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Things To Know When Beginning A Career In Music

June 3, 2013 by Chris

The internet has not only impacted the way people shop and find information but also the way people pursue careers. The internet began to make a slight change to the music industry just a few years ago when Justin Bieber, now a global superstar, as we all know, was discovered. Bieber decided that posting videos online and getting thousands of views was going to be his best opportunity of success. Thankfully for Bieber, one of those viewers happened to be a musician’s manager.

Beginning a career in the music industry is difficult and might even seem impossible to some artists.

However, as with everything else, the music industry is always evolving, thus resulting in the process and road to success many aspiring musicians will face.

It Takes Time

Whether you are a solo artist or a member of a band, getting involved and seeing success in music can take a lot of time. The key is to be patient, however, as it is very easy you may lose motivation and stop practicing or meeting up with band mates. Patience doesn’t just consist of waiting around for something to happen and not doing anything about it.

You must be and stay active; every day should consist of an effort to better improve yourself as a musician. Just have belief in what you are doing and keep moving yourself forward. If you’re good, you will be discovered.

Have an Open Mind

Whether it is about your strategies or even music genre, focus on looking at your position and even strategies from another point of view. When putting together ideas to promote and market yourself or band, an open mind will allow you to expand your resources.

If you are a solo artist and play an instrument, consider teaching kids or adults on how to play an instrument. This will allow you to gain some publicity and more people will hear about your solo career.

However, make sure you tell all your clients about your side career and in fact, if you have a gig or performance, be sure to invite them and kindly ask if they wouldn’t mind spreading the word a bit.

The Internet

Whether you are experienced or just a newbie looking to get started, make sure you turn to the internet. As an experienced artist, you would be able to post videos of your music, or even you performing live in front of the camera.

While YouTube might seem like the obvious choice, building a following on Twitter or Facebook, for example, will help you to reach the best possible audience. In addition to this, produce some t-shirts featuring the URL of your pages, and whenever you start to play gigs ensure that your social media is featured heavily on flyerr and posters at your gigs. If you want to be creative, you can even put your hashtag on your drum kit!

However, if you are new, then why not try to learn guitar online or even another instrument. The internet offers numerous resources for both newbies and existing artists.

Robert is a professional musician. At a very young age Robert decided to learn guitar online by watching various videos and as he became older he received professional training.




Filed Under: Musicians Tagged With: Artist, band, Beginning, career, gig, instrument, internet, Know, Music, Open Mind, performance, time

The Easy Guide To Booking And Planning A Gig For Your Band

February 6, 2013 by Chris

When you are in a band, many times the biggest hassle is booking a gig. If you have a manager, then you don’t have to worry about it. The manager handles all of that hassle. However, most bands just starting out don’t have a manager. They have to do everything on their own. If you are looking to book a gig, follow this simple guide to make things easy on yourself.

Have a Press Kit

You want to have a press kit that you can give club owners and venue managers. This press kit will have a lot of information about your band in an easy-to-read package. The press kit should include your contact information, a brief biography of your band, an example set list, your musical influences, a band photo and a CD of your music. If you want to make things really simple on yourself, you can have all of this information available on your band’s website. You do have a website, right? If you don’t have one, then you need to set one up right away. No booking agent at a venue will take a band seriously these days without a website. One page on your website can have an electronic version of your press kit.

Find a Venue

Whether you are looking to book your first gig in your hometown or are looking to go out on the road for the first time, it is important to choose the right venue. Set your sights on somewhere small when you are just starting out. Even if you are only playing for a couple dozen people, you have to start somewhere. Find a coffee shop, bar, pub or club that looks like it would appeal to fans of your type of music. Once you find the venue, then you can contact them. Either give them a call or shoot them an email asking who you need to speak to about booking. When you get the booking agent’s contact information, then go ahead and send them a short email. In this introductory email, tell them that you are interested in playing at their venue. Ask them which dates they have available in the next few months. Include a link to the electronic press kit on the band’s website. Keep this introductory email short, somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-50 words. Once you have sent this email, wait three weeks for a response. If you haven’t heard from them after three weeks, send a follow up email asking them if they received your introductory email. After that, keep sending them follow up emails every three weeks. Don’t stop until they either give you a solid rejection or ask you to play. Being persistent is one of the keys to landing gigs. You never know when a follow up email will land in a booking agent’s email box at the perfect time to get you a gig.

