MySpace...MyArse...My Advice.... to older bands (including my own): Make every gig count

I went to see The Great Outdoor Experience (TGOE) last night. I've booked these guys to play the next Rock-Til-You-Drop night, and I was especially keen to meet their lead singer and guitarist Phil Ram.

When I arrive Phil is busy with pre-gig arrangements so he introduces me to the band: Adam, who plays bass, and James, the drummer. We chat for a short time before they too have to attend to pre-gig duties.

We're at The Abbey Tavern in Kentish Town. The musicians at the Soundbites Club play through small amps and sing through a small PA here. There is a compere. And the gig is free to enter, so the bar is busy, largely with 20-30-somethings. The bill is a mixture of bands and duos.

I'm not drinking. I'm not in the mood, after a weekend of it. Its about 9:15 when I arrive.

After technical and tuning problems the TGOE get up to speed with Better World, and its Shadows-style lead intro. Phil's songs, as his band's name suggests are concerned with the natural world, with finding peace and beauty through nature and love, and by renouncing all things material and ephemeral. You know the message, and lifestyle.

Their set is rushed by earlier technical problems but they play the end of their set at full tilt, the penultimate song being one which Phil co-wrote whilst briefly in The Vibrators back around 1980. Tonight it's hard to imagine him playing in a punk band. Reference point - someone I can: TV Smith - who still wears drainpipes and boots and tight cap-sleeved t-shirts.

After their performance, I don't get a chance to speak to Phil as he is busy with a group of friends that have come down to see him, but I leave feeling like I do occasionally after my own band's gigs. Like it was a good gig. The band played well. But who for? A few friends and a respectful and polite but indifferent audience. What is the consequence of this gig? How does this gig move the band forward? If I wandered into The Abbey Tavern tonight and happened upon TGOE, and kinda liked them, what next?

Well, I might go home and find their MySpace page. Even if I fucking hate myspace - I would probably start here. Because the music's on the front page. MySpace looks shit. It's badly designed, the important bits are too small and hard to find, and ads are always moving and popping out at you. You can't really personalise it either - whatever you do it looks like MySpace - shit.

Anyway, so I look. There's a player. The profile is too long. It's unreadable, and out of date. The band picture is awful. Doesn't show you anything. Further down, there's a list of friends, including Arthur Brown, and endless messages. A pointless waste of (my)space.

The thing is. Where are the CDs for sale - or the link to them? The T-shirts? The Merchandise? If I'm going to follow this band, I need something to follow, something to buy. In lieu of the press, where's the blog? Where's the imagery, the identity? The lyrics? The CD artwork? The personality?

Nowhere to be seen. It is killed by the limitations MySpace.

To be fair to TGOE, they do actually have a website, but it's out of date. It's been under re-construction for a while now. This is a shame. This needs to be a priority.

Now, I'm just using TGOE as an example. They are not alone. My band don't have a website. Or new CDs to sell. Or T-Shirts. The point is, it is worth doing more around the gig itself to make the gig pay off. To make every gig count. There is more to it than just playing and going home, as two-thirds of the band did immediately their performance was over.