E-Zine Cover 04.07.2010

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:49:00 -0400

This week's issue features Mike Stocksdale, the Steelwells @ DiPiazzas, how to use parametric EQ and a collection of music marketing tips!

Cover Photo by: myspace.com

The Music of Mike Stocksdale

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:48:00 -0400

Judy Brunkala

When singer-songwriter and guitarist Mike Stocksdale began thinking about writing songs for his most recent album, Chase You, he had no idea he’d be going to Sweden to record it. But due to problems arising with his record label, that’s just what he did.

“I went to Sweden to record the record with a couple of guys that I met at Musicians Institute [in Hollywood]. Anders Mouridsen, the guitarist, was already back there and Alfred Andersson, the bass player, and Mickael “Walle” Wahlgren, the drummer, who are really just great blues-jazz musicians and had done a bunch of stuff out there and out here. I just kinda thought they would be a really good fit and they had access to a really cheap studio out there, so I flew there and those three guys were there, so we just went out and recorded.”

They recorded the instrumental parts of the songs, and then added Stocksdale’s vocals and the harmonies of Kate Strand, a musician he met at Musicians Institute, when he returned to the States.

The result was Chase You, an array of Stocksdale’s original blues/country/folk songs, being released in 2009. Stocksdale said Chase You earned him the listing of top new music review for 2009 in Music Connection magazine. He said a record Strand released also placed high the list.

Stocksdale grew up in Southern California, but went to college in Indiana, where he joined his first band.

“My first experience with music was playing with a band called Three Minute Mile which Jason [Kotynkski] was the lead singer of, and I just always ever since then I’ve really wanted to be part of a band as opposed to have ‘hired guns’ that maybe are amazing musicians but I don’t have any connection with.”

The band then moved to Chicago and continued pursuing music and honing their skills. But after about a year, Stocksdale moved back to Los Angeles.

“In late 2003—early 2004, I started trying to write songs and be my own solo guy, because I really wasn’t a singer. . .more of a songwriter that kind of sings. But I actually released an album around that time that I did completely on my own. . .called searching for september, which came out in 2005.” Stocksdale said.

On the record, female background vocals were done by Sarah Kim and Emi Odawara.

Though Stocksdale had always loved blues, searching had a pop-rock feel.

“That was right before I went to Musicians Institute, and I feel that helped shape more of the musician and the writer that I am now.”

With their experience from Musicians Institute, Stocksdale and Anders Mouridsen, who now lives in the United States, recorded The Hill, and all songs were written and lead vocals done by Stocksdale.

“. . .with The Hill, Anders played bass and I played bass because that one we actually did in my parents’ house on a 16-track recorder, and we did it to a click track, piece by piece, like guitar, vocals, and we actually had a couple pieces of percussion that Chris Green brought in. . .that was when we didn’t really have a band, but we kind of did.”

Natasha Kmeto sang background and harmony vocals, and played keyboards. The record was released in 2007, and had a blues sound.

Band members have changed mostly because they moved out of the area since searching for september and The Hill were released.

When Stocksdale and his current band members perform, as they did at Molly Malone’s in L. A. in March, Stocksdale continues to write the songs and sing lead vocals. Mike Olekshy, who is heavily involved in writing and producing music in the U. S. and in his native Canada, plays bass at some shows, and Kate Strand, also involved in various aspects of the music business, sings backing vocals and harmony.

The group has performed with several different drummers.

“They’ve all been good players,” Stocksdale said. “I’m just playing the field till I make sure I’ve found that guy who really fits.”

The group even spent time playing without a drummer.

“We actually played for about a year, maybe longer, without a drummer. It was me, Kate, and Anders playing, and Mike would show up once in a while, which was really nice because we kind of got to hone the songs on Chase You and play them in an atmosphere where we could really hear each other.” Stocksdale said.

He emphasized the importance of finding the right drummer, who could take the groove he intended for the song and translate it into a kick snare, or whatever is needed.

With regard to future shows, Stocksdale said, “there are a lot of venues that will book me, and they take part of the door, and I take part of the door and they expect a certain amount of people in there.” If that number isn’t reached, payment for playing the show could be slim to none.

Still, he said he plans to book a show in a couple months.

“I’ve made it a New Year’s resolution to play fewer shows and make them more special, and hype them more, because last year I grew tired of playing a bunch of dates and not necessarily knowing which bands were before and after me.

He said he would like to have his fans make a night of it, as they did at the Molly Malone’s show because Stocksdale was well-acquainted with the band that preceded and followed him. He’s looking for the venue to replicate that experience.

