While in a meeting with fellow musicians, the topic of social media came up. I found myself saying, "artists are what make social media interesting." At the time, it was merely a way of blowing our collective trumpet.
Then I thought of the power of boycotts. What if all of the artists pulled out of social media? It would be a vapid place. Zuckerburg's pocketbook would go down. The value of the enterprise rests on us, the artists and the people.
Hasn't Zuckerburg, while watching the online empire grow, unintentionally put a small "wit" tax on us all? Facebook convinces us we are witty, sharing our opinions, pictures and quips. And who is making a proverbial penny off every post?
With this realization my inner Proletariat reeled like the guy in the Caravaggio painting when he touches a snake, and proclaimed, I shall not be taxed. Zuckerburg isn't going to make a dime off of my wit and creativity.
To that end, I am off Facebook. Correlation is not causation but I am happy to report I am being more productive than I have ever been on my goals in music and art, not concerning myself with my next scheduled post.
Not without function, social media has at times helped me kill time, stay sane, share news, and stay up to date, get fans and customers, or maybe just a little ego boost.
Yet ponder for a moment the sheer amount of time you have spent on social media in the last day, week, month, year, or decade.
I am enjoying my experiment of making Zuckerburg 2 pennies less rich by withholding my participation in the centrifuge. I might even keep the penny for my thoughts. Care to join me?
Music is often a me-focused enterprise. Independent artists are asked to develop their brand, social media presence, content content content, and "become their brand." All of this is supposed to lead to more followers, more gigs, and more opportunities to play music. However, with this me-centered approach, the music suffers. This is because a key component is often forgotten in the process.
That's right, the people out there. The audience. The audience which is going make an effort to come out and see the show. To address this, I challenge you to not just start thinking a lot about the audience, but to experiment by thinking ONLY of the audience, as a starting place.
If your focus starts only on the audience, imagine how that would change things. No more worrying about your image, brand, website, promotions or number of followers on TikTwitter. If the focus did happen to stray from the audience, what if its second stop was the music itself: the notes, the sounds, and to the appreciation and magic of those sounds. So between these two things, the audience and the music, that is where focus belongs.
If focus might go to yourself as the performer--the rarest exception--it might be to consider how your dress, demeanor, and heck, the angle of your hat, contributes to how the audience experiences the show or the song. Or, how your physical stance affects what notes you can play and how.
This is all bringing it back home: the goal is to emphasize the experience of the audience. If your thoughts are constantly, without wavering, focused on the audience, while writing, practicing, sharing your music (rather than focused on yourself), imagine how the music could sound.
I wanted to back pedal a little and report that, despite the nervously adamant nature of my last post, that yes, I do understand the value of music theory. The funniest, realistic way which I can prove this, is that I have noticed that the jobbing musicians who get paid to play music know music theory. The rambling indie rockers begging for gas money on tour don't. I see this like the light shining from a 100 watt bulb.
Music theory has a commercial value. Audiences who pay for tickets are often paying to hear people who have studied music formally (not always but often). Those who know music theory can also be hired to do things which mere mortal musicians cannot, ranging from producing, arranging, transcribing, and/or teaching.
There are definitely exceptions to this, from days of yore to today, where music that does not have an academic backbone, or even an academic pinky bone, appeals to the masses and audiences far more than belabored academic music.
What I am trying to cull out then, is how can music theory be applied in a practical way? I suppose even my musical comrads who are deep into music theory would be interested, so let's explore it briefly.
To this end, let's call "music theory" the "study of music" as I am using the term to refer to an academic study of music.
Studying music needs to be rooted in the core of musical curiousity.
Studying music is all about listening.
Studying music is all about proclaiming what gets you excited.
Studying music is all about embracing what intrigues you.
Studying music is realizing the path is long.
Studying music is realizing it's not as hard as you thought.
The dangers of formally studying music (rah-hah-hah): yes there are some:
You think you know more than you do.
You get cocky.
You want to tell others how to approach music.
You are full of the illusion of knowledge.
You start using your brain more than your ears.
You are parlyzed when you don't have guardrails.
You get frustrated.
All of these are a false sense of knowledge, or a false sense of inadequacy. What a roller coaster.
The challenge is to find natural curiousity and a teacher able to see it. But, that's just a theory!
I will keep you updated, dear reader, on my journey to find that balance between the magic of music and the method.
