Forward into Battle

REIGN OF FURY UPDATE

Late 2016 - August 2017

Through 2016 we'd had a few set backs. Our bass player Paul Bielby left the band due to health reasons. Then just as we replace him with Chris Musgrove, our guitarist Lenny left us and joined Abhorrent Decimation. So that meant we were back to finding another guitarist.

We as a band were now in a bit of a dilema and decided to ask our original guitarist Ed if he'd be up for getting involved again. Afterall, we were supposed to be writing a new album and the thought of searching for another guitarist, jamming with him for a while to see if we clicked and got along with each other and even whether we could write songs together was something we weren't really up for at that moment in time. We had a chat and decided we should ask Ed if he wanted to be involved.
With Ed we knew it was a team that worked. We'd already done two albums and an EP together, we didn't have a guitarist at that time so fuck it, lets do a 3rd album together and make it the best it can be.

I had a meeting with Ed and great news, he was up for it. However, he wasn't up for doing gigs. As Lenny left the band he suggested a guy called Joey Jaycock from "From Eden to Exile" and assured us he was the man to replace him. So I rang Joey and explained the situation to him:
"We need to write an album, Ed will be helping us with that but we do need a guitarist to play his parts live".
Joey was up for it.
We gave him the set to learn and we got on with writing new material with Ed.

After a couple of rehearsals and gigs with Joey and a few months of writing stuff with Ed, another obsticle was thrown in our path. Jon rang me and told me he had Testicular Cancer. So that was that. I told our booking agent not to book anything. We already had Amplified Festival and a show with Death Angel in Wolverhampton booked but they were a few months away yet and I didn't want us to commit to anymore gigs while Jon was dealing with Cancer.
Luckily, Jon caught it quickly, had the operation and to my surprise was back to his usual self in no time.

Then Ed said he wasn't feeling the vibe and decided to leave again, so I rang Joey and offered him the slot. He accepted and it was game on!
Chris and Jon got together that week and wrote a new tune and Joey got to work on some new riffs.
We're now back at full strength with five permanent members and the mood is good.
We just had two gigs to get through and then we knuckle down and get this album finished.

Rof early 2016. Two days later it all started to change again

RoF July 2017-Present. With Chris Musgrove and Joey Jaycock

AMPLIFIED FESTIVAL 2017
July 21st, 22nd, 23rd

Not much can be said about this weekend that hasn't been said already. It fucking pissed it down with rain for almost the whole weekend!! Some bands/acts got cancelled and some bands still played. Some team members worked their arses off to keep the festival going while some didn't. Some punters had a great time while others not so much. The reviews on the facebook page have been mixed, some saying it was awesome and some were left wanting more for their money. What I did see though was the stage crew working their arses off to keep things running as smoothly as possible dispite the shittiest weather any festival could have to deal with. Olly from the Frog n Fiddle in Cheltenham was running the Shoot Your Hoops stage as smoothly as he could and Gary (the organiser) running around the whole site trying to keep people happy.

Missy shows her support for "Rain" of Fury.

I was only there for a few hours on the Saturday. Our slot was on the main stage at 18:15 for 45 mins. Luckily for us the people who were there came out of the dry and willingly moshed their hearts out in the pissing rain infront of us.
We'd also opted to where Hawiian shirts for this show too, which turned out to be a great idea although very ironic.
The new song "Haunt The Murderer" got a great response as did the rest of the set and we managed to get our usual "Born to Die" stage invasion too with serial merch buyer John Mathews taking centre stage along side serial crazy fucker Jag Bahra.

Pic By Topher O'Meagher

Musgrove. Wasted.

Jon conducts the "Born to Die" stage invasion. Pic by Critical Mass Photography.

This was Joey's first show as an official permanent member of RoF too and the crowd welcomed him warmly. He was enjoying himself so much that instead of pressing the lead boost on his amp for the "World Detonation" solo, he managed to switch the distortion off completely giving us a flamenco sound for a very crucial part of the song. All good though as it makes my blogs slightly interesting.

Someone needs to tell Joey he's in a metal band and should be frowning not smiling!!

After the show, I packed up my stuff, met a few guys and headed home a couple of hours later. The others stayed. Chris was wasted and in no fit state to drive. Jon was part of the stage crew for the weekend so he still had the rest of the night and the next day to go yet. I spent the night in my nice warm bed not thinking of the others.


