BEST place for live MUSIC/musician ROCK BAND in CO??? (Denver: best city, buy)

[167878]

so, i currently live in S.FL , I'd like to knowwhere the best city/area is to make living playing in a rock band...That is very diverse, heavy/electric blues, rock, psychedelic, think of, Beatles,Floyd,Hendrix,Doors,Cream,Zeppelin,Sabbath ,Mozart,Beethoven, 20's-60'sblues n' Jazz ,(we branch out in more, but these are the main influences to give you an idea)..influence....a band that can actually PLAY anything, but this is what we like (all original, but know plenty of covers )..NO disco,rap,pop,dance,screamo,death metal,techno,*ahum* 'modern day' country (well johnny cash and old old country-yea some-) or any other various forms of non-melodic noise today considered as music(sorry if that offends you)..

so lets say we have our sh*t down, have an album, a website,a studio, some capital,(and maybe-(big maybe) and RV) -everything to get up and running, just open minded places to play that PAY, and that you can work your way up from bottom (average bar venues ~few hundred audience on weekends..$400-500low end a night{100$ea is the min. around here}-$1000higher end bars)-and private parties of course)) to Top (biggest venue/fest you can get into without needing a Major Label) say crowds of thousands of audience per weekend/event..pay,, free basically for exposure.

also, a place that isnt loaded with wanna -be players, and also venues that are booked for a year straight that pay in free drinks and tips. Some where that it doesnt take a great deal of struggle to get in and get KNOWN, but somewhere big enough where being known actually matters.

ive considered LA, but sems like a rat race, same as NY, but not much of a Rock scene..(i m not intereested in heavy metal scenes)? (which im sure lots and lots of places are...metal and rap...), Austin, seemingly too small from what i hear? over hyped-i heard alot of people say its great? Orlando/ maybe Tampa too (or lakeland inbetween both), not enough venues??Anywhere in FL ideas?(just not not miami)-seemingly not big enough cities? Eugene/Portland Oregon i hear is a nice friendly town/area tht may be good for my type of music/ROCK? New Orleans?katrina made that place a mess from what i hear, and its more geared toward jazz/swing blues...i just dont really know, i v never bee any of these places,...i'd realllllly prefer to stay in the SOUTH, i like the people and weather. so any ideas would be much appreciated....we're in our 20's and ready to get going-and not spend a year trying to fight off competition to get our foot in the door (tho of courseyou have to be better than the comp to make it).

as a side note..any info on how to get on a good going circuit (say around state, or even nation wide?) w/o booking aggents and managers?=i assume just draw alot of attention and est. a following, and im looking for aplace where we can do that from nothing...(i like the idea of tamp/orlando since its pretty close, just dont know if thats optimal).


thanks a whole lot...any out of state areas are appreciated, im doing this for most of the states...thanks...i hear Colorado is reall friendly, dopeople let you be if you just wanna escape outdside of the city and have some land and peace ofyour own?-like the gov. isnt all over the place like where i am....?/ also, hows the weather compared to the south..how many mon. outa a year is it freeze?

[delta07]

Well, you're asking quite a bit, so I'll try to help you out where I can. First off, I think it will be pretty tough to move anywhere as an entire band and start over. My husband has been playing music for almost 20 years and it has been hard every time we have relocated. With that said, I would say your best bet in Colorado would be Denver because of the size of the city. Denver definitely has a rock & roll scene and lots of great venues, I just don't know about the "paying" aspect of them. You will probably have to work hard just for drinks (if you're lucky, these days the economy isn't even allowing that) for at least a year before you get any paying gigs. The music industry is a tough one to break into, and it sounds like your being a little overzealous in thinking you will get something right away. Sorry, that has just been our experience and my husband is an AMAZING bass player (very Les Claypool, Mike Gordon influenced). Your vision of Denver may be a bit skewed as well. It's pretty hard to find a piece of land just outside the city and keep to yourself unless you have lots of cash! Also, Denver can get snow anytime from about mid-September until mid-May. It doesn't snow everyday and stick on the ground from that time, but it can and will dump big time. Freezing temps. are common from November to March in the evenings, and can occur during the day as well depending on the cold fronts. It can also be sunny (usually is even when it's bitter cold) and 70 degrees any day of the year. That's a reality.