I have a new equation to share, something along the lines of the more money you have to spend on music lessons, the longer and more complicated music theory becomes. Sadly, music theory, while being handy in some cases, is also the biggest racket known to music lessons.
Through experience of taking lessons with multiple teachers, and doing research online watching videos where people talk about music theory, please allow me to wave my hand and clear the fog.
Music theory is only a small part of what is called music theory. Most of music theory is music facts.
The difference is this:
Music theory is analyzing. It's deciding whether to call a chord a certain name based on the root note, or based on the key it's in, for example. The "theory" part comes in when a chord can go by multiple names. It's kind of like calling a color orange-red, or red-orange. It's just what you call it. The notes are still the notes. Music theory is a way of looking at music after its been written or played. It's a lens. It's a way of looking.
The word "theory" makes it sound like a scientific principle is at work, but in music theory, the word theory just means "subjective." Looking at chords a certain way can help a composer or help a player navigate a piece of music, but nothing in music theory is about facts. Which leads is to...
Music facts are the common vocabulary and agreed-on vocabulary used in written music. C is C. D is D. A certain string of intervals is an Ionian mode. These are not theories! These are facts and vocabulary of things that everyone has to agree on. If C wasn't C, then sheet music would be pointless. Everyone needs to agree what a C note is. There are tons of facts, and not a single one of them is a theory! It took me awhile to separate these two things. Knowing the vocabulary of music helps to communicate with other musicians, and it helps explore the fretboard (or explore the full range of whatever instrument you play).
Music theory is often seen as a mysterious, complicated thing, but it's not. It's just a bunch of facts, and a tiny bit of analyzation thrown in on top. I've learned not to let the intimidation of the hardest parts of music theory stop me from just hopping, skipping and jumping through simply learning the music facts. Facts are just something to learn step by step. Like all the other facts we know.
I've heard that there was an idea in classical music that students would learn yards of music theory before being allowed to touch their instrument. In a context where that makes sense, great, but I am not going to be bubble wrapped in music theory, I think I'll just hit the street with the facts--it's much cheaper that way.
In Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo, the author dives into conversations with super-songwriters about their craft, and his interview with Bob Dylan offers this gem: "Then it just becomes a question of how heroic your speech is. To me it's something to strive after."
To help wrap your head and craft around this, here's some quotes on heroism:
“I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so fuckin' heroic.” ― George Carlin
“Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.” ― Jodi Picoult, Second Glance
“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.” ― Fred Rogers
“One part brave, three parts fool!” ― Christopher Paolini
“To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy enough to live a little.” ― Criss Jami, Venus in Arms
“Heroism doesn't pay very well. I try to be cold-blooded and money-oriented, but I keep screwing it up.” ― Jim Butcher, Dead Beat
“So you love war. I used to think you were a decent man. But I see now I was mistaken. You're a hero.” ― Joe Abercrombie, The Heroes
“Long ago I yearned to be a hero without knowing, in truth, what a hero was. Now, perhaps, I understand it a little better. A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Common farmer or a king--every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone. Once you told me that the seeking counts more than the finding. So, too, must the striving count more than the gain.” ― Lloyd Alexander, The High King
“Heroes are people who face down their fears. It is that simple. A child afraid of the dark who one day blows out the candle; a women terrified of the pain of childbirth who says, 'It is time to become a mother'. Heroism does not always live on the battlefield.” ― David Gemmell, Dark Moon
“Perhaps a hero is someone who doesn’t register his own vulnerability. Is it courage, then, if you’re too daft to know you’re mortal?” ― David Benioff, City of Thieves
“He found that it was easy to make a heroic gesture, but hard to abide by its results.” ― W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage
While on lockdown, I looked up well over half a dozen music education sources, from free classes online to books, workshops and lessons. This included a wide range of resources. What I noticed among all these varied sources was the emphasis on daily habits. Change what you do each day, and change your life.
For music makers, this means to write every day, perform every day, practice every day and learn every day.
Resource: a book on this topic is "Atomic Habits". The main take-away is adding new habits to habits you already have. It was interesting to see that multiple sources had this same principle to share; certainly there's something to it.
While no industry is risk-free, the music industry especially is known to be constantly changing, and having tight profit margins and many cases of cut-throat business practices, along with ten-year overnight successes and millions of musicians over the decades who have tried to find the magic formula for success, which until proven otherwise is a lifetime of hard work plus a dash of luck. Last year, the brave souls who made the music industry home were thrown the curve ball of the century. Perhaps even the curveball of the past 500 years. For the first time in history, people could not gather. This wasn't optional. It was the law. Venues closed. Stages were dark. Musicians that were entrepreneurial looked to livestreaming to satiate fans and the inner creative beast. But the blow to the live music scene was historical and astronomical.
