terms/expressions for a band calling it quits

#43
When my band of 3+ years folded, we didn't make any announcements. We simply stopped all the work we had been doing to get out there and stay out there. With no gigs & no promotions, we quickly evaporated from everyone's memory.

I think it is this way for the vast majority of bands. They disappear and few notice with even fewer caring.
 
#46
Not sure this deserves a finale if you weren't very good at drawing consistent audiences anyway.
Some things just don't work. Shut them down and move on.
 
#55
mcnach said:
Relying on friends in order to have an audience is not a good long term plan. It takes time to build a decent following.
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Yeah, this is true. And 3 years may seem like a long time, but it isn't really. We've been playing for about 8 years in my current cover band and it's only been the last few years where we have more than friends and coworkers as fans. Friends and coworkers are a good starting point for sure, but you do need more and it takes time.
dbsfgyd1 said:
The sad fact is live music in no longer as popular on the local level as it was 60 years ago and you can pick your favorite reason out of a laundry list of conflicting interest.

Songs lately over produced and difficult to cover live...
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We struggle with this one. It's hard to cover some popular artists these days because stuff is so "produced" now. We are good musicians. We have good gear. But the programing it would take is just too much, or at least more than we want to do. We manage to pull off some of the easier new stuff - Shake It Off for example. Fortunately stuff like The Middle, Mr. Brightside, Shut Up and Dance still seem to go over pretty well, as do "classics" like Pour Some Sugar or Kick Start My Heart.

Depending on the gig, a good set list can be hard to come by.
 
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#56
The short cut by many bands is to do karaoke sets..and this guarantees audiences at the bar level.

However, that often also means you have to settle for those rates for bars. Because the next band does the same set no one is breaking scale, imv.
Next on the taxi rank, as it were.

You could pull the next trick which is go 'tribute' and gross $400 per head ..which is a bouyant market but how many Fleetwood Mac bands can you endure on your circuit?

Or...you could go for the covers ticket market with a few originals thrown in.
Quite a few agents are interested in this, we have noticed of late.
You will not quite get the tribute money but you have more control over what and how you play..
 
#57
SteveC said:
Yeah, this is true. And 3 years may seem like a long time, but it isn't really. We've been playing for about 8 years in my current cover band and it's only been the last few years where we have more than friends and coworkers as fans. Friends and coworkers are a good starting point for sure, but you do need more and it takes time.

We struggle with this one. It's hard to cover some popular artists these days because stuff is so "produced" now. We are good musicians. We have good gear. But the programing it would take is just too much, or at least more than we want to do. We manage to pull off some of the easier new stuff - Shake It Off for example. Fortunately stuff like The Middle, Mr. Brightside, Shut Up and Dance still seem to go over pretty well, as do "classics" like Pour Some Sugar or Kick Start My Heart.

Depending on the gig, a good set list can be hard to come by.
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What would work today, is less musicians, more tracks, dancers, better lighting effects, and costumes…. Oh yeah, that market been cornered…LOL!!!
 
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#58
darwin-bass said:
When my band of 3+ years folded, we didn't make any announcements. We simply stopped all the work we had been doing to get out there and stay out there. With no gigs & no promotions, we quickly evaporated from everyone's memory.

I think it is this way for the vast majority of bands. They disappear and few notice with even fewer caring.
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Sadly, you are probably right. I grew up in the greater Pittsburgh area, and fortunate to have been a part of a band that has been around since 1966. I joined in 1970. Pretty much we are playing a lot of the songs they covered before I joined the band. back then we called it a top 40 act, now we call it a Motown Review..LOL!!!

Last year however, we played 8 performances that were well attended, and if we could get members enthused about rehearsals, it would be a really good act… but. We are also a 12 piece band that takes about $3k to get us on a stage. So there are not a lot of venues that will take on that sort of risk.
 
#60
"One performance only of our new opus, "Overture to Tacet al Fine."

Make sure, on the mic, one of the band members asks you, "Hey, @mstillman , when was the last time we worked together?" so you can reply "TONIGHT!"

"We've decided that NOTHING sounds better than we do!"

"Every note we played was better than the next one!"

"For those of you who missed us at the last gig, we've decided to give you an endless opportunity to continue missing us."
 
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