Big thanks to Kevin Held for holding a workshop on Getting Gigs and Promoting your Band!  Here are some excerpts and outside tips on promoting your band in Humboldt County

1.  Utilize Free service sites like Humboldtmusic.com and craigslist.

HumboldtMusic is free to musicians and allows you to seamlessly upload your music in a local setting that other local musicians will pay attention to.  Myspace is a must (we assume you already have one!), but to kick it up a notch, be sure to use these sites!

In Humboldt County, Craigslist plays a central role in the musician community!  The community board on Craigslist allows new upcoming musicians to get connected, experienced bands to network and find gigs, and also is a good place to find lost or stolen gear.  (Mantova’s Two Street Music and good Samaritans post updates on various instruments that are reported stolen on the community page).

2.  Get free attention with your media list! First, build a media list that covers all local radio and TV stations, newspapers and blogs.  The best way to get free attention is to fundraise properly–team up with one local business and 1 to 3 charities.  (Teaming up with too many businesses will muddle up your message).  Don’t email your media list more than 2 times a week.

Local media is able to grant matching ads to your cause.  So if you are raising money to fight cancer, local radio stations will give you live reads, and if you advertise–they will give you matching coverage!

(Mantova’s Two Street Music is very active with fundraisers, and promotes the bands that choose to help us with our efforts)

3.   Business cards are essential.  Don’t fall for the passing fad that business cards make you dorky or unmusicianlike.  Like with any other venture, without business cards you don’t exist.  If you can tolerate some self-promo graphics on the back, you can get 250 business cards for free at vistaprint.com

For other good starting tips on promoting your band, check out this article from cnjmusicians.com