All Event and "Bar Night" Organizers Only!!

[YRDaddy]

I thought I would create a thread where dedicated Event and "Bar Night" organizers from all over can discuss and bounce ideas off of eachother. I figured it would help current organizers as well as new comers who pop up and ask questions once and a while.

I run a company in Denver, CO called Death of the Arcade Entertainment. We specialize in hosting "Rock Band Nights" as a trendy and new karaoke alternative. I started in 6/08 and business has been pretty steady. We have one of the most unique stage set ups I've seen so far and have helped to create a dedicated community of video game rockers here in Colorado. I have bounced around from "Hole in the Wall" bars to reputable places like Old Chicago's and C & B and Potts (unfortunately Hard Rock Cafe could not afford a Rock Band Night after months of talks and negotiations but they are still very interest ). I am currently booked at 2 weekly locations and I handle a private party or Video Game Contest (I handle the Rock Band set up and judging for the Colorado Cutthroat Conection) about once a month. For more info on my company and what we do visit: www.myspace.com/deathofthearcade

Anyways, as I said, I thought we could bounce ideas of eachother regarding things like:

Set Up Ideas
Venue Ideas
Compensation (Pay)
Maybe even National Organization and Contests
Anything else that might be on our minds...

So if your an event organizer, chime in and mention a little something about yourself. Maybe ask a question or 2 or give some advice to someone who is thinking about starting a Rock Band Night.

Later!

[Calendyr]

This is a great idea.

I am working on putting something together along the lines of what you are doing.

My biggest issue right now is the compensation. I don't really know how to make a profit from this. Since this type of entertainment can be compared directly to Karaoke, and that Karaoke is free in bars that offer it... how does one make money?

How are you doing it right now? I was thinking of charging a very low fee to participate. Something along the lines of 2$ and the person can play a 4 song setlist with 3 other players. Would give an acceptable revenue I believe, set list would take about 15-20 mins to play so that's 24-32$ per hour.

In terms of equipment, I have a strong preference for the PS3, but would the X-box be a better choice? How about instuments, just the basic RB2 stuff or go with the fancier guitars like the Starpex or Warbeast and Ion Drums?

From an other tread on the forum, it seems that people prefer non-competitive events. More of a Karaokelike evening where people sign up for songs they wanna play. I bet the major issue is to get enough drummers and singers to have 4 people for all songs.

I hope people will participate in this tread, good ideas could emerge and it will certainly help everyone with things they might not have thought about.

[YRDaddy]

This is a great idea.

I am working on putting something together along the lines of what you are doing.

My biggest issue right now is the compensation. I don't really know how to make a profit from this. Since this type of entertainment can be compared directly to Karaoke, and that Karaoke is free in bars that offer it... how does one make money?

How are you doing it right now? I was thinking of charging a very low fee to participate. Something along the lines of 2$ and the person can play a 4 song setlist with 3 other players. Would give an acceptable revenue I believe, set list would take about 15-20 mins to play so that's 24-32$ per hour.

In terms of equipment, I have a strong preference for the PS3, but would the X-box be a better choice? How about instuments, just the basic RB2 stuff or go with the fancier guitars like the Starpex or Warbeast and Ion Drums?

From an other tread on the forum, it seems that people prefer non-competitive events. More of a Karaokelike evening where people sign up for songs they wanna play. I bet the major issue is to get enough drummers and singers to have 4 people for all songs.

I hope people will participate in this tread, good ideas could emerge and it will certainly help everyone with things they might not have thought about.

Warning!! Do not charge people to play! That is illegal. Your compensation should be arranged through the business that contracts you for your time and equipment. The business recoups the cost from the patrons that are there for the entertainment. The karaoke that you have seen "free" in bars has this same arrangement, you just don't see it as a patron. My number 1 advice for people who want to do this though is, make it a good show! Give the people a reason to leave their house and come out to play. Wheather it is the sound, presentation, or prizes, you have to have some sort of value to offer the business or else they wouldn't need you.

