How Do I get my band booked at the E.J. Phair Taproom?

First, read the ground rules below and if you think you're a good fit, send us an email.

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THE GROUND RULES:

The E.J. Phair Taproom has relatively no "foot traffic." Do not expect walk-ins to the show that weren't there specifically to see your band.

You should feel ready to bring 75 people on a Friday night and 100 people on a Saturday. If you don't feel that is the case, you may want to consider adding a second or third act to the bill to increase the draw. Playing to a full house not only increases your exposure to new people...it's also a lot more fun.

For your first show at E.J. Phair we will be 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?
How loud do you play?
When we put together a show for your first time at E.J. Phair, we're trying to get a good vibe going in the Taproom: 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.

How do you do that? Try to get some press. Use social media like Facebook. Target your audience. Get creative (we've had bands organize charter busses to transport their fans base). Once you're ready to start playing music for the event, don't blast everyone away at 175 decibels. Play the room. In our case, the tap room has very high ceilings and stone floors. Be aware of how loud you are. 

Do not book a show at another venue two weeks prior to your show and 2 weeks after. 

Having too many shows crunched together can only work against your draw and the success of the night. Unless you are Prince on your world tour and you just happened to make a stop at E.J. Phair the week after your sell out stadium show, don't do it.

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? Did you get some press? Did you win a Grammy?

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Before you confirm your show, you should have the answers to the following questions:

What is the day and date of your show (it wouldn't be the first time that someone thought the 3rd was a friday when in fact it was a Saturday)?
What is the ticket price?
When is load-in time?
When is sound check time (if you have one arranged)?
What are the payout terms?
What is the bar telephone number in case of emergency?
How do I get to the venue?
When we confirm a show with you also need to tell us how many people are in your band, roughly what the stage plot is and any special equipment you may need on stage.



Once you've booked your gig at our Taproom, make sure you come down to the venue before your show. This is a great opportunity for you to see the space, come up with ideas about how to set up your act, and will get to know our staff should you have any additional questions. We have a plethora of music equipment to help you maximize your sounds and particular needs.



Make sure you tell us how to spell your band name correctly. Please spell out your band name to us, even if it seems obvious to you. There are a slew of unique band names and we would hate to promote a show for 'The Fork Handles featuring A Dressed Male' when it should have been 'The Four Candles featuring Addressed Mail.'

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Please check with the Booker about specific start times and load in time. These vary from show to show. In some cases we will have only one band on a particular night. In other instances we may have three. Coordination and communication is key to a smooth event. 

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​Your band should designate one person as the point of contact. This could be a road manager, band member, or agent. In some cases there will be forms to sign, drink and food tickets to distribute, guest lists to arrange, etc, and this is all made easier with one point of contact.

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Please be as flexible with your schedule for the evening. Some times unexpected things come up so you may need to sound check at a different time than you expected. 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 -- we want to try to preserve a good vibe to the night. Work with the sound person to come to a suitable compromise if these situations arise. 



Your point person needs to know what to expect with regards to hospitality. All the details of your hospitality will have been worked out with one of the Bookers at the time the show was booked. If you have a contract, you should know your hospitality rider. If not, there will have been a verbal agreement with the Booker.

The dressing room/green room is part of our brewery space. If you need to use it, then you need to make that arrangement in advance with the Booker as it is a locked space that we do not permit general access to.
Generally, we assign hospitality to the number of musicians in your band. Please do not show up the day of the show and expect us to give access to the green room or drink tickets to your friends, camera guy, overbearing girlfriend, roadies, etc unless they were agreed upon at the time of booking.



If this all makes sense to you, and you're ready to book at show with us, send us an email below.