Band 101

[KKKKKocaine]

Band 101-

Well, I've decided to make a guide, for bands, from the bottom to the top, to help people with questions like "when do we need a manager?", "how do you produce a DIY album?"
I'm not sure how often I will update this, but I will be starting in the first 'issue', with the following topics.

Band - The Basics; Communication, direction and a marketing plan
Gig - The reason so many unsigned new bands barely get a look off the crowd.

Band- The basics.
Okay, so you've got the band together, all the people you need.
Now you need COMMUNICATION

Sounds obvious huh?
Well far too many bands bicker behind each others backs and moan without addressing the problem, bands need to have full input to work, if your not happy, you have to say, ignoring it will only make it worse.
Now every decision needs to be discussed by the band, just because the guitarist is a whizz at html doesn't mean he gets free range over the website design, nor does it mean the vocalist should do all the booking and managing.
You need 100% communication, this allows problems and issues to be in the open, and easily debatable, a problem shared is a problem halved, in most cases you can resolve any problems maturely with discussion.

DIRECTION
Another obvious but important factor, you need to all know what you are doing, what is your band going to sound like? What genre? Is this a pub covers band, a show band, a hobby group, or a serious project?
If one member wants to go a different direction, there is a problem, make the direction clear when you start, no-one can have any doubts, the same goes for the music you play.
At your first practice, it's sensible to choose about 4 covers to play, this should settle everyone in and give you something to do if your stuck for song idea's, make sure everyone knows them and that they are relevant to the genre, if your a metal head in a funk band, they don't need or want to be playing 'Lynch Pin' by Fear Factory, everyone needs adequate time to learn the songs and they need to be agreed on by the entire group.
Now, alot of bands form and decide to play cover gigs before they write their own material.
This is the biggest waste of time you can do, 4 covers, thats all you need to do, bring along some lyrics, some riffs and put material together once you are settled in, your not Metallica, so don't waste time trying to be them on stage, be your band, write your own material, everyones heard Metallica, if they wanted Metallica they would put a cd on or they would go see the real thing.

Writing your own material is the best thing to start off with, it gives you extra 'drive', "Woah, this is our song, we wrote it, we're a real band", record it on a cheap 4 track if you can, it'll sound bad but you can get the message across and listen to it yourself to gain extra enthusiasm.

Why spend 6 months being a cover band, then another 6 writing your own material, when you instead can spend 6 months writing your own material, and 6 months promoting and gigging with it.

MARKETING PLAN
Sorry, but if you immeadiately thought "I'm not sellout" after reading this title, you have no future in music unless your future happens to be playing for a bunch of drunk unemployed thugs on a saturday night at a crappy bar.
The marketing plan is essential, gone are the days in which you could be musicians, now you have to be business men also, get everything in contract form, gig payment details e.t.c.
Now that your direction is sorted, you need to work out how, it's no good saying "I want to be a big rockstar", you need to know how to become this.
How will you generate financing for your group?
How will you sort out promotion?
What comes after you finish writing the songs you need to gig?
Do you make an e.p. or just a demo?
Are you going to go D.I.Y? or will you be taking a route with a record deal?
What up and coming groups that are similar to yours could you help out and be helped by?
e.t.c. these are all important issues that need working out, it's not enough to write a catchy rock ballad, you need to know how to get it out to people and how to live whilst doing it.

GIGS -DO'S AND DON'TS
DO - Introduce yourself clearly, say where you from, the band name, and each song you are about to play.
DO - Thank the crowd, your manager/pub/the band that put you up after the gig, it's polite and proper to thank them for helping
DO - Go out after the gig and chat to the crowd, this creates good feelings, the crowd will go off and say "Hey, I'm friends with so and so from so and so band" (even if you just waved), they will also say "Oh well if your looking for a band I know so and so , from so and so band, I could get them to play", free publicity, just for dropping down and saying "hi" to a few people.
DO - Enjoy yourself, it will show and the crowd will have fun too
DO - Get the crowd into 'it', if the pit is empty, make a competition, "the best dancer gets a free cd" e.t.c., my band will be doing something similar this monday, halfway through the set a animal photographs groove is being played, "the best moaner in the crowd gets a brand new, boxed ann summers vibrator" , weird, but fun and exciting, the crowd will love it, they get something for free by having a giggle.
DO - Co-operate with the sound engineer, before the gig ask what you can do to help and thank him for being such an integral part in this gig. I assure you this will get the best sound he can muster, Sound engineer is a thankless job, he'll love you for giving him the respect he deserves.

