What's the best way to book paying gis for a solo acoustic artist?

Question:I have a wide variety of cover songs to play. Do i need to make a press pack or just talk to bar owners or what? Any advice from someone who does this or has done it would be helpful.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have a wide variety of cover songs to play. Do i need to make a press pack or just talk to bar owners or what? Any advice from someone who does this or has done it would be helpful.

You should have a small hand-out that has a picture, a short song list, and referals or comments from places you've played (they can be from friends until you get some real ones) and a CD with 3 or 4 of your best songs on it.
Then you'll have to get a list of all the restaurants & bars that have live music and make the rounds. If possible, try to call to get a good time to come in to see the manager - try not to just drop off your stuff. You might have to play for just tips until you get established and have people coming to see you. You also might have to play "dead time" like Sunday afternoons or Thursday nights for a while. Selling your CD can bring in some $$ also. The key is getting more and more people coming in - mailers, e-mails, etc.

PJH nailed it. You just gotta hit the pavement with demo cd's and set lists. Have a price in mind ( you might check and see what other solo's are getting out there) because the first thing the bar owner is gonna ask you is "What do you charge?"... and if you dont have an asking price he/she is going to say "All we can afford is X"... which is probably a lie. Remember that this is business, so do you homework. Good luck!