WOLVERHAMPTON, Slade Rooms

AUGUST 8th 2017

This was our last planned show of the year. It's only August but we NEED to finish writing our 3rd album. If we keep accepting gigs it'll be another year before we finish writing it.

Today we were supporting Death Angel with Eradikator and Warbringer on the bill too. We're on first too, with only 30 mins to play. It's very hard to get what we're all about accross to the crowd with only half an hour. Most of our songs are quite long so we have to choose the shorter thrashier songs for these sets and leave out the longer dramatic songs. We could fill 30 mins with 2 songs. But that wouldn't really be fair on the guys who've bought tickets to see us.

Every band got a sound check...except for us. In fact this is the first time I've ever played on a drum kit where I haven't hit it at least once before our set started. We were that short on time! Personally I think if there is no time you should only soundcheck the 1st band. Anyway, we've been doing this shit for years so we know how to handle it.
Doors were 7pm, stage time was 7:15pm. We played 5 of our fastest, shortest songs and tried to make the best impression we could. The crowds response was great and it sounded awesome.
The new tune is getting good reactions too.

Has nobody told Joey to start frowning yet?!!

See Joey, this is how you frown. It makes you look older too.

How could you resist?

As quickly as we started, we finished. I packed up my stuff and joined my wife Missy on merch for the rest of the night. Eradikator went on did their thing and finished 10 mins early!!!
Warbringer were on after them followed by Death Angel. At one stage Death Angel took between 10 & 15 mins to introduce the band members with the singer for some strange reason insisting on introducing each member twice!!

Anyway, we packed up the merch after their set. Missy had made friends with Warbringer's merch girl (the singers wife) and exchanged details. They're from L.A. and we have a holiday booked out there later in the year so hopefully we can meet up and swap tour/war stories

No more shows now for Reign of Fury. Time to write this bloody album!!!

These are our "work faces"

In the meantime though, I've also rejoined 4ft Fingers again and we will be doing a reunion show on new year's eve at The Frog n Fiddle in Cheltenham. That is gunna be mental. It'll be the first time we've played a set as the "classic" line up for about 12 years!!
Support comes from Whippasnappa, The Splash and The White Crosses.

One crazy mixed up night of punk rock, nostalgia and booze! What could possibly go wrong.
More details on that another time. Visit our facebook and instagram though.
www.facebook.com/4ftfingers

 

The Dreaded Door Deal

GETTING PAID FOR GIGS. PART 2.

Following on from my last blog on how to ask promoters to pay you when they start chasing you for gigs I'd like to share bit of information about door deals and some of their many variations.

Reign of Fury still use them if we deem the deal worth it and 4ft fingers also used them at certain shows, usually with great success. Of course, what I deem worth it might be completely different to you but maybe some information on the subject and an explanation how they work might help some of you in some way.

WHAT IS A "DOOR DEAL"?

"The dreaded door deal" as I like to call them is when your band gets an agreed amount of money from each ticket that is sold for the gig. So the more tickets sold, the more money you get.

There are a few different types of door deal though and they can be a good deal on a good night or a bad deal on a bad night or if you've made the wrong agreement with the promoter an absolutely shit deal, even on a good night. I'll explain.

A promoter asks you to play a show where each band gets an equal share of the ticket money at the end of the night.
"Cool, sounds great. How many bands are playing?" you ask,
"five" says the promoter.
"Should be a good night, how much are the tickets?"
"£3 each" he replies.

So that means each band would get 60p per ticket. If the promoter gets 100 people in, each band gets £60. Even if 200 people turn up you'll only get £120. So as a headliner, I don't think that's a good deal. As a support band that's not too bad. (Keep in mind how much it costs to play a show). Personally though £3 for any gig is too cheap!!
If the tickets were £5 per ticket, each band would get £1 per ticket bringing your fee up slightly. Not by much but it's getting better. Still not a great deal for a headliner though. Less bands on the bill would push your fee up slightly.
But whether it's worth it or not really does depend on you and your band. Remember, you should have merch to sell too but you want to use as little of that money as possible.
Its also worth noting that I've used an example where the bands get everything shared out between THEM and the promoter isn't taking anything himself. If the promoter is taking something, you'll get even less.

DOOR DEAL VARIATIONS

There are many variations of door deals as I mentioned earlier.
It could be as a headliner you get a bigger chunk of the ticket money ie: £2 per ticket instead of £1. You could even negotiate a small guarantee, something like £100 (of which 50% is payed upfront via bank transfer) plus a cut of the ticket money. That means you are guaranteed at least something towards your costs regardless of how many people turn up. This puts some of the risk back on the promoter rather than the bands risking it all and gives him a reason to actually promote the show.