Other cities you might consider would be Seattle or Portland. Both have a vibrant music scene. Weather in both cities is more mild than Denver. You rarely get much snow, but rain is something you have to be willing to live with. I don't know about most cities in the south. You might consider Asheville. I visited there once and they have a pretty lively music scene. May be too small for you though.

In any case, regardless of whether you move or not, you will have to do some ground work first. Breaking into the music scene is a tough thing to do, especially if you are looking at a career in this. I'm not saying it can't be done, but you will have to deal with a lot of bad gigs, playing for free, and endless touring to make any money at this. You probably better have a day job as well. Even if you find paying gigs right off the bat, it will be hard to live off one or two nights a month. I don't imagine you will find more than that at first. It sounds like you are up for the challenge, so good luck to you!

[zman0457]

I've been a working musician in Tampa Bay for 8 years, playing weekly at one of the area's best venues, Skipper's Smokehouse. With that said, there is little money to be made for the working musician in this town. Like most places, there are more bands than venues.

[167878]

yea.. all true...

i dont plan on making money reallly,... let me clarify, i wana town that wonce you get in and known a lil, you can ake more connections, more venues, to the point to the top/ noationwide connections...IF your 'good' enough/ what theyre looking for.....for, what i play,...not rap,metal,counrty,pop...which is all tooo popular

[167878]

thx for info

[treedonkey]

I know next to nothing about the music business, so my response probably carries little weight, but I know a few bands have come out of Colorado (Denver) so it can be done. I figure the likelihood of 'success' in the music biz depends more on your musicianship and style than it does on where you live. It seems like any fairly large city with plenty of venues (like Denver) would be as good a place to get started as any. Of course, you'd probably want to make sure that whatever type of music you play has a decent following in that area.

[SheridanL]

Two places to get you started.....Little Bear in Evergreen and Buffalo Rose in Golden! They are very fantastic places for live music and probably can help you out! Google them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zenkonami]

Hmmm...this is a career move, right? Cuz if you're not planning on making money out of it, then what do you plan to make money on?

Really, the big cities are your best option, and yes it can be a rat race...but if you're looking for national or international attention, those are the places to go...assuming you want to play by "the rules" and not just push really hard online.

I mean, establishing yourself in a scene is a completely admirable ambition and I hope you succeed, but I think that if you are *not* concerned with national press (i.e., just looking for local territory to conquer), then any mid-sized city should do the trick. The rest is just a lot of hard work, practiced chops and business acumen.

Otherwise you are (believe it or not) describing Los Angeles. The rock scene is actually great out here, but EXTREMELY competitive. Personally I'd rather just make a name for myself based out of Denver and touring the Rocky Mountain states (for the most part.) That would be enough for me, and I know that's a slog in and of itself.

Anyway, that probably wasn't much help except to say best of luck and break a leg! As long as you commit and you pay some attention not just to your passions but to what your fans want, then you should be able to go a long way.

[Music=MyExistence]

Hey man, the key is.... and I'm sure you know, is to get all the gigs you can and DON'T STOP!! I saw some responses that suggested you play at the Little Bear or the Buffalo Rose. They are just "O.K." places. Evergreen is a small mountain town in Colorado and the heads that you will get will not be satisfying, especially if you're not recognized out here. That's pretty much the key. You have to play all the time. Bigger venues will come if you have the talent or a great marketing strategy. There are a ton of ways to get heard now a days. Hopefully you are using social networks, or sites like Topspin. They will help you get fans sooner than you realize. Marketing is also huge. I have been convinced that if a band does not market themselves, they will never accomplish anything. People need to hear your music. Discover all the ways you can be heard. I hope this was helpful, even though it was pretty generic information, but it is still important to remember. On the money side, you have it pretty good. You will want to license your music to TV, Movies, Video Games, etc., even political campaigns. Licensing is where the money is, besides touring. Unfortunately we can not sell a ton of albums as an artist anymore. The times are changing...

[Music=MyExistence]

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

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