DO NOT - Expect the crowd to form a pit because you said "Everyone in the pit", until you have a large fanbase (i.e. your not longer the support slot) it won't happen, as cheap as it is, they need to be coaxed into opening up for you.
DO NOT - Play during the breaks between songs, this is when the vocalist needs to push the band on people, it's horrible to be at a gig when this happens, " Hey, so we're still <drum fill> thanks for all coming tonight and <guitar solo from random song> hope to see you there as well, our new <bass drum tests> of october, thank you, the next song <bass> enjoy yourselves"
DO NOT - Put yourself down after the gig, if you thought you sucked, save it, don't say "sorry, we were ****, you can get on with having fun now", it's just silly.

Back to some more basics, make sure you know everything about the gig, who is the promoter, what is the age allowed? Who will be providing backline e.t.c.
I played a gig today, two bands didn't turn up, we had to construct a backline out of random bits and peices, then the management came up and said "Sorry, but we're making this an over 18's only", thus we got 12 crowd members.

Well next issue, I'll be going into more gig tips, D.I.Y recording e.t.c.

[pikester]

Nice.

[RushHourSoul]

That is well good so far. Can't wait to read the rest.

[opiate4themasses]

I like

[GuitarComet]

Great stuff!

[KKKKKocaine]

Issue #2

In this Issue we will be covering : D.I.Y. and the basics of recording deal's

D.I.Y.
No, not your ikea shelf, do it yourself recordings.
Isn't that hard and ****ty? No not really, it just takes a little more effort, if you can get good with some simple basic recording equipment and get some good mics, you can make an easily sellable product without spending £400 on a studio, instead, the £400 can be spent on buying cases, printing covers e.t.c.
A much more economical way to do things right?
I'm going to give a few tips on things to avoid, but the rest of the recording quality is up to you, it depends what your playing, as a general rule don't play it to friends and say "what do you think" sugarcoated opinions won't sell records.

1. Buried Vocals: Probably the single most important instrument on your CD is the lead vocals. The lead vocals intimately tell the story of your song and carry the main melody--you know, the one that people will be humming days after they hear your masterpiece. It's a shame then that the most important instrument in the mix is usually the most sonically neglected when bands mix their CD. So why do artists bury the vocals? Your guess is as good as mine, but I do have a couple of theories:

a.) Singer or rapper lacks confidence-- The singer in this scenario is so embarrassed at hearing their voice on tape (rightly or wrongly so) that they insist on mixing the vocals much lower than the music and/or processing them with a million different effects--to the point where the vocals are almost never discernable.

b.) Singer is the singer 'by default' --Here's what happens: The person in this scenario usually sings not by choice, but out of convenience or necessity (ie; no-one else will sing or they wrote all the songs.) They almost always play another instrument (and usually extremely well) and never consider themselves a singer first, but rather a drummer/singer or guitarist/singer etc. So, at CD mixdown, our guitarist/singer in this scenario says something like this:

"Whoa, I can barely hear my bitchin' guitar tracks. Let's turn 'em up a litle louder. Oh yeah, my lead guitar fills are coming up here, better turn them up a little louder, too. And don't forget, the solo has to be even louder than those tracks."

