All Event and "Bar Night" Organizers Only!!

[ImBillPardy]

Eggs Erroneous

I'll tell them to watch their backs.

Bring it on! I've made shivs from pinecone's and soap. I'm the MacGuyver of shanking!

[RockBandLosAngeles]

You can just go to hell Atlanta!! I'm a sore loser! (J/K )

Hey, what is the name of the band thats going to Atlantic City from your venue? Although our band didn't beat you guys by points, maybe they can win using "prison rules" at Harrahs

Well, guys, sorry I haven't been participating here in awhile, started a new job and been pretty busy. Wish I would have entered in your contest, as I think I would have won (2.2 million points from Delorean Racers in the qualifying) Racers ended up taking 3rd at the finals, good for them!

[YRDaddy]

Hey RockBandLosAngeles, do you have anything going on 8/14-8/16 or know of any (real) Rock Band event/Bar Nights in the L.A. - San Diego area (the damn local feature has become cluttered with non-hosting venues and I can't tell which posting is real ). I'll be out there for the weekend near Camp Pendelton North and I would like to do something Rock Band related to make it a "Business Trip" if you know what I mean

[sa_nick]

Just put on another RB event over the weekend. It was at AVCon, a place I did one at last year, about the same size although there were a few more people at the whole thing.

I uploaded our 20 best photos to flickr... http://www.flickr.com/photos/sa_nick...212835/detail/

[RockBandLosAngeles]

Well, you won't be around on a Thursday for our best gig, THE DRAFT. Biggest Rock Band night in LA happens there. Only other thing I know of that is happening on those dates would be Sardo's in Burbank, which is where the DeLorean Racers can be usually found. I think it's on Monday nights. They do a Rock Band and Karaoke combined thing. Weekends are not usual Rock Band nights in bars around here, unfortunately.

Let me know if you want to make that one, I'll be happy to join you and bring a few others and make it a good ole time!

[robertjr69]

Good day Rock Band Bar Night providers and promoters! Just wanted to post here to let you all know that we will be expanding to a second complete Rock Band Bar Night setup to include another vehicle. Now I can say that we have a mobile Rock Band fleet (although only 2 vehicles)!! We acquired the funds for our complete second exclusive setup, for the Northern Virginia area.

This has been rather successful in the DC area and can only see great things ahead. We have had requests from venues to come in but without our second setup were unable to accommodate their requests. We should have mobile vehicle two ready in a few weeks and will be scheduling our services to these venues in about three weeks.

We are pretty excited about this and the future of Rock Band for us once RB3 is released. We are hoping that we can capture the musician's interests in using the Pro mode for the guitar, drums and keyboard. We will be purchasing the optional peripheral components to introduce the new instrument features of RB3.

Anyhow, just wanted to thank Gabe (Death of the Arcade) for starting this thread, gaining my interest and in our past conversations in how to get started. We are very happy with the outcome and can only see grand things ahead for Crooked Tree Entertainment. It is amazing how this has grown for us.

[YRDaddy]

Anyhow, just wanted to thank Gabe (Death of the Arcade) for starting this thread, gaining my interest and in our past conversations in how to get started. We are very happy with the outcome and can only see grand things ahead for Crooked Tree Entertainment. It is amazing how this has grown for us.

Ah shucks Glad I can help and really glad to hear things are going so well for you over there!

[RetroFighter]

Hey guys, I've been reading this forum for a while and for the last two years I've been collecting stuff for Rockband. I started by buying the stage kit (when it first came out). I had some old speakers in the attic so I dragged them down for looks and it never stopped. Now I have a cool setup but I only play with it with the kids and my family. I've thought about bar nights but can't find anyone locally that has enough room for the stuff and I'm not a drinker so I really don't know how to deal with the bar scene. I have had a party for my friends in March and it was cool and alot of fun. If you want to check it out there are pics at www.MyRockbandParty.com and Youtube just search RetroFighter69 for a couple videos. I'm not sure how to break into the bar sceen but I would like to give it a shot so I ordered business cards and shirts and got a good contract made but every time I talk to a bar owner they don't know what it is and they aren't going to spend money for nothing. Another problem is that with all the equiptment I have it's over $7,000.00 closer to $10,000.00 and that's a lot of $$$ to carry around for a couple hundred bucks. is that normal for everyone else doing this? I really would like to know if there are any ideas or suggestions out there that could help break the ice with the bar owners. Maybe setup for a couple hundred bucks in the middle of a mall or open store in the mall. I have also talked to the local gamestop and they don't know how to get an event going because the higher ups set all that up.
Thanks Guys!

[robertjr69]

Retro,

Thought that I would throw in a comment on this post and this comment is a lengthy one - sorry about that.

Looks like you have a nice setup and have spent some time getting things together and such. I know what you mean. When I got started none of the Bar GM's/Owners were interested in the idea or have tried it to get foot traffic in the door. However, they at one time trying it out, at least with something. I found that they were using either a Wii (nothing wrong with that), Guitar Hero was the game (again, nothing wrong with that) or other things that aren't like the setups that we all provide.

It is tough trying to meet up with these Gm's/Owner during the day, especially during their busy hours. When you do get to meet up with them you only have a few minutes to pitch your "spiel" then that's it. Provide them your business card and other marketing material you may have, then leave. They will not make a decision right then. Then, if you haven't heard from them in a week or so, call them.

Be prepared to provide your services during the week (Tues, Wed or Thur.). Now, Sun will be a Football day, Mon will be set for Monday Night Football and Fri and Sat will be for DJ/Band nights. I personally had a Sunday night, but when Football started, they move my night to a Wednesday night.

