DRUMMER CAFE

Band-promoter relations should be handled like you'd handle relations with people you've just met.

Don't lie. 
Show up when you say you will and ready to do your gig.
Treat the other person with respect.  Be civil, even when you don't want to.
Do not put that person in a position to hurt you until you have established that he/she is trustworthy.

In short, treat them the way you want to be treated.

Treat venue owners like you'd treat your employer - lots of respect, do your job well, seek to please them and give them exactly what they want.  Arrive on time, be courteous, quiet, and organized while loading in and setting up.  Start exactly when they want you to.  Clean up after yourselves when you're done.  [That's right - it's the band's job, not the owner's.  Don't leave trash, water bottles, or any other junk lying around for Them to have to clean up.]     Pack up again courteously, quietly, and organized.  Always keep the equipment out of the paths of paying customers.   Warmly thank them when it's all over.

True.  Yet, this is sense is not Common to all musicians.   

Seriously, I played with one drummer who used to enter a venue like a bull in a china shop.
We used to play this very small bar.  There were bar stools and a ledge Right where we would set up.  Well, he'd walk right in, start pushing the stools out of the way, and asking paying customers if they would please move.   Yeah, eventually you gotta take the space, but in that kind of place, it had to be done verrrry slowly and gently. 

Thanks folks!
That's really insightful. I haven't yet encountered a promoter or club owner who is sleazy, arrogant or rude. It might be that I've been lucky. Or that I have said the right things. I never wish to appear rude to anyone especially not to the people that give us gigs and opportunities. In this early stage it would be devastating to get a bad reputation.
Jack

I get most of our gigs through myspace. All promotion companies have a myspace. It's a  matter of appealing to them enough for them to give you a gig. Having a good myspace can go a loooong way. And then if you impress them. You get more ways of contacting them. I now know the mobile number of one pub gig booker who has taken a shine to us
Seems to be the way our gigs go down.
Jack

They arrange music nights - Yes.

Put together a complimentary bill of bands? Not always.  I've played shows where the lineup included a metal band, death metal band, surf band and emo band.

Do they take a financial hit if no one shows or a band doesn't show? Not really. Most clubs in LA are pay-to-play meaning the band has to purchase tickets to turn around and sell. Depending on the club, these tickets cost up to $1000.00. Since it's the PROMOTERS job to PROMOTE the show, maybe he should PROMOTE the show so people will come.

We played a lot of small clubs on the last World Party tour of Canada and the USA.
There were only a couple of flakey promoters.
All the rest were making quite a few sacrifices to promote music they loved.
In general, I don't really buy the talk of one large bag of apples, all bad.
I'm sorry some of you have had bad experiences. My experiences have been OK.
Incidentally I played every dive going in NY between 79 and 80. Perhaps things have changed.

If they arrange the nights, they are more of a coordinator than a promoter.

As for a "complementary bill," I have seen some strange combinations out here. When a promoter asks us to put together an acoustic set, and then has a full-on Black Sabbath tribute band opening for us, we know something is horribly wrong. This was coming from one of the biggest promoters out here.

The promoters I have worked with do not take a hit in the pocket. If a band flakes out, the band pays. And if the band doesn't deliver a crowd they promise, they can be financially penalized. I signed one contract where if I failed to cancel within thirty days, I would be fined $500. Another contract indicated that if I did not delivery the 60+ at the door as promised, I would have to pay the balance due. Over venues require the band to pay for the door up-front (pay-to-play).

They do deal with flake musicians, but lots of them are flakes themselves. I won't name names.

I should say that these promoters aren't dealing with any big name bands. We're small potatoes, but we still strive to be professional.

Had one promoter say I needed 30 people before I would get paid. The contract even stated it. But after he told us we had 40, he said the actual number "should have been 50." He then refused to pay us.

Well that would be a good time to buy a new set of cymbal stands due to "unexplainable metal bending on a promoter's face"...

I hate people who back down on compromises (promoters or musicians alike)... I actually had a promoter cancel a concert once and I was able to force them to pay the band anyway.

Main reason I posted this topic. I really do not want a bad reputation. I love this band. And I feel we're going places.
Jack