Equipment

When planning for your gig, remember that you need the right equipment to sound your best. Scout out the venue to see if they have all the audio equipment you will need. Use the house PA system if they have one. If they don’t, then you will need to bring your own. Depending on the scale of the show you have in mind you may need amps, microphones, speakers, stage equipment, lighting and/or a sound board. You can rent this from an audio visual hire company if you don’t have it. Make sure to include the cost of the rental in your calculations for the gig fee.

Negotiating

Once you receive an offer to play a gig, then the most aggravating part of the process begins. Negotiating a fair deal is one of the biggest headaches in the music business, and it is the primary reason most bands have managers once they can afford one. The booking agents will lowball bands as much as they can get away with. Don’t be afraid to ask for more money than they offer at first. You want to receive enough pay to make the gig worth your time. It should be enough to cover food and drinks for the band for the evening. There should also be enough to pay a fair hourly rate to each member of the band. If the gig is out of town, you also want there to be enough to cover gas and lodging costs. Add all this up and make sure that you are receiving enough dough to make the gig worth your time. Keep after it and you will land a gig before you know it.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://stockfresh.com/image/809665/show-time-concert

This article is written by Aaron Edwards, a Perth-based musician who has been gigging locally in his spare time for over six years.

Filed Under: Concerts, Entertainment, Playing Styles Tagged With: band, booking, CD, easy guide, equipment, gig, negotiating, photo, planning, press kit, venue, website

Mother of all guitars!

April 30, 2008 by Chris

Wordless Wednesday

Strange guitar

Imagine carrying this guitar around to gigs or taking it in for repairs. Heck … just imagine tuning the darn thing! Let alone where you might find strings for it!

That’s huge man. I wonder how much it weighs.

Oh, if you like cool guitars – maybe some strange guitars … you’ve got to go over to Guitar Licks and Tips to see my latest post.

Keep on Jammin’


Filed Under: Entertainment, Guitars, Humor, Photography, Recreation, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: big guitar, carry, cool, cool guitars, darn, gig, gigs, guitar, guitar licks, guitar tips, guitars, Heck, huge, huge guitar strings, huge guitar to repair, huge man, imagine, jammin, Licks, mother of all guitars, play, playing, strange, tune, tuning, Wordless Wednesday, WW

Flight of the Conchords

March 10, 2008 by Chris

Has anyone ever seen these guys on TV? I happened by chance to see their show on HBO and I was immediately hooked!

It’s all about these Kiwis, (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement),that moved to New York to further their singing career. The songs that they create are about everyday people and their fantasy’s plus, modest ambitions of what they could achieve if they only had faith in themselves. They’re dry sense of humor is so captivating that you just can’t keep your eyes off the TV.

I know that everyone has had friends like these guys in the past and later on in life you have to wonder what had happened to them? Well here is one ending to that thought that will leave you wanting to know more!

Check outnight gig and play the little combo video game and video!

So check out your TV guide and start watching, in the words of the theme song to Family guy they’ll “make us laugh and cry!”

Who says white guys aren’t fly!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Great Bands, Music, Musicians, Playing Styles, Video Tagged With: ambitions, bret mckenzie, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, dry sense of humor, everyday people, faith, family guy, Flight of the conchords, fly, gig, hbo, Indie band, jemaine clement, kiwis, laugh, musical comedians, new zealand band, people fantasy, tv guide, video game, white guys

The Bassist

September 6, 2007 by Chris

The Rick Wakeman concert that I saw a couple of weeks ago left me in a state of music appreciation overload. The level of musicianship at the show was in a realm that only a very talented few ever get to venture into or near.

They were so tight that it just made R. Jackson’s and my head just shake thinking to ourselves that this just can’t be happening right in front of our eyes and ears. When they played a staccato’ed note and then stopped for 2 or more seconds, the whole hall went eerily quiet. Now that’s scary! These guys have a kindred spirit/musical ability all rapped up into one.