Another variation is a band agrees to play a show and their fee depends on how many tickets they sell themselves.
The promoter gives the band a certain amount of tickets. The band agrees to give the promoter a set amount of money per ticket sold and the band keeps the rest. Some promoters will say you can sell them for as cheap as you like so long as they get their agreed fee per ticket. If you deem the gig worthwhile ie: it's supporting a decent band then this could work out. I wouldn't do it as a headliner though.
The trouble is, the other band/bands playing might be selling tickets cheaper than you for whatever reason therefore you won't sell as many. So you'll have to get creative.
You could sell discounted tickets when bought with merch on line, discounted tickets when 2 or more are bought or anything else you can think of. Think outside the box. With the correct use of the internet this could work out in your favour. But you'll have to push it!!
I'm currently trying this method out with a show Reign of Fury has later in the year so I'll be able to report whether this works or not at a later date.

The best door deal you could possible get for your band though would be 100% of the door. Which might seem far fetched but does happen sometimes.
I hire out a venue in Cheltenham every year for a Reign of Fury "home town" show. We take all door money. I do always pay the support bands an agreed fee though. You could do the same in your town.

Basically, it's down to the promoter's imagination to decide what door deal he wants to go with. Your negotiation skills need to get the best deal possible for your band.

YES OR NO

"The dreaded door deal" is a hit or miss deal. It's usually a better deal for the support bands  especially if the promoter expects the headliner to provide all the backline (unless you've negotiated well). If you've had success in that particular venue before it could be worth it but only if it's promoted well, the punters turn up and you've negotiated a good amount per ticket.

THE DOWNSIDE

One of the problems with some promoters that do door deals and not guarantees is that it takes the risk out of their hands. If you're not from a particular town then you really do rely on the promoter to do their job and actually promote the gig he's asked you to play. If you're not on a guarantee then they don't have to pay you anything. So if they can't be bothered to promote for any reason then no-one will turn up and you'll definitely go home with less money than you started with. And that is a good way to kill a band off.

THE UPSIDE

You should benefit well If you've negotiated well with a promoter of a venue you're 90% sure you'll fill. 4ft fingers used to play a small venue in Bournemouth called Mr Smiths. Capacity was only about 100 but we got 100% of the door. I think entry was £5 on the door and it always sold out. That meant we got £500 per show. That's a good deal. Of course, if it went the other way, we'd end up with nothing.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

AND FINALLY

In my experience with the exception of only a small amount, the best gigs Reign of Fury have played (not including festivals) were gigs that I managed to get deposits for. I really believe the reason for that is because when you take money out of the promoters pocket at the time of booking they adopt the attitude that they really need to get people through the door to make their money back.  Therefore, they do their job a whole lot better. So I would always advise you to push for some sort of guarantee rather than a door deal alone.

Whatever happens though GET IT ALL IN WRITING AND GET A CONTRACT SIGNED!!
When I took over from our old manager for RoF I made sure we got deposits and contracts signed. It was a game changer. It instantly stopped the amateurs dicking us about and the crowds got bigger.

Just make sure when a promoter gets in touch with you about a doing a door deal gig, ask these questions before you bite their hand off:

a) How many bands are playing?
b) How much are the tickets (in advance & on the door)?
c) How much you'll be getting per ticket?
d) Capacity of the venue?
e) Who's headlining and where are you on the bill?
f) Backline situation (why should you get the same as everyone else if you're providing the backline?)

Then you can do some simple maths and work out the best deal for your band or decide whether its even worth doing at all. And I always base my sums on getting 60-100 people minimum through the door.

Good luck

Magic Dave

Reign of Fury facebook
https://www.facebook.com/reignoffury/

Reign of Fury online store
www.reignoffurylive.bigcartel.com

Money for gigs

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Band members never want to talk about money when it comes to gigging. They fear that they'll be called "sellouts" and their devotion to playing shows for the love of it will be questioned. It's a joke.

Being a sellout is "doing something you hate purely for the money" e.g: having a job you hate. The only question you need to ask yourself is: What can I do to get myself out of this crappy sellout situation? Trying to turn your hobby of playing music into your living is pretty hard (I still haven't managed it yet) but can only start by stating a realistic fee to promoters who ask you to play a gig.

