Street Stencil

So after hours of hard work creating the stencil in Illustrator so it would work on the Laser Cutter at school, I finally finished the street stencil for the project. I originally tried to do the street stencil with a thin mylar plastic but the Laser Cutter melted and warped the plastic in a way that ruined the design. I then used chip board which turned out amazingly well. The downside is when I went to test it, my chalk mixture obviously didn't work and it almost ruined the stencil. The next step would be to try a thin sheet of acrylic for the stencil but I have run out of time and finances. For now I'm going to have to leave it up to future research. This experience has shown me that creating stencils are difficult and costly. I got a quote from a company that specialized in creating stencils (http://www.stencilsonline.com/) and the estimate ranged from $100 to $200 for my stencil, way to expensive for up and coming bands to pay for one show. I also tried to cut the stencil myself with a razor blade and I found it impossible to do. Even the simplest parts of the design were extremely difficult to cut. Without access to a Laser Cutter like the one I have at school, the street stencil doesn't currently appear to be a viable way for up and coming bands to promote their show. Though my research shows that there are others who are doing it very successfully. Here are some photos of my stencil and experiment.

Final CD

This CD is what will be handed out to promote the show. It has the band names, their website, images for each group, the venue name and address, and the day, date, and time of the show. Along with having all this information, the CD also contains one song from each band.

Concert Poster Inspiration

After browsing through hundreds of concert posters for ideas and inspiration, these were a few that stood out to me. Mainly for their eye catching concepts and stencil like qualities. All the effort I put into designing the stencil really made me understand the amount of work that goes into these posters and how they are absolutely pieces of art. This research and work has given me a great appreciation and respect for the people who create these posters.

Street Stencil and CD Stamp

After getting the approval from my Graphic Design Expert Gerry Labadie from Labadie Produtions, I  completed the design for the solution of my study. A street stencil that will be used to promote shows visually and a CD stamp that will be used to create a free CD that will be handed out to promote the band's music, website, and upcoming concerts. Both forms of promotion are to be used to create Word of Mouth promotion for up and coming bands. I used the concert my band is playing as a way to gain first hand experience and to test the solution in the real world. The CD stamp with the ink pad and ink cost $70 ($40 for the stamp, $20 for the ink, and $10 for the pad) and the CD's cost 15 cents a piece. The amount of ink needed for the CD stamp is so small that the cost per CD is basically nothing. There was just the upfront cost which is very inexpensive compared to buying burned and printed CD's which cost 79 cents a CD plus shipping (discmakers.com) . The stencil was based off of the 1970's poster above. I'm still waiting for the CD's I ordered to show up so I can take a picture of an actual stamped CD but here are the graphics for the stencil and CD.

Stencil

CD Stamp

What the CD will look like

Images used to make Street Stencil

 

Free CDs

So far, my band has handed out 400 CDs for concerts we've done in San Francisco. We handed them out after shows of established bands that sounded similar to ours. People have been very responsive and happy to take the CD's. At the first show we handed out CDs for, we saw a noticeable amount of unfamiliar faces, around 40 to 50 people. At the next show, the show the CD above was promoting, we saw only a small amount of new faces, around 10 to 15 people. But October 27 was also one of the last games of the Giant's World Series so it's very understandable why the turnout wasn't as good. Our next show is December 10th at the Red Devil Lounge. We plan on handing out 600 CDs and street stenciling two weeks prior to the show. I should have the results just in time to include them in the study. The CD's are very inexpensive only costing 15 cents to make. The stencil will only cost around $5, which includes the stencil and chalk. I'll upload an image of the next CD and stencil when they are finished. The free CD is great because it allows people to hear our music almost instantly and it promotes our next show along with our website. 

Panel of Experts Advice

I asked my Panel of Experts "What advice do you have for local bands about how they can increase their fan base and get shows at larger venues," and this is what they said:


1. Keep playing locally. Don't turn down free gigs, keep your fanbase up to date, play places other people won't.


2. Play as often as possible. Start an email list. Really it's that simple, obvious things. Make friends with the in-house talent buyers at venues. Try to get the opening slot at a big show. Play the poster room at the fillmore, etc.


3. Play less and make sure every show is good. A lot of bands take as many shows to get out there but the buzz of a cool local band that can draw on a Tuesday does travel amongst local bookers.


4. Start where ever you can and consisitently bring 40 people. Build the amount of people from that.


5. Don't play every week. Spread your shows out and creat a demand that way/ Keep playing the smaller venues until your draw builds so that when you do approach the larger vennues, you can say you have sold out the other rooms. Never lie about draw as we have ways of finding out. Don't book a show at one venue and then try to get a support slot at another venue. Shows should be at least a month or more apart so that each show can draw the most people.