Mr. Rick Wakeman was his usual stellar self but his supporting cast took a while to bring it up to his level. The only stand out in both of our eyes was ‘Pearly’ Lee Pomeroy the bass player and when he got going it turned out to be a night to remember!

His regular gig is with this band called Tar Babies.Their site is a MUST to check out in it’s entirety, but don’t let the Tom foolery misguide you. He comes across on stage of the perfect band mate. Always smiling and with positive energy to burn!

leepomeroy.jpg The one thing that caught my eye maybe half way through the show was that he was a left handed bass player and here’s the kicker, he had it strung upside down. He places the thick strings that normally go at the top of the neck on the bottom part.

Now to put it in a way that non musicians can understand, just envision this for one second, imagine using your keyboard turned upside down and having to type that way. It’s almost like walking backwards, you could do it, but when it comes to running it’s a whole new ball game.

So to give the nod to the best player in the band besides Rick Wakeman, Mr Jackson and I would have to give it to the guy above … really you had to be there!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Concerts, Entertainment, Guitars, Music, Musicians, Playing Styles Tagged With: band, bass player, concert, gig, guitar, guitar player, inverted bass, keyboard, Lee Pomeroy, Music, musical, musician, Musicians, Pearly Lee Pomeroy, play, Rick Wakeman, Rick Wakeman concert, Rick Wakeman s bass player, strings, Tar Babies

A Canadian Amp called Traynor

August 24, 2007 by Chris

I never did have an interest in the sound that Traynor amps had so I didn’t pay any attention to them. No great guitar player played on one except my most influential guitar teacher Chris P. Even the place that he taught at, the old “Alonzo’s Music” on Colbourne St. in Brantford which is now called LA Music, was stacked to the ceiling with Traynor amps. Ah, but Mike Defo from the Brantford 80’s band “Vigilance” used Traynor guitar and P.A’s. Boy did I envy his playing as a young guitar player!

petetraynor.gif Peter Traynor is a longtime friend to Dominic Troiano, both from Toronto area , who made these Traynor amplifiers that are the most famous amplifiers that ever came out of Canada.

Troiano and the boys from “Bush” were the first band to take that equipment across the border and play it in the USA.

Peter Traynor isn’t a wealthy man, because he sold out to the person that was funding him.

Anyway, it’s a company called Yorkville Sound. It’s probably one of the biggest corporations in Canada, but it is Bush’s amplifiers that were made by Peter Traynor that actually broke through in the United States and made them money.

traynorhead300×161.jpg Traynor went well out of his way to make sure he got it right for them. He was a great innovator. He’s a genius and a very important person in the Canadian culture of music. After the infamous accident in Death Valley on their way to Vegas, they played the gig, and it was all that Traynor gear – the guitar amp, the bass amp… they just dusted it off, stuck things back on, and it all worked. Talk about Canadian toughness, I guess he got that toughness from our way of dominating the ice in HOCKEY!!!

I was inspired to write this post after reading a “Bush” site about John Prakask, the great bass player from the band.

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Canadian, Guitar Equipment, Musicians, Technology Tagged With: 80 s band Vigilance, accident, amp, amplifier, band, bass player, Brantford, Canada, Canadian, Canadian Amplifiers, famous, fun, gig, guitar, guitar player, interest, mike defelice, money, Music, peter traynor, play, playing, sound, teach, Traynor Amplifiers, Troiano, United States

McCartney’s secret gig

June 8, 2007 by Chris

What a drag, and I was just in London that day as well!

Just kiddin’. Now this is a gig that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss if I WAS THERE.

Imagine been in a little pub holding around 500 patrons or so people and checking out Mr. McCartney as the house band of the night. Now that’s worth the over priced cover charge isn’t it?

I remember seeing him in Toronto at the Sky Dome and it was just fabulous. The sound was well, the Sky Dome but it wasn’t all that bad none the less. But a venue with 500 people … love it!

Filed Under: Great Bands, Music, Musicians, Video Tagged With: club, gig, London club, Music, news video, Paul Mccartney, secret, small venue, Video

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