However, musicians and the music industry folks are not known for uncreative ideas or lack of gumption, and I predict music fans will be eager to get back into music for both its emotional release as well as its social aspects i.e. "where you at?" People will be just kind of eager to see live music again.
When it's recommended that you read old books, like Aristotle, Plato, and the ilk, in addition to books that are more current the reasoning is simple: these books don't just teach you things, they teach you how to think. Teaching students how to think is also one of the tenets of liberal arts education, and ironically, that got me thinking. In the subjects of Philosophy, Literature and Science, there are "great books" which stand as either classics or do the ultimate job of teaching the reader how to think. Meanwhile, in the subject of music, there is no such thing.
Music is tied more closely to culture and expression, and is constantly moving. While major composers like Bach, Beethoven and Mozart are of course widely known and respected, ultimately the older music is the more "dusty" it is, the less hip, the less current, etc. There are exceptions as listeners enjoy music that stands the test of time and there are many classic songs and styles that outlive their makers. However, it remains that there are no 'go to' texts about music that teach one how to think about music.
So, I will take a stab at it and continue to update this article as it develops:
1) Your ear, your ears, yes there's two of them!
Sheet music is a language and understanding music theory, composition and such is a skill, but never lose sight, or um, never lose hearing...music is in your ears.
2) Know the instrument.
The instrument is an instrument in the truest sense of the word. Measure it. Weigh it. Smell it. Look at every angle. Understand every nuance and mechanic of it.
3) Know the melody
There's lots of chord charts out there, but do you know the melody? How well? Intimately?
4) It's about the audience, not you
It's liberating to be freed from the self, so check the ego at the door.
5) It's about you, and the audience of the universe
An addendum to #4, you need some ego to get the fire started, but the expression is higher.
6) Dance
Not always, but very often, music is ultimately about dance. This can be dancing with the body, or even dancing of the mind and heart.
This is just a start. What ways of thinking about music are important to you?
What's your favorite part about YouTube? More importantly, what are the downsides to this resource?
1) Learning
Enough said. While there is a lot of fluff to sift through, overall, learning about nearly any music topic or technique is a search word away. This is very very different than decades past where you needed to be at the right place, at the right time, in person, to learn many of the things YouTube shares readily. Plus, you can get many perspectives on the same topic.
The downside: information overload. Plus, it is sometimes it's just easier to learn with a human. YouTube video watching is addictive, and while learning here saves time, the extra time you saved could be eaten up. What giveth, also taketh.
2) Locality
When radio was king, each region had its own sound. This was because the musicians in one area would play with one another, creating a style. Now, there is less emphasis on geography and music is drawing from influences far and wide. This could make for an ecclectic stew.
The downside: as music rises to the top when it appeals to the masses--who on the Internet are a bunch of bored people--the result could be that the artform of music just becomes a bunch of clickbait horse#hit. Let's see how it plays out in the coming decades.
3) It's the radio now...and the library...and your cool friend's record collection
YouTube includes many songs from the past and present which are searchable. You can create playlists, and find nearly any song you seek...all without visiting the record store. All without paying the artist nor the record label. Of course, you still pay, that is what those annoying ads are. Yet, despite these ads, being able to find nearly any music imaginable is worth its weight in gold.
The downside: as an artist you are not just competing with the music happening now, you are competing with all the music that ever was.
Feel free to share your favorite part about YouTube in the comments.
I challenged myself to take a break from social media for one year. That was in August and August is rolling around again. So far, mostly good. I scroll occassionally, I click like occassionally, I see what people are up to and even discovered some new music.
For the most part, I have kept to my guns and am taking a break. I used to feel my IQ melting like an ice cube in the sun on a hot day in Cuba, and somehow wind up posting an irate comment on someone's wall whom I didn't even know. It was in some of those moments, I had to let go. What really made me pull away and set the proverbial gun down was that the rage and comments in social media have real life impact. The way we think and imagine the world to be affects people's lives, and deaths.
It was kind of heavy. I had to stand outside and look at the sky for ahwhile. Virtual reality is a thing unto itself, but social media is also an example of virtual reality. Our preconceptions, stereotypes, concepts, world view, et. al.--they are all a form of virtual reality in the sense that much of the world exists only in our head.
