BOOKING A SHOW

Tony V’s Garage is a fantastic venue for bands to play. We have a great sound system, big stage, excellent beer selection, delicious food, etc.

If you are interested in getting booked here send us  the following:

You should  send pertinent information about your band such as contact info (name, number, email), a written description of what you sound like, or even better, direct links to any music available for streaming online. If you are a touring band please include prospective dates.

No in-person inquiries, please. Email is best for most everyone. Thank you.

Give us two to three weeks to listen to your music. While we try to get to everyone in a timely manner, we get tons of  phone calls and emails  every week, so this process takes time. If you haven’t heard back from us and are serious about booking a show here, please follow up via the email address provided below.

If you see a night on our calendar you would fit on, let us know. If you have an idea for a full line up for your show, let us know that too! While everyone would like to headline a Friday or Saturday, or open for a nationally touring act, we would appreciate more business on Thursdays, so don’t be afraid to take a show on a weeknight.

CONFIRMING A SHOW

When you confirm a show with us, you will be provided with, and/or agree upon, the following information:

  1. the date of your show

  2. the line-up and billing order (what bands play when)

  3. the advance ticket price and if there is a day of show price

  4. load-in and show times, or contact info for who to advance this with

  5. who to order pre-sale tickets from if you choose to sell any

  6. who to contact in case of emergency or if you’re running late

  7. how to get to Tony V’s Garage

Additionally, some useful information you may be asked to provide for us will be:

  1. contact names and phone numbers for you and/or your band members

  2. how many people are in your band

  3. roughly what the stage plot is (typically “guitar, bass, drums with two vocal mics up front”)

  4. any special arrangements you may need for your set (ie. “we’re sharing a drum kit with another band” or “we’re coming from Tacoma, we need a later load-in time”)

A show is NOT considered confirmed until these details have been sorted out and agreed upon! If you are unclear about any of the terms set for the show, or are unclear about your confirmation status, please contact our bookers at tonyvsgaragebooking@gmail.com– they would be happy to help.

GETTING PAID

Bands our paid 100% of whatever we get from the door on a given night. The door money is split equally among the bands, i.e. if the bill has 4 bands and the door make’s $100, each band will receive $25. The more people you bring out, the more you will get paid. We don’t pay our staff out of the door money, like some venues in Seattle.

PROMOTION

You’re partially responsible for promoting your shows. We do our part by posting them online, creating the events, staffing the event and providing a large venue space for no cost to the bands. If you look around you won’t find any 500+ capacity, all ages venue with a full bar, great food and amazing lighting in this region that pays you the full amount earned from the door cover. We value our local music scene and the hard work the bands put in to create memorable experiences. We’ll do our part in making our space available, filling the bill and making your experience positive and easy, if you do yours and promote your show. We can advertise all we want but we still won’t reach everyone, which may include all of YOUR fans.

Your band, or any other on the bill, will be expected to create the show flyer and post it everywhere you can – drop some off with Tony V’s Garage, email us a copy of the artwork for our website and social media, post it on your own site, on message boards etc, etc. Physically post them around town, at record stores, grocery stores, youth centers, the college campus. Remember to use other forms of advertising if you can: make handbills and hand them out after shows that are similar to your band, utilize your mailing list and websites, do radio/podcast interviews and promotions, submit your show info to weekly newspapers or take out an ad. Do whatever you can to GET THE WORD OUT.

Selling pre-sale tickets is another effective way to not only get the word out about your show, but to get an instant commitment from your fans that they WILL be there!

PRE-SALE TICKETS

So you’ve got your show booked and you want to sell some pre-sale tickets. The following paragraphs will explain the entire process to you:

  1. Email the office with the name of your band, the date of your show, and how many tickets you would like to pick up. Please email your request to tonyvsgaragebooking@gmail.com

  2. Once you’ve received confirmation that your tickets are ready, you will have to pick them up from the venue. We do not mail tickets out.

Please be aware that by accepting tickets to sell you are entering a contract with Tony V’s Garage. You are responsible for the full dollar amount of the tickets you take. So keeping your tickets and your money tidy will be beneficial to us all in the end! Please keep in mind that if you don’t feel comfortable with all that responsibility, Tony V’s Garage does not require you to sell presale tickets; however, we are more than happy to supply your band with some if you’d like to take advantage of this great promotional tool!

Once day of show rolls around, please count your remaining (if any) tickets and the money you’ve collected from ticket sales and make sure it adds up correctly before you arrive at the venue. If it does not (more money than ticket sales, missing tickets or money) correct the issue before you arrive at the venue. Your point person will be settling your tickets with the venue as soon as you arrive. This means you will not be allowed to sell tickets to people standing in line or to your friends who will be arriving “later”. We will not, under any circumstance, hold any of your pre-sale tickets at will-call. Please make arrangements with your friends to get their tickets to them.