Before you know it, the vocals (and everything else for that matter) have been buried underneath a wall of guitars. Satisfied that his/her guitar tracks can now be heard in all their glory, the lead guitarist/singer doesn't even realize they've pushed the most important melodic/bonding element way out of the average listener's range of hearing.

c.) The artist mixes the CD himself and doesn't fully understand the technical process --In this golden age of technology, independent artists have more tools available to them than ever before. Recording technology found at the consumer level today is far more advanced and affordable than what was found in state-of-the-art recording facilities just 8 or 9 years ago. Its no wonder as technology advances and prices fall, our demand for tools like Sound Forge, Cubase & Logic Audio continues to soar. Unfortunately in our quest to have the biggest, baddest toys around, we sometimes neglect to learn how to use them properly, and its always apparent in a poorly mixed CD. Don't get me wrong, I'm a BIG proponent of doing it yourself (I've spent thousands of dollars in commercial recording studios over the years and will NEVER step foot in one again), but sometimes, for the sake of the project, it's always good to bring in other people who may understand things a little better than you. If you feel like there are some 'problem areas' in your mix, don't be ashamed to ask someone with a little more engineering experience for assistance. It may breathe new life into your mix instantly.

2. No Low End: Low-end (bass presence) gives a track power and depth. Boosting the low-end can instantly transform a thin, wimpy, amateur mix into a 1000 lb. monster that won't let you go. It puts the "pump" in dance, hip-hop & pop and gives rock music its 'balls' (power chords alone won't do it). If you find your mixes are sounding a little on the thin side, try pumping up the low and mid frequencies and watch your mix come alive. But be careful--too much low-end can muddy things up.

3. Karaoke MIDI: There's nothing worse than listening to a CD full of stiff MIDI noodlings--no processing, no reverb, no EQ....no feeling. Just cheesy, lifeless, quantized General MIDI (come on, do you really think that General MIDI electric guitar patch sounds real?). I've heard hundreds of these kinds of CDs over the years and I still cringe every time I hear one. And I'm not talking about electronica music, either--there's a BIG difference. I'm talking about music that's sounds like it was pulled right off the presets of a Casio keyboard. But the sounds alone aren't the only consideration here--the 'feel' of the music (or lack thereof) can greatly determine whether or not you retain a listener's attention. Overly-quantized sequences end up sounding sterile, boring, and uncompelling.

Solution? The tracks NEED some life; some realness; some soul; some passion. Add some real instruments and/or some good session players to the mix and watch a CD like this come to life. If you have to sequence your music, try using a "groove" quantize feature to give your patterns more of a human feel. Most sequencers today have this function and they're definitely worth checking out. Oh, yeah--and ditch the presets. I'm sure you can come up with something better anyway.

4. Signal Distortion/Level Imbalances: What's a guaranteed way to get people screaming in pain after listening to your CD? Signal distortion--and not the cool, lo-fi, intentional kind, either. I'm talking about the kind that's caused by excessively "hot" signals clipping the meters on your multi-tracker. It's not pleasant, to say the least, and it can render your CD almost impossible to listen to.

5. Bad Drums: I love drums...big drums. I love groove. I love rhythm. It kills me to hear a great track ruined by bad drums. More specifically, badly programmed drums. Here's a controversial tip for all of you one-person rock/pop bands out there: If you don't understand drums, rhythm and how the drummer interacts with his kit, then don't program a drum machine by yourself....especially if your music of choice is rock, metal, punk, jazz or country! Hire a real drummer for your session or hire a professional programmer (and/or drummer) to program your drum patterns and sounds for you. I know that doesn't sound fair, but if you're not ready, then sit back and learn from those who know a little bit more about rhythm than you do. If you don't have the means to hire a live person to either program or play for you, there are also plenty of 'How-To" drum machine programming books out there that have "suggested" drum patterns for a number of different musical styles and they're usually in an easy-to-understand diagram form, too. A number of companies also offer MIDI drum grooves for sale (played and programmed by real drummers--some famous, some not) all queued up on floppy disks and ready for you to use with your own drum samples on your sequencer or computer at home, so check them out. My favorite solution? Acoustic Drum loop CDs with real patterns and fills played by real drummers (Drumkit from Hell, Joey Kramer Loops, Pure Drums, Discrete Drums).

