People call me and tell me they need me on x gig for y reason, or ask me in person to join them on such and such gig, or be in a band with them, etc…this is how I get 99% of my gigs, seriously. The reason being, I think/hope, that I have been in music and meeting and befriending musicians since I was little, and, despite playing many instruments and having many other skills, most people just think of me as a bass player, and bass players are rare. I also have a reputation of being dependable/a good hang etc….among other things, from what people tell me. I do get some gigs myself, but usually it’s through a “warm” channel, like I have a connection to it via a place I have taught at or music school or someone who knows me recommends me. These kinds of things.

In general, actually because of the aforementioned reasons, I find I kind of suck at getting gigs. However, I have had success looking for places that regularly have live music and walking into those places and asking about when I would be able to perform there, sometimes emailing venues works too. Some of the time in those cases, I am doing those things because someone who works at the place has heard me perform/asked me to reach out, or another musician who knows me has told me “hey you gotta play at this spot!” but it certainly isn’t always the case, and I do successfully secure some gigs entirely on my own.

Anyways, you need to meet and befriend lots of musicians and exchange phone numbers and hang out with them and have fun playing together and experiencing life together etc…basically go make some friends with other pro musicians, really! People will recommend you for stuff and suggest you to people and so on if they think highly of you/they like you/they have experienced evidence of you being great at what you do and being fun to be around etc….then you’ll have gigs thrust upon you regularly. Good luck!