It was a slow start for me when I began providing services back in May. I got my first gig on May 5th, "Cinco De Mayo" and it was outside and had a ton of people that day. Then I got my second gig when out of the blue a VP of Operations for another pub emailed me and wanted to give us a try, not at one of their establishments, but two. This was one of the venues I had dropped off marketing material to. Then it just goes from there...

I now have two mobile setups. I run one and my son runs the other. My investment which I can say is fairly priced (to include the van's) will not make the returns just doing bar, pubs and restaurants. Be prepared to negotiate with them. The most that I have made for a gig is $225.00, average is around $185.00 per gig. If they have karaoke, this is the pricing to go by. Even though you are offering more, that is about all they will pay. I also, tried the contract thing, but that piece of paper seems to get in the way of obtaining the gig. Granted it is safeguarding your agreement, but they are hesitant to sign it.

I give the GM/Owner a break on the price (from my regular price), call it a discount for consecutive scheduled dates per month. Let them know also, which they should already know, that one showing won't bring in the customers all at one time. Your private events and special events are where you will make what you may be looking for. Again, you do not want to overprice to those parties either.

Another suggestion, if you have the funds, is to join your local Chamber of Commerce. Great source and you can meet a lot of local businesses. I am a member of our local Chamber and another business group called Business Networking International (BNI). I have met some great resources and have established two local venues for our gigs. Both of these groups have membership dues, so that is an option for you.

All I can tell you is that this is my primary function day to day and from night to night. I have put in a lot of hours and rarely see my family except on weekend when I am not out and about marketing and meeting businesses. It has been quite a success and has taken off. Word of mouth is a great thing. Once participants see your setup they will be helping you get the word out about your setup.

I invested in the second setup because the demand was there, now I am currently working two venues on the same night and at the end of the month will have two shows going on, Tuesdays and on Thursday. Working on getting two going on Wednesdays now. Again, this is a lot of work and time. I have had two of my venues going now three months and hope to continue with them. I enjoy hosting our events and of course meeting the people that participate or just watch.

If you ever want to call me, please do so. Our website and contact information is listed on our contact page and I would be happy to discuss anything you would like. Gabe with Death of the Arcade has been instrumental in assisting us when we first started and have learned a few thing on my own too. One day I hope to capitalize in this area offering our services in the tri-state area.

Good luck to you in your endeavor!!

[YRDaddy]

Hey guys, I've been reading this forum for a while and for the last two years I've been collecting stuff for Rockband. I started by buying the stage kit (when it first came out). I had some old speakers in the attic so I dragged them down for looks and it never stopped. Now I have a cool setup but I only play with it with the kids and my family. I've thought about bar nights but can't find anyone locally that has enough room for the stuff and I'm not a drinker so I really don't know how to deal with the bar scene. I have had a party for my friends in March and it was cool and alot of fun. If you want to check it out there are pics at www.MyRockbandParty.com and Youtube just search RetroFighter69 for a couple videos. I'm not sure how to break into the bar sceen but I would like to give it a shot so I ordered business cards and shirts and got a good contract made but every time I talk to a bar owner they don't know what it is and they aren't going to spend money for nothing. Another problem is that with all the equiptment I have it's over $7,000.00 closer to $10,000.00 and that's a lot of $$$ to carry around for a couple hundred bucks. is that normal for everyone else doing this? I really would like to know if there are any ideas or suggestions out there that could help break the ice with the bar owners. Maybe setup for a couple hundred bucks in the middle of a mall or open store in the mall. I have also talked to the local gamestop and they don't know how to get an event going because the higher ups set all that up.
Thanks Guys!

Welcome Retro. My thoughts on some of your questions and concerns:

You shouldnt be looking for a venue to fit your set up, instead reduce your set up to fit the venue. This would probably reduce your set up time (i.e. cost) and liability for carring around that much $$ worth of equipment at the same time. Thats like "killing 2 (maybe even 3) birds with 1 stone" We have mutiple price options for a venue or event that is increased or reduced based on the equipment they want to pay for. Our bar nights are usually pretty bar bones, full lighting rig is a little more, and the full stage and lights is the most expensive.

I agree with Robert, ditch the contract. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 years without a contract and I have not had had problems yet. I've had a couple close calls though. The only thing that sucks about not having a contract is that the venue could cancel on you with little or no notice but even that is not that bad. Difinetely invoice the venue though so you have a record of the service provided.

Only you can make the decision wheather it's "worth it" or not. I think I mentioned before that I treat this more as a hobby that I make some side money with as opposed to relying on it to provide for my family. "A couple hundred bucks" is pretty normal for doing a standard event but it can be more based on your salesmanship, dedication, and demand in your area.

Speaking of "salesmanship", you absolutely need it! You can have the best equipment in the world and a venue will not book you unless you can sell them on the idea. I've always felt like this is more of a personality trait than something that is learned but thats just my opinion. Gamestop has been terrible to work with in my experience. They are arrogant and cheap. Expecting something for nothing just because they are "Gamestop". Best Buy is very receptive to doing "game day release" promotions and each store is in charge of their own special events. I would recommend trying them over Gamestop. However, I think you would do better booking a few bar nights 1st. This would give you the experience in selling the idea, setting up, dealing with all types of people, and help develop a community to support the special event.

I hope this helps get you started. If you have any questions, just post up in here and we will be glad to help you out. Good Luck!