How to Get Booked at Summerfest and Other Events

Published March 30, 2009 at 5:46 p.m.

"I hope I die in my sleep like grandfather…Unlike the other people in the car"
Random Bumper Sticker


Welcome to Vic’s Blog # 2 – How to Get Booked at Summerfest and Other Events


Thank you all for the comments and feedback regarding this blog. I forwarded the blog onto many friends and associates and have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised that Dave Tianen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote an article regarding this blog. So far all of the feedback has been positive, along with some people sharing stories with me about similar interesting situations of being pitched in an uncomfortable situation. Click here to see these comments...I don’t know if this will start a trend, but they are amusing at the least and downright funny at the best.

I had the great fortune to attend a clinic performance by Streetlife at Cascio Music on Saturday, March 14. It was a wonderful event and I hope that Cascio does more with the professionals that are living in our community instead of always having clinicians from somewhere else. Below are some post-event comments from Rhonda Begos of Streetlife. 

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO STREETLIFE'S CLINIC!
...
...A big THANK YOU to everyone who came to the Cascio Interstate Music Streetlife Clinic on Saturday. It was an amazing success with a wonderful turnout (standing room only!). This was my first Clinic with Streetlife, and it was amazing - a wonderful learning experience for all who were there, but also a huge benefit to the things I learned about sharing your craft with others. Streetlife IS for hire to perform a clinic at your high school, college - or any group that is anxious to learn about the art of music, the ins and outs of balancing your life and gigs, individual instruction on your instrument - and obviously, if you want to hear GOOD music! Feel free to visit our websites at www.streetlifejazz.com, www.myspace.com/streetlifemilwaukee

I've also included a video file of a group that I jam with in the off-season.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

...

For those who don’t know, I studied percussion for a good part of my life and attended college with the hopes of a professional career in performing music. Alas, upon entering Oberlin College, a great college and extraordinary music conservatory, I realized that as much as I loved making music, I was a wannabe more than a real player. I got a Communications degree and never played or picked up an instrument for the next 25 years. I stayed very involved with the Music / Entertainment business, (Entertainment Buyer, promoter, producer, stagehand, production manager, dresser for theater productions, etc.), but did not perform. A good friend, Barbara Meyer-Spidell, invited me to jam and I realized how much I still loved performing.

So when we are in a slower mode at Summerfest, (November – Mid January,) I like to jam and explore arts projects. The video is a group that comes out of a drum circle concept and the group is called PX4.

So I’m posting this video file for two reasons. One is to give everyone some idea of what things I’m about. Two, I’m putting this out there as a tribute to Neil Peterson. Neil is the clean shaven guy playing percussion on the tape. The other players are Mark Momsen and Schnar, (that is the only name that I know him by!). Neil was a great friend who passed away before his time and I miss him. So here is to you, Neil.

This is the time when Summerfest starts to take on an amazing energized character...With the release of several Amphitheater acts, (and a shout out to Bob Babisch for booking an excellent lineup in the Marcus Amphitheater!), you can feel the pace picking up. We always seem to hit full stride right around Easter. And Easter is getting closer as we speak!

A Few Inspirational Quotes

“I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everyone to tell the truth even if it costs them their jobs.”
...   Sam Goldwyn

“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we catch excellence.”
...   Vince Lombardi

“If I'd known how many problems I was going to run into before I finished, I can't remember a single project I would have started.”
...    Andy Rooney

The following is an outline that I use whenever I speak regarding how to get booked at Summerfest. In italics are some of my comments regarding the outline / topics.

