Built for one band that gigs

The band

The Occasionals are a cover band: six people, a basement with questionable wiring, and a regular table at Wonko’s Hole where most of the band’s decisions get made. Like most bands, they play for the love of it — but the moment you take it out in public, playing music stops being only about the music.

What a gig actually takes

Every show is the visible end of a long list of jobs, and those jobs are spread across the whole band. Some of them happen weeks ahead, some on the night, some long after the gear is packed away:

• The songs. Which key do we do it in? How fast? Who sings it? Where’s the chart, and how does our version go — not the record’s?
• The dates. Who can make Saturday the 14th? Is that a confirmed gig or just a hold? When is practice, and who’s away that month?
• The set. What do we open with, how long does each set run, and can the singer read the stage copy under the lights?
• The bookings. A press kit to send venues, a stage plot and input list for the sound engineer, and a record of who was emailed, who called back and who still owes an answer.
• The money. What the deal was, whether the deposit came in, what we spent on the van and the strings, what sold at the merch table, and who in the band is owed what.
• The talk. All the back-and-forth about gear, setlists and bookings — without burying the one message that actually mattered.

Each of those jobs has its own app, spreadsheet or group chat, and none of them talk to each other. The information ends up living in one person’s head, or one person’s phone. When that person isn’t around, the band is stuck.

So we built it

Gigg was built to be that single place for The Occasionals — not a general-purpose project tool with a band bolted on, but something shaped around how a gigging band works. Every feature started as a real question from the band, and it was tried on the band’s own songs, shows and money before anyone else saw it:

• A songbook with keys, tempos, charts that transpose, and the band’s own recordings to learn from.
• Setlists that know how long they are, and a big-type stage copy that prints a set per page.
• A calendar of gigs, holds, practices and who’s away, with availability polls for picking dates.
• A public page and press kit, a stage plot, and a booking inbox that keeps a log of every reply and call.
• The deal on each show, invoices, expenses with receipt photos, merch sales and the pay split.
• A band chat with threads and channels, and push notifications on everyone’s phone.

Why it’s open to every band

Nothing The Occasionals needed is unique to The Occasionals. Every band that plays out juggles the same songs, dates, bookings and money. So Gigg is open to any band, and every feature is free for every band — no plans and no ads. It’s kept going by people who choose to chip in on Patreon, and it keeps growing the same way it started: one real band’s next question at a time.

Got a question your band keeps asking? Write to info@gigg.live.

While you’re here, Wonko also manages RadioPeng, an internet radio station.