A few things to try and avoid when doing any recording yourself, now you may think that this issue is a bit contradictory, D.I.Y. and record deals in one?

Well not really, I will leave the D.I.Y. vs record deal debate for later, but for the moment, you need D.I.Y. for that record deal.

Lets start with the very basics

RECORD DEALS - THE BASICS

First and foremost, the record company doesn't care if your the best musical band around and the music makes him want to do 90 on the highway again.
All the company cares is that it sells, they will put anything on (provided the right genre) as long as it sells, a great band that is true is useless if they can't show their total sales.

So, make sure, that you keep a record of every piece of merchandise you ever sell, make a note of how much you bring in, and how much profit you get from it also.

What about the timing? Major labels will be very aprehensive to sign a neo classical band because if you sound like your from 1984, your fans are probably from there too.

Is there a buzz about you? Are new people coming to your gigs? Or is it the same few people, are the gigs packed? or 30 crowders?

I'm sure you've guessed the most important point here, money and the potential for money, the record label is after money, if you have good sales, are at the right time and have a good buzz your going to make them money, the record label won't put out an album purely because they like the sound, sorry but it's not going to happen.

Now, I'm not going to go into anymore record deal tips, because at this stage, the band won't be looking for the deal with anyone major or even with anyone at all, this is mainly to dispell the notion of "Hey Harry, why don't we start a band? In two months I'm sure we could do a demo and get signed to <insert label>"

It's never going to happen, there's nothing wrong with shortlisting record companies for later on, in fact, it's a great idea, but don't get your hopes up for getting signed on your demo alone.

So, back to D.I.Y. and where it fits in with gigs, well, now you have a cd, a presentable one (no-one will buy a blank cd-r) you can start to sell it.

[KKKKKocaine]

The most important tip for increasing sales is this.

Go out into the crowd after the gig, take a pile of cd's with you, ask people if they want to buy them, offer to have them signed, this ALWAYS increases cd sales

Face it, being in a band is respected, people love to say "I know jimmy from the robots", signings and talking to people will make them want the album more, mainly just because they connect with you.
This always increases sales, if you just point to the merch stand you might sell about 5 if your lucky, this method can get a good 30 in a crowd of 100 people, if not more.
Don't let anyone stay on stage moving equipment, pay a couple of friends to do it for you, or the next band on.

How do I know this works?
Simple, I've had it done to me, I went from not wanting an album at all, to buying one simply because the band said they would autograph it, I loved the album when I got home though.

GIG TIPS

- Mailing lists, don't just leave it on a table with a pen, politely ask the guys working the door (or pay them £10) to make everyone who enters sign the mailing list.

- Similary, make a stamp with your band logo and website on, ask the bouncers to use it instead of pen squiggles, the people who came to the gig will have a mark for a day or so with your website on, how is that for promotion?

-Remember which songs get the crowd worked up the best, structure the setlist so that the crowd doesn't mosh for 20 minutes, then relax for 30, let the band and the crowd have lighter songs to rest with for a while, structure the gig so the setlist flows, don't just randomly write them down and hope for the best.
If instruments have to be changed for a song and rehooked up, ask the drummer and bassist to prehaps play a little groove through the duration?
Or spend the time talking about your album, thanking the crowd e.t.c.

- Take a quick glance at the 'types' of people coming to your gig, after a while, when you have garnered up a fan base, maybe you should use this as a means to design your merchandise? You don't want a goth design for emo kids now do you?

Next Issue : Cheap and free promotion, serious gig problems, e.g. the manager refuses to pay you, what to do and why.

[chumpradio]

Great guide so far KKKKKocaine.

[Guitar Symphony]

I'm lovin this. Hopefully I can get my guitarist to read this so we can become close as a group.

[bumskin]

Thanks dude. We're just starting out as a band and this is helping no end...I told them we didn't need 6 cover songs...

