Promotion 101
By Duncan Fremlin
A successful business relationship grows like a plant,
slow and easy.
After years of touring with Whiskey Jack and hundreds of
shows later, I’ve compiled a rather comprehensive list of
tools that I use to promote my shows. It is two pages,
single spaced, of links, tips, names, phone numbers,
websites and more, all aimed at spreading the word.
Once a show is booked and I begin to think about how to
sell the show, the first step is to open this document, take
a deep breath knowing that the job I’m about to take on
will be labour intensive. I’m faced with countless hours
in front of my computer posting and sharing content.
This isn’t news to anyone who sells. The competition for
attention in the marketplace is intense. Just ask plumbers,
realtors and ladies of the night. There are no short cuts to
success but there is a reason why some achieve greatness
and others don’t, and it’s not always about talent. The
relationships we develop, on stage and off, will dictate
much of our long term success.
To a professional entertainer, fans are everything. I
learned from one of the best. At every show on my 1990
cross country tour with Stompin’ Tom, I watched him sit,
for as long as it took, and speak to every fan who lined up
to pay their respects. They went home thinking Tom was
their friend and loved him accordingly.
I’m a band guy. I was never going to be a solo performer.
Decades ago, in an interview with Duke Ellington’s long
time trumpeter, Cootie Williams, Cootie said “Duke left
me alone to play”. His smile said it all. What followed
was a loyal musician who remained with Duke for years.
The promoter or the bar owner is the guy standing in the
back of the room with a worried look on his face. He’s
not seeing what the rest of us are seeing. This lesson came
in the early days of Whiskey Jack. We were booked to
play a New Year’s Eve show in a small club in Hamilton.
What happened next puts the difference between an
amateur and a pro on full display. We did not lead the
revellers in the count-down to a new year and the bar
owner was pissed. “That was unacceptable” he yelled. I
let my dislike of countdowns influence our decision. It
never happened again.
The world in 2025 is divided. The fact is, developing and
nurturing supportive relationships is what feeds us. Those
that last a lifetime grow like a plant, slow and easy.
Duncan Fremlin is a banjo player, singer, realtor, producer and curmudgeon and performs with Whiskey Jack.
Website: whiskeyjackmusic.com