You Won't Find A 'Planet Of Sound' In Your Bedroom...

In the past few weeks I’ve posted a couple of entries celebrating the developments in home recording technology. One thing that should be mentioned is that for all the progress that’s been made on that front, the studio ought not to be forsaken. Of course there are some positive things to be said for the independence and frugality of home recording but the fact is that not everyone can handle the lo-fi sound and there are a lot of things you can do in a studio that aren’t even remotely possible in your bedroom. Not only will the sound quality be better and the musicianship more refined, they’ll be a sense of urgency involved. You won’t wind up getting distracted by the many temptations the Internet has to offer and you won’t keep putting off completing the album because you can “always finish it another time”. (There’s a reason “another time” is not marked on any calendar). In short, if you can find a way to afford it, making a studio recording will be well worth your time and effort. For a virtual guide through the process, click the link below:

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'A Walk On The Wild Side' Earns A Click On Your Website

Have you ever been to a music festival like Coachella or South By Southwest? Try to think about how many bands played and how many you actually saw. Maybe you went into the festival with a comprehensive list of what bands you wanted to see, when they were playing, where and so forth. I’m willing to bet you didn’t cover much more than half of your list. Why? There are a lot of f****** bands out there. Maybe you wore yourself out watching The Walkmen and Andrew Bird just wasn’t appealing enough. Is there anything Andrew Bird could have done to command your attention? Yes! But this isn’t just good advice for Andrew Bird, it’s a good strategy for you too. 

If established musicians have a hard time commanding attention, imagine how many bands out there are in the same boat as you. If you want to make it to the next level, it is absolutely imperative that you take action to set yourself apart from the crowd. One way is with impressive visuals. The bridges between the five senses are exceptionally powerful. Have you ever smelled something in your fridge and spent an hours to figure out what it is? The same can work here. If someone is captivated by an image, they will be curious to know where it’s coming from and hopefully, they won’t just throw you out like expired yogurt. Another good way is by giving people what they already want, but in a way they didn’t know they wanted it. Record a cover of a popular song but do something to make it your own. Anything you can think of really, different arrangement, different instrumentation, different genre. It will make people curious about what else you can do. A third way to stand out is to make a statement, preferably something controversial. You’re not going to win over everyone so don’t waste your energy. Get excited about an issue, a school of thought, something. Like minded people will be drawn to you and they’re excitement for what they believe will translate to excitement for your songs. To read more, click the link below.  

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‘Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad’…But One Of Three Is Enough

Although the recent financial success of DIY artists is cause for hope in the record industry (or something like it), there is no set formula for achieving this. This is because though there are many outlets at your disposal, the reality is that most of them aren’t going to work. Three of the most popular platforms are YouTube, touring and syncing placements.

YouTube is probably the cheapest form of music distribution around with costs ranging from none to almost none, an ideal spectrum for any musician who stands nothing to lose but seems to be gaining even less. Life on the road can be hard but the contemporary benefits of this approach include the ease of promotion through social networking and the rise of ‘house shows’ who generally won’t take a cut and are much more accepting of unknown artists, cutting out the cost and frustration of dealing with club owners who have profit margins on the brain rather than music. Syncing placements can be pricey as it often involves paying professionals make it happen and market properly, but the gains can be much more substantial.

There are plenty examples of artists who have succeeded at all three, but if you’re not there yet the odds are against you. The best advice if you’re a truly DIY artist (i.e., broke) is to pick the one you feel most comfortable in and focus your efforts there. For a comprehensive guide to these platforms and making this choice, click the link below:

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When 'Lola' Fights 'The Money Go Round', Only The 'Apeman' Wins

What is worse then being branded a poor musician? Being branded a sellout. The implication is that you have in some way sacrificed or compromised your art in exchange for money and fame. Green Day famously received this criticism from the punk community in the 90s and though not everyone accepted their response, they legitimately shot it down by saying they never wanted to be a punk band. Basically they explained that they were in it for the money and fame from the beginning. However this approach to music may sit with you, you can’t fault them for their honesty. The punk community’s treatment of the subject has always being extremely volatile. In the early sixties when Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground (who were godfathers of punk and indie rock) played their first concert, the drummer quit after finding out they were paid seventy five dollars for the gig. It's not a new issue. In fact the Kinks made it a focal point for the latter part of their career, as referenced in the title of this entry.

There’s no question that being called a ‘sellout’ is a serious accusation, but is it really as serious a transgression as the negativity it connotes? Though it’s technically a matter of opinion, the correct opinion is ‘no’. There are of course some extreme cases when artist change there image or style in accordance with trends but these people never had integrity to begin with and therefore aren’t compromising anything.  

The bottom line is this: what change can you bring about from your friend’s basement or the coffee shop on your college campus? Is there any integrity or creative freedom working at a Wal-Mart or a gas station? Bob Marley was pull an entire genre equated with a very specific culture into the mainstream and cultivated millions upon millions of followers in the process. He did this by compromising and working with a major producer and ‘popifying’ his music to make it appealing to more listeners. The point is that the good you can do for yourself, your music, your ideas, and whatever genre you’re passionate about far outweighs whatever shreds of your principles you give up by meeting the mainstream halfway. To read more about this debate through the lens of Bob Marley, click the link below:

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'OK Computer', Let's Get Famous

It’s no secret that the landscape of the music industry is changing drastically. Case and point; I have probably already started several entries in the past month or so with an almost identical sentence. The change that’s probably most beneficial to musicians is the development of home recording technology. It’s easy to get excited about this technology when you first obtain a program but there are a number of steps you should take to make the most of your time and the money you spent on the program or legal risk you took by downloading it.

A great place to start is with a good microphone. It doesn’t need to be the one Radiohead uses but it helps to think about it like your audience. If the audience is good, attentive and interested, you’ll have a good show and make a good impression. If the audience is drunk and have ears full of who-knows-what, the results will be discouraging. Other details to concern your self with in this vein are microphone placement and eliminating background noise.

Another good tip is not to be sloppy. Make sure you’re in tune, the recording levels are right and mind your mistakes. Not everything can be ‘fixed later’ (during mixing/post-production) stage. In fact, most things can’t. Mixing and post-production can make what you’ve recorded sound as good as possible but it can’t change what you’ve recorded. For more tips, click the link below:

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'Search & Employ'

If you’re a songwriter who, for whatever reason, find yourself without a band, you might be uncertain of how to advance your career. Maybe you have a hard time working with others, maybe you live inside a tree deep in the woods of Montana, maybe you had a band but slept with somebody’s girlfriend/boyfriend, or maybe you’re just not interested in the band concept. Nonetheless, you probably want your music to have a fuller sound than it does at the open-mics you frequent, but aren’t sure how to accomplish this. The answer to this is simple; session (or ‘studio’) musicians.

If you’re adequate and comfortable with all of the instruments you want represented on your demo, it may be tempting to play all of the parts yourself. Some musicians have definitely had significant success with this (sound-wise, not necessarily financially). If you really want to do this, a home recording might be the best format for experimentation. But if you’re paying for studio time, session musicians are probably the way to go. The simplest reason is because they’re more experienced. They can work faster, take direction better than your friends ever would, and may even have something crucial to add to your song(s). To read more, click the link below:   

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