Clearly, COVID times allowed me to get philosophical but it was well overdue. Lockdown allowed to the world to stop--and suddenly all those things I "had" to do, well, I didn't really have to do them. It was an illusion of productivity and an illusion of urgency. Of course, we must fill our days with something. We don't even "have" to go to the grocery store, but we have tasks and goals that we set our mind to, whether we are fulfilling Maslov's needs, or some higher vision or lesser impulse. Being able to let go of not one but almost all of my "must do" items on the list wasn't just liberating it was show-stopping. I could create my life, my own life, like clay from the ground when the world started.
The first part of this reinvention was setting down the painting that had been created of me. Social media photos are from reality, but the sum is greater than the parts. That, I believe, is the point. Like iconography in a church or temple, it creates myth and reinforces it. This is perfect for music and entertainment, branding and self identity.
Social media is itself also entertainment. People use it for fun! Somehow, though, the seriousness of the myths and ideas we create, and how they affect us all was a concept that is prevalent (so prevalent it's hard to see it like the forest through the trees) that social media was like the prism that showed the beam of light on the wall. I finally "got it"--Eureka.
Each platform is different, for example while Facebook is more about self identity and a public scrapbook, TikTok, from what I understand (I do not use the platform as I am too busy hollering 'get off my lawn'), is like copper for the electric current of trends, allowing them to speed through culture at the rate of 100mph. Twitter is about hashtags. So, for awhile yet...I will be #creatingmyreality.
I had to search through multiple emails and passwords before finding my way back to the login of this account. I feel like Hansel and Gretel, returning home and promising to pack more breadcrumbs next time. After turning On Axis Music into a proper website, and almost going into the oven of a corporate identity I have decided to cool out and redirect the URL back to this blog, where it started. My main focus is Music with a capital M and sharing my thoughts with you here.
The theories of evolution, while great at describing variations of feathers on pigeon wings, bacteria in petri dishes, and camouflage colors of butterflies, it is awful for eugenics and justifying superiority. In commerce, which can be likened to survival of the fittest, products and services best suited for market make money while those that do not, do not. In art, it's understood that value of something doesn't relate directly to its commerical value.
However, technology makes it possible to flood the digital space with more music than has ever been available at any given time in the history of the human race (go with me on this). People can record at home, on their phone, in a bus, on a street, in a school, even while eating green eggs and ham. Sites ranging from Soundcloud.com to Pandora and Spotify are platforms to share music by Jane Doe as well as major well-known acts. While it makes sense to have sites that are likened to libraries of digital music, searchable by artist and genre, playlists, etc...it is the ability to share music by unsigned, hobby-level artists, and semi-professional artists that is the focus of this article. Before I get too dry and academic, let me pose the question:
Isn't competition, and standards of musicality, healthy to stir men's and women's (and transgender, yo) souls toward greater musical victories...rather than to simply be excited to hit the "share" button every time we noodle something that almost works, before editing it ten times...to a new definition of OK?
I'm convinced that the finger was photoshopped in.
A recent Forbes article, brought my way by ASCAP newsletter, talks about impending changes to the Internet. Read it here.
After reading it, I have more questions than answers:
- Is the Obama policy for Internet better or worse than what is being proposed now, and why?
- How would new policies affect content creators?
- How would new policies continue or impede the monopoly of major Internet companies?
Art by HJ Frank
It is clear that over the past ten years, the content that creative people make is offered for free online in many forms; whether audio, video, photos and writing.
While the Internet offers a place to showcase work, and to view portfolios, it also cuts out the "retail" element that the music industry relied on, in the past, to generate revenue.
The content creators are made to feel like we are lucky to be able to show our work online; meanwhile, Internet and smartphone companies keep the lights on.
While the Internet is often toted as a "great tool" it is also the bane of the entrepreneur who creates content.
This video shows Frank Zappa testifiying before Congress, and serves as a reminder about the importance of musician's and artist's rights.
Here is a run-down on songs, recordings and relted copyrights, licensing and royalties.
Here is a video about owning your own publishing. Even if you are only partially in understanding of this topic, please use this as an excuse to dig deeper, research more and become informed.
Here is one more about the importance of Publishing...food for thought!
