What Not to Do at Live Show

Photo by H. Frank

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.

Music Career with No Money Down- Start Today, Even with No Budget

Is budget holding you back from achieving your musical dreams? Here's some advice from OnAxis Music, the local publicity company serving indie musicians, so you can push forward with solutions:

1. TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE
Partner, partner, partner. Work with others in mutually beneficial ways. For example, take the challenge of printing fliers on no budget. For performing musicians, advertising your upcoming shows with fliers is affordable if you partner with a business or venue that advertises with you.
---- making fliers with a printing company who can advertise their services on the back of the flier
---- splitting the cost of the fliers with the venue. Include their logo on the flier, along with all the shows that month. That way, both the band and the venue benefit from the advertising.
---- Ask local businesses if they'd like to include a coupon on the flier. Ask if the business will hand out fliers to its customers. Plus, there's an added bonus for people that pick up the flier.
Take this principle and apply it to any challenge.

2. BUILDING FANBASE
When you're getting started, most of your fans, besides family and friends will probably be other musicians. Build your fanbase in the music community:
- host a weekly or monthly open mic. Most venues will pay you to provide sound and organize the event.
- develop a monthly showcase, or a special showcase. Whether you produce hip hop, folk, jazz, world or metal music, find a venue that will open its doors to a showcase. Search for bands or artists in your genre and put together a show with three or four acts. Work together with the acts to promote 2-3 months in advance.
- Consider adding a charity to the mix. Many charities have events that need music entertainment. You'll present your music to a new fanbase, and get good karma!

3. WEB RESEARCH
It takes time, but it pays off in spades. Search for new venues, new skills and opportunities to learn and network. Remember to make sure you take frequent breaks and stretch your hands. Make sure your set-up is ergonomic. If you do web research on a smartphone or laptop, keep it simple. If you do extended research, use a desktop or a comfortable position when using the computer. It will save your hands, wrists and fingers.

4. KEEP GOOD RECORDS
If you can measure it, you can understand it and make it grow. Try Excel, Open Office, Microsoft Word, your smartphone, or simply a paper and pen-- write down how much you spend, in time and money, on your music goals each day. Each week, look at your progress. This could be as simple as tracking your Twitter followers and adds, or keeping track of how much gas you spent getting to practice. It all adds up.
Keeping track of your practice time and progress will help you learn self discipline and focus. Distraction is the biggest reason people don't reach goals. Do yourself a favor and get organized!

5. MAKE THE PLUNGE
Music requires your 100% commitment. For excellence, you need the right space, comfort and inspiration. Make your music a priority, and it will treat you well.






Good luck!
Parts of this article also appears in the Paragon Studios Inc. recent newsletter. Sign up and learn more at www.paragonstudiosinc.com

Chicago Music Clinics

Chicago Music Clinics lists: clinics, workshops, events in the Chicago area for musicians and audio engineers. www.facebook.com/chicagomusicclinics

How to Survive Promotions, Online This and That, and Wearing 5 Hats

1. Know what you want. 
If you know what you truly want, you are simply working with the universe at that point. Ask for what you want. Be specific. Ask yourself, and really know what it is you want.

2. Write about it and think about it like it has already happened.
Take out a pen and paper and write an entry to yourself with your ideal state in mind. Then write how good you feel about it. Instead of writing "I want to make a $1,000.00 on my next gig" or "I want to make a successful record" or "I want to write the best lyric I've heard all year" or "I want to understand EQing on overhead mics" or "I want to be able to sightread any music"...write it out like this:
I just made $1000.00 on my last gig. I feel great about it.
I just completed a successful record, I feel great about it.
I just wrote the best lyric I've heard all year. I am excited about it.
I now understand EQing of overhead mics.
I can sightread any piece of music.

Write it, and feel it. Say it.

Have fun. But be careful what you wish for, it can actually work! You might add HOW you achieved the goal also, and what you've learned. What were the steps you took to achieve your goal?

3. Breathe.
Yep, breathe.

4. Take a break 
We are often "on call" 24/7. Just forget about it and go to a museum, small town, nature area, art gallery, cafe, book, or a long walk. The key is to go somewhere unexpected, where your day-to-day hassle is far away. Sometimes this involves turning off the smart phone or computer for awhile. Worrying about work? Don't even think about it. Give yourself a break, really.

