The Importance of being Individual
By Ben Goode of Seize The Chance
You probably think that because you're in a band you're individual, that you stand out from the crowd. And you do! Only about 1% of the population are in bands, performing original music and covers regularly. The challenge comes in standing out from your new crowd.
1% of the population is still a hell of a lot of bands! Bands who play a gig every three weeks to the family and friends they can convince to show up, who push their gig a couple of times with a status of Facebook, a Tweet and maybe and an event, who play the show opening for a band that's just been on tour with such or such an impressive band, standing there and grinding out their tunes, then the show's over and they start practising again for the next show, occasionally posting a picture or a status, maybe releasing an EP a year. Sound familiar?
Don't get me wrong, these are good bands who work hard and love what they're doing, but there's so many of them that it's impossible to get recognition! You need to find your own gimmicks, both on and off stage.
For our upcoming gig on the 1st March with Designer Magazine at Dry Bar we pushed it in a few ways, but the biggest reception came from a Hitler Parody video we created. It reached over 1000 people on Facebook and was inspiration for Alex to write an article on it, which can be found here: http://designermagazine.org/SeizeTheChanceToPromoteYourGigDifferently.htm
From the shares we got on Facebook we managed to reach outside our friends and family circle with a memorable video that will hopefully stick in peoples minds and make them remember who we are.
On stage, anyone who has seen us before will know we like to put a lot of energy into our music and our performance, surprisingly something I've not seen much of at smaller gigs I've been to but I can't generalise that to everyone as I've not seen enough to judge! One of the gimmicks that helps us to do this is what we call 'ego boxes' which are just milk crates turned upside down at the front of the stage. They allow us to stand closer to the fans and give us something to raise our feet on other than the monitors. You'll have seen something more expensive at larger gigs made of metal, but we're a budget band!
And now to you! I'm not saying we're completely out there, revolutionising music, just that we have our small little things that stick in peoples minds to remember us by! In finding your own, not only will you helping yourself get the recognition you deserve, but you're helping the #supportthescene movement, offering another unique little thing to make it an even better rounded movement, improving it for all Manchester bands involved! Just do what feels right, it may seem strenuous, but if it sets you apart, then it's worth it! But of course, never lose sight of the reason you're in this industry in the first place: the pure enjoyment!
Ben Goode
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SeizeTheChanceTwitter: www.twitter.com/STCmanchester
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