Get your Band out of the Garage and Into a Gig. "Press Kit and Demo"

 by: Dennis Damp Jr

So you have your garage band and don’t know the next step to start performing for an audience. Maybe you are the parent or friend of a band member and feel the band is ready to play some shows. You may just be sick of all the noise coming from the basement where your son or daughters band practices. Well, its not easy to get out of the starting blocks, but with a little hard work, your band can get moving. When your band finally has some songs together and are playing well, now it's time to take the next step. Get the band out of the garage and in to a gig. Of course your band won’t make much money at first, but with a well rehearsed act and some leg work your project can get off the ground running. In the following article I will explain a few tips your band or band manager may need to get your band some gigs or shows.

The band’s first step is to put together a quality press kit. A press kit for a start up band is usually comprised of a cover page, artist bio or introduction of the band, band pictures, song list, equipment list, contact and booking information, and a demo tape or CD. Once your band becomes more established start introducing newspaper clippings, band reviews, and business cards to the package, Computers make this a fairly simple task these days. Any word processor should get the job done for a start up band press package. Most or all of your press packet design can be done in house and save a lot of money. If you plan on sending quite a few press packages to clubs or venues visit your local copy store and have some color copies made. Make sure your envelope stands out so that a band booker will want to open your press package. Try using a colored envelope or stickers of some sort on the envelope so that a band booker will notice your press kit.

One of the most difficult things for a start up band with little or no money to achieve is recording their demo CD or tape. This does not have to be an expensive venture. When your starting out try renting a 4 track tape recorder or maybe and 8 track recorder with a CD burner. Most music stores will rent this type of equipment at a reasonable cost. Record 3 or 4 of your best songs or cover tunes. This should give you sufficient quality for most local venues when your starting out. Once your act is more established you may want to purchase a portable multi track recorder or book some studio time. It may be just as cost effective to purchase a multi track digital recorder and learn the ropes yourself rather than recording at a local studio. Most studios charge an hourly rate, so look around.

Once you have a quality demo CD and press kit its time to start promoting your band. See part II of our article Get your band out of the garage and into a gig at this URL http://www.mediawebsource.com/press.htm. For more information on press kit and demo tips, band resources, and band promotion visit the Media Web Source website at http://www.mediawebsource.com. This site is a valuable resource for start up and established bands everywhere.