5. Know what you have control over and what you do not.
When you do your best, there is no stress. 

6. If it feels good, it is good.
Your life and health are highly important- listen to your bod. If you're trying to book your band at a big venue, and you're not sure it's a stretch- it probably is. That isn't to say don't try big leaps, just know when you're jumping.

I hope these tips help you out when you need to recharge for your music mission.

Sticking to the Fundamentals

I came across a book by Michael Jordan recently. After reading it, I noted that music is similar to sports in that we're competing with ourselves, just as much as we are with "the game". Here are thoughts on being a good "player", whether it's a sports player or a musical instrument player:

A good player or a good team can lose a call to an umpire or referee, but never the whole game. 

A good player may be paused by a bad or iffy call, but the key to good playing is to maintain: stay scrappy, keep moving, look for open passes, look for assists, look for collaborations, keep doing what you do best. 

Keep doing what you've practiced. Keep doing what you've learned. If you keep doing these things, you are a good "player". You might get pushed back by a bad call here or there, but you'll achieve more by sticking to the fundamentals.

Suggested Reading: http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Accept-Not-Trying-Excellence/dp/0062511904

Six Giant Steps to Help You Get the Right Start

If you’re green.....or an indie musician just starting out, here's some tips gleaned from recent music marketing experience in the Chicago independent songwriter market. This info is for bands/solo acts looking to be booked at clubs where the required draw is 0-50 people, and the artist/band is developing their online presence. This advice is not for bands that are on record labels, utilize limos or tour internationally, it's for you. However, these tips can help any musician looking to make a start in the online promotional world (Facebook, YouTube, etc.). They may also offer some amusement.

For the sake of this article, bear in mind that being a musician COSTS you in two or more ways:

1. MONEY (actual costs for gear, insurance, recording, repairs, etc.)

2. TIME which you spend learning your craft

3. PEACE OF MIND-- the effort and energy you expend mentally 

4. The unexpected (hint-- prepare for it!)

It's also important to remember that these three things are also the REWARD and benefit of playing music. They're why we all go through all these hoops, challenges, and learning experiences in the first place. For example:

1. MONEY (there is some chance you may be paid for your performances once you're really good!) If you're banking on this for rent money, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself, or else be really committed.

2. TIME spent on music is some of the most enjoyable, fulfilling, creative, fun, invigorating time you will spend in your life, and in the lives of us all

3. HAPPINESS OF MIND-- the relaxation, spirit, rejuvenation  and pleasure from playing and listening to music is unsurpassed for musicians. Unlike a single race car driver winning a race, think of a cook making an amazing meal; the reward is in the process. You don't have to "win"...a driver that did his or her best navigating the territory is just as successful as the winner.

4. The UNEXPECTED -- enjoy it. Luck favors the prepared.

Here's steps 1-6 which can help you to get started on your music marketing journey. (As of 2013...this could change drastically in 3 months!)

1. ReverbNation and Online Profiles: This is the premeir FREE way to showcase your music online. Make a page for your act at www.reverbnation.com. You can pay a little extra for additional features, but a free profile is plenty to start with. Include 5-6 songs and 2-3 pictures. 

You will also need to include a bio. Please, no hype, just be simple and accurate. Tell a story. Say anything relevant to your music. Start in the NOW (do not start with "Sam started playing music at age 5--no one cares). If you don't have much experience  talk about your goals and plans for the future. If it's difficult to put your artistic sparkle-dust into words, just ask a writer/editor friend to help. 

Reverbnation is made for independent musicians. This is because your free account gives you webtools such as widgets for websites (a widget is code that you can paste into the HTML of your website and it updates info automatically -- Curious about HTML and websites? see step #5). It also includes mailing list tools to help fans sign up and to send newsletters. Be sure to update your live shows on Reverbnation! 

In summary, this is the easiest way to create an online music resume for your act. It's free and industry people accept Reverbnation as a solid site for showcasing an act for booking, etc.

