NUMBER 1 - MAKE THE SCENE - SHOW UP AS A BAND: This one is so important I should make T-shirts of it for everyone to wear. Go to all the shows you'd like to play. Don't be pushy - just be there. Hang out, meet other people, meet other bands. The more you are visible (and not on stage but in the crowd), the easier it will be to know other people in your same position. In fact, you might find almost everybody is in your same position! You'll meet people who are into the same music. You're close friends. You just like to hang out together. You didn't know you were doing anything odd. People have commented that it makes your band look like a force. You go as a set, you ride together, you party together, you have a blast together.

When you are around all the time, people can't help but think of you for shows. Maybe they need an opener for something. "Oh yeah, there's the Your Name Here band. They're always around. Let's ask them." Being a scenester is very important. You're not going to hook up with anybody staying in the garage and practicing. That's good, but so is networking.

NUMBER 2 - A COALITION OF BANDS: With all this hanging out you can't help but start to form bonds with other bands. These are bands who might play your style of music, bands who have the same humor, the same goals, the same ideas, the same experiences. You'll go to their shows and they'll come to yours. It almost turns into a musical gang without you even being aware of it. I can't tell you how many times we've thanked our lucky stars that our band pals would show up to gigs. It can turn a crap show into a good one.

STEP 3 - REALISTIC GOALS/WORKING FROM THE BOTTOM UP: Bands need to start out on the low end. Play little clubs and bars. Play parties. Play rented halls. All those little gigs are practice for the big shows. Doing it small first teaches you how to do a show, how to be on stage. Playing well in the garage or bedroom is one thing. Playing well on stage and putting on a show for a couple hundred people is something altogether different. Believe me, you really do appreciate the big shows when you've done a hundred small shows to get there! And don't forget, sometimes playing in a little joint to 50 people can be just as rewarding as a big show (sometimes MORE rewarding!). Don't deny your band the experience of playing small, wild, weird shows. The big shows might be spectacular but the small shows are the ones you'll talk about for years to come. Get any two bands together to trade stories about shows they've done and see which ones they are laughing about. I'll guarantee you, it isn't the big well-attended, highly paid gigs. It's that crap show you played to five people at a coffee shop when the woman in charge that night didn't know anything about a band performing!

NUMBER 4 - PATIENCE: Being in a band is not a short term project. Think years - not months. I know that's really tough for young bands but the key to success in this biz is to be in it for the long haul. Hell, I think of a band that's been around for 5 years still as "the newcomers". So many bands get impatient, burn out, have unrealistic expectations, turn on each other and break up. You've got to be doing this for one reason, and one reason only: BECAUSE YOU CAN'T STAND NOT TO. It's like oxygen to breathe or blood in your veins. You do it because you have no other choice. If you are in a band for fame and fortune, get out now. There's a 99.99% chance you will be disappointed. Doing this for the right reason will keep you going when others have abandoned their (pipe) dreams.

NUMBER 5 - KNOW YOUR CLUB BOOKER: (And this does not include pay-to-play companies who rent the club and then book. These are not club bookers, in fact most of them don't even live close to you.) Can you imagine what a nightmare of a job this is? Being a club booker is about the most thankless job on the planet! Why these people would want to even attempt this task is beyond me. They've got to put together shows months in advance, work with all kinds of bands/people, fill up nights that aren't booked, deal with artist demands, hustle when bands drop off the bill, work through the complaints and concerns of all the shows they've booked, be on the phone, email people, make sure all the promo gets done, and get hundreds of demos and requests of impatient new bands that want shows there. And then to top it all off they'll get complaints when even though everything was done right, for whatever reason, the show didn't work out so well. This is why many times bookers don't stay in the biz for long periods of time. They end up burning out after awhile. It's nothing but stress with very little payback or appreciation. You couldn't pay me enough to handle that job. So keep this in mind when you call, email or write these people. They are on your side but their work-load is huge. They must love bands or they wouldn't be doing this thankless job.

NUMBER 6 - DO IT YOURSELF: DIY isn't just cool initials that appears on punk stickers, it's words to live by! There is no good reason why bands can't rent a club, rent halls and spaces, and put on a show. You've already built up a coalition of band pals. If there's nothing happening - MAKE IT HAPPEN! Make an event, make flyers, pump the crap out of it. Learn all the ins and outs of what goes into putting on a show. You'll learn a lot and these are lessons that will carry you through years in the music biz.

NUMBER 7 - DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION: Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, shows just don't come along. This is where you'll need a Plan B (something other than live shows) to keep you and your bandmates interested. Now is the time to write new songs, go out and take some good looking band photos, try recording new songs on your own, work on your website...anything you can think of to keep the band moving forward while waiting for gigs will work. Get creative. Make a video, put out your own limited edition CDs, design and make some T-shirts, patches, buttons, bumper stickers. There are hundreds of different ways to get yourselves out there when nothing seems to be happening.

NUMBER 8 - ABOVE ALL, HAVE FUN (AND I MEAN IT!): Don't forget that being in a band is an experience that you should treasure, and you will for the rest of your lives. This is special. Not everybody gets to form bands. Consider yourself lucky to be in on this. Your actual time on stage is so small compared to the preparation, the hanging out, all the goofy (both good and aggravating) things that will come your way. That's where the fun is. If you aren't having fun at practice, there's no amount of big shows that will make it fun. And don't forget that the good will outweigh the bad experiences, as long as you keep at it. So don't stress out when it doesn't seem to be working. Hang in there, enjoy your bandmates, and eventually everything will work out. I promise.

Written by Bon Von Wheelie...