Picking the right Venues to Perform at | How to easily join the Bermuda Triangle of Bands in KC

One thing I see more often than anything when I log into Facebook, are event invites. I share these, go to these and make them available to the website viewers as well. However, bands out there need to decide the direction of their music and business ahead of time. Simply put, are you a HOBBY BAND or an ACTIVE BAND?

A hobby band is just that, a hobby. Most of these bands are full of members with full time jobs, families, mortgages and real life going on. They play for the love of playing and don't have many sights on "making it". However, most of them would jump on the wagon if the opportunity was good enough.

An active band is the group motivated to make it out of Kansas City and onto a label to ultimately be financially stable off of their music. These guys should be motivated, innovative and expect to put in their time before simply  "making it".

For the hobby bands, performing at the same venue weekly and being predictable is just more ideal. However, nothing drives me more crazy than to see a band that makes it public they are trying to "make it" playing local shows 5 times a month and most of them at the same venue. There is a plethora of bands here in Kansas City, of all genres, and it can be easy to get lost in the mix.

If you are just starting out, play wherever you can to get your name out there. Once you have a fan base and people known your name locally, then recognize that you have something there and play off that. Limit your local shows to one every 4-6 weeks so your local fans will get excited to see you. When you are so readily available people say "Oh well I will see them another time, they are always here" and that is when you slip into the abyss.

Choose the right local venues to perform at too! Recognize the venues sound, capacity and distance from most of your local fans. There are multiple venues in Kansas City to help your band on stage at, but I would definitely say these are my top 5 in KC period:

1.THE BRICK   MCGEE ST KC MO   WWW.BRICKKCMO.COM

I would definitely say The Brick has some of the best sound in Midtown. Smaller venue but the caliber of bands that perform there was also a selling point for me too. I have never once seen a bad show at this venue!

2.CZAR BAR   BROADWAY  KCMO   WWW.CZARKC.COM

Czar Bar is another venue that has higher caliber acts and if you are a beer lover, the tap choices will keep you there until 3AM. 

3.THE RIOT ROOM   BROADWAY  KCMO   WWWW.THERIOTROOM.COM

Even though when it is packed you will wait 40 minutes for a drink, the shows have really been improving here over the last year. Better sound and bigger variety of music has gotten me to pay the door to over 6 shows so far in 2014.

4.THE GRENADA     MASSACHUSETTS  LAWRENCE KS  WWW.THEGRANADA.COM

While Lawrence is a drive for a few of us, it really is one of the best mid sized venues in the area. The sound is good, the stage is nice and roomy and the staggering audience floor is great for all types of shows. Two working bars never hurts either. 

5.UPTOWN ARTS BAR    BROADWAY  KC MO    WWW.UPTOWNARTSBAR.COM

I really like going to this venue because of the love and support it shows to the local music scene. There is also such a mix of genres here and sometimes even spoken word/poetry so it appeals to my diversity love. 

Just remember to not over saturate yourself, your band or your sound too much. You want people to get excited to see you so give them something excited to talk about. Only jam and cover bands should be the ones gigging without an upward direction. I myself am a single mother so I know the struggle of children with the music scene. However, if you want a dream bad enough you should work your hardest at getting it!

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