Reverbnation is a start. There's also these sites:

Bandcamp.com, Youtube.com, Soundcloud.com, Twitter.com, Facebook.com, LastFM.com, Fandalism.com, Myspace.com (yes if you dare), Sonicbids.com and others.

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When updating shows can be a hassle on multiple sites, check out ARTIST DATA. www.artistdata.com.

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Naming all those accounts with the same name....try to make the same name for all accounts such as....

youtube.com/janedoemusic

soundcloud.com/janedoemusic

reverbnation.com/janedoemusic

:) etc. etc.

This is better than

youtube.com/janesings

soundcloud.com/janedoe1

reverbnation.com/jdoemusic

COST: about 5 hours

2. Quick Sound Bite to Describe Your Act:  Make a short mission statement, slogan, etc. Describe your music quickly…oh wait time is up! The idea is to keep it simple, short and easy to understand.    When someone asks you to describe your music, this is on the tip of your tongue. Think about what your music is about. 

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List genres you are similar to. Dig deep. Write anything that comes to mind about your music. Run it by people and see what they think. Examples are:  “Funk/Rock with Major Attitude”…”Blues Music for Rainy Nights”…”Acoustic Instrumental Music for New-Age Living”…”Original Folk Rock with Whiskey-soaked Lyrics”…it could be anything you like as long as it’s accurate, and you love it, as you’ll repeat it a lot. 

This was was gleaned from tips on using the 15-second pitch via www.arielpublicity.com in her book “Music Success In Nine Weeks”. If you’re stuck, ask band mates, friends and trusted folks to give their humble opinion. As a group, make a list of 20-30 words that describe your music. What if your music was a landscape? Weather? A country? A color? A texture? Then make a list and let people choose the top 5. You may be surprised at the results! 

Some GOOD Examples of “Quick Sound Bites” 

http://www.jazzalley.com/calendar.asp

Amina Figarova Sextet

Graceful First-Rate Jazz Composer and Pianist

Keiko Matsui

Pianist Fusing Jazz and New Age Undertones

Bettye LaVette

Emotionally and Energetically Charged Soul Singing Maven

Or...create your own

Jane Doe

Riveting Rock and Roll with Attitude and Soul

Joe Smith

Session Bassist for R&B, Rock and More

COST: Time 1-5 hours depending on how much meditating you do, plus sheets of paper and pen.

3. One  Awesome Video: 10 years ago an indie video was a luxury, but today there are fairly affordable high-definition hand-held cameras at your local stores in the Western world. However, with the ability to film anything, anywhere, youtube.com is crowded with shaky, hand-held video shoots of music acts. Sometimes, this is still capturing the music and readily enjoyed by fans worldwide. However, for booking, promoters, booking agents and venues would love to see your act in a solid live setting with quality camera work. This can mean hiring a friend to work the tripod at a live show, and booking a show specifically to take video of, preferably at a venue with good sound system and lighting. A soundboard mix can help make sure the audio is the best it can be, although be warned a soundboard mix (coming directly from the soundboard) isn’t always accurate to what you’re hearing in the room, especially when amps and drum sets are involved. Most cameras have decent sound microphones on them. If concerned about sound, do web research and ask around which cameras have the best mics on them. 

Another note is that while music videos are awesome, the booking promoters really just want to see your act LIVE and what you look like on stage. So bring you’re a-game, book a show at the venue with the good lights, and have 1 or 2 friends there to shoot some awesome video of your live show. 1-3 songs is plenty. One more note is that when uploading them to YouTube or Vimeo video hosting sites, if you are able to edit the video to add text, please put your website at the end of the video and hold the image for 5 seconds, that way viewers may find themselves to your website (a bonus!).  

Legally speaking, Youtube.com technically “owns” footage that is uploaded, but the ease of sharing with the public and ability for people to find you by searching are major benefits to Youtube.com. If you’re concerned, maybe wait to withhold your live video footage from Youtube.com after you’re holding footage of your Japan tour, then maybe there’s a legitimate issue with fans buying the DVD vs. watching it on YouTube. If you’re just trying to get your name out there, Youtube.com is like manna from heaven. Use it wisely with 1 good video! Plus, if you’re doing extra editing, which can be expensive, remember to include that into your overall budget from the start.

