[Dixielandjazz] Questions about Gigging

[Kimberly Shaffer]

Hello all, 

I am a silent lurker but avidly read all the discussions - [disclaimer - band wife, not musician] and love them all, there are some incredibly great points of wisdom I learn every day!!  Thank you all.  It's so informative.

But here are my questions.  My husband, [who is a wonderful jazz musician/performer woodwind cat] has been a sideman ever since he graduated from his collegiate jazz studies a couple of years ago.  He recently put himself in the position of bandleader for an 8 piece octet composed of really good professional musicians.  Work is really slow out here in the Northwest, and Portland is a small town - we had to put something together because hardly anyone was getting called for work!  So, as bandleader wife, I am trying to figure out ways to get these guys some gigs.  And by the way, this is what they do for a living - their primary work except for teaching which brings in the essential cash.  I have worked in marketing and sales in a previous incarnation and am not shy about cold calling and etc, but I am making sure I have covered all my bases since this is my first foray into booking.  I read a great article in the AFM newspaper this month and am including some of their tips as well, but please give me advice if possible.

First - 

We got a great promo pack together.  It consists of a cover sheet describing the band and contact information and a bio page about each of the members with pictures of some of their past performances and some references.  We have a website.  We have a live performance CD that includes a female vocalist, (yay MOTU828!), with a crystal case and professionally rendered CD cover.

Second -

Working on a database of contacts.

Entertainment Agencies
Advertising Agencies
Event Planners
Hotel Entertainment Contacts
Festival Contacts
Wedding Planners

I also read that one should get the daily paper for all the cities you want to work to get names of impending brides to send out congratulations and a business card.  Weddings might not be as fun as festivals, but they pay the rent and there's not a lot of travel involved.

My plan is to send out mass mailings and then cold call to follow up. 

This is a great band, they perform so wonderfully together and have played together as sidemen for the last couple of years in other various bands so it's great to see them get together in this new vehicle.  I want to help in any way possible to have them succeed and have many many gigs. 

Does anyone have any advice?  I am all ears, and very anxious to hear what you might have to say.  I specifically have a couple of questions that might be dumb, but I hope to learn from other people's experience.  

1) Negotiating a price - obviously since they are all union we go at LEAST by scale, but do you try and figure out a price according to individual event or do you just say, this is what we work for (in a wedding) or this is what we charge (for a corporate event), regardless of the situation?  What's easier?

2) Is it tacky to send out congratulations to someone you don't know in hopes of garnering a gig?  Is there a better way to do it?

3) What SHOULDN'T I do?  

That's all I can think of for right now.  Thanks so much in advance!

p.s. We are taking someone's advice posted previously and should have the availability to live record and sell CD's on the spot at the gigs they play hopefully starting this spring.  We really liked that idea!