I personally use an Xbox 360. Everything seems to be much easier in terms of DLC and extras (like the stage kit Klubby mentioned). Xbox and Harmonix seem to have a good relationship. I always make sure I have the latest DLC (YES! EVERYTHING!) and latest equipment. This is another reason to get people out of the house. They will know that they can preview the latest equipment & DLC at your Rock Band Night before they spend the money.

Non-competitve is definitely the way to go, at least to start out. Once a strong community has been developed, it is much easier to progress into the competition. I completely agree with Klubby, I have never had a problem putting together a full band even when it has been a dead night... but I do have some pretty dedicated and awesome "Roadies"

[Klubby]

You may run into trouble by charging the participants to play due to licensing. Karaoke in bars is "free" for the patrons because the bars are paying the hosts or are running it themselves and the fee is for the equipment and host rental, etc. You would want to be charging the bar the fee for the services, not the guests.

As far as not having a full band, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If someone wants to go solo - cool. If there are only 2 out of 4... oh well. I think once there is a small following, people will be jumping in to fill the empty spots.

I like the Xbox right now as you can also hook up the Stage Kit.

[Klubby]

I was curious about using the Stage Kit and/or modded kit (http://docsrockbandmods.netforums.us...mod-vt449.html). I use it in my home, and although it's very cool, it only seems perfect in a home setting. Even with ALL the lights off, the kit isn't all that bright. I haven't tried modding it yet to have 2 LED units, but would love to soon. I just worry that in a bar that 1) it will be completely pointless since it's too dim and 2) the damn thing works as the mic controller so I wouldn't be able to mount it somewhere above the band anyway.

Obviously, if things get busy and people are indeed interested, I would hire a board operator who could do some awesome lighting shows on the fly to each song. Until then, I wonder what some other alternatives anyone else has come up with....?

[YRDaddy]

I was curious about using the Stage Kit and/or modded kit (http://docsrockbandmods.netforums.us...mod-vt449.html). I use it in my home, and although it's very cool, it only seems perfect in a home setting. Even with ALL the lights off, the kit isn't all that bright. I haven't tried modding it yet to have 2 LED units, but would love to soon. I just worry that in a bar that 1) it will be completely pointless since it's too dim and 2) the damn thing works as the mic controller so I wouldn't be able to mount it somewhere above the band anyway.

Obviously, if things get busy and people are indeed interested, I would hire a board operator who could do some awesome lighting shows on the fly to each song. Until then, I wonder what some other alternatives anyone else has come up with....?

Honestly, I just bought the stage kit during the closeout at Circuit City. I had already purchased a few sound activated lights of the web. The coolest part about the stage kit is the music synced fog machine. The lights don't really ad much to the show that I didn't already have and the navigation with that controller is horrible (no Right Button to navigate the menue)! Try shopping around on Amazon and Musicians Friend for DJ Lighting. They are really not that expensive. Although, if you don't already have it, I would recommend the pro audio / video set up 1st! This makes you 100% mobile and you don't have to rely on the venue for sound or TV's. Visit my myspace link for tons of pictures and video's that show of my set up for ideas.

[LiquidKourage]

I've been around the block with bar entertainment. I started my business 5 years ago, strictly karaoke and mobile DJ services. When Guitar Hero first started becoming popular, I took a risk and started providing it at all my karaoke shows as a non-singing alternative. When Rock Band first came out, I scrapped Guitar Hero and have offered what I call "Rockstar Karaoke", which is a combination of karaoke and Rock Band performances, and I've been doing that for about a year and a half now.

As far as what to charge for your services, there is a lot to take into consideration. Your location is probably #1. Big metropolitan areas expect to and are usually willing to pay more for entertainment than less urban areas, so don't expect to make what someone in NYC is making if you run shows in Sheybogan. Night of week is also an important factor; the conflict here is that you're usually able to charge more for premium nights (Thursday, Friday,Saturday) than on non-premium nights, but you may only find venues that are interested in non-premium nights so that they can accomodate other forms of entertainment for weekends.