GETTING BOOKED AT SUMMERFEST & OTHER EVENTS - 2009

Do your homework
	What kind of acts does Summerfest (or other events) book? SF Website - www.summerfest.com
		(What styles of music??)
		(Study the Summerfest brochures /  website for the last 3 years)
	Who’s getting booked? (What bands are getting booked?)
		SF Website - www.summerfest.com
		(Study the Summerfest brochures / website for the last 3 years)
	Assess your current status
		Versus your peers, understand who is above and below you in the food chain
		Are you / your career -
			ON THE WAY UP? vs
			A SOLID VETERAN PERFORMER? vs.
			BEST DAYS BEHIND YOU?
			Why a two year cycle is not uncommon – Many times if I’m considering a band and if it new, I’m inclined to wait a year and see if the band has longevity instead of being a flash in the pan.
How many available slots are there? Do the math!
	Spaces/slots for bands for Summerfest are finite! The Universe of bands/entertainers is infinite! (Especially when you consider online submittals!)
Should you use an Agent?
	Like any good philosophical question the answer is both Yes and No.
		Do you make enough for the gig to cover the cost of an agent?  If you are not making money nor have the potential to make money playing gigs, there is no point in having an agent!
		An agent can charge you anywhere between 5% – 20%. 5% of a million dollars is $50,000. 20% of $100 is $20. So how much you are making factors into whether or not it is worth it to pay a percentage to someone else. The point is if you are making a hundred bucks a night and an agent is charging  you 20% and you are a four piece band, essentially the agent becomes the fifth member of the band and is making as much as a  band member!
The booking power structure at Summerfest
	Bob Babisch, Vice President of Entertainment
	Vic Thomas, Associate Entertainment Director
	Scott Ziel, Doug Johnson, David Silbaugh – Entertainment Buyers
	Find out who is booking what and where??
		Each stage has its own identity (Classic Rock, The Rock Stage,  Emerging Artists Stage, The Children’s Stage, the eclectic mixes of the other stages)
	How do you build a case for your band to be booked at Summerfest?
		PLAY OUT LIVE ON A REGULAR BASIS!
			Enough can’t be side about this topic. I can’t count how many  times I got an e-mail, letter and/or a phone call – “Me & my brother just formed a band and we want to play Summerfest.” Great, but where is the track record?
		Word of Mouth
			Where is the following that is going to justify you vs. all of your worthy competitors?
		Press - Band listings vs. articles
			Yes it helps to be talked about in the mainstream and/or alternative media, whether it be print, radio, TV, online, etc.
		Promo Packages / EPK
			We love EPK’s! It is much easier for us to deal with, but if you want to send materials by snail mail, please do.
			Solicited vs...unsolicited! If you just randomly send materials to Summerfest that is unsolicited, compared to making contact with one of the buyers and we ask you to send us promo materials or a link to your band. Obviously solicited material carries much more weight just a blind submittal.
		The Web – Sonicbids / MySpace and other social networking sites
			Use them all!
	Some Festival /Music Industry sites that you should visit
		International Festivals and Events Association www.ifea.com
		Festivals.com  www.festivals.com
		Pollstar www.pollstar.com
		Hypebot www.hypebot.com
		Music Biz Advice www.musicbizadvice.com
	Battle of Bands competitions for slots at Summerfest
		Great. They are useful, but remember there is only one winner for each Battle of Bands! Bottomline, it is a good way to get a gauge of you / your band.
Entire year booking cycle
	Make the case for your band throughout the year by dropping info/updates regarding the progress / accomplishment of your band.
	Polite persistent messaging / imaging / calling is great - Pestering / stalking is not cool. Know the difference between the two!
The same old thang vs. The new, hip and unusual
	XYZ cover band. If your submittal looks like all of the other bands, you have to figure out some way to stand out from your competition.
	Those Darn Accordions  - An accordion band that has a rockin rhythm section, does a great version of Viva Las Vegas, wears trendy outfits and are just the epitome of cool, will always get my attention! In other words, they are not the same old thang!

Signing off for now, but see you on the next blog. If you have comments or suggestions for topics that you would like to have discussed, please give me some feedback through our comment section.

Thank you,

Vic Thomas

To finish today’s blog, a quick story on why you have to do your homework.

Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch standard four pound dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea was to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.
...
...British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers. When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow.
...
...The horrified Brits sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the US scientists for suggestions.
...
...You're going to love this...
...
...NASA responded with a one-line memo -- "Defrost the chicken." (True Story)

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