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Doing it totally DIY? Even if you have to record in a small bar, venue, cafe, etc. just make sure there is good lighting, and the camera is focused on the band. Make sure chairs, mic stands, coats, baristas, etc. are out of the way as much as you can. Also, you do not have to film at a gig. You can film a practice, or a location shoot. Make the mood of the video and the location fit the song.

COST:  $200-600+, depending on how creative you are in outsourcing the camera-people and editors if needed (there are people who love to do this for free or low cost!). 

4. Facing Down Facebook: Create a page and update it once per week or more with news about your band. Make a contest to see how many likes you can obtain, if you feel that you may be judged by the number of likes? It’s true, some people judge a band’s popularity by this silly statistic. What is very serious, is how you can use Facebook to connect with people (who you know and who you want to meet). 

Plus, the Facebook page can include a player so people can hear your music on your Facebook page, fancy that! (google “Ban Profile App”. Basic directions: From the band’s music page click on the down arrow on the far right of the page next to the rectangles that say “Photos” “Likes” “Twitter” and “Events” . Then click the plus sign in one of the rectangles. Then click “find more apps”. Then choose the “Band Profile” App. Follow their prompts. Don’t overestimate Facebook and email, pick up the phone sometime, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve by talking to  people face to face. 

A “Facebook” page is just a way of showing your band is alive and kicking, and sharing your cool news! Remember to keep your main image and square logo image in tune with all your other marketing materials. Good work!

COST: TIME 1-3+ hours, each week

5. The Calling Cards: The basics include but are not limited to a business card, 4×6 flier and 11×17 poster. For the poster, remember to leave a white space at the bottom for example so you can write show details in for each separate show (so you don’t have to make a new poster for each show). 

Choose one image, one font, one tagline and one color scheme for all of these. If they’re all different, your branding efforts just went poof! Imagine if Coca Cola had a different logo every time you saw a can. How would it stick in your memory? Choose one image and theme and stick with it for all your marketing materials. You CAN change it of course, in due time, but stick with one theme for 3-6 months if you can. That way, every time someone sees a business card, flier or poster it reinforces a central image and name of your group. 

Please do not try to be Picasso—just get the message across! Make it readable first, beautiful work of staggering genius second. As a general rule of thumb, a reader who has never seen your band before should be able to describe what you do after looking at your business card for under 5 seconds. So make your point quick! Ready set go!

COST: $100 or more depending on how many you print. Start small runs, you can always print more.

6. Web Research, Real World Action and Stamina: 

Web research is one of your best tools. Then go to music venues. Go to the library too. Venues tend to book people that attend shows at their venue if they are smaller, more discreet places. Research first, and learn as much as you can before asking questions. Then, ask away! Many questions you have, about just about anything, can be answered with a little focus and GOOGLE. 

Research something for 10 minutes before attacking it, you may be surprised what you learn. Keep in mind some internet info is outdated, or written by people ranting or trying to sell you things. Talk to fellow musicians and venues to really get a handle on your booking/performing scene.

How Web Research relates to Booking:

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BOOKING ROCK BOTTOM BASICS...Yep it's after the year 2000. Most venues prefer email. Follow the venue’s instructions exactly. Be accurate with your draw estimate. If you believe you are a match for a club, tell them why in very specific terms but be aware they are trying to fill the club with acts that meet THEIR needs, not the other way around. 

You are providing a service as a live performer.  If they don’t need your service, go where you ARE needed. Contact them every two weeks. 

Real World Action...music is your calling. Oh yes, the drama. But are you "calling" people on the phone? The best way to meet your calling, is to start calling! 

COST: 10 minutes to 10 hours, a lifetime of learning

You read this far... so you get BONUS TIPS FOR BOOKING!

BOOKING EMAIL TIPS

STAYING ORGANIZED

Start A Special Booking Email to keep your booking straight. You can create a new booking email while you’re at it when you make this Reverbnation account, and use the new email to make your Youtube.com, Myspace.com, LastFM, Twitter, Bandcamp and Soundcloud accounts also....get the idea? Keep all your online music info in one place. Gmail is the most "modern" email system.