“It’s much more satisfying,” he said. “Even though it’s a harder wait between gigs, because I like to perform. It’s much more satisfying to play a gig like that than to just be one of nine bands in a 45-minute slot.”

Stocksdale said he is also talking to producers about the next record, for which he’s had the songs written since November 2008.

“I’m talking to two guys now; I should probably find a third to even things out, so I know who to go with.” he said.

Stocksdale said this will be a different record than Chase You. He said it’s definitely not quite as folk/country as his previous record, and he said he thinks he’s done the songs in a way to not only maintain his own sound, but so the listener may recognize the artist who inspired the song. It may also have flavors of different genres of music, but of course will include his favorite, blues.

Hear more of Mike Stocksdale’s music at

http://mikestocksdale.bandcamp.com/track/the-old-band

Photos courtesy of the band.

The Steelwells Rock DiPiazzas

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:48:00 -0400

Laura Miller

The Steelwells got the house rocking out at Dipiazza’s in Long Beach Friday night. Taking the stage shortly after nine, they started their set off with the first track from their seven-song EP, Shallow on the Draft. “This Dance Is Out of Your Hands” could not have been more perfect with its upbeat melody and its infectious way of getting the crowd moving. It was exciting to watch the band perform with Jon Bradley, their new drummer. He fit so well within the group, there was no way of knowing that he only joined the band a month ago.

After powering through their second song, “Boxes,” with its haunting harmonies, lead singer, Joey Winter informed the crowd that he was doing his best despite burning his mouth on a slice of pizza right before the show. The audience only had encouraging screams and whistles for the front man, as he led the band into a new song. The song, “Floating,” he announced, will be on an upcoming EP. The musicians have a great chemistry onstage, not only through music, but also through their witty banter. At one point, Winter described, keyboardist, Billy Kim’s voice as “a voice like a little baby cherub,” which collected laughs from the band, as well as the audience. More chuckles were heard around the room when Winter started speaking in terms of twitter, as he “@ed [Moostache] live on stage!” Guitarist, Andrew Eapen, who handles all of The Steelwells’ social media activity, found the comment especially ridiculous.

Continuing their set, The Steelwells played other songs from their last EP, which included “The End,” a song that stirs so much emotion as the brilliantly composed music builds, and through its wise lyrics. The band urges listeners: “Don’t waste your time asking why while shaking your fist at the sky/Just turn yourself forward man, hold in your breath and sing out/Cause this is the end.”

The group ended the performance with “Our Fabled Little Rabbits” and “El Capitan.” The enormous talent on stage, with bassist Robbie Gullage and Greg on percussion, was obvious. The Steelwells really brought their best to Dipiazza’s. There’s no doubt that big things are going to happen for this Yorba Linda-based band. The Steelwells’ “El Capitan” won the Orange County Music Award for Best Song in early March. The band also won an OCMA for Best New Artist. They will be at Alex’s Bar next Thursday, April 15^th, and at Detroit Bar every Monday in June. Be sure to check out their music and tour information at http://www.myspace.com/thesteelwells.

Photos by: Brian Okamoto

Parametric EQ - Simplified Use Of...

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:47:00 -0400

James Lee Stanley

My sister Pamala (www.pamalastanley.com) and I were talking about mastering and premastering and she was telling me how she had to go thru an entire stereo master track and take down the kick drum every place in over modulated. I asked her why she didn’t just use a parametric eq and dial in the offending frequency and then diminish that by a db or two.

She told me that she didn’t really know how to use the parametric. Now I have become an engineer by default and I invite anyone to correct me or to add to the discussion here, but let me tell you what I do.

I have two tricks, if you will, that I use when it seems I have to fix something like Pamala described above.

First I load in a parametric eq then patch the track or master tracks to run thru it, so I am now listening to those tracks (or track) thru the parametric.

Then I go to the boost and I boost it 1 db. I do the 1 db boost to make it a little easier to detect the offending frequencies.

Then I slowly sweep the entire bandwidth from 20 to 20,000 hz and try to determine which frequency or frequencies are the offending ones, and I make notes of which ones those might be.

Now I go back to the boost and I subtract 1 db and I slowly do the sweet again and I listen carefully again, seeing which frequencies clear up the mix and make note of which ones actually diminish the impact of the mix.