[Trigger_003]

*refers band mates to this page, hoping they will read it*

[RushHourSoul]

Hurry up with next issue! Also someone please sticky this, its good info

[XemoXmoshXpitX]

I needed that.

[KKKKKocaine]

GETTING SCREWED (NOTE: This is an article by Dick Hodgin)

Question: My band went to play a gig in another city and the club
wouldn't pay us the money he said he would. Is there anything I can do
about it?


There are lots of things you could do but I'm only going to talk about
the legal ones.

First. Did you have a signed contract specifying the terms and
compensation very clearly? If not, there it's going to be tougher for
you to d0cument and prove the existence of the oral agreement. If you
do have a contract it's easier to force the club to live up to it's end
of the bargain.

The first thing I recommend is to try to negotiate with the
signer of the contract (or whoever you arranged the deal with). Why did
they not pay? Was there a disagreement about the terms of the gig? Did
your band hold up every part of your side of the deal? More than
likely, if there was a mis-understanding, there is usually some middle
ground in which to wrestle out a solution. If the club just suffered a
bad night, perhaps you could arrange to play on a better return gig and
get compensated a bit better for that one. If your band had problems
i.e.: didn't play the full set (s) didn't show up on time, played too
loud, damaged something, blah, blah blah,,,, then maybe you could work
out a settlement for not quite ALL that they owe you. Be flexible and
business like......Don't get personal!

If the club just plain screwed you, then you have to ask
yourself a question.

"Does my band ever want to play this club again?"

If the answer is "yes", then you've got a tough pill t o swallow. About
the only thing you can do is to try to reason with them . If that doesn't
work, just make sure that the problems are addressed and remedied for the
next engagement. There is no stone-cold-iron-clad way to keep yourself
from getting ripped off! Setting the stipulation that you'll be paid in
full before you take the stage can be tricky. You might face that
showdown right before you go on-stage and have to make the decision of
playing for your fans or sticking to your guns. If you go over all the
terms of the agreement again, including the ones that were the problems
last time, then the club knows your on the case and that you'll be
"looking" for any problems. If it looks like it's getting squirly, you
can pull out before the gig.

If the answer is "NO, we don't ever want to play this place
again," then you have a few more options. You can sue them. You can
hire an attorney to take care of it for you. Most attorneys will only do
this for a flat fee, although you may get one to do it for a percentage
of the amount you settle for.

If it's less than $3000.00 in North Carolina, you can sue them in
small claims court. Contact the courthouse in the county where the club
is located and get the paperwork to fill out for a small claims action.
You'll have to pay a filing fee ( usually less than $40.00 ) and a fee
for the sheriff to serve the papers. (About $5.00) You can add these
items in on the amount your claiming.

Make sure that you fill out the forms correctly. If you have a
family lawyer or someone that knows about such stuff that will help you
fill out the forms for free (or very little) then do it. That way you'll
know that the details are taken care of. I once sued a club in Small
Claims court only to have it thrown out because I didn't list the name of
the corporation that owned the club correctly.

One of the most important things about contracts is to make sure
that the person that is signing the contract has the authority to enter
into the agreement. If they are only an agent of another person, you
should make sure the agreement is between you and the person who is
actually going to be respoinsible for paying you. You have to remember
that you're contracting to play FOR someone. The place that you play is
just the location.

Once you've filed the claim, you'll have an opportunity to go in
and tell your side of the story. Small claim court judges and
magistrates are usually very receptive to the non-legal side of these
proceedings. This system was set up specifically for settling claims
without the lawyers getting involved. It's very informal, although I
was still pretty nervous the first time in. If the person you're suing
doesn't show up, or you win your case, you get a judgment against
them. That doesn't mean you get your money. It just means that you won
the judgment. There are a few other steps that have to be taken to
actually collect. ( and you may actually NEVER collect) The best thing
is that a judgment goes on the credit record of the person who it's
against, and it's a powerful weapon in the credit world. the judgment
stays on the credit report for SEVEN years! If they didn't have ****ty
credit before, they do now. One of the best rewards to this action is
that the word will get around that you don't let this **** slide!