EMAIL SIGNATURES

Make your emails look more professional with an email signature. Include your phone number for booking contacts. Also include a brief description of your music/genre if you'd like. A good signature will look something like this

Thank you,

Jane Doe

Gospel Songwriter

Cell 888-555-5555

www.reverbnation.com/janedoemusic

If you haven't had enough, and if you still want to learn more, and you’re up to the challenge of being an indie musician, contact us for a FREE 20 minute consultation on your online presence.

Making the Time

I enjoyed reading Cari Cole's "The Top 10 Bullshit Excuses" about the music industry and music careers. http://www.caricole.com/top-ten-bullshit-excuses/#.UZHDsaLvv9U

It occurred to me that I haven't posted on my own blog in over 8 months. I could have had a premie by now.  What are our priorities? I often hear people say "I'm too busy". How busy are we though? Too busy to spend 10 minutes practicing? Too busy to take 5 minutes to call an old friend?

By realizing we are kidding ourselves when we say we are "too busy", we might tap into the truth...that our priorities we act on don't match up with the priorities we think about. Or, conversely that whatever it is we are trying to promise to someone, or make excuses for, simply isn't important to us. Perhaps "too busy" would be better to say "too wrapped up in my ego" or "I have my head up my you-know-what".

We need to suspend disbelief to be artists, we need to believe in something greater, but that journey has to start with reality. Let's start by being real with ourselves. I am not too busy for life, I have plenty of time for this.

There is "reality" aka the real world of course. We have bills, we have health, we have families. We have priorities that don't involve music. We also have fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being accepted. This is what really holds us back. We stay in our comfort zones. We do things people praise us for. We don't go out on a limb. We walk the safe path.

Here's to not only taking the road less traveled by, but doing it to the beat of your own drummer. Take the 10 minutes to practice today. Take the 5 minutes to call an old friend. You'll be glad you did. Not only will you be a better musician, but a better human being.

Making a Mailing List and Being as Tough as Nails About It

I previously stated that Facebook was the best way to get people to local shows. Excuse me while I hit myself in the head with a 2x4.

Now I apparently had fallen victim to the shiny what I call "Apple" world. Technology is the answer to everything...you are getting very very sleepy...log onto Facebook...yes, yes...drink the Koolaid....yes you are getting carpal tunnel syndrome....yes...you have forgotten what sunlight is....yes, yes, yes! You have 10,000 followers on (enter dramatic theme music here) .....FACEEEBOOOKKKK. Hey, we won't talk about their IPO. Neither will they most likely. Anyways.

Facebook is cool. Being friends with people in real life is even cooler.

Text people individually. Email people individiually.

Don't just send a newsletter-- be personal.

This is the JEDI MIND TRICK behind developing a giant and useful email list. It just involves doing it. it sounds so simple. Yet it's kind of like abstract art. You see a painting with a bunch of paint splattered on it and you say, it's so simple, anyone could do that? REALLY? Try it then! (the mailing list not necessarily the painting although you are welcome to try the painting, throwing paint at canvas is really fun)

(by Jackson Pollock)

You would be surprised- and take this from personal experience- how many ambitious and really good musicians get a few emails, lose them, don't go through their emails and ask everyone if they can add them, and basically just don't send out consistent updates about what they are doing. It takes desire, drive and dedication to keep a mailing list and use it. That's funny-- those same qualities make good musicians and good friends. Be thick as thieves and tough as nails.

Have fun.

Helpful links to get started:

Also this book is not quite as cheesy as it looks, and has some good tips on mailing lists.

7 Must-Haves for Music Marketing

Believe it or not, whether you are beginner or pro, some acts do not have all 7 of these. Let's think of 7 for a lucky rabbit's foot kind of approach to Music Marketing. So let's "hop" in:

1. Contact info including your email and/or phone number on your website, Facebook and/or ReverbNation site. This is not rocket science, yet some acts do not list their real email addresses on their Facebook, Reverbnation or websites. How is someone that wants to book your band, or reach you for a list-minute question going to find you? If you do not want to list your phone number, that's OK. How will someone reach you when they want to do business with you? Please put your REAL email address within your Facebook, Reverbnation or website description of your band.

