FIRST TIME BANDS

How do I go about getting a show at the Kryptonite?
   The best way to get your band booked is to send us an email answering the questions below and including a link to a website where we can listen to your band's music. BOOKING EMAIL ADDRESS: Mark@Kryptonitebar.com (Also, be sure to scroll down and read our BOOKING POLICY)

1. How many people do you realistically expect to draw at Kryptonite? (hint: answer this question honestly and conservatively. That means that if you are confident that your band will draw 40, then tell us you draw 30-40 or even 25-35. That way, if you actually draw 40 then it makes you look pretty darn good. On the other hand, if you end up drawing considerably less than what you told us you would it will only damage your credibility and hurt your chances of working with us again (or other good clubs...word gets around fast in this town).

2. Describe your band's music is 1-2 sentences. (Keep in mind that we may use this information for promotional materials, press releases and on our website)

3. Where is your band from? (City and State)

4. Include a link to a website where we can hear your music

THE GROUND RULES: Kryptonite has little "foot traffic." The people who come to the club do so because they are there to see a specific band. You know that your band is ready to play Kryptonite if you feel very confident that at least 25 people will come to see your band on a Thursday. If you don't feel that's the case, that's okay. It doesn't mean you suck. It just means that you should wait a bit before playing our club. Even if you cannot draw 25 on a weekday please feel free to contact us and let us listen to your music. If we like what we hear then in most cases, we will be glad to keep you in mind for future shows here.

Ok, lets say you have a gig with us. Now what? When you play Kryptonite the first time, you are making a statement about your band. We're looking to see a lot of different things about your band: What does your music sound like live? What size crowd do you draw? What kinds of people come to your shows. What other bands are you friends with or do you go well with? How easy are you to work with. When we put together a show for your first time through Kryptonite, we're trying to get a good vibe going in the club: a party atmosphere. The most important thing is to create the conditions that are most likely to bring out your friends and fans and make them feel at home. We understand that different types of bands bring in different types of people and we do our best to make every person at every show comfortable. This is why we want you to play out a bit before coming to us. You should establish a rapport with other bands and musicians. How do you do that? Remember, even the most successful acts started small so play the smaller clubs. Also, to build up your band's name and following be sure to play parties and start a mailing list. Send your demo to the local radio stations and also try to get some press. Target your audience, figure out who is likely to like your stuff and concentrate on those types of events. Make sure you go see other bands. If you like their work, introduce yourself. Give them a CD of your music. Make that connection. Often times your first fans will be other musicians. If no one will book you, book yourself. Throw a warehouse party. Make some noise. We can only accommodate roughly 50 acts per month. Try to keep in mind that there are alternatives to playing in established "rock" venues. Bob Dylan built his reputation at cafe's, Ani DiFranco playing every little corner of this fair land out of a beat up VW bug...on and on. It isn't easy, we know. But that's the very essence of why some things are special -- if there weren't some effort involved, then it wouldn't mean anything. Try some of these ideas. Do you have other ideas? Send us your feedback. We'll be happy to pass on good advice on these web pages.

ONCE WE'VE PLAYED THERE AND DONE WELL, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP?
Once you've played for the first time at our club, the next step is to do it again under slightly different circumstances. A bit later in the week, perhaps. With a different band or two. On rare occasions there may be a national act that needs an opener and you may fit on such a bill, but it doesn't hurt to take matters into your own hands and plan in advance for a future show at the club. We usually book at least 6-8 weeks ahead of time.

Please keep in mind our booking policy… BOOKING POLICY IF YOU AGREE TO PLAY A SHOW AT THE KRYPTONITE YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY OTHER LOCAL SHOWS AT LEAST 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE SHOW AND 3 WEEKS AFTER. Specifically this means 3 weekends before and 3 weekends after. Many is the time we have seen bands announce to an empty room: "um...this is our last song... come see us at the (insert area club here) this Friday." First off, why announce such a thing when the only people there are employees of Kryptonite? Secondly and most importantly, could the fact of having another gig in just a few days have something to do with the fact that no-one came? Another way to make a show special is to make it a party. Is it a CD release? Is it someone's birthday? Is it someone's last show with the band? Is it Otis Redding's birthday? Did you get some press? Did you win a Grammy? People WILL come out on a Thursday if there is a compelling reason.

THIS ALL SOUNDS REALLY HARD, WHY CAN'T IT BE EASY?
Because if we don't put thought and effort into each show, no one will come and the club will go out of business. Please remember, we're on your side -- really we are. We just want your show at our club to be a special event. We understand that you are anxious to get your career on a fast track -- but you shouldn't be in a big hurry to play to no one at Kryptonite. If you want to play to absolutely no one, you can do that at your practice space with less hassle. In general you should feel ready to play when you're confident that on a Thursday night, with some thoughtful booking you will be playing to a crowd of 25-35 friends and fans. Until that time, be patient -- we're not planning to go anywhere. When you are ready, believe me, we WANT you to play. It's good for you, it's good for the club and, damn it, it's good for humanity. And if it goes well, rest assured, we WILL want you back.