So my next question is:
Do you want your band to get paid to play gigs?
You do!
Then read on.
You don't?
Then go and read something else.

TAKE ADVICE FROM THE RIGHT PEOPLE 

Lately, I've been sitting back and reading peoples blogs, articles and comments and it's pretty clear to me that some of these guys that claim to have been successful in this little metal "scene" are actually talking pish.
They tart up their words and convince people that they know what it takes to be in a "successful" band without ever being in one, how to run a "successful" band without ever running one, or put on a "successful" show without actually paying anyone. Personally, I think you should only get advice on how to build a good solid wall by somebody who has built a good solid wall.

Then you have those guys that complain about not getting paid but are too scared to ask for money (or don't know how to) when someone asks to book them.
Some even go so far as to say bands shouldn't be paid. If you're one of those people then you might as well stop reading now.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to get paid for something you love doing.

People are patting each other on the back and telling everyone what a great job they're doing for the "scene" while band after band are splitting up because they can't afford to be in a band anymore.

Bands that are playing a gig for free are even getting slagged off because they choose to mention whilst they're playing that they have merch for sale at the back of the room. Merch is the only way some bands can make any fuel money so they NEED to advertise it when they are on stage.
Worse still, you're getting bands slagging off other bands because they're not sticking around to watch the rest of the show and massage the ego of the headlining band. In my experience, that only really happens when the turn out of that gig is shit and the headliner is a bit miffed that nobody has turned up to see them. So they take it out on the support bands who are prob playing for free and have to leave the gig early because they have work in the morning.
Or maybe they think the headliners are shit. I won't watch a band I don't like.

It's pissing me off. So I thought I'd write a little blog for band members to read and hopefully give them some idea on how how to pluck up the courage to ask for some money for the gigs you play to help you continue to be a band.

I don't really consider any of my bands "successful" as I've always had to gig & work at the same time. Sure I've been signed by record labels, endorsed by companies, played hundreds maybe a few thousand gigs with both my bands 4ft fingers & Reign of Fury over the years and had an amazing time and even pulled some big crowds but success to me is about my "hobby" becoming my living. Or at least contributing to my living. I'm fed up of bands playing gigs for "exposure" alone while someone else gets to pocket all the money.

I have managed to get my band paid for gigs using contracts and non-refundable deposits so in that department I feel I am qualified to give advice about it.

MONEY IS NOT A DIRTY WORD!
 

Money, Maltesers and Tabassco sauce: 3 things every band need more of.

The only people in the music business that don't take the business side seriously are the band members. Not only that, they are made to feel bad about even talking about money.

REPLACE THE WORD "SCENE" WITH "BUSINESS"
 
Being in a band is expensive! Especially if you're in a touring band. Everything costs money. Your gear, fuel, rehearsals, merch, van hire or van maintenance (if you own one), insurance, beer, food, accommodation, everything. Even getting the day off work for the gig means it's costing you money straight away.

In the first stages of band life, money doesn't even come into it. You're a bunch of mates that get together every week to play some tunes. Musical talent has nothing to do with it (thanks to Punk Rock) and it's all about having a good time. You might even be rehearsing in a bedroom or garage somewhere like I did back in the day so you don't even need to pay for rehearsals. Bonus.
For some of us, life will never be the same again. You''re convinced you'll be as big as Metallica or Maiden one day and nothing is gunna stand in your way.
The dirty word, A.K.A. money, means nothing at this stage, but as you play more and more, that attitude will need to change.
You can't do what you love to do for very long if you're not getting paid to do it.

THE COST

Remember, everything costs money, keep that in your mind. The cost of a gig will vary from band to band. You will have to pay for van hire, fuel, maybe hotel rooms and maybe even crew ie: merch guy or sound guy and food money. For Reign of Fury that brings our cost of playing a show to about £270 minimum. And that's before any food money is even considered or if the show is too far to drive home after.If we stay somewhere, we'll have to pay for accommodation and an extra day's van hire. That would push the cost up at least another £150. So doing a show for any less than break even means we would be PAYING TO PLAY.
And we all hate paying to play!!
 