Some sites offer the kitchen sink while others are like an intriguing first date. Here are some categories to help your online game. Organize your site by deciding your purpose: sales, familiarity with your brand (soft sell), presentation of data, email capture (ongoing communication) or "internet tourism".
1. Sell, Sell Sell: The homepage features an immediate "call to action" and display of merch. The goal is clear: the site "first impression" is designed for clicking and buying. This isn't necessarily bad: if fans will come to the site to find out how to buy a product, this is a declaration that the website is a trusted POS (point of sale).
2. Pleased to Meet Me: Many website designs are focused on blogging, but that doesn't mean you need to invent yourself as something more interesting than you are. This type of site is a labor-intensive collection of videos, blog entries, essays, poems, artwork, pictures of cats, etc. It's time intensive for the artist (most sites in this style are built directly by the artist) and not focused on sales.
While this type of presentation can be magical in giving a quick feel to the artist's creative process and inner workings of their mind, it also requires serious fans willing to browse it at length.
It creates a personal connection with the artist, yet the conversational tone can be unfiltered (TMI) and familiarity can breed contempt and boredom. For some artists that operate in a niche or are truly working in an advanced multimedia style requiring explanation, the shoe may fit. However, for the most part, get your head out of your ass already.
3. Search & You Will Find: Organized information about artists, projects, releases and/or services. The goal of this site style is to give brand credibility and build a legacy. It tells readers "this information is important." It is extensive, but feels respectful. This type of site is high on easy to find information and low on drivel. It will likely have crisp bios and professional photos. Be careful of being too slick...make sure the deep content is as good as the surface.
4. The Overwhelming First Date: we just met, but can we have your email address to take this further? Sites with a lot of content often want to share it, but can invest more time in learning about the viewer. If your site has a lot of content to share that's great. But consider ways to learn about the readers, or make different areas of the site for window shoppers, customers, public and/or industry partners so that all viewers are not funneled down the same chute.
5. Bits and Pieces: This type of site is a destination, you can almost feel a breath of fresh air as the browser opens. It includes integration with social media, image-based blog entries (look at the pretty colors), and plenty of subtle calls to action. There's no single call to action, and the website style encourages browsing. While this style is great for not hitting viewers over the head, make sure it's "sticky" enough to give them a reason to return, share and buy. If branding is the goal, and only goal, then show the bits.
6. The website for offline...seems counter intuitive, but consider if your website or online presence is actually meant to drive action off line. Examples are readers attending an event, physically walking into a brick and mortar store, or another offline activity. Hard to believe, but there is life beyond the screen. Take this to heart and make sure the online world you create isn't more interesting than real life.
Hope this helps as you build a new website or tweak an existing site for maximum leverage.
As the Internet, especially with the combo of social media and smart phones, makes it possible to capture and share just about any content designers desire...make sure it's what your readers desire also.
Media Bonus:
The magic of the Internet allows us to view this video in regards to #1. Coffee is for closers, but will hard sells cause the reader to close the browser? That is the question.
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Reach Hannah at axis.contact@gmail.com
or Twitter @HannahFrankSong
First things first. The title here is taken from the phrase "the blind leading the naked". In addition to being the title of The Violent Femme's third album, it is derivative of dialogue in Shakespeare's King Lear, where Gloucester and Old Man are discussing: "...[it is] time's plague when madmen lead the blind".
While we could dive into the historical and current context for the quote, this article is about being a bandleader and how sometimes the musicians in the band are the ones leading.
We could also muse over the wonder of a few lines before it: "...bring some clothes for his naked soul" relating to the musicians helping clothe thee naked song, but let's save the metaphors for lyrics. Gordon Gano, lead singer and songsmith for the Milwaukee-based Violent Femmes (which I fully admit rocking out to in my late teens, what better time?), was likely drawing from this King Lear dialogue when naming his album...but how do I know he named it? Maybe his friend, drummer, bassist or someone else named it. The lead person in a band somehow seems responsible for everything about the band, even down to the album title, but alas it is a group effort. All members of a group, sometimes even of the production staff, record label, friends, support network, anyone related to the project is part of "the clothes" of the otherwise naked project.
Let's look at potential fallacies, alerts and such:
The emperor has no clothes.
Who calls it out when a project has no legs, is going all wrong, or is otherwise off course? Flats with THAT dress?!
The critic.
Bro that shirt is dope.
All is good so long as you keep preaching to the choir in your niche market. These shoes look great but can't walk a block in them.
Your band looks great online but when it comes down to it, the drawing board and the woodshed are a-callin'.