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET THROUGH ON THE BOOKING LINE DURING THE BOOKING HOURS -- WHAT TO DO?
Email us. That is the best way to reach us for booking. DO NOT call and bug the people at the club, they are trying to work and do not have anything to do with booking. If you still live in the dark ages and do not
have access to email then leave a message during off-hours at 815-965-0931. We will eventually make that call back -- it may take a few tries, but we will.

The most important thing when you leave a message is to leave your name and telephone number -- EVERYTHING ELSE IS SECONDARY! Please keep in mind that answering machines suck, speakerphones suck and cell phones suck. Hence "five" can sound like "nine", "eight" can sound like "eh!," "two" can sound like "poo" -- the possibilities are endless. Suffice it to say, when you leave your telephone number enunciate. EE - NUNN - CEEE - ATE! The volume of calls on the booking line is enormous. Sometimes we get as many as 30 messages a day. If you've already left a message, don't leave another. We encourage you to be persistent, but there are a million reasons why you may not have heard back from us -- yes, including being scatter-brained at times. But we are not malicious; we're just swamped with telephone messages. You will hear from us if we have a show for you. We cannot call EVERYONE just to say we don't have any openings right now. We realize this system is imperfect, but eventually, through a combination of patience, persistence and building your reputation around town, we will hook up, so please don't lose hope.

WHEN CAN I CONSIDER A SHOW CONFIRMED?
Many times when you call or email for a show, the bookers will give you a tentative date saying something like: "why don't we shoot for the 3rd -- you ask the other people involved and I'll make sure the date is clear and
we'll talk again to confirm it." That is NOT a confirmed show. A million different things can happen on BOTH sides of that conversation. The drummer is out of town, you forgot you have a show too close to that date,
you're offered a different show that fits in better with your plans. We don't consider a show confirmed until we have sent you an email or told you specifically that YOUR BAND IS CONFIRMED FOR (DATE). At this time, you can visit the "band info" page on our website and scope out the details.

When the entire bill is put together you will also receive an email with all the specific details (usually 3-5 weeks before your show). It's often happened that bands have sent mailings or done posters for shows that weren't confirmed. Please make sure you have a 100% confirmation for your show. Phone messages aren't reliable. Don't be afraid to be anal. When you confirm a show with us make sure you know the following things:

1. the date of your show
2. ticket price
3. load-in time
4. sound check time
5. what your payment is
6. what the bar telephone number is in case of emergency
7. how to get to Kryptonite

OUT OF TOWN BANDS
Kryptonite is not a good place to build your draw if you are an unsigned out-of-town band. As we discussed previously, we don't have any foot traffic at all so the only people who come to the club are people coming
to see the bands. The important thing when you're on tour is to play to new people. That is an objective that is not achieved if you play to an empty bar. We do our best to put together bills that make sense and it's very difficult to put a band that no-one's heard of, with no draw on a bill that would be better served with a local band. In most cases it is wasteful to send packages without contacting the bookers first. Additionally, it is almost always a waste of money to send packages overnight. The volume of mail that we receive means that it takes us a few days to get to packages in the best of circumstances. We are usually booked 6-8 weeks in advance. It doesn't hurt to check for openings on short notice but they only happen rarely.

So, is it impossible for a baby band from out-of-town to play at Kryptonite?
No it isn't. The best way to do it is to make friends with reputable area
bands that have some draw. We encourage you to identify yourself with a
scene -- whether it's Brit Pop or Stoner Rock -- it's a good way of people
who've never heard of you to know a something of what you sound like.

COULDN'T MY BAND OPEN FOR ONE OF THE BIG NATIONALS COMING THROUGH YOUR CLUB?
Basically, no. Of course everyone wants to be put on to open for a show that is a potential sell-out but please realize that by saying you'd like to open for Material Issue or Reverend Horton Heat you are putting yourself on a list of 5 Billion bands. Many of those bands have paid their dues at Kryptonite and have built their own draw.
Further, for purely business reasons, we need bands that draw on those big bills as openers to bring the crowd out early. We have seen many shows where the 10 PM band plays to just about nobody and then 400 people show up at 11 PM. If we book a big national act you can bet that this band is taking nearly 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales. Therefore the only way the club makes any money on huge shows like that is if people get there early and buy some drinks.

For Booking Please contact chris@kryptonitebar.com
Kryptonite is a "21 and over" club. You need to be at least 21 years of age to gain admittance to the club. You need to present a government issued photo I.D. to our door staff to gain admittance. Unfortunately we have no room for leniency in this regard, it's our liquor license on the line.

Here are some places to plug or promote your band on a local level.

The Rock River Times
http://www.rockrivertimes.com
128 North Church Street, Rockford, IL 61101

The Rockford Register Star
http://www.rrstar.com
99 E. State Street, Rockford, IL 61104

Beetcafe
http://www.beetcafe.com

Maximum Ink
http://www.maximumink.com

WXRX Radio
http://www.wxrx.com