Tips for putting on nights?

[zoidd]

Alright, so there is absolutely NO SCENE around here for dubstep or any kind of electronic dance music.. And i was going to start some nights.


I was wondering what are some tips on organizing nights?


big up!

[ashley]

Get a band of mates together who share the same vision. More people you get involved the better as they will all bring friends (hopefully).

Start small.

Don't just rely on Facebook.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

[Molzie]

Key.

A good venue, a decent sound system and most importantly, promo, promo, promo!

Leave flyers and posters in local cafe's/record shops, Facebook and even contact your local radio station and place an ad in their gig guide. It's all about brand awareness - get the name out there. I would go around a week or so before a gig and tile giant posters on the side of buildings on busy streets.

Also, have your promo artwork properly designed. It will make the event look more professional.

It also helps to have some one to share the load. Be prepared to lose a couple of dollars to start off with.

[fractal]

i would say a decent sound system is key. you want people to feel this music

[rinseballs21]

timing. timing. timing.

make sure to be on the look out for events in general on the nights you were planning to throw your event. cuz if they seem to be backing more weight than what you have planned, no matter how big your sound system is your not going to get that many heads.

also promo as everyone already said. you honestly could get away with using facebook only, if your night is at a university or you somehow are able to book a name that everyone will recognize.

if you have to pass out and hang flyers, you need to do it much earlier than a week before your night. to be honest, 3-4 weeks prior is good, 1 month plus is better. therefore people can have plenty of time to plan out that night and you can almost bet that they are going to go to your event as long as you serve good on your end of the deal; (good lineup, mix of genres, good soundsystem etc).

also book multiple genres, not necessarily big names, but if your booking local dj's even, make sure you do your research, ask them what they spin, tell them what vibes your looking to bring to the night, and also brief them on the type of crowd your expecting and tell them to plan their sets accordingly.

THE WORST NIGHTS AREN'T THE ONES WHERE NOBODY SHOWS UP, IT'S THE ONES WHERE ALL THE MUSIC SOUNDS THE SAME AND NOBODY COMES BACK!!!!!!!!


WHILE YOUR CLUB MAY BE FULL ON THE OPENING NIGHT DUE TO A FANCY FLYER WITH PRETTY LETTERS, PEOPLE AREN'T GOING TO COME BACK IF EVERYTHING SOUNDS THE SAME UNLESS YOU TAILOR TO A BROADER AUDIENCE!!!!


also soundsystem tips: if your night is more 2steppy/deep night, then go for a sub heavy system, your probably thinking; doesn't every dubstep night have a sub-heavy system? no not necessarily, while they do always pack in tons of cabinets and subwoofers, depending on the vibe, most aggy hype nights have a nice blending system; estimate: 65% low end sub bass, and the rest for mid range high end sounds.

while on deeper nights the systems tend to be tailored almost exclusively sub heavy, meaning, while they still use normal PA's for mid range and high tones, the main focus and acoustics go for the low end of the spectrum since a lot of garage and old school dubstep sounds are sub heavy with little mid range if any, so naturally you would want to bring out the low end to the fullest.

just my two cents. i haven't thrown a night before, i due plan too next year once i transfer to a new uni, but this is just stuff ive noticed over the shit tons of shows ive attended and stuff ive seen.

hope this helps a little bit

[evil madmen]

Along with all the other things mentioned so far
Ive noticed that live art combined with live music makes for a really interesting time, whether it be light shows, video stuff, or even some guy doing a painting on stage. Just give people every reason to enjoy the night.

[hankerins]

this may sound kind of shallow, but it helps a lot to get popular people involved. if youre at college, make sure you have a couple people on board with a large circle of friends who go out and party each night, especially if they are the "ringleader" types who can dictate how the rest of their friends spend their nights.. this may be you, i have no idea, but whoever it is, get them involved. They can make sure your attendance is high at least for the first couple nights you do. Then it's up to you to make sure the show is actually good, which means doing the stuff people here have described. make sure its a solid venue, nothing worse than getting a room packed and the bouncers start kicking everyone out early cuz they wanna get home. this scenario may sound ridiculous but i've seen it happen.

best of luck!

[Shum]

Get a band of mates together who share the same vision. More people you get involved the better as they will all bring friends (hopefully).

Start small.

Don't just rely on Facebook.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Best advice so far.

[subindex]

book borgore

[Sexual_Chocolate]

ashleys right.

but what id do is...

get friends together. get money. buy sound system. throw free parties where ever you can and go get a name for yourselves.

[volcanogeorge]

ashleys right.

but what id do is...

get friends together. get money. buy sound system. throw free parties where ever you can and go get a name for yourselves.

This happened near me, some dudes started off throwing free parties in their basement and then transferred to a club after they were known.

[zoidd]

Big up for all the ideas guys

Keep any advice comin'!

[Foul Matta]

SYSTEM, SYSTEM, SYSTEM. If its spot on peeps will leave the event saying how good and loud it is. It adds to the vibe. And if ya systems wank you'l have a load of peeps standing around looking aggy and not dancing.

The system imo is the most important part.

[seckle]

dont sleep with the bartenders. Always tip the head of security at the end of a big night. don't work with clubs that don't care about good sound or good music.

[ashley]

dont sleep with the bartenders. Always tip the head of security at the end of a big night. don't work with clubs that don't care about good sound or good music.

Can only really agree with the last point here.

Never tipped security though lol wtf?

[deamonds]

loool, defo not, fuck the bouncers and bar staff

[zoidd]

What kind of system would i need to look into? We're all on tight budgets so i don't think i could get the most expensive thing right out of the bag.

what do you suggest?

[JungleHead]

ive heard of people using u-haul trucks as portable parties. just load up your system and a generator in the back, drive out to a field and have a free party

[fractal]

i used to fill a u haul with a couple of couches and a couple n2o tanks for parties in the desert in the 90's

[Shum]

^ That sounds so awesome.