These work boots are not fashionable but myfeet are warm in this Minnesota winter.
You're not drawing the masses, but there's some music being made that has an intrinsic value.
These may be silly examples, but serve to show the bottom line is that HOW this music is dressed and WHAT it is wearing makes the difference of where it can go, who it appeals to, who takes notice, and most importantly, if the music itself is comfortable.
Bandmates and musicians (and engineers) adding creative input to music projects are all part of the way the music is dressed. Their influences, ideas and skills will be the fabric.
This doesn't just apply to music and bands...it could be in a classroom where the questions students ask change the course of the discussion.
You never know what will happen when more people start adding to a project.
In my case, charts and drummers are new chess pieces. I'm enjoying the new directions my music is taking as I adapt to rhythms and have a chance to "learn" my own songs; memorizing one particular version of a song and digging into it.
As much as the role of bandleader often asks us to be proactive, even bullheaded, or have some artistic agenda we're trying to promote.....I feel most creative when I can use the fabric the band brings to the table to sew some new musical clothes.
In the 1970's the challenge in music was to be LOUD. Technology
was just allowing bands to fill stadiums with sound and amps were finally going
up to 10...and the race was on to see who could get to 11 first. Bands like THE
WHO headlined this effort.
Now, the challenge in music seems to be getting bodies to
shows. With technology again in a featured role, the Internet with video,
websites, and social media, as well as smartphones, with apps and access to the
web, people in the tech-oriented affluent first world are accessing more audio
and video media than ever. The Internet allows musicians to share work, from
demos to full albums, in ways that was never before possible. Technology allows
musicians to record music in their home, instead of clamoring to get a major
label record deal, one of the ONLY ways to get professional quality recordings
in most of the 20th century.
Now that technology allows musicians the means to create and
share their music digitally and in the cloud, the challenge that faces us in
the 21st century is physical. Physical bodies in bars, clubs, concert halls,
etc. that come in person to see music. Perhaps recording technology allows
music to get too "heady" and be so introspective that people would
rather listen to it at home on speakers than experience it in person.
The means by which something is created, is the means by which
something is experienced. Music that is CREATED LIVE is more apt to be
successfully performed and enjoyed live. Music that is CREATED IN THE BOX (i.e.
recorded in a studio, edited widely, etc.) is more apt to be successfully
enjoyed IN THE BOX-- i.e. in someone's headphones, or speakers. There's nothing
better or worse with either approach but take note if the way you're creating
music ends up being the way you experience it, and how you expect others to
experience it.
Internship (school accreditation possible) offered to a person interested in: Music Marketing as it relates to... - Photoshop - Web Research - Emailing - Press Contacts - Press Releases - Blogs - Social Media Marketing on Twitter and Facebook - Music Profile sites: Soundcloud, Reverbnation, Bandcamp, Youtube - Booking - Advancing Shows - Developing the web presence of a band or organization - Developing credibility - Developing fans - Developing revenue Skills/Tools Needed: Computer with Internet Access Laptop if possible Willingness to meet in person to review learning and tasks Willingness to serve as Typist/Administrative Assistant ***This is not an on-site position. Work is at-home or at meet-up public location, such as coffeeshop, meeting rooms, etc.*** A work day may consist of: Meeting for 2-4 hours, reviewing tasks and how to use Internet/Computer to complete tasks This is a chance to learn a lot about music marketing. You are the direct assistant to Publicist/Blogger in the Chicago music scene with clients including Podcasts, Recording Studios, Independent Record label, and Audio Engineering/Repair/Tech Businesses. Clients also include independent solo artists and bands. ***About me: Websites: www.onaxismusic.blogspot.com ***How to Apply Only the brave may apply! Be willing to type and you will learn music marketing from an active, participatory perspective and know more about booking and promoting your own band, and working as a Marketing Professional. Email your phone number and a paragraph of intent about yourself and what skills and interests make you want to work. Email: Axis.Contact@Gmail.com ***Duration: Internship is 2-3 months, or longer depending on needs. Schedule is flexible. ***Compensation: Transportation/Stipend may be available. ***Location: Meetings are in Pilsen neighborhood, or in/near downtown.
