An interesting question posed on www.talkbass.com this week about how long people generally spend trying to get gigs.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=447978

Even though there are only a handful of responses so far you still get pretty much a full range of typical responses. From the guy who wastes hours in the bar hoping to talk with the venue booker, through people who want to avoid contacting anyone in person and do it all via myspace. As I say on my post, anyone who's spending more than an hour a week in order to fill up their gig diary is doing something wrong.

For me, driving to and hanging around bars hoping  the manager will grant you an audience, mailing CDs to people who haven't asked for them or even relying on venue bookers knowing their way around myspace is all a little too unreliable.

You can't beat asking the right questions with a quick phone call or the using the right words in a short regular newsletter to guarantee bookings piling in.