Showcasing Your Band

[Kurtis]

The head cheese of one of the bands i'm in (R&B, funk) got an offer to do a showcase at a bar/club. the owner saw our pro demo shoot of the band so he knows what we sound like. who does showcases these days. i thought that died out 20 years ago. show up for an hour and leave with no pay. fuck that! i told him to say no. instead book us for a gig and have that be the showcase. that way we get paid. it's a gig in philly somewhere. anyone out there still do this showcase crap?

[DSOP]

Who would the showcase be for? Showcasing for record labels used to be pretty common, but this doesn't sound anything like that. Is this an original band or a show band? I guess you could also showcase for booking agencies, but if you've already got a pro video.... sounds weird.

[Kurtis]

Just a cover R&B band. Old to new music. We have an agent who helps get us gigs. This agent has a bar he owns and wants us to play there. He knows are music inside out. But the guy who runs the place for him wants us to showcase on a Sunday. So messed up. just want to make sure I'm not going crazy cause it's crazy what this nut head wants us to do. Just book us and all is good. Jersey and Philly are odd animals. been doing this to long. Want to get a big gig and stop dealing with this hacking around.

[funkydrummer]

My band actually just did a showcase for a management company who wants to represent us. It was very low key, the two gentlemen came down and watched us play about 10 or so of our songs, and then we went from there. We've built up a popular following in our home base (Providence RI), and we're trying to break out into a broader region. It was good for us because they were able to see first hand and up close what we do.

[Josiah]

That sounds very odd for a cover band. Does he want to just see your band play live? Cover bands I play for are pretty strict about playing full nights.

3 bands in a night is fairly common for original music however.

[Riddim]

Sounds like a rip off. Don't you have a YT page? If so, send him there.

[Riddim]

Or invite him over to serve you, your neighbors and your band Sunday dinner gratis; if you like it, maybe you'll hire him for Easter dinner.

[Jim Richman]

Just a cover R&B band. Old to new music. We have an agent who helps get us gigs. This agent has a bar he owns and wants us to play there. He knows are music inside out. But the guy who runs the place for him wants us to showcase on a Sunday. So messed up. just want to make sure I'm not going crazy cause it's crazy what this nut head wants us to do. Just book us and all is good. Jersey and Philly are odd animals. been doing this to long. Want to get a big gig and stop dealing with this hacking around.

Come on, the agent owns the club. He is using you. I would get a different agent. It is preposterous that the owner/agent would make you showcase in his own club.