I do this to find which would serve the song better. Where I have done the boost, and found the offender, I go back to the track set the dials flat and I decrease that offending frequency by 1db less. And then I listen. If that’s too much I undo and then do a .5 db decrease. If it’s not enough I begin continue to decrease in .5 db increments until I’ve done what I wanted to do or discovered that this just isn’t going to work.

Using the parametric to dial in the offending frequencies and then decreasing them until the mix sounds balanced.

You can, of course, do the same thing inversely if you feel something is missing from the track. And in this world of digital recording there is always the UNDO command

Saves a lot of time that use to be spent going thru various mixes on various machines and comparing or crawling around on the floor looking for pieces of tape.

This article is reprinted with permission from Datamusicata.com; please support James by checking it out!

Music Marketing Tips

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:45:00 -0400

David Hooper

Do it now.

Sounds simple, and perhaps you're wondering, "Do what now? I don't know what to do!!"

The answer to that question was best answered by Ray Bradbury, when he said, "Jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down."

The Best Way to Be Successful at Anything

Being successful within the music business is a lot like learning a new language...

What's the best way to learn a foreign language? Go to a country where they speak it all the time and you'll learn more in a month than you would in years of "school." Total immersion is the best classroom.

Same for your music business career. You can say you want to be a fulltime musician, but as long as you have a job or something else to keep you in your comfort zone, it's unlikely anything will change the current situation you're in to make that happen.

Are You Pavlov's Dog?

If you're working a day job, you've got a tremendous amount of inertia to overcome. Most people have years of heavy social programming, which makes them think they "need" a dayjob. Beyond that though, a "weekly paycheck" trains us in its own way.

We're more like animals than we think. Do a trick, get rewarded.

Just worked 40 hours? Here's a paycheck. Good boy!

That's hard to walk away from!! I get it. But understanding this will help you do just that.

How to Change Your Music Business Career in a Single Day

In my years of working with musicians, the two biggest problems most have are:

Comfort
Treating music like a job

Total immersion solves both of these very quickly. It immediately takes you out of your comfort zone of a regular paycheck (and what comes with it-- food, clothing, shelter, etc) and puts you in a place where you have to make things happen in order to survive.

Have a problem asking for what you're worth? Giving away CDs? Playing for free? Do music fulltime, get a little hungry, and watch what happens...

Have friends who think what you're doing is a "hobby" and want to attend your shows for free? Do music fulltime and the problem is solved.
And the list goes on and on...

So let me repeat my advice one more time...

Do it Now

Seriously, do it now. If you really want this as much as you say you do, do it now. Otherwise, the upcoming year end up just like this one did.

E-Zine Cover 03.31.2010

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:10:00 -0400

This week's issue features Paul Williams speaking at Orange Coast College, Artisans: The Label For Artists, Jamie Scoles, An Example of Music Promotion on CNN, and What is an Anchor Gig?

Cover Photo by: Aaron Huniu

Paul Williams Visits the OC

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:09:00 -0400

David Sachs

"I don’t know how to do this, but something inside me does.” These words portrayed a re-occurring theme as legendary Hall of Fame Songwriter Paul Williams visited Orange Coast College (OCC) Wednesday, in a presentation about himself and the creative unconscious.

Mr. Williams holds a Grammy, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an Academy Award and has recently been elected President and Chairman of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).

OCC’s Robert B. Moore Theater was filled with excited anticipation, and more seats were made available as the hall filled with aspiring musicians, filmmakers and members of the community. The 950-seat theater had almost reached capacity when Williams took the stage.

He was joined by Chris Caswell, who was seated at a black grand piano and accompanied Williams in his performance excerpts of Just an Old Fashion Love Song, the Love Boat, The Rainbow Connection, Evergreen, and audience requests during the Q&A section.

“I have incidentally no idea what I’m going to talk about, so what I’m going to talk about is basically that process—the process of trusting in the moment, trusting what’s going on,” Williams began. “So that’s what I’m going to try to translate into words today: to talk to you about how I’ve lived my life and at the end of it I hope some of you will go, ‘Oh my God, yes, yes! He’s talking about me!’ Some of you will go, ‘okay, he needs to be back in rehab.’”

Williams spoke about the beginning of his career as an aspiring actor.

“I wanted to be a movie star—I looked like Britney with a thyroid problem but I wanted to be a movie star,” he joked.

Williams detailed how he worked five months on The Chase, staring Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, EG Marshall and Angie Dickinson. Unfortunately after the final cut Williams was left with only two lines, one of them being “He’s gonna need a better lawyer than your daddy!”

Off camera, however, Williams’ musical career began to seed.

