Featured Artist – Darkest Grace

Darkest Grace is an indie metal band in Seattle, on the grind, building a name for themselves everyway they can.  If you’re following this blog, you know one of the most frequent questions I receive is, “how do we open for a national act coming through town?”  This is a hurdle every young bands has difficulty overcoming.  Darkest Grace has and I’d like for them to share with you what it took to FINALY make it happen.  Maybe you can take something from their experience….

Guys, how long had you performed in Seattle before the opportunity to open for a nation act appeared?
We played around Seattle for nearly two years, slowly building up both our confidence and reputation in the area.

Who was the act and how was the show?  Give us some details about it.
The band was Soilwork from Sweden.  The show was great and finally tapped our band into the true Seattle metal scene which we were having trouble getting into with purely local shows.  It’s hard for local metal bands to find a scene and seattle, but getting on national shows really helped us break through.  We now have several die-hard Darkest Grace fans who show up to almost every show, and get engaged in our online presence.

… Continue Reading

Guest Advisor : Jay Tavernese Answers Your Producer Questions

As I’ve mentioned…I’m happy to share my thoughts.. but if I think a friend of mine can provide better advice I’m going to seek it out!  I’ve received a handful of questions regarding producers and thought it a perfect opportunity to call upon my good friend Jay Tavernese.  Jay and I have worked together on tours, comparing notes, managing bands, sharing information, and so on.   He’s currently a Producer and Band Manager @ In De Goot Entertainment working with producers Toby Wright, Mike Watts, Steven Haigler, and others as well as artists like 10 Years.

Here are his thoughts:

We’re  thinking about working with a producer but don’t know if it makes sense yet.   At what point in an indie bands career do you think it’s something we  should do?
Working with a producer depends on a lot of factors and what your desired result may be.  Every band may need or desire to work with a producer at a different point in the career so there’s no one answer here.  The most general answer I can say to that question is to seek out and work with a producer if you’re looking to take your music to a national level and have mass awareness.  Now I say “work” with a producer and what I mean is don’t just hire a producer and not listen or follow what they want you to do.  They’re there to offer a different opinion and pull the music out of you that you & your band may not be able to come up with on your own.

How  important is a GREAT recording job for an indie band?  We’re debating on  how much to spend.  It seems to me that it’s real easy to tell the  difference between a bad and good recording but much harder to tell the  difference between a good and great recording.
It’s very easy to tell the difference between bad & good & great recordings and I would say it’s very important to have great recordings to gain a mass audience, sell records or just get the attention of a & r for a deal.  If you’re demo sounds 5 times worse then you do live, chances are you might not want to send that out.

How  does a band that’s not on a label get to work with a producer?  I mean, I  know they cost a lot of money but where do we even start to get our musi

c to  them and see how much?
Producers work with unsigned bands all the time.  Just find out who their manager is or contact them directly.  You’d be very surprised at how many of them have studio websites, myspaces, etc.  As for the “I know they cost a lot of money” statement, every producer is different.  They’re not all an arm and a leg and if you know they cost a lot of money, why would you ask the question?  Tons of producers do spec deals, take smaller fees & higher points and even shop developmental projects.  DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!  DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING!!

What  exactly does a producer do?  I know the engineer records, I know the  mixer mixes, I know the guy that masters it, but what about the producer?   Or do they do everything?
If you don’t know what a producer does, chances are you don’t need one.  I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve seen over the years running up to me going “we need real management,” and then I ask them “what does a manager do?” and they have no response.  So, by that rationale if you see a commercial for a new cologne you know you need it because you play football?  NO!

All producers are different, some co-write, some arrange, some just get great sounds and some