I was invited along to a rehearsal by AFGM to talk about the Bristol music scene and band. Since these guys have been making music for many years, they have plenty of advice to offer up & coming bands playing original material.

 AFGM have been around, they have played with the likes of the Blockheads, Van Morrison and recently Wishbone Ash. So my first question was ‘how do you get a support slot with these big acts?’ The answer is simply ‘Professionalism’. As well as having the necessary prerequisite that the band has a tight well rehearsed set of quality original material, you will need a professionally produced demo CD and a quality promo package to send to the promoters that arrange these gigs. If you spend a lot of time & money on the promo pack and get it to the right people, then you are at stage 1. Stage 2 is the first support gig, promoters want to use original local bands that can bring up to 150 people and that give them as little trouble as possible. If you want to play for the promoter a second time then you will need to sell tickets, arrive on time, play the EXACT time slot required and be professional at ALL times. After you have played a couple of successful support slots to big name bands then word will start to get around and your following WILL increase.

 My next question was about playing original music in Bristol venues. If you have tried this you will know that the venues only want your band if it can fill the venue with drinking punters and this is not so easy to do on a regular basis. AFGM came up with the following tips.

• Don’t play too many gigs. It is better to play four times a year to a large invited audience than twice a month to a handful of people that you have to bully along time after time. This will also give you more time to write, record and rehearse material.
• Sell tickets. If you sell a person a ticket for three quid they are more likely to attend your gig than 'on a promise'. If you are playing at a venue that is paying based on ticket sales, you will not be ripped off so badly if you sell your own tickets.
• Ensure that the sound is excellent. Even if it means hiring a PA & sound guy. At this stage the event should be about promoting your band and not making money. If you want people to attend the next gig, get the sound right. (This is a BR tip endorsed by AFGM)

The members of AFGM had more advice and many music related stories, but that is for another time because I want to keep this article short. AFGM will be organising a gig soon and that will involve finding the right venue, getting support, promotion & ticket sales. Bristol Rocks will be running a blog on the process of organising this event. AFGM will also be recording a new album over 2007 and BR will also run a blog on this process. These web logs will contain vital information for original material bands, so keep an eye on Bristol Rocks.

Thanks to John Telfer, Chris Melhuish, Tim Martin and Mike Dawe from AFGM for the interview and for their participation and interest in Bristol Rocks.