“While on the set this guy had an expensive guitar and he wouldn’t let me touch it, so I bought guitar of my own and I started doodling—I became a chronic doodler.”

Williams talked about staying up all night as an out-of-work actor writing songs, finding his true calling.

“There is a massive energy in being one of those arrogant people that knows what your doing with your life is the right thing to do,” he said. “The first level of payment [as a musician] is that self-induced therapy. You can take that crap that hurts in here, or this joy and you can throw it out there and it’s an amazing process.”

At particular points throughout the presentation, Williams and Caswell broke out into song, demonstrating the lessons Williams made in his speech.

Tapping into the creative unconscious was the afternoon’s overarching lesson, alluding to an almost American Transcendentalist philosophy of one-shared consciousness.

“I’m a great believer in the power of unconscious. We sit down with a blank page and it’s a spectacular moment to sit there and have the audacity to think that you can create something that other people are going to relate to,” he said.

Another important theme was brought to light by rather inspiring words of wisdom:

“If you’re sitting out there now with a talent in your chest I promise you that talent was not put out there for you to suffer. That talent was put out there for you to develop and use,” he said. “That absolute passion of belief that says ‘what I was gonna do, I’m gonna set out to do, and everything’s gonna work for me. It’s just that absolute sense of entitlement; it’s the only way I can describe it.”

Williams then outlined a path or direction that this entitlement can produce.

“I think that as soon as you have that sense of entitlement of ‘you know what, I am good, I have talent, this is what I’m going to do with my life and you begin a path that is empowered by that,” he said. “Then the second stage is letting go of direction and understanding that as much as we plot, you’re gonna get get dropped over here and popped over here—remember I wanted to be an actor? Well that door slammed and I found songwriting.”

After the hour’s presentation and thunderous applause, Williams and Caswell mingled with the crowd, signing autographs and smiling hellos.

We were able to pull Mr. Williams aside for a quick one-on-one Q&A:

David Sachs: Take us back to the beginning of your musical career; what inspired you to dive into the industry?
Paul Williams: A classic 'no' is a gift experience. My acting career fizzled and with no money in my pocket to spend on entertainment—let alone a good therapist—I started writing songs. It felt like I'd done it all my life, and from the first attempt I had that 'found my place' feeling.

Sachs: "Evergreen" has earned an Oscar, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Tell us about your process in writing this song in particular.
Williams: Written for 'A Star is Born', it was the last song I wrote for the film. I was hired by [Barbra] Streisand to write the score. I first wrote the songs for Kris Kristopherson's character as they appeared earlier in the film.   Writing for films and for the stage—or for television projects with a story line—the script is the bible…usually.   The songs need to progress the story and develop the characters.   For this picture the songs were also 'source music'—songs sung by the characters in the film to an audience, as opposed to songs magically being sung by characters about the things they were experiencing—so the connection to story and character needed to be more subtle.   I think 'With One More Look At You' is the best song in the film, but I'm thrilled with the response to 'Evergreen' and of course it won everything.   Barbra's melody is simply beautiful.

Sachs: Including your induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, how have these awards affected your career? Directed your career?
Williams: The phone rings a little more than usual right after a win, but that settles down after a while. Awards can't be something you swim towards or you drown. For me, the work needed to be done for the love of writing, not for the money and not for the recognition.   I must admit I love the way my bio starts: Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter!!!!    I think the biggest honor of all has been my election to the Board of Directors of ASCAP, and now President and Chairman of the Board.

Sachs: According to your bio, your songs have been recorded by legends such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie, Ray Charles, REM, Tony Bennett and, of course, Kermit the Frog. Which artist (or artists) were most exciting for you to work with? Why?
Williams: Sinatra was a biggie! David Bowie was a great surprise because my music was so unlike his, and he has always been a favorite of mine. I think every name on that list…Johnnie Mathis, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks, Ella…they all got a little prayer of thanks when I heard they'd recorded one of my songs

Sachs: Last year you replaced Marilyn Bergman as ASCAP's President and Chairman after eight years with the company and two years as the Writer Vice Chairman. Tell us about that process and what it currently entails
Williams: By the end of the year ASCAP will represent over 400,000 songwriters, composers and publishers. As amazing new technologies offer hundreds of thousands of businesses the opportunity to use our music to advance their companies, we'll be there to work closely with them in providing the largest, most diverse collection of copyrights available anywhere in the world. We want everyone, everywhere to enjoy our music forever—and we want all the creators of this fabulous music to be secure in the fact that they'll be properly compensated for their work.   That means ASCAP will have to maintain it's strong presence in Washington advocating for their rights. The technology has always outrun the law, but we catch up and we're grateful to the legislators who recognize our right. Our moral right, our economic right and our legal entitlement to proper compensation for the work.