One other major consideration is what you bring to the table. If you walk into a venue with an XBox and a few plastic instruments, you have much less of a negotiating position than someone who brings in a full PA system, their own screens, and high-quality instruments (i.e. IONs, mic mods, etc.)

That all being said, a fair ballpark would be in the $100-$250 range for a standard night (approx. 4 hours).

Seeing as this thread is intended for everyone who currently (or is considering) hosts regular Rock Band nights, I propose we form some sort of "organization" dedicated to the advancement of Rock Band as a venue entertainment medium. This way, we can steer the course of the industry, adopt similar standards, avoid unnecessary market competition, and collaborate on large-scale efforts. I would be willing to spearhead the formation of such an organization, and I would love to get some feedback from some of the other hosts nationwide.

[YRDaddy]

That all being said, a fair ballpark would be in the $100-$250 range for a standard night (approx. 4 hours)..

This is about right

Seeing as this thread is intended for everyone who currently (or is considering) hosts regular Rock Band nights, I propose we form some sort of "organization" dedicated to the advancement of Rock Band as a venue entertainment medium. This way, we can steer the course of the industry, adopt similar standards, avoid unnecessary market competition, and collaborate on large-scale efforts. I would be willing to spearhead the formation of such an organization, and I would love to get some feedback from some of the other hosts nationwide.

This is exactly what I was hoping for! I myself, have not been in the "bar entertainment" industry as long as you. Hell, I don't even drink, and I never even attempted Karaoke until this damn game came out . I simply saw an opportunity and jumped on it. I am hoping for a little organization as well. One of my clients, The Colorado Cutthroat Connection is a co-founder of the National Video Game Association which helps qualify local gamers for national competitions. We were brought in to attract more casual players but slowly there has been some competitions incorporated into the "free play". I was hoping that our local competitions could eventually help qualify a "band" to take on the best players in the nation as well. Providing a quality set up and consistant judging is big part of attracting people to these competitions and, well it's a lot easier if dedicated organizers like ourselves handle it. Here is the link to Death of the Arcades judging criterea: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...ogId=464276783 It is designed to allow even the not so expert players a chance to actually compete and win by making up for their lack of skill level with stage performance. So far it has worked well and created some very close decisions.

[ninjafohia]

Hi my name is Chris Wells. I have been reading yours and liquid courage's posts and would love to join your collaboration efforts. I am currently running free play and tournaments in Palatine, Illinois at Idols Sports Bar and Grill. Any support would be greatly appreciated and I would be willing to help you guys out with anything as well. Keep Rockin Hard.

[ssijay]

Hey all,

Well we just had our first RB2 night. All went well.

What we did was:

200 flyers were handed out, word of mouth, and posting here on the forums.

15 copies of all songs were spread throughout the bar.

Forms were also spread out.
On the form it asked:

Name/Band SEVEN7

X Singer X Guitar Bass Drums

SONG 1 Indestructible

SONG 2 Inside the Fire

SONG 3 Down with the Sickness

Note: (each one of these were checked off accordingly to who was playing) Ex: Singer and Guitar come up to play they would check off Singer and Guitar(the X's above represent checkmarks). This made it easier to set up ahead of time.


We had a full DJ system. While I was setting up for the next band to play we had music playing while I was setting for the next band. When the band was ready to play we announced them and they played.

2 projectors, 1 flat screen TV for the video.
4 led lights on stage, set those to blue.
1 robo light behind the drummer.
Xbox 360 for the console.
2 les pauls
2 RB2 guitar
1 guitar tree (holds 6 guitars only had 3 on it)
1 guitar stand (held 1 les paul)
1 wireless microphone.

It was free to play. It was our first time trying RB2 out in public and just wanted to see what kind of reaction we would get.
They're we people there who tried it out for the first time and speaking with me after the played they said it was entertaining, fun, and that they felt like a ROCKSTAR.
So all in all everyone there that night had a good time.

Any questions, comments, please post.