There are some other actions that you can put into place. I
picketed a car dealership one time for 5 days after they jerked me around
on a deal, and then changed the numbers at the last second. It looked
pretty stupid at first for me to be out there, but the dealership that
started out laughing at me on Monday , had not sold a single car by
Friday. Picketing a club won't make many people stay away, but it does
raise awareness of your plight , and it warns other bands as to what
happened to you. Make sure you call the police department and tell them
before you just show up. There may be some ordinances that you have to
obey.

The other thing you can do is to get real big in that town and
play the competition. Or better yet, make the club that screwed you
realllllly beg before you give them the date. About the only thing
you'll get from this is some self satisfaction.

PROMOTION: For those of us who don't have 6 figure salaries.

1. The Power of Food

Members of the act Twelve:12 (www.twelve12.org) found themselves doing a 20-minute interview on a rock radio station in their hometown ... all for simply bringing breakfast to the disc jockeys.

"We stopped at a restaurant and ordered some omelets, bacon and biscuits to go, then brought them to a local station for the morning show hosts," says Eric Luedtke. "They talked to us on the air for 20 minutes about our music."

Eric points out that this happened in Madison, Wisconsin. "So we're not talking a small town where anyone can get on the radio just for knitting a nice sweater," he says.

Media people love free food, particularly morning jocks, who often don't have time to get a good breakfast on the way to work. Fill their stomachs and they just might reward you with some exposure.

2. Perform a Guerrilla Concert

Kenny Kinds of Blue Fortune (www.blue-fortune.com) performs what he calls a "guerrilla concert" before shows. He explains, "We find a location near where we'll be performing, like a market or cafe where a lot of people gather. Then we acoustically perform a couple of songs -- just long enough to tease people, hand out flyers, complimentary CDs, etc." Many of those unsuspecting people, of course, are inspired to attend Blue Fortune's show.

Are you overlooking simple ways that you can attract more people to your live shows?

3. Stamp of Approval

Here's a cool marketing idea from Corey Palmer of the band Monday Conspiracy. Like most club-playing musicians, his band gets booked at venues that stamp the hand of every patron who enters. Most bands don't give this common ritual a second thought. But not Monday Conspiracy.

"We had a stamp made that spells out our web site address," Corey says. "Before every show, we ask the manager if he or she would mind using our stamp at the door. Most managers say yes, which results in the entire crowd being temporarily branded with our web address."

And the results? "We've seen our web traffic jump quite a bit since we started doing this. People are less likely to forget our address with it stamped on their hands."

4. Happy Mood Ring to You

A few years ago, a band called Wordlove was drawing a pretty good crowd by playing music from the 1970s, complete with an image influenced by '70s pop culture -- disco-flavored funk, polyester jumpsuits, platform heels, lava lamps and disco balls. As well as the band was doing, the members wanted to go an extra step to create a bond with their fans.

They found the perfect gimmick: mood rings. Yes, those popular jewelry trickets from the '70s that changed color based on your emotional state. A band member bought 100 rings for $25 at a vintage clothing store. But they didn't just give them away for any reason. They sent them to fans as birthday presents.

On the band's mailing list sign-up form, fans were asked to write in their birth date. Then when the date arrived, each fan would receive a "groovy" card with a free mood ring taped to the inside -- compliments of Wordlove.

"Instead of the usual band mailing list garbage, each fan got something cool from the great new band he or she discovered some months earlier," says Shawn Fields, a former member of Wordlove and editor of Getsigned.com. "No hype. No desperate pleas for show attendance. Nothing to sell. Just a simple birthday card with a free gift. Our brand awareness factor shot up 110 percent--and so did our show attendance as word spread about the unique bond we had with our fans."

