites, and every place in Lawrence and Kansas City has bands playing damn near every night of the week. Depending on your venue's popularity, booking venues can be a busy job or a job you just wish could get busier. Some places barely get the right amount of acts booked each month to stay boonin', while others are so packed they turn away.
Leisure performers to tunk ballets. Chances are also good if one if a band has played in Lawrence, they've booked a show or two through Pipeline Productions. Pipeline books a majority of the shows that come to Lawrence. The person who handles the booking for Pipeline is Terry Taylor.
Despite turning down lots of acts, Taylor still books many bands for the various venues in Lawrence, and the Spitfire or
EROSS 12.7.14
Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Taylor books about 54 bands a month for the Bottleneck alone. He says it covers three bands playing a night for 18 nights in a month.
month.
Chun says he's had to turn down a few acts, mostly because of space considerations. Venues can turn down bands if they feel the act will bring a bigger crowd than the venue can contain. Both Chun and Taylor say they book bands from any genre of music.
genre of music.
Taylor says usually agents will contact him for an available date for a band. Taylor says this happens 70 percent of the time. Any other time, a venue will contact a band's agent if it is really interested in the band. If a band doesn't have an agent, it'll contact the venue directly.
EVAC is one band that contacts venues around Lawrence directly for shows. Jeremy Goldstein, who makes up one half of the electronic group, says the band likes to play locally a couple times a month. Goldstein and his musical partner, Ed Hickey, will play more often if a venue comes to them with a show offer. However, the group is starting to get some outside help with booking shows.
Use inside help with booking.
"Recently more and more promoters and booking agents are starting to help us out but that has only come about over the last year or so." Goldstein says.
If you're in a band and want to book a show, you need to do is contact the venue and ask for the person in charge of booking. That person can give you more info on what to do to get a show lined up. Otherwise, if it's a good bet your band will deal with Pipeline Productions, you can always visit their website at www.pipelinesproductions.com to get information on who to talk to and what to send.