still need a way into the network. Hopefully you'll have built some up contacts doing your bar work, as well as getting yourself a bit of a name through distributing your demos. You must continually expand and maintain your contacts; especially the promoters from the clubs you want to play in. Get to know people informally, be relaxed and yourself and you'll make progress at a much faster rate. Promoters get harassed by everyone, so informally befriend them and impress them with your relaxed yet ambitious attitude. Be prepared to do anything to get a gig: hand out fliers, put up posters, collect glasses, run the guest list... anything that you can do to show you can work in the industry, and that you're willing to put in to get out. Warm-up sets. It is guaranteed that your first gig won't be the main slot. You will most probably be warming up, which means exactly that. However, that doesn't mean it's worthless. The warm-up set is arguably the most important set of the night. It is your chance to stamp your mark on the event, the crowd and the promoters. Don't hammer all the big tunes at 10 o'clock to an empty room, it sounds terrible and you'll just annoy everyone. Start nice and gently and build things up steadily, showing that you can control yourself and the music and set the right tone for the rest of the party. What you can do to impress is bring as many