The 31st Street Pub is about bringing live cutting edge rock n roll to to the people of Pittsburgh. The owner Joel Greenfield does the booking. He does not have the internet or e-mail, so you have to call him at 412-391-8334 or better yet, stop down and talk to him in person. Read on for a little bit of helpful information!

So you want to play a show at the 31st Street Pub, do ya?

You are responsible for bringing paying customers to the Pub on the night of your show. This means you must promote your band. After the soundman is paid, ALL of the door money goes to the bands; we make our money off bar sales. If we give you a show and it is not well attended (in other words, less than five customers show up per band member) we will not be anxious to have your band back.

This philosophy is not single sided, of course, as no band wants to play to an empty room. If you are from one of the areas surrounding Pittsburgh, it is advisable to bring your fans from that area down to the Pub. Additionally, we have little patience for bands with big egos and attitudes.

Tips for promoting your band.

Playing a good show isn't as simple as showing up and plugging in. We ask that ALL bands promote their shows as best as possible; after all, it's you on stage. Here's some rudimentary promotional tips:

1. Make FLYERS to bring to the Pub at least 3 weeks before the show. Make them attractive and legible, and put them everywhere you can, especially local record stores, bars, colleges and anywhere else that you can legally post them.

2. Make HANDBILLS (small flyers) and hand them out personally at shows you attend. Some bands even print their handbills on adhesive paper and stick them in conspicuous places around the city.

3. Tell everyone you know to come see you play. The more people that know, the better, including family, friends, co-workers, etc. Often times bands mistakenly assume their friends know about their shows; don't assume anything.

4. Last, but certainly not least, contact the press! At least have your event listed, and perhaps you can garner some media coverage if you send in a CD, press releases, etc. Here are a few links to local media outlets, but there are more outlets if you seek them out:

Pittsburgh City Paper - www.pghcitypaper.com
Pittsburgh Pulp - www.pittsburghpulp.com
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - www.pittsburghpostgazette.com
WRCT Radio (Carnegie Mellon University) - www.wrct.com
WPTS Radio (University of Pittsburgh) - www.wpts.pitt.edu
WDUQ Radio (Duquesne University) - www.wduq.org
WYEP Radio (Adult Alternative) - www.wyep.org

So how do we get a show at the Pub?

You can contact Joel Greenfield at 412-391-8334 (weekdays 3:30 - 8:30) or stop by the Pub during business hours. If the owner has heard of your band and feels that you will draw people, then you may get a show on merit.

If you are a new local band or from out of town, what you're going to hear 9 out of 10 times is that you need to hook up a show through a local band. Most of these bands broke into the Pub scene by working hard at promoting their band and shows. With hard work and the right connections these bands make the 31st Street Pub scene a great thing. You can contact many of these bands via the 31st Street Pub's web site links page.

Good luck and rock on!