New band - promote gigs with $1000 budget

[RK55]

I've just moved back to LA after a few years out of town. I'm putting together a band and will be booking gigs for the spring. Here's the big question for a new band: How do we best promote ourselves starting from square one? Square one, as I see it, involves getting bodies out to shows. We start with a couple advantages:

1. We have an EP under our belts)

2. I have a modest promotional budget to play with to get us off the ground––about $1,000-2,000.

Given the above, what's the best way to get interested listeners to hear the music and turn out to the shows? Are radio promotion agencies worth it (targeting college radio, for example)? I'm skeptical because radio seems too broadly targeted, and frankly, antiquated. Internet promo, on the other hand, is such a wild west scene that I don't know where to start. So if you had $1-2k promo budget for a new band to build an audience with, where would you start?

I realize that promo and money won't necessarily buy you an audience––smart and tasteful bookers play a role too. In my experience, bookers in LA are anything but. Any advice here?

Bonus question: I know gigging isn't TAXI's main thing, so if there's another website or forum you know of where I'd be better off asking this question, please point me there.