Sachs: What are you working on now? You mentioned you were working with Daft Punk at the seminar, are there any other musicians you may be working with?
Williams: Bad luck to talk about things before they're released.   I'll only say that Thomas and Guyman are brilliant and writing lyrics for them is exciting and a great opportunity.

Sachs: The Obama Administration is asking to hear from creators—including songwriters and recording artists—about how intellectual property infringement affects their livelihood. The Administration is also seeking advice on what the government could be doing to better protect the rights of artists and creators in the United States. What would you suggest to the Administration?
Williams: I have great confidence in this administration. He's shown real concern for the issues we're dealing with. Piracy—which I chose to call by it's true name, theft—and I.P. protection is getting some real attention. He's appointed an I.P. czar, and in addition, Howard Berman recently appointed I.P. Posts at several embassies around the world.   It's a good beginning.   I'd like to point out to the President that there are problems in the world of Audio Visual Performance and in the Digital world that must be addressed if the brilliant composers writing for film and television are going to survive. We need to expand the definition of Performance in a Stream—Streaming has largely replaced the download as more and more content is delivered through cloud computing; cloud storage if you will.
    This year I was nominated for an Emmy for a one hour Muppet special. I wrote the story, the songs and co-wrote the script for "A Muppet Christmas - Letters to Santa".   It's been picked up around the world. When it's shown on television in the States, or on cable I receive performance royalties. If you watch it on your computer (which more and more people are doing) I don't receive anything! But, I do in England and almost everywhere else in the world. So we're out of balance with the rest of the world and I hope we can correct this injustice quickly.

Photos by: Aaron Huniu

Music Promotion on CNN

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:07:00 -0400

David Hooper

A band called Handsome Furs partnered with Sub Pop and CNN to do a Web series about its tour of Asia. Band members filmed it themselves using Flip cameras.

Get more info here.

Any touring band should be doing this!

Artisans: The Label For Artists!

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:07:00 -0400

Rhiannon Janee

It takes a certain type of person to venture out and start a business. Certain qualities are a must for any entrepreneur: charisma, tenacity, perseverance, and fearlessness. Mike Filson embodies all of those. Growing up in Orange County, he struggled as a musician to “make it" and through his hardships, a vision was born; a record label that worked for the artist, rather than an artist working for the label.

Rhiannon: Did you work at any record labels before starting your own? How did you get started?
Filson: I’m a musician. Five years ago, if you would have told me I was going to own a record company, I would have laughed at you. I’ve been a musician since I was 15. I think watching my friends struggle with record labels nonstop…it’s the compassionate side of me that evoked and caused ArtiSans label to be created. Not the idea that I wanted to own a record label.

Rhiannon: So what instruments do you play?
Filson: Guitar mainly. That was my identity. Now they all hang on the wall of our studio and I never touch them. It’s a tragedy, really...That was a joke.

Rhiannon: Were you in bands?
Filson: Yes, it was just bad timing. We met with Virgin, Capitol, Electra. And they all passed. They all said the same thing, “you play too well.”

Rhiannon: What does that mean?
Filson: It means, at that time, what was coming out on the radio was hot. What was out there had a dirty sound and we didn’t sound like that. We spent years honing and trying to get that professional sound…we put so much hope in the basket of the record labels. We couldn’t dirty up our sound and undo all the training we had for years. But that wasn’t even the worst. In general, people who are really good musicians make bad life choices when they think getting signed is right around the corner. That’s what I tried to combat when I created ArtiSans record label. There is nothing like us out there.

Rhiannon: So what did you after you graduated from college?
Filson: Here’s the deal, my freshman year I got hired as a student assistant at Cal Poly. It was a great job and I kept getting promoted. After I graduated, I was one of the youngest directors at the college. I learned that I was good at business. I always thought I was the artist, the musician, and I realized I was just as good at business. Art is one side of the brain and business is the other. It’s rare to find someone who can do both.

Rhiannon: Tell us a little about the business side…
Filson: We don’t do anything in house. We put together strategic products and services, marketing business and legal to give to artists…if they’re going to spend money, they’re going to spend money on their own careers. We make sure it’s spent wisely. And we don’t take a cut of their product. It’s purely customer service based.

