Non-Standard Venues

I get a chuckle out of those online calendar entries we have to do eight different times now, since all the various social media sites calendars don't talk to each other. And of course, they all ask for different information in a different order (quick, Joe, what's the zip code for that gig we're doing in October...) which bogs it down even further. But somewhere in the template for each one, you're usually asked to check a box indicating whether this is a 'Standard' or 'Non-Standard' Venue.

Standard venues are concert halls, bars and restaurants that have live music events often enough to make it into the calendar's data base. Be warned, if you click 'Standard Venue' and your venue isn't in the database, you'll be asked if you want to add it, and if you do that, you'll be spending the next half hour answering questions about the venue's capacity, street address and zip code, name of the manager, genres of music, whether it's over 21 only, and on and on. If you want to help out the venue--or help yourself out because you play there often so it'll be faster to list your gig next time, by all means go ahead.Otherwise, click on 'Non-Standard Venue' or whatever your particular calendar's equivalent nomenclature may be.

Non-Standard Venues are all the other millions of places in the world most of us play on a regular basis, especially bands that are just starting out or bands that play things other than rock covers. Uncle Mike's barbecue, farmers markets, art exhibits, elementary school arts programs, summer camps, conference dinners, weddings, and the Burlington Vermont City Marathon, where our friends Longford Row just played yesterday and got fantastic t.v. news coverage in the process, are all 'Non-Standard Venues,' in online calendar parlance.

Don't let the arbitrary name fool you--non-standard venues can often wind up being as lucrative and worthwhile as standard venues, if not moreso. People at bars and restaurants are often spending their money on, well, drink and food, not CDs. Folks at a farmers market, coffeeshop or street fair are there to spend money but haven't made up their minds on what yet, and more importantly, they are happy to stop, linger, chat, pick up your business card, remember your name and look at your website or Facebook page later. Unless you're headlining at a music hall in a community renowned for its support of musicians, that community arts walk gig might just be the best one you've played all week.

What's the most surprisingly successful non-standard venue you've ever played at?