Getting an entertainment Gig in Poland

POLAND . The Unofficial Guide

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Aug 21, 10, 15:32 #1

So lets say you're a DJ or a singer-songwriter and you want to play a gig, nothing huge just a couple of support slots.

How would you go about it?
Should I just contact bands that are gonna be playing in the city over the coming months or promoters or do the venues look after stuff like that.

Back home it's a mix, if you get in with a promoter they may use you in a few different places but if you an get in with a venue then they'll put you on with suitable acts that play there.

Advice would be much appreciated, since I moved here, I've made nearly an album's worth of tracks and would love to get back to gigging

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 10, 15:41 #2
smurf: How would you go about it? Should I just contact bands that are gonna be playing in the city over the coming months or promoters or do the venues look after stuff like that. If you just want to play music for the hell of it, get with the club manager or owner and make a deal. That's what brought cowpunk to Wroclaw..

lowfunk99Threads: 18 Posts: 435 Joined: Jan 7, 08 ♂	Aug 21, 10, 15:48 #3
Cowpunk? Now I have this picture of cows up on stage playing the romones and the stooges.

convexThreads: 46 Posts: 7,185 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 10, 15:51 #4
lowfunk99: Now I have this picture of cows up on stage playing the romones and the stooges. close

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Aug 21, 10, 16:16 #5

Cowpunk is actually pretty old. In the late 80's I saw a few cowpunk bands perform in NL.

But about getting gigs, I would suggest to try the smaller venues on less popular evenings, say Monday- or Tuesday nights. That worked for me as clubmanagers usually are not quite picky for those evenings and already happy if SOME more ppl show up than the standard group of regulars. Also, don't ask money. It's tough enough to get free drinks, so if you can get that, settle for it. If you want to get famous, this is also the best way to start. Let the ppl get to know you and if you play long enough on those "odd" evenings, comes a time you will be having no probs getting a Wednesday- or even a Thursday- or Fridaynight.

I did it like that here in Dublin, but I didn't perform frequently enough due to lack of time. But you could try it. I think clubowners are pretty much the same everywhere, so what worked in Dublin, should work in any bigger city in Poland too.

>^..^<

M-G (did a handful of gigs in Dublin)

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Aug 21, 10, 16:26 #6

MareGaea:

Also, don't ask money. It's tough enough to get free drinks, so if you can get that, settle for it.

There is no reason not to get free booze if you're not getting paid. We won't take money, but I expect my booze and someone to help with lugging the equipment around.

MareGaea:

If you want to get famous, this is also the best way to start.

Best way would be to get together with a promoter right now. Word of mouth needs a very strong kick in the ass.

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Aug 21, 10, 16:53 #7

convex:

There is no reason not to get free booze if you're not getting paid. We won't take money, but I expect my booze and someone to help with lugging the equipment around.

Ah well, usually it's not a problem to get free drinks, however, I've had a few times in NL and in IRE that it really was a problem to negociate free drinks - one club where we played early in the 90's gave us THREE free consumptions per person plus 100 guilders per person. That's all he wanted to afford, the bogger! It was on first Christmas Day. the 25th. He would normally have been closed, no income - now he had the place full and charged 5 Euro entrance, so he did good business that night.

With "no money" I of course meant extra pay on top of the costs you would make to get your equipment over there. A guy to lend a hand is always at hand and that would be the least of your problems. Some parts of my equipment, however, I preferrably carry myself. Like my guitar, amplifyer (with help of course as it was a Fender Dual Showman); the actual amplifyer I carried myself, but for the speaker I used a hand:

Fender Dual Showman

convex:

Best way would be to get together with a promoter right now. Word of mouth needs a very strong kick in the ass.

I know, but I don't need to be famous :) That time is behind me and I don't have that much time anyway. I've played in bands for about 15 years, with a pause of about a year when I was recovering from burnwounds as I described in the other thread. As soon as I could use my fingers again, I practiced guitar again and within a few weeks I had the hang of it again. But then the career got in the way and loads of other stuff. Now I feel that I'm too old to go jumping around on stage anymore, so I make music on my own. Also because I have always been compared to Billy Corgan (mentality wise) when in bands. I wrote the songs and they will be played the way I envisioned them, unless it's really an addition, the others will just have to play them the way I want them to play it. Makes sense, right?

>^..^<

M-G (ah, the good old days - jumping around on stage...loved it)

smurfThreads: 46 Posts: 660 Joined: Sep 8, 09 ♂	Aug 21, 10, 18:05 #8
Thanks lads, cheers I've been writing and producing away but I guess I'll need a set of decks if I wanna play in the clubs, ya dont see too many trip-hop dubstep bands around, ah sure work'll be starting back soon, maybe I can get myself a set of amateur decks on the cheap somewhere

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Getting an entertainment Gig in Poland - how to go about it?