Rhiannon: How does the business make money?
Filson: It’s like a wedding coordinator model and I hate describing it that way. A bride and groom will hire a wedding coordinator so they can cut straight on their day. And the wedding coordinator, pulls in for the budget, pulls in the best vendors, and the most quality vendors. And that’s what we do.

Rhiannon: How much help do you have? With your staff?
Filson: This would be nothing without the absolutely wonderful people on our staff. What do you define help as? We have an incredible staff that works their butts’ off to make sure independent artists have a much better chance. We’re not offering them, “hey, we’re going to make you stars.” That’s crap. We’re offering, “hey let’s put a package together that will reliably sell this amount and give you this much in exposure. And let’s do another album.” Not only being able to decide for themselves if they want to continue this as their sole occupation but it will also raise the industry’s level of awareness of them. So if they do want to get signed, they have quantifiable album sales, they have a larger fan base, and a better track record.

Rhiannon: Does anyone ever come in with really bad music? In that case, would you step in with artistic direction?
Filson: My theory is this, at one point The Beatles sucked. Our job is not music filters, it’s dream makers. We’re not trying to force a certain style to occur. Who’s to say that my opinion of good music is, trumps the artist that came in with his ideas.

Rhiannon: Where do you see your business in five years?
Filson: This is going to sound weird. I hope we’re battling with competitors because my true hope for this is not that ArtiSans label is superior to any other label. It’s the idea of giving the artist much more power and more share of the money that propagates into the normal way of doing business in the music industry. I hope their companies like us that pop up. Right now there are none.

Photos by: Aaron Huniu

What is an Anchor Gig?

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:06:00 -0400

James Lee Stanley

I just did something that I don’t believe I have ever done before.   I saved the Saturday night of the tour because I knew I was going to do it at a club where I always do extremely well.

While I contacted them first, I never heard back from them as I put the tour together, but I kept moving forward in faith, knowing that it was going to work out.     It didn’t.   I waited so long to hear from them that I ended up not having a gig on the Saturday night of a week long tour of the Midwest.

Now here’s the truly stupid part.   That was to have been my anchor gig. An anchor gig is a gig where you know you are going to do really well financially.   An anchor gig will pay for the entire tour and all the other gigs you get will just be profit.

Whenever you are putting together a tour, you need to have at least one gig that is guaranteed; one gig that will make the whole thing financially viable.    If you are planning a tour of substantial duration, then you need to have at least one anchor gig in each region you are going to.

This would be the first gig you book.   A gig where you either have a guarantee or you know that you are going to make substantial money, for instance, a house concert series that has its own constituency can be a good place to start.

After you have that one in place, then start trying to fill in the blanks and you try to put them as close together as you can.    Every day that you are on the road, it costs you money and the object is to not only do a great show and have a great time, but to bring home more money than you left with.

Going out and coming back with less money than you left with simply means that you are going broke; an ugly thing for a musician.    A performing musician must perform or else one becomes rusty.   No amount of practice will take the place of being on stage, in the spotlight.    And the less work you get, the worse you will be.    And if you have to take other work to make money, then your art is going to suffer.   That’s all there is to that.

In this flagging economy, with the news giving us the worst case scenario over and over again, it is easy to feel anxiety and you won’t be the only one.    Every club owner and every audient is also feeling it, so the crowds are going to be smaller and the club owners more choosy in their acts.   This translates into clubs wanting to only book people that they know will bring in enough people to pay the club’s bills for the night or more nights hopefully.

When you couple that with the fact that the energy prices have doubled in the past six months, you have a recipe for a recession.   Many musicians don’t vote and don’t think that politics really affects them, but the regime of the past seven years has created the situation that we are in now.    They had no energy policy that they were willing to share with congress or the American people, even when a legal demand for that information was directed by congress.    And that policy seems to have been whatever the oil companies want.

So what are we touring musicians to do at this point?    One would be to find gigs closer to home.   Two would be to find alternative ways to ply your musical trade, creating performing spaces where there were none before.    Three would be to look at what you do and see if there is some other way you could do music and still make a living.   Four would be to not forget that all important anchor gig when putting a tour together and five would be to vote.

This article is reprinted with permission from Datamusicata.com; please support James by checking it out!

Archives

E-Zine Cover 04.07.2010

The Music of Mike Stocksdale

The Steelwells Rock DiPiazzas

Parametric EQ - Simplified Use Of...

Music Marketing Tips

E-Zine Cover 03.31.2010

Paul Williams Visits the OC

Music Promotion on CNN

Artisans: The Label For Artists!

What is an Anchor Gig?