Have you actually tried going to bars? You may be surprised. The Reverbivores second and third gigs were at bars - well, one bar, the other a sort of brew pub. We were very well received. Keep in mind that surf music falls outside of the norm, but still sounds familiar enough to be acceptable to most people's taste. If your band has good energy, plays with enjoyment, and engages with the audience, you'll do all right.

Other places I suggest would be things like a farmers' market.

The Reverbivores - we're local favorites!

Check the Show Announcement section on this forum for more ideas. Non paying gig ideas include walk or run for the cure events. Some outdoor shopping malls have live bands during summer. Check city parks and rec departments for summer concerts. Organizations like American Legion with their own club facilities have regular dinner and dance parties. The American Legion in Newport Beach is well known for hiring surf music bands. Some cities hire band for annual street fiestas or fairs. The advantage of instrumental surf music is it is family friendly.

Happy Sunsets!

I would think being in Central Florida would be prime location for a surf band. You have two different coasts within easy driving distance. I have never gigged in FL, but my folks live outside of Daytona, and I do a lot of traveling around when I visit. I see a ton of tiki bars, and surf themed bars/restaurants that are packed on weekends and during certain seasons. A lot of them have bands multiple nights of the week. Go grab a drink and find out who does the booking for the venues. Talk to other local bands and see where they play. I know the word networking can be overused, but it has landed me more gigs than it's cost me. If you don't have an EPK, they're pretty easy to put together. Just some links to your social media sites, a basic blurb about the band, a couple of videos, etc.

Surfboard shops and similar?

Happy Sunsets!

Everyone is spot-on with their comments/suggestions... obviously a wealth of practical experience on the board.

I will echo Patrick's suggestion to network like crazy. Not to the point of being obnoxious, but as a new band, one of the best ways to land gigs is to be asked to share the bill with a band that already has a track record at that venue.

It can be difficult to get quality face-time with the person responsible for booking shows at a venue. There are way more opportunities to interact with other bands before/after their shows and through social media. A simple introduction in person or on-line, with a link to some demos and other pertinent info is all it takes to establish yourself as a potential band to share the bill at some point down the road. No need to be pushy... it's all about planting seeds.

The simple truth is that when a band is offered a gig and they would prefer to share the bill (for many reasons), often times they have to scramble to find a 2nd band. It's hard enough getting members of one band to clear their calendars for a show, much less two. So, if some of their usual goto choices are unavailable, your band might be the perfect compliment to the bill. Sure, it'd be great if your band was already established and could help with the draw, but by the time you get to that point, you'll probably be booking your own shows (deejaying, playing solo acoustic, or in a top 40 cover band).

But seriously, once you start making inroads by sharing the bill with other bands, it will be much easier to book shows on your own. You will no longer be an unknown. You won't have to explain what surf music is because they will have heard it for themselves. And since many venues prefer multiple bands (to help increase their odds of getting people in the door) you'll have a built-in list of bands you can offer shows to and hopefully continue working with.

-murph

http://www.reverbnation.com/elmiragesurf
http://www.reverbnation.com/aminorconspiracy

"I knew I was in trouble when the Coco-Loco tasted like water!" -- morphball

We've had a lot of success networking with the local rock/music scene. We often play with ska and punk bands. I think surf has a good novelty factor that goes over well with any rock show. I can't overstate how lively the punk music scene is in Ottawa (and probably most places too). It is a crowd of people who will go out to see live music on a weeknight for live music's sake.

-Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP

Last edited: Mar 17, 2017 11:08:49

If you're willingilling to go acoustic, similar to the Duo Tones, you can probably find gigs at non-traditional places like pizza pubs, coffee houses and micro brew pubs. Outerwave is doing that fairly consistently in SoCal. Congrats to Allen and Mac for taking surf music to the people.

Happy Sunsets!

Last edited: Mar 17, 2017 18:27:46

A little depends on how far you are willing to travel, how long you can be gone and how serious you are about earning a living at it or is this a weekend hobby.

After I sold my business I decided that since i never have to work again I would spend five years sailing around the Caribbean in my sailboat and it is my entirely unqualified opinion that if you can play 15 songs you can book yourself at a bar or two in a hundred sailing communities. I am willing to bet that there are three or four bars/restaurants in Marathon, FL. that would book you. There are three hundred anchor buoys in Boot Key with sailors and crew that would love your music. If you wanted to make a road trip of it you could probably book yourself all the way down the Keys to Duval Street. Hell, now that I think of it we should load up on my boat and just sail around from island to island booking gigs. We would probably all die broke but well tanned.

You just missed the Marathon, FL Seafood Festival (middle of March every year). Every town has some kind of festival that they celebrate and they always like to book good clean fun entertainment. They generally avoid heavy metal, rap and anything that might offend people so surf is a perfect fit for them...the only thing is, most of the people you talk to will think you mean the Beach Boys when you say surf music. See the note on a demo cd and text-able mp3 below.

Also, Yacht Clubs and boat marinas often host events and there are a ton of them on both coasts. It would take a little time to search out but you would definitely want to try and get booked at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show and the Miami Boat Show.

You may have a passion for music but you also have to have a passion for sales, marketing and business, too. If you can't bring yourself to become a shark then settle into a 20 year plan to be heard or cut a business manager in on the take.
I would identify 100 potential gigs. Call them all. Find out who makes the decision. send a text with an embedded mp3 during your call or (a CD by mail as a last resort for the technically challenged with a two minute medley of your stuff...they will only listen to 30 seconds so put all your good stuff up front. Then do it, again and again and again.

All my opinions came in a barrel of orange sunshine way back in 1969.
I can't claim that anything else is mine.

Last edited: Apr 27, 2017 20:38:14

I think the song says

...where the gremmies and the ho-dads never go...

Our band is pretty "small time" but we have booked gigs at birthday parties, and do local "community events" and festivals put on by local municipalities. We also did show for a local police/fire dept. who put on a safety fair and wanted some live music. I guess if you look outside the bar scene paradigm, there are lots of opportunities for surf. A lot of people like that surf music doesn't typically have vocals and is fun, easy to listen to and can accompany an event without have to be an event itself. Even libraries sponsor live events sometimes. Just some ideas to throw out there...