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Hey everyone,
This is The Overits' keys player here. We've been playing together for a 5 years now (7 band members: lead singer/songwriter/guitar, bass/harmonies, drums/harmonies, keys, sax, trombone and trumpet), and we write our own original ska music that we're really passionate about. We are based on Adelaide, Australia. We call our sound power-pop ska, with a lot of harmonies and horns and keys.
The problem is, getting people to our shows or listen to our Spotify has been tough.
We play some great gigs, we have fun, people seem to have fun and we get good feedback, but the crowds tend to be on the smaller side. We're definitely looking for ways to improve our promotion and build a fanbase and share our music to a wider audience (both demographic and music style).
Here's what we've been doing so far:
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Active on social media (mainly Facebook and a bit of Instagram, Youtube etc.) with teasers, photos, videos and updates and a bit of AI pics to help.
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Playing local venues and small festivals.
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Playing with other bands (rock, reggae or ska bands).
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Creating flyers, posters, fun and creative videos (I think) for gigs or just to keep the content going.
I'd love to hear any advice you might have! What are some creative, non-spammy ways to promote a band and get people excited about live shows?
Thanks in advance for your help!
If you're curious about our sound, we have and EP up on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/artist/0cWgfheLaSPq6MwT2b6OPG) and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/theoveritsband). I’d be stoked if you checked us out!
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Hey, no real advice for you, but did want to say I really dig the tunes. Great songwriting and some real ska. Reminds me of the 90s/00s ska I grew up with. Toasters, Easy Big Fella, Kingpins, King Apparatus, etc. Maybe the problem is you guys actually play ska and not this punk with horns that most people associate with ska these days (joking...kinda). I would come see you if you came to my town.
Thanks for the support and kind words.
Checking you out on Spotify right now!
Plain and simple, you need more songs. 5 songs on Spotify ain’t gonna cut it, especially when they all sound alike. The songs are really good but the reality is this style of ska isn’t in vogue right now. So it’s super niche and you’ve released a very small sample of songs. Get cracking on more material!! Sound is great though!
Thanks for the feedback. You're right. We are planning to record a few more this year. We have close to 20 originals and 12-15 ready to be recorded.
Maybe a contest at a show or a themed show would help? Maybe also playing shows with bands that are outside of the genre. I play in a ska band in a relatively rural area, so we often play with bands outside of the genre... It's kind of nice to have the variety.
We are trying to do that lately. Our crowd tend to be 40+ and it would be great to at least try with a younger audience. They might not enjoy it but we need to try. Thanks for the advice.
This is the answer. Need to go to churches, bbq's, ethnic festivals, NEVER battle of the bands, NEVER sell tickets to play with another band unless you booked the venue yourselves. Learn Classic Rock Top 40 songs, complete albums when you do covers. If a band can play an entire album, they are legendary status. Only the greats have the discipline.
Best advice I can give you: stop CALLING yourself a ska band. Just be a band that happens to also play ska. Stop playing ska shows--play with dad bands, blues lawyer jams, deadheads--play anywhere but ska shows. This is what I try to explain to ska kids. Your music is awesome, but your scene is super fucking insular. Get the word "ska" out of your mouth but stay true to the music and ideas and you will be successful. For example. Smash Mouth's first album is a ska/punk album--perhaps one of the greatest of the 3rd wave--but you don't think about Smash Mouth as a ska band. They didn't sell out. Their music got popular. If ska bands stop playing ska shows and just play everywhere and anywhere they can, every night: Black, latino, redneck, etc., then they will be successful. Reel Big Fish got popular with Samoans and their big break started in Hawaii--be way more open minded than you currently are--really try to push the envelope and connect different communities together with your music. Stop circle jerking with "the scene" and GET OUT THERE!
example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opspBgFYzp4&list=PLGkmArIgBkfB9iiBl3e7a8gpJfoS4ziss