Specifics on the Austin "Music Scene" (Houston, Dallas: how much, weddings)

[desertsky]

I have heard so many good things about the Austin Music Scene, I was wondering if someone can give me a more specific breakdown.

Being a guitar player that mainly plays cover music, I am interested in the Cover Circuit there. Can someone play every weekend and maybe even some weeknights doing Top 40? Is there a Top 40 Band website for the Austin Area. Can anyone give me a breakdown on payscale for Top 40 bands?

I am currently in Seattle and most 4 piece bands make $100 per band member per night unless you get into casinos which you can make double or triple that.

Also any more info on weather, from what I read it is hot and humid in Austin up to 6 months out of the year, but how much rain do you get and how many days are sunny days?

Any Help is Apreciated, Thank You

[texastea]

I don't know anything about the music part, but this weather site has actual data that you can look up historically. Its better than someone's opinion--people from Phoenix think its humid, those from Houston think we're dry

Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground

[twange]

The info I'm getting is that musicians don't get paid too much here, due to the high supply. Unless of course you have a large following. Probably different for cover bands though. It always is. I would NEVER player covers for less than $100 per man. That's a minimum. I'm personally not doing that here, so I can't be much more specific. I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities for private parties, weddings, and clubs etc...

[mark311]

From what I've heard, Cool River Cafe is one of the only places in town that pays good money to cover bands.

A lot of the weekend bar/club goers here are College kids, so most of the bars don't charge anything at the door. That means less money for the band. The only places that do charge generally have a lineup of indie or signed bands playing that night. From what I've seen of the music scene here, it isn't a good place for a cover band to make good money. I almost refrain from calling places in Austin "clubs" because they really feel like they are "bars" and not clubs. There are very few places that give you that "dance club" feel.

In addition, I hear a lot of complaints from musician friends here in Austin that recording studio/practice rooms are expensive for bands due to the high demand.

The "Austin Chronicle" is the weekly paper to find out about all the bands that are playing that week. They have a pretty good website as well.

The Austin Chronicle: Calendar: Recommended: 2008-04-10 - 2008-04-30

[desertsky]

Thanks for the responses, Keep em coming.

[atxcio]

I'd always heard that the rather large fraternity community at UT meant that many big frat parties had bands... and heard that they paid well. They like cover bands.

Not top 40, but we've got at least one Beatles cover band in town that stays in business. the eggmen - beatles cover band - beatles tribute band . They play The Oasis quite often, which I imagine pays well. Another cover band Dysfunction Junction (70s/80s) also played there a lot, did corporate, etc. They made decent money from what I understood.

Also, if you are willing to make the short trip either north to Temple/Killeen/Ft. Hood (military area) or south to San Antonio, there should be plenty of good paying gigs for cover bands.

[Blakely3683]

I play in two cover bands here in town and I will say that while gigs are plenty and you can play pretty much every weekend, you do have to do some serious leg work to get the ones that actually pay well. My primary band plays clubs for about $600 and private events and wedding for $2000. We played a frat party last Friday and it was a blast - pay $2000.

It's taken us a couple years to get to this level and there are only about 10 or fewer cover bands in town playing for that kind of money. Most (like our other band) play for closer to $3-400 a gig or if you're picky about only playing downtown "cool" places you'll get even less.

Check out our website to see what kind of band we are so you can get a better comparison. Hope I've been helpful!!

Red Alert -80's Cover Band and Wedding Band in Austin, Tx

[twange]

Originally Posted by Blakely3683

I play in two cover bands here in town and I will say that while gigs are plenty and you can play pretty much every weekend, you do have to do some serious leg work to get the ones that actually pay well. My primary band plays clubs for about $600 and private events and wedding for $2000. We played a frat party last Friday and it was a blast - pay $2000.

It's taken us a couple years to get to this level and there are only about 10 or fewer cover bands in town playing for that kind of money. Most (like our other band) play for closer to $3-400 a gig or if you're picky about only playing downtown "cool" places you'll get even less.

Check out our website to see what kind of band we are so you can get a better comparison. Hope I've been helpful!!

Red Alert -80's Cover Band and Wedding Band in Austin, Tx

Great reply from someone actually playing in cover bands here...

Question, how many players in your bands? 600 is good for 4-5 players, but more than that, would seem low.

[rockinW]

Originally Posted by atxcio

I'd always heard that the rather large fraternity community at UT meant that many big frat parties had bands... and heard that they paid well. They like cover bands.

Not top 40, but we've got at least one Beatles cover band in town that stays in business. [URL="http://www.eggmen.com/"]the eggmen - beatles cover band - beatles tribute band[/URL] . They play The Oasis quite often, which I imagine pays well. Another cover band Dysfunction Junction (70s/80s) also played there a lot, did corporate, etc. They made decent money from what I understood.

Also, if you are willing to make the short trip either north to Temple/Killeen/Ft. Hood (military area) or south to San Antonio, there should be plenty of good paying gigs for cover bands.

Hi.. can you tell me which places an 80s cover band might do well in Temple/Killeen and San Antonio... Houston and Dallas if you know, too. Thanks in advance for the info.