is it worthwhile to play clubs that charge you a booking fee and pay back a percentage of the gate?

I find that detestable.

In funnier news, animated album covers: [link]

I like the Raincoats one for cuteness and the Klaus Nomi one for general weirdness. The Slits one could have been so much better.

Basically, you want to play everywhere you can, ever, and pimp the hell out of every appearance. Make use of the social media tools out there to get your name out all the time. Use evidence of your fandom to get cred and to promote. Put together a good, professional package, and act like it's a career.

Now, as far as the specific bookings to take, you do have to be careful. There is, unsurprisingly, a lot of exploitation in the music industry. The odds that you're actually going to get paid for any given gig are up in the air to begin with. A deal like that potentially means that it's easier for the venue not to pay you at all.

That said, see above re: play every chance you get. You'll need to balance that out against the potential for exposure. Can the band take the financial hit if they don't get paid? Can they afford to look at it as a promotional gig only, as if they were paying for marketing exposure? What is the crowd typically like? Is it an audience that is worth cultivating for their band?

The other question is, do they have merch, and what are the merch deals like in the club contract? One of the things that small bands often fail to realize is that it's incredibly difficult to make a living playing out. Successful bands' revenue streams often come from royalties (radio play) and merch.

That means that a regional band is much more likely to be able to eke out a (modest) living if they go independent and are able to sell their products for a higher profit margin, and are able to keep their costs down (travel, rental gear, etc.)

I highly recommend a good contract reference book such as The Musician's Business & Legal Guide, although the current edition is from 2007 and the landscape has changed somewhat from then.

White Stripes are done. [link]

Thanks for the advice, Liese and Jon.

White Stripes are playing on our record player right now! (That's right, one member of housemate's band gave the other members three White Stripes vinyl LPs for Christmas.)

Roger Ebert reports that Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes has died.

RIP Gladys. Your group is only remembered for "Please Mr. Postman," but you did so many other fine songs as well. I introduced my college roommate Bill to "Don't Mess with Bill," which he adopted as his theme song.)

White Stripes are done.

Aw. Well, Jack White still has his other three million bands.

Ever want to watch a HoYay-filled cello duet? Today is your lucky day! [link]

Back before Monty Python there was a British children's show called Do Not Adjust Your Set which had most of the Pythons plus musical interludes by the great Bonzo Dog Band.

See a fabulously 1968-campy clip here.

Further evidence that Do Not Adjust Your Set was the Pee Wee's Playhouse of 1968 Britain: The Bonzos do Beautiful Zelda.

And if you ever wondered where Death Cab for Cutie got their name, well, It's a Bonzo song. (That's the fabulous Vivian Stanshall singing lead there.)

Thanks for those clips, David. Of course, The Pythons & the Bonzos were also responsible for the Rutles: [link]