How to get gigs and stories of what to expect as a new musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Rock to DnB Rollers, getting from your bedroom to backstage is a mission no matter the genre. Whether it’s finding bookings and gigs or how to find your niche, there is no singular handbook on how to be the next Nirvana<\/em><\/strong> or Fred again<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Feedback we\u2019ve done you a favour by talking to a bookings co-ordinator at the hallowed ground of the Leadmill, Olly Bailey who is making waves in the UK rock scene with Jaws the Shark<\/em><\/strong> and Harry Davies-Jenkins<\/a> also known as Jinbu<\/em><\/strong> who broke onto the scene and emerged as one of Manchester\u2019s most original DnB producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fundamentals are the same regardless of genre as you will come to see, but don\u2019t take it from me \u2013 take it from the Pros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It makes sense to start at the beginning, before selling out the Sphere in the Sin City or hopping on the decks at the Warehouse Project you\u2019ll need some music and to do that you need some equipment. I asked Harry how he started up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt first I was using really, really terrible speakers it was like an iPod docking station I plugged into my computer, but it was enough to get me started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you need the bells and whistles when you\u2019re first starting off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spending a million quid clearly isn\u2019t a necessity but taking the initiative to get going with whatever you have, is. To get your catalogue growing a \u201966 Fender Strat or having a \u00a33000 mixing setup aren\u2019t necessities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian May for example, built his first guitar (which is the same he has always used) from materials he and his dad found around the house \u2013 and if you ask me Bohemian Rhapsody doesn\u2019t sound all that bad\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I asked Olly the same question and he emphasised the importance of time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLockdown gave me the time I needed to sit down and get all of these ideas I had down recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time is probably the most important aspect of becoming a musician. For Olly, it meant that he could record his music and finally get it out so people could hear it, and they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, that you\u2019ve put in the time and effort to making your music, how do you go about being found and wanted for gigs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frazer Spooner, The Leadmill\u2019s booking co-ordinator told me a few simple things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think the biggest thing is having as much visibility as you can online even if you\u2019ve only got ten followers the visibility for us is still there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to make some noise and self-promote in your early career – no one\u2019s gonna do it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, make that Instagram and TikTok, and get your stuff out there! Musicians have blown up on social media, from WindowKid asking \u2018where\u2019s that\u2019 or \u2018is it UK based?\u2019 to Tom Rosenthall writing truly beautiful music and sharing it with us online any online presence will help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bookings co-ordinators will go out to gigs to scout new talents so get in as many pubs or smaller venues as you can and get that live performing experience and build a reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frazer said: \u201cThere are times where we go to gigs and see acts that have some promise, sometimes it could even be that they\u2019re a band that doesn\u2019t have \u2018it\u2019 just yet but it feels like given a bit of time and a few more gigs under their belt its worth keeping an eye on how they develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe spend a lot of time trawling through social media looking for new artists<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had bands such as Vivas who are a fantastic band in Sheffield at the minute. They started off playing smaller spots in the city to less than 100 and now they\u2019ve got their own headline show in the main room at the Leadmill later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ve really grown in an 18-month period by playing these smaller spots and building up a fanbase to then command a headline ticket price with hundreds of people coming through the doors – it\u2019s a fantastic thing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely earning your stripes as a musician playing these smaller spots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The importance of supporting larger artists was also stressed by Frazer, you might recognise these next bands he references\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know any bands that have managed to get major success without doing the support slots. In 2000 we had Coldplay headlining with Muse supporting and Muse were unknown they hadn\u2019t done too much, and in the review from the paper, it said \u2018This is truly Coldplay at the peak of their success playing to 900 people\u2019 and look at them now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cyou look at bands like the Hives who supported the Arctic Monkeys<\/a> not long ago – they’ve been going for 25 years and only recently do I feel they have become this massive presence within the music scene they had their day back in the day but now all their tours have sold out in minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey supported the Arctic Monkeys playing at major stadiums and then in turn exploded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you will be supporting the Arctic Monkeys is debatable.. but why not dream? All you can do is get yourself out and about and who knows what will unfold\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to earn your stripes why not support? No one plays Wembley straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far this article has been positive but new musicians often struggle as well whether that\u2019s money for equipment or just general struggles with not being exactly where you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olly opened up to me quite candidly about his own struggles and having the resilience to keep going:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important to go through the struggle at an early point, it\u2019s hard and frustrating when you put so much time, money, and emotional investment into something and it then it seems that nobody gives a shit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat can either sink you or spur you on\u2026 you have to have the fire and desire to want to get out of it and succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlenty of people will try to dismiss you and write you off. Fuck \u2018em and prove them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Frazer said earlier, critics wrote that \u2018Coldplay<\/a> were at the peak of their powers playing to 900\u2019, I\u2019m sure Chris Martin didn\u2019t see it that way. Just look at them now selling out arenas and being known as one of if not the biggest British band of the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another common struggle is learning your trade as a musician and financial struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harry said this: \u201cThe biggest (struggle) I faced when you start with production is the super steep learning curve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have an idea in your mind of what your track should sound like and when you compare it to tunes that you\u2019re inspired by, it can be very disheartening. You know you\u2019re not gonna be able to write a tune like Perez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think in the first year your music probably won\u2019t sound up to scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep your expectations where they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving the money to get started as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through his music struggles both Olly and Harry emphasise hard work, powering through the struggle, and keeping reasonable and achievable expectations of yourself. If you do this it seems to be that you give yourself the best chance for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this wouldn\u2019t be a helping article without some top tips for new musicians on the scene. Olly told me you need to do \u2018stupid shit\u2019, for me that\u2019s having one too many drinks at the pub but if I were to believe him (and I do) maybe I\u2019ve got the makings of a good song \u2013 actually, I think Amy MacDonald already did that with This is the life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is exactly what he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLive life, do fun and stupid shit. It\u2019s all fuel for writing. Another thing I\u2019d say is that if you want to get anywhere you have to be totally dedicated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m sure this is a mantra we can all get behind, I mean Kieth Moon certainly did and he was one of the most badass drummers ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harry took a more scholarly line for his tips but they hold an equal value:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStay true to yourself and figure out what your sound is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI definitely wouldn’t jump on trends, by the time you’ve mastered it the trend has moved on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStay disciplined and have a schedule even if that\u2019s only doing an hour a day, try to be consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s it really, put in the time, be disciplined, get yourself online, and play any gigs no matter the size. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From Harry, Olly, and Frazers\u2019 expert opinions you are giving yourself the best chance of success if you do these things. Now, hopefully going from your bedroom to backstage doesn\u2019t seem that daunting a task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n READ: Pro’s and cons of the music scene<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow us on Instagram<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and Tiktok<\/a> for more content!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How to get gigs and stories of what to expect as a new musician. From Rock to DnB Rollers, getting from your bedroom to backstage is a mission no matter the genre. Whether it’s finding bookings and gigs or how to find your niche, there is no singular handbook on how to be the next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[89,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-business-menu-sub-2"],"yoast_head":"\n