 2. Offer High Resolution pictures online. High resolution pictures are good for printing. Low-resolution images are good for the web. If your act is booked, or featured, and the Publicist/Promoter needs a high-res image to make a poster, article, blog post, etc. it's your job to make sure they have the right picture at the right time. An easy site to host high-resolution images is www.flickr.com. Make an account, upload some high resolution pics, and then offer the link on your website, Facebook, Reverbnation, etc. in an easy-to-find way. Add the text: "High resolution images available at this link: _____". The images can also be the images you approve of. This way you control what images are being used to promote your music. If you need good images, use Craigslist to get a college student to do a photo shoot on the cheap. Try to offer at least 3 good images to choose from.

 3. Use the online sites to make a presence. Create a Facebook, Twitter and You Tube Channel. Try to use the same name for each, if possible. Make a Bandcamp, Reverbnation and Sonicbids page. This won't lead to gold at the end of the rainbow, but learn what each site does best and use it when needed. Try to use the same images for each site so people recognize it immediately. There is simply no good way to book your band unless you have a home for your music online. You cannot simply send mp3s to booking agents, and expect to be taken seriously. Present yourself on their terms. They want to see you online, in about 10 seconds. Reverbnation is free to make an account. So is Myspace. Sonicbids costs money but is solid.

Keep in mind there are two purposes to your online sites. A) To present yourself to the industry: promoters, booking contacts, venues, labels, partnerships with other bands, etc. B) To present yourself to fans. Make sure they can find your live show information and product information quickly. BOTH of them should be able to contact you easily-- see #1 again.

4. Name your email attachments with clear names. When you do finally get a big gig, and you need to send the Promoter, Venue, Publicist, etc. your sacred promtoional materials, such as pictures, press releases, posters, etc. PLEASE label the files clearly. What is easier to find "joesession454738_edit.jpg" or "BlueFace Band Promo Image for 6.7.12 Show at Viper Music.jpg". Help people out who may be searching for your informaiton on their crowded C drive. Also try mentioning your genre in press releases. What is easier for the music critic to understand: "The Pillow Band Press Release.pdf" or "Rock.Pop 4.3.12 The Pillow Band at Good Theater Press Release.pdf"? It doesn't have to be long, but please make it clear.

 5. Don't tell a club you will bring 300 people and bring 5. This is common sense but be honest about your draw. Ask the promoter: "How can I bring in more people? May I ask your advice?" Promoters, if they have time, want to help you bring more people to their club. Be honest. You will get more opportunities when you approach your goals with honesty. Ask for help. When you're in over your head, know it. Pull back and redouble efforts. It's OK to say NO.

 6. Get really good at your instrument. You would be suprised how many decent, perfectly good musicians become frustrated when they have to jump through all these hoops in #1-5 to not be treated like the "great" and "phenomenal" musicians that spent millions of hours studying, expanding and honing in on what they do.

7. Have one really good video online. We don't need to see 15 live shows with shaky camera work. Drop $200-500 on a professionally shot live performance video. This is NOT a music video. It's a live video of your act performing in a studio. Use the sound board recording. Point people, industry contact and fans to this video.

More Tips About Promoting Online...

As this can get very in-depth, you may want to read "The Zen of Social Media Marketing". If you are not big on reading, see #6 and hire a Publicist. Chances are though, you will have to do hours and hours of research on online promotion to get to the point of having a Publicist. That's just the way it is. Think of online sites as your own magazine, where you can put any information and pictures you want about your act. Then, play shows to get people to go look at the magazine. While they are leafin through, they may find out about products they want to buy, or an event they want to come see. Kind of like what you do when you're reading a magazine. It's all fodder. Make lots of it. Keep in mind what the goals of your act are. Once you know your goals, make lots and lots of content.

Yellow Music is On the Rise: Stop the Trend Now Before it's Too Late

On the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic (which was yesterday) it seems fitting to write about one of the biggest potential disasters of the new music century.

Let me tell you about my morning.

