When it’s time to move past the solo open mic acoustic performances onto the stage at nightclubs and concert venues, an artist must evaluate options to construct a solid and dependable backing band.
As a solo singer/songwriter you have the additional challenge of finding players who will fully back your music, rather than want collaborate to write originals with you.
Finding players who will practice for free with the possibility of pay from performances in the future is challenging, especially when they can find gigs that pay immediately.
Music is a business and with that comes investment as you
grow as an artist. Solo musicians have multiple ways to find musicians to back
them, the choice usually being influenced by industry knowledge and financial backing.
Difference Between Bandmates & Backing Musicians
It’s rare that you can front a band and find musicians who
will back you without wanting to add their own ideas, as well as practice and
perform for free.
For solo musicians who want to get a band on stage sooner rather
than later, working with free musicians will often lead to frustration as it
can be highly time consuming and difficult to find and motive members who aren’t being
paid.
Below are comparative lists of pros and cons of working
with a standard band as opposed to hiring professional backing musicians.
Putting Together a Band
Pros
- No rates to pay
- Veteran players may feel personally invested,
and more likely to promote you
Cons
- May take a substantial amount of time to find
the right players - May take months of practice to be ready for
performance - Players can quit at anytime
- Players may not act professionally
Hiring Experienced Professional Backing Musicians
Pros
- Can be easy to find
- Can be ready to perform in 1-2 practices
- Act professionally according to your contract
- Less likely to break the contract and quit the
project
Cons
- May require a substantial investment to pay rehearsal
and performance time for multiple musicians and shows - Popular professionals may not be available all
dates in your calendar, leaving you to find multiple players you can hire for
backups - Busy experienced pros have less personal investment, so
they may be less likely to help promote
Hiring a Professional Backing Musician
You have a few resources to help you find professional
backing musicians including using free classifieds like Craigslist, or websites
like SoundBetter which is a directory of professionals you can hire.
Additionally you can search Google to find players and contact them via their
website, or you can network to players offline in your community by simply
asking around at places like live shows, guitar stores and music schools.
Professional backing musicians will expect to be paid for rehearsals as well as performances.
The difference here is that a session player can learn all of your songs before they arrive to practice, and will likely only need 1-2 practices to be ready to play a gig.
Pros
typically package their practice and performance rates together and many will
offer deals when you book more than one performance with them. Some pros may
charge a travel fee so take into consideration where your performance will be
before shopping for players.
Compare these facts to free players who may take months to
learn your songs, and consider how quickly you want to start gigging to help
you decide if the investment in professional musicians is a good choice for your project.
Hiring College Students
An affordable option for hiring professional backing
musicians is to hire students from your local universities and institutions.
Students will usually be very enthusiastic at the opportunity, not only to put
the gig on their resume, but also to make some hard earned money even
entry-level rates.
The best way to approach students is to contact their music
department. Some colleges may detail the process by which to hire their students on the music department section of their website.
If you don’t find specific
information on the website call the department directly and ask if they
will post your requirements to their communications with students.
Find Musicians at Open Mics
You can find professional backing musicians at open mics although
not as easily as you can find premier musicians.
Some open mics
have a house band, which is usually comprised of players who are seasoned and
ready to be hired, or they may know someone who would be a good player to recommend.
Some audience members and performers may also be professionals. If you
still are not at the place where you can hire musicians, an open mic is a great
place to pick up musicians who will work for free as well.
Other Ways to Find Backing Musicians
Music Teachers—Contact instrument instructors to see if they are available to perform
themselves or if they can recommend one of their students to you.
Musical Instrument
Retail Stores—Drop in and ask the staff they know of any players, chances
are one of them already works as a backing musician or knows some players who
you could consult with. Ask if you can leave your card or if they have a
bulletin board where you can post an ad seeking players.
Social Media—Use all of your social media to post, tweet, and share the fact that you are
seeking paid qualified musicians to back you. Musician-specific networks like
ReverbNation allows you to network as an artist to find other players to work
with.
Writing Contracts
Writing a contract that spells out exactly what is expected of
the hired musicians will help you avoid any potential problems or
misunderstandings in the future. Some items you want to touch on in your
contract include:
- Date and time of gig
- Agreed rate of pay
- Hold harmless in case of Force Majeure
- Provisions supplied the players (examples: drinks,
food, parking spaces, etc.) - Conduct expected (examples: no drinking during performance, must wear
specific clothing, etc.)
Conclusion
In this tutorial I’ve given you a number of ideas and ways of finding backing musicians to help you perform at gigs.
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