I might start managing a band.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Can a band be on Afropunk if there's one and a half mexican guys and a black guy, but they don't really play punk? [I'mma put them on here anyway. ;) ]

Has anyone had experience or knew someone who had a band go from no performances to playing gigs and having fans?

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Permalink Reply by Rosenda on March 17, 2009 at 6:30pm

Cipher has one brother in it, the singer Moe. Right? There's lot of bands like that, and as for the other thing: Nana, lots of bands have done that. Popularity can happen fast and random like that, a band can be just playing in someone's garage or backyard and then boom! the day they play, it goes well and the people who happen to be there LIKE them and they tell a lot of other people.

And sometimes in that crowd is some music chick or dude, who wants to get them recorded or at least do a demo tape for them and start the process of working to play more shows and put out an album.

A friend of mine, his oldest son who is now 19, they used to just jam at one guys' house for a couple years, for fun, and in their last year of high school, he told me they played one of those school sponsored Battle of the Band things just on the recommendation of a mutual friend.

At the second one they did, they won the contest, and some guy came up to them after the show, and he recorded a demo tape for them. They were then asked to play a couple of early shows at The Whisky a couple months ago, and when he came with me and my friends to a ska show one night, this kid came up to him and said "hey dude, I know you! you play bass in Howling Terror, right? You guys were great and I told all my friends about your band too."

Last time I saw him, he said they practice a few times every week, in between all of them in college (he's in his second year taking music theory classes at community college) and working jobs too, and they are working on some new songs too.

See, you never know. Nana, if your friends enjoy playing music, go for it! Let's hear some new music and new faces, that is what makes life interesting for a lot of music heads! :)

Ask around where you live, are then any shows being organized wanting bands to play? Look in your local paper and on websites for your area and local zines that shops might have. I've seen a lot of band and show ads in those zines at shops out here on Melrose and other shops, record shops clothes shops, etc etc.

Sometimes local nightclubs do all ages shows too, which is what The Whisky did the two times my friend and his buddies got to play there. Those things are organized by a lot of different people I think, bands themselves, the venues, other organizations (I went to a great show not long ago organized by some other non profit earth foundation and they had some really great bands, some brand new bands and some more well known established artists too).

Ask also at local schools and colleges, if they are organizing any shows that you could play at. You can also ask around to see if you have access to any people who can help the band record a few songs on a demo, that you could bring around to play for folks and say 'here's what the band is like, do you like them? can we do a show with you? at your venue?"

Hey you should also ask Matthew Morgan and Mutha Wit etc etc and some of the actual band people on here some suggestions on what's a good way to get playing on show and promote yourself. AfroPunk is a good place to ask folks questions like that, Nana.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by John E. Gold on March 18, 2009 at 12:27pm

Biggest suggestion i could offer for managing a band is to be honest. There's a fine line between promotion and blowing smoke. I have found that being honest with yourself and the people you will deal with, clubs, zines, labels, etc.(most of whom have been doing the band thing in some sort of capacity for years and years) gets you better results. Of course i've been failing at this rock and roll thing since '86, so...

What's the band's name?

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Permalink Reply by Nana Yeah! on March 20, 2009 at 9:16am

The band's name? One Junky Fungle and the Mariachi Of Doom ... very very hard to say outloud XD

AND THANKS FOR THE AWESOME INFO :D I have to get outta this slump I have so I can actually get to work. We're working on a singer now...