In Pitbull's song Back in Time, there's this lyric: "Trying to make a billion out of 15 cents". It's a similar attitude to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' album title. There's struggle in those words. It's a bit of machismo in there, but it speaks to reality rather than idealism. At least urban musicians know the odds they're up against. Let's compare that to a random selection of indie rock/alternative rock/folk lyrics. These lyrics also use the word "money": "Our love is all we have...Our love is all of God's money" - Wilco "Mobiles chirping...Take the money and run" - Radiohead "Youth is beauty, money is beauty, hell, beauty is beauty sometimes." - Ani DiFranco When searching for indie-rock or alternative lyrics that use the word "money", we are hard pressed to find an indie rock song about making money. Instead, money is a philosophical concept to play with, or a part of a story in third person. The lyricist in the non-urban realm (folk, alternative, indie) is often talking about money as if it's just another character in a play. The exception is blues-based music. There is I Need a Dollar by Aloe Blacc. Any coincidence that the artist is African American, and more connected to the urban world of rap? Not only is this a tip that America still has work to do before everyone is equal economic footing, it shows that every artist and genre speaks about money differently; some excessively and some not at all. It's referred to in a variety of ways. This brings up the questions: When and how do artists/lyricists talk about money in their songs? - Look at the lyrics of bands you like. How do they discuss money. Look at your own lyrics (if you write lyrics) do you ever write about money? If so, how? When and how do artists/lyricists talk about money with their band, manager, engineer, producer, etc. - How do you discuss payment with your band, subcontractors, clients, etc.? As an artist, are you looking at money as a need, or as a philosophical concept? - If it's a need, make a plan. If it's a philosophical concept, bring it down to earth.
I've spent a little over ten years doing sound for bands in small clubs; the echoes of amplifiers and the distant chorus of 867-5309 have rung in my head. After seeing many bands at a wide variety of experience levels, here's my five cents on what NOT to do at a live show. (This is especially written for newer or younger acts that simply may not know...). Enter this small bar with me where bands have brought out 20-50 of their closest friends. Beer is pouring, people are yelling...and the band takes the stage:
1) Don't cup the mic. If you don't know what cupping is, you may do this. It's when you put your palm over the mic. Sex jokes far aside, (sound engineers are champions at "that's what she said" but that is a post for another time! Please note: the ultimate comeback currently is "isn't that what they called you in high school", according to sources. You're welcome.) it's science: when you put your hand over the mic, you stop it from picking up sound. The sound that does make it into the mic is muffled and because it's not able to capture the whole spectrum of your vocal, it takes in only a portion of frequencies, which creates feedback easily. If the monitors are squealing, and you're grabbing the mic like the rapper you thought you saw do that, please, hold the mic by the handle.
2) Don't point the mic at a monitor. This causes feedback. The science is not that hard. Basically the monitor is pushing out the sound which is going into the mic. Normally, if you talk into the mic, you hear your vocal in the monitor. If you point the mic at the monitor, the microphone picks up what is coming out of the monitor, and then amplifies it, and then picks it up, then amplifies it, times some exponent, and all sonic chaos ensues.
3) Don't call out the venue from the stage, or anywhere around the club's customers. It is unprofessional to throw someone under a bus. If there's technical difficulties, tell the audience, but don't say something like "Yeah, this bar has to figure out their fucking sound system," into the mic. I once had an experience where a band's amps were pushing substantially more wattage than the monitors were capable of. When they wanted more monitor volume, it was like trying to get grandma's voice on a phonograph to compete with amps on par with Pete Townsend at the Allstate arena. Turn down for Pete's sake. Pun intended. They didn't turn down and our modest Mackie board started SMOKING. Yes, I admit something was fucked up. But this is the tech's issue, not the audience's. Audiences like to know everything is OK, so practice the suspension of disbelief, unless there's a fire, then by all means tell the audience. Otherwise, tell a joke until the solution is found. Your soundperson, tech crew and roadies will appreciate your calm head. I also heard from a venue how pissed they were to find out that the band was shit-talking in the bathroom (pun again intended) about the venue, without realizing that customers were around, and it made everyone look like an idiot. Keep your comments to yourself, and tell them to the right person, in private, after the show has gone on. The show must go on, remember? You're in show business. Show some respect to everyone.
In fairness, we must not act as if all sound engineers are saints, battling the dragon of these unprofessional musicians that just don't know any better. The pendulum swings both ways. In fairness, if you ever see a sound engineer with these qualities, you may want to RUN not walk away:
1) Smiley Face EQ
2) Bare feet
Thank you, until next time.
(Original date of this article is February 9, 2014). Republished from the archives.