[KKKKKocaine]

5. The Eye Candy System

Nicola of Hot Cherry Records (www.cdbaby.com/nicolanyc) relates that after her live sets, she has two or three attractive girlfriends go out to audience. "One handles the CD sales and one or two circulate the mailing list and get names, addresses and e-mails," she explains. "Not to be sexist, since I am a woman myself, but this marketing strategy works for me."

She continues, "Women seem to be less threatening to both sexes than men, and that is why we have found this approach to work best. It enables us to come off the stage and immediately meet and greet people, without having to worry about selling and dealing with paper and mailing lists. It's a great system!"

How can you boost your mailing list sign-ups or improve your interaction with fans?

6. Print This

For the most part, using the Internet means doing away with paper and printing. Unless you come up with a cool idea like Bob Houlston has. To promote his guitar tips and tabs site, Bob invites visitors to print and distribute small fliers available at http://www.houlston.freeserve.co.uk/flier.htm

Great idea. In the past, I only considered printing fliers and physically handing them to people. But there is obviously another option: Have your fans print out and distribute the promotional items themselves. Basically, you've just created your own street team.

Considering doing this to promote your CDs or live shows. You can also ask fans to print coupons for discounts on recordings and admission fees.

7. Let Your Fans Help You

"One of the best tips is to appreciate and respect your fans," says singer-songwriter Nyree in an interview on the artistpro.com site. She is also the author of "Booking, Promoting and Marketing Your Music."

Nyree says that much of the good fortune she's enjoyed throughout her career came about because a fan got involved. For example, opening for Crosby, Stills & Nash, Santana and other high-profile artists happened because a fan knew somebody.

"When you try just to sell yourself it never works," she says. "But when somebody's really thrilled about something, they can sell it to anyone."

Nyree says a recent East Coast tour also happened because of her fans. "Some people saw shows I did in Palo Alto, and they asked me when I was coming to their town. My answer is always, 'I'll come to your town when you set something up, or help me set something up, because it's gonna be really hard for me to get something good on my own.'"

EXCUSES TO GET ON RADIO:

You don't have to be talking about your latest e.p. to be on the radio.

* A musician could hook up with a psychologist or music therapist to discuss the stress-reduction benefits of mellow jazz music.
* A traditional blues player who has either lived through or learned a lot about regional music history could pitch himself as an expert on local culture.
* A punk or metal band member could become an advocate for safe mosh-pit etiquette and offer to enlighten kids and their parents on common-sense advice when attending concerts.
* A rap singer might debunk myths about the genre and demonstrate that not all rap is about sex, drugs, violence and life on the streets.
* A country musician could team up with a fitness instructor and espouse the virtues of line dancing as a fun form of exercise.
* Become a music trivia expert. Do you know way too much about the Beatles? Or Elvis? Or the '50s, '60s or '70s? Or some other musical niche? If so, appoint yourself to be your area's media consultant on the topic.

By positioning yourself as an expert, you'll be invited to appear on a number of radio programs. Best yet, while you enlighten listeners on your topic, you can also work in plugs for your band or CD.


Next Issue : A mystery, Im going to spain for 2 weeks on friday, there shall be much delay.

[opiate4themasses]

awww dont go. Im loving these.

[ProfessorChaos]

haha, same here! It's awesome

[thecabbagemassacre]

these are awesome. have a good trip
hope to see some more articles once your back

[GuitarComet]

I'm not agreeing with the mailing list thing.

I think it's a bad idea.

[KKKKKocaine]

Originally Posted by GuitarComet

I'm not agreeing with the mailing list thing.

I think it's a bad idea.

Look at it this way, who is more approachable and more appeasing to your average gig goer?

A man who looks like johnny rotten with a raspy voice in cut jeans, or a girl?

It's a matter of who you trust your email with, the dodgy looking man, or the innocent girl.

I'm going to try and do one more article before I leave, however it all depends on if my guitarist can engage his power of critical thought.

Guitar : My exhaust has broken
Me: Get the X6 bus

*sigh*