I awake to check my email and whatsoever should appear but eight tiny reindeer..oh wait, no that was something different. I did have more than 8 emails though. At least one of them was the mailing list update from "that band"-- the one I saw once, and I was like, OK, I'll sign up on the list-- or maybe it was even one of those bands that I emailed about booking and just PUT me on the list-- but I think I signed up. So it's OK that I got the email.

It's NOT OK what the email said. The email was all about how their music was going to enhance my life in some way. After listing 4 things I could get or buy from them, their whole reason for contacting me (what, no dinner and a movie first?), the email, closed with the following testament to absurdity: "Treat yourself to something fun, you deserve it."

First off, good god, is what they are offering truly fun? Do I really deserve it? Regardless of the subjective nature of these claims, it is advertising and art all in one, after all, I found them absurd for an entirely other reason.

In fact, so absurd that I had to go make a pot of coffee while I mull all this over.

It's clear they are trying to sell something. [Is it four scoops or five full teaspoons these days for my four-cup maker]? It's clear that that is why they are contacting me. It's great advertising in a way. It's a nice, sunny email inviting me to buy their vintage soft-t's. It's clear they have a marketing budget. Just like Leo Burnett, wherefore art thou.

So, you could say, here's a band, and they are really advertising their product they are doing everything "right". [I opted for four scoops and then 1 heaping tablespoon then we'll see how strong this coffee is...I turned the machine "on" and it starts to percolate...]

Point being, I'm really gonna need some coffee for all this when I lay it on you. In fact, you might need some coffee too.

Come into my world briefly, look from behind the glass. Ok, now break the glass because we're all in the same world. The same way we all have different professions that deal with different things, we are all exposed to different amounts of this or that. I have been exposed to, that I consider to be, toxic levels of music promotion. Like radiation, in parts per million, waaaaaaaay over normal levels. It's toxic, baby, call in the EPA.

Like any drug, it started easy at first. I thought it was a "good idea". I got my website together, I thought about video, I hauled ass to book shows, I scraped together events, I emailed bands back and forth tirelessly, I scouted the web for venues, I listened to advice, I tried to paint that picture...I tried to approach it like an entrepreneur. It all seemed so shiny, the world of social media and I read the book "The Zen of Social Media Marketing" and I wrote press releases, and I got a MailChimp account, and I tried to make messages for my email list, I made Facebook invites, I racked my brain thinking of ways to get people to shows.

What at first seemed like a GIFT or a BONUS from all this effort-- which would be increased exposure for my music soon had the tables turned. Like a drug that seems to get you through the day, then ends up having you steal from mama's wallet to get a fix, music promotion had become a life-sucking entity.

Why? Because it took up all my time allotted for music. I wasn't getting better as a player. I wasn't writing new songs. I wasn't using music the way it had always worked for me. I wasn't creating as an artist at the highest level of my ability.

I had become a jukebox of my own music. A Jehovah's Witness of my own medicine.

Well, great god almighty I am free at last.

Notice that at the top of this site it says "Music Journalism". It doesn't say Music Publicity. Music Publicity is like that email, trying to get you to buy something.

Music Journalism is the real facts, the stories, some of them painted in such a way that it's not just the facts but a story about life of artists in a context. That's what's interesting.

But back to the Titanic for a moment. The crash occurred in the era of "Yellow Journalism". Let me tell you what that was. There were two big newspapers and both of them were competing for people's attention. Before Internet this was the main way to get info. It was like Mac vs. PC on a large scale, or VHS vs. Beta. These two papers were competing so to get people's attention they started running stories and headlines with the rule of "if it bleeds it leads". Man Dies In Fire! Girl Strangled by Dog! Boat Collapses and Kills Many! Point being, it was no longer stories with the facts about life in all it's realms, but the most gory, shocking news of the day-- because that's what sold papers.

(Most of American media still uses this technique but that's another essay). This type of Journalism was called "Yellow Journalism".

Well, I'd like to introduce a catch phrase today. I'm a blog writer, so you heard it hear first. "Yellow Music". It's when you stop getting the stories and the facts and the broad perspective from your music and you just go for the guts and blood of your sales pitch. I think it's a problem. I think it's prevalent. We're so deep into it we don't even see it.