Ordering tickets and not picking them up isn’t cool. neither is a pile of wrinkly money and crumpled tickets. So don’t do either.

NEED TO KNOW BEFORE THE SHOW

The following few paragraphs should give you a good understanding of how your show day will go. If you find that you are unclear about any of the information below or would like to touch base with someone regarding details of your performance, please email us at tonyvsgaragebooking@gmail.com.

Once you’ve booked a show at Tony V’s Garage, it would be a good idea to stop by and check out the venue before your show (especially if you’ve never been here before). You may think of special requirements or come up with some ideas for your performance. Tony V’s Garage is well equipped to make your show a special event.

Look at our website calendar and check your show listing. Make sure your band name is spelled correctly. If the name of your band has changed, let us know BEFORE the night of the show. Make sure the bands are listed in the order that they will be playing on the night of the show, (bands are listed last to first, always). Make sure all of your band-mates will be available from load in (see below) to curfew. If a band member won’t be able to make it until after load-in that should be discussed during the booking process, or as far in advance as possible. When you know, let us know.

Sometimes there are exceptions to these rules so please make sure you check in with our bookers if you are unsure about any details pertaining to your specific show.

Most of the time we have three to five bands on the bill for any given night. Doors are usually at 7:00-8:00 PM, depending on the day, and shows usually begin at 8:00-9:00 PM. There’s typically an hour between doors and show-time. Sometimes we may have an early show in the afternoon, starting at 3:00 or 4:00 PM.

For most shows the Opener loads-in and does a level check. Everyone else gets a level check, even the Headliner, just before their set. Load-in typically begins 60 minutes before doors. Thursday nights are typically two band bills with both bands getting 45 minute set times. Weekends set times are variable so make sure to clarify that with the booker, if they haven’t already set that expectation.

Unexpected things may come up (traffic, weather, accidents, cancellations) so we may need to hold doors, or you may need to switch your set time. When problems arise with the logistics of the show, it’s best to be patient and as flexible as possible and to work with the manager to come to a suitable compromise. We want your show to be as smooth and as successful as possible, and it helps if everyone works together to achieve that goal.

CHECKING IN

You should pick one person to be the point person for the band. There will be pre-sale tickets to settle, wrist bands to be slapped on, guests to accommodate… etc. It’s easier if there is a designated person for each band.

When you get to the club, the first thing your point person should do is check in with the booker. Introduce yourself to him/her.

Gear is loaded in through the alley on the West side of the building. No exceptions. If you don’t have your point person check in, and load in through the front door, it will make us cranky and it will effect our willingness to have you back again. We won’t kick you out or yell at you, but this isn’t just a venue. There are patrons in the front trying to enjoy the bar and play pool, and there’s just not a lot of space to maneuver around that. So please just be respectful of our rules and the space and load in through the alley.

Please note that all bands should be prepared to load their gear out immediately after their set. We understand that its cold/raining/you’re tired/sweaty etc etc – please understand that we have limited storage space and cannot accommodate your gear all night. If you take care of it after your set, by the time the end of the night rolls around your gear is already packed and put away, no need to worry that something will be left behind or stolen. We provide someone to supervise gear until it is packed safely away.

HOSPITALITY

Here at Tony V’s Garage it’s pretty straightforward, although a little different than other venues.

We don’t do drink tickets. You’ll be provided a “band” wristband. That’s your drink “ticket”. There’s a $100 credit that gets split between all the bands on the bill. So don’t go drinking shots of Grey Goose and Patron all night. Be considerate and leave something for everyone else.

WE PLAYED A SHOW AND IT DID PRETTY WELL! YAY! WHAT NOW?

After you’ve played our club and done well, the next step is to do it again under slightly different circumstances – a little later in the week, maybe with a different band or two. Sometimes there may be a national act that needs an opener and you may fit the bill (to be considered for that is all the more reason to make each experience at Tony V’s Garage an enjoyable one!).

Please keep in mind that it isn’t a good idea, no matter what your draw, to play too often. It’s important to use some strategy when you plan a show.
A good rule of thumb is as follows:

IF YOU AGREE TO PLAY A SHOW AT TONY V’S GARAGE YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY OTHER LOCAL SHOWS AT LEAST 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE SHOW AND 1 WEEK AFTER (AT MINIMUM).

Specifically this means 2 weekends before and 1 weekend after. We’ve seen too many bands split their draw because they’re playing our venue this week and another the following. Don’t oversaturate your locl scene. It devalues all the hard work you put in to make this whole music thing happen.

CONTACT INFO

If you have any booking questions, or need to obtain contact info, please email:
tonyvsgaragebooking@gmail.com