Now, lets assume you have no manager yet. Luckily in 4ft fingers we had a great manager that did everything for us (Darren from Crucial Talent). For the first few years he did it for nothing. Then when he started bringing the money in he started to take a small percentage. You've done all the ground work for the last 2 years by playing every toilet in the country. You no longer need sat-nav or a map to find the venues as you've played them so many times now. You've started pulling crowds so now the audience is no longer just the sound engineer whilst his dog walks around the place finishing peoples beer!! (Yes this did happen in Derby at The Victoria Inn. The dog is prob dead now. Come to think of it I bet the sound man is too). You're actually getting promoters chasing you for a show now instead of you begging to play.
This can only mean one thing. They see value in your band. They want you to play so that you can bring in paying punters so they can make some money. Now is the best time to mention the dirty word...MONEY.

WHAT TO ASK FOR

Don't take the piss!! It takes a long time to get £500+ and to get that you'd better be pulling big crowds. So be realistic.
Deal with "Guarantees"! This means you get your agreed fee NO MATTER WHAT!!
If you're in the early stages of playing then you can't ask for much but even £50 guarantee is something. And that's better then nothing.It also means you'll be on the next rung of the ladder.

If a promoter is selling tickets for £5 and 80 people turn up, that means he's made £400 on the door! £50 of that is not too much to ask for. If he's asked you to headline then £150 guarantee minimum as a starter I don't think is taking the piss.
I got very pissed off that the RoF manager let us go out for £150 a few years ago with the ticket price being an average of £8!! That means 100 people in (it was usually more) would rake in £800. Not very fair at all.
I do want people to make money, but I just want our fair share.

So, before you reply to any email to any promoters be prepared to walk away if the deal is a shit one. (Charity shows and festivals are a different).

You'll get an email from a promoter asking if you're available for a show on so and so date in such and such a place. Reply politely asking whether you're headlining or supporting. If they want you to headline, state your fee and terms & conditions. (I'll cover support slots later).
I always state our fee plus beers & snacks with 50% non-refundable deposit upfront via bank transfer. The booking is only confirmed when the contract is signed and returned AND the deposit is paid.
The non-refundable deposit acts as a cancellation fee too. So if the promoter cancels, we keep the money.I have found that none of the gigs I booked this way were cancelled and they all had a good turn outs too.
Be prepared to haggle. I usually price RoF with room to haggle unless I've dealt with the promoter before and we already have an understanding.
If the "promoter" disappears without a trace when you mention money, they are not worth dealing with!!

ALWAYS USE CONTRACTS

Get used to using contracts. They are a bit of a ball ache but they are invaluable. I've taken print outs of our contracts to shows and managed to get the money owed when they refused to pay and beer brought to the dressing room when they tried to not supply it. It's a legal agreement and should be respected.
On the other side, when I had to take over the "management role" from someone who didn't use contracts and refused to tie up the loose ends I found that on at least 3 occasions the fee given to me after the gig was £50 less than what was apparently agreed with him according to the gig notes in the band calender. Without a contract I just had to accept what the promoter was telling me and I didn't have a leg to stand on. Without that piece of paper in your hand it can be very frustrating.

Once the fee is confirmed, the contracts are signed and the deposit is paid, you are locked in. Respect the agreement and do your bit to promote your show. Turn up in good time and play to the best of your ability. Be nice to the staff and promoter. Remember, the more people that turn up and have a good time, the better chance you have of being booked again. When the crowd grows, you can ask for more money for the next time you play.
But keep it realistic. Don't think you can go from £50 to £500 with your second show in that venue.

That really is all there is to it at this level. Bands are too willing to play for nothing year after year partly because they fear that if they ask for money the promoter will turn them down and it'll be hard to get another show. If you're good enough, they'll come back.

Support slots are slightly different. You're there to promote your band in front of another bands crowd, alot of whom prob will not have heard of you so don't expect any fee at all. But if you deem it worth doing because the crowd is guaranteed, then go for it. Don't be afraid to ask for £50 and/or beer though.
Door deals are another thing too and can sometimes be better than a guaranteed fee.But sometimes a lot worse! I'll cover that another time.

Never make the mistake of agreeing to play a show then when it gets to a week before the gig, you then ask how much you're getting payed. It's totally unprofessional and will not end well. Especially if you then pull out because you can't actually afford to play the gig. If a band did that to me on a show I booked, I wouldn't book them again.

Finally, have some confidence and believe in yourself. Be realistic and start low. Anything is better than nothing. And coming straight in with money talk will let everyone know where you stand.
You'll be surprised at how easy it is.
If I can do it, anyone can.

Magic Dave

Check out my band Reign of Fury:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/reignoffury/

Death Be Thy Shepherd full album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUOXn7cwhMU

Our online store:
www.reignoffurylive.bigcartel.com