Of course you should promote your music, of course that's professional, of course that's the next level, and so on.....but really?

The captains of the Titanic were plagued by something called "water glear" in the North Atlantic. Mariner air temperatures and reports for the month of April in 1912 showed this. It works similar to a mirage in a desert. Air temperature versus water temperature creates the mirage. The iceberg didn't appear until it was too late because the crew couldn't see it.

Allow me, with all due respect to the dead, to use this as a metaphor.

How do you see the mirage in your music? It's hip today to actually have a mirage in front of your music, and in fact, there's many resources that teach you how to cultivate it. The mirage of it being so great, so wonderful, so necessary to buy....so necessary to buy.....you are getting sleepy....oh, but buy something it's fun, and you deserve it.

Click! That was my mouse as I buy a $4.99 MP3 package and then a vintage soft-tee.

Creating that mirage...that's hard work. It's a lot of work to create that mirage.

Everything might be going great, you might be "unsinkable" you might be selling like gangbusters...putting those other papers out of business.

Yet I think the mission of music and of journalism gets lost with "Yellow Journalism" and "Yellow Music".

I'm going to do something truly revolutionary today. I'm not going to promote my music at all today. I'm going to play it. I'm going to develop as a musician and work on my craft.

Oh, and by the way, I finally got the cup of coffee out. It's a little strong, but just about right.

OnAxis Does Social Media Campaigns for Facebook & Twitter-- so you don't have to!

First things first. You might be familiar with Helen Keller. Well, I am not a miracle worker. I am not a "Publicist" of the days of yore with a big black metal desk and lots of "press contacts" I obtained through smoking cigars or doing coke on the bathroom floors with rock stars before it all ended badly. Strangely enough, especially for me, the mere mention of the "P-word" brings all kinds of requests from the trenches of musicians' egos. Apparently, I will single-handedly be able to bring Jesus into their living room with my "press contacts".

In fact, I have no press contacts to give you. Pick your heart up off the floor-- and really check out what I am about to tell you. Social media is the new black. It's so black, that people in New York are wearing it now, and people in Indiana will be wearing it in 2045. Besides giving me a chance to feel bad about making fun of Indiana perhaps too gratuitously, the metaphor ends there as it's not a trend, it's not a "dot com" that's gonna burst, it's not the housing market that's gonna tank, it's very real that the online thing is the exact same thing as what "press contacts" used to be.

People everywhere, from every angle, soon, will start telling you little bits and pieces which you can put together slowly...here's the latest:

Myspace is dead. God, it was great while it was in its heyday. And yes, if you're Rhianna, or Estelle, it's probably relevant, but please, don't worry about it any longer. Sniff, sniff...

Facebook is the new coffee bar. Get in there, make some friends, start some conversations. By the way, the metaphor of Facebook being like a cafe isn't mine, alas, it belongs to the author of "The Zen of Social Media Marketing".

Twitter is not rocket science. Yes, it got a bad name when Ashton started using it and John Mayer, or a celebrity of note, started telling people about pooping-- actually Ashton uses it for cool fundraisers connecting with his thousands of followers and John Mayer, he probably didn't mention pooping- but at some point people failed to understand Twitter. Do I just get on it, and tell people when I burp?

No, silly. Please, try it. It's not rocket science. Spend 10 minutes.

Please!

Similar to Helen Keller, if people can't see you, or hear you, your career is going to travel about as fast as snail hog-tied to a corpse. Therefore...let me lay it out for you.

First, and foremost, let me say a little somethin-somethin for the Publicists out there that DO have press contacts and do make it happen, and do get people in the press. I hope you enjoy your job. I'm sure your clients enjoy the publicity.

However--my bold statement that social media is TAKING THE PLACE of press contacts is a "zorro" mark on the wall of music marketing that will serve to become more apparent with "the writing on the wall" as it were. So let's go with that wall theory.

(Put the Pink Floyd record away, can listen to it later)!

1. Every publication that you want to be written up in has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Most of the staff, editors and journalists have accounts as well. Are you friends with them or following them?