6. Keep playing and get good.

Survey Results

The survey results of come back from my Panel of Experts and it corresponds with my literary research. Word of Mouth marketing does appear to be the best way to develop a fan base for an up and coming  band. Here are the survey results.

Interview with Jackie Greene (Panel of Experts)

Unfortunately due to Jackie's busy schedule, and the fact that he just moved away from San Francisco, I was unable to interview him in person. Instead, I emailed him the questions and he wrote me back with some very valuable and useful information. I am extremely greatful for his input and it has led to some major insight into the project. Here is the interview below:

San Francisco State University

Research Study on Local Band Promotions

Interview with Jackie Greene
Successful career musician on the Panel of Experts for the study
www.jackiegreene.com

Q:

1. Can you give a brief breakdown of your musical career? How did it get started and how did you end up where you are today?

A:
I started writing songs and playing out right after high school.  I've always been interested in music, ever since I was a kid. In terms of growth - it's always been a series of small steps.  Never a giant leap, so to speak.  Small battles and victories - from selling out small clubs, then on to theaters, etc.   The first time you get radio play is exciting, for example. 

Q:

2.  Was there a point where you felt you had to do more then write songs and play shows? Did you have to do any forms of self-promotion?

 

A:

When you start out, everyone in the band is handing out flyers and nailing posters to telephone poles. 10 years ago, Facebook was not as big as it is now. (I don't even remember if it existed or not).   Nowadays, young bands can use the internet for that purpose.  Self-promotion in this way is all well and good, but I still believe that the best form of promotion is word of mouth.  People don't necessarily trust an advertisement on a lamp-post.  They need a recommendation from someone they trust.   The best way to get word of mouth promotion is to simply play good shows.  And play a lot of them. 

Q:

 3. What were the things that you felt put you beyond playing local shows and moved you into doing concerts at larger venues?

 

A:

Like I said, it's small steps.  I started by playing happy hours in bars.  next step was to play the night time shows at the same bars.  when those sold out, we moved to bigger places.  a promoter or talent buyer will not hire your band if they don't think you can sell the place out.  they want to make money too.  it's a built-in safety net. there was no specific things that i did, other than keep playing and keep making fans on a grass roots level.   truly, the best thing a band or artist can do is play live and try and entertain people.  everything else is just a gimmick. 

Q:

4.  What was the tipping point where you started to notice your career really take off?

 

A:

for me, there was no tipping point.  it's all about small victories. the first time we sold out the fillmore was a big day for me. but since then, there's been several other small victories that add up to the whole. 

Q:

5.  Are there any suggestions for local bands on what they can do to promote their shows locally?

 

A:                 

as far as promotion -  i would say utilize the internet to the best of your ability. this doesn't mean spam though. i think there's a point where bands that advertise through facebook and myspace posts become annoying. the last thing you want to do is turn people away.  in other words - don't over do it. be tactful. kfog is good about supporting local artists in san francisco.   i would definitely try to get involved with the kfog folk. the chronicle entertainment department is a good place to start as well.  

if you're a new band and have your shit together - write a press release.  assuming you have something newsworthy to talk about - new record, tour, etc. but always remember - no matter what you do promotion wise,  you have to back it all up with a killer show!

Email sent to Panel of Experts

San Francisco State University Research Study on Local Band Promotions

My name is Chris Swimley and I'm a San Francisco State University Graduating Senior in Visual Communications (Graphic and Web Design). My final capstone course involves a study on local band promotion. I am researching solutions for local bands to develop a system that will help them build a following large enough to play at venues in San Francisco like Slims and The Great American Music Hall.

I have created a very short six question survey that covers my study. 

If you would take just a few minutes of your time to fill it out I would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RS2NJB7

Also, if you were available to do a quick interview with me to answer a few more in depth questions that would be excellent. I'm trying to get as much feedback as possible from experienced professionals working in the industry so if you know of anyone else I can also send this survey too it would be extremely helpful.

Thank you for your time,

Chris Swimley

Visual Communications Major

College of Creative Arts
Department of Design and Industry
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132

Phone: 818-823-5143

Email:   chrisswimley@gmail.com

Website: http://design.sfsu.edu

Revised Timeline and PERT Chart

DAI 505 Survey

Click here to take survey

Street Stenciling & Art

Another way to get the word out is street stenciling. Using water soluble spray chalk to fill-in stencils allows you to canvas the streets without vandalizing or getting in trouble with the law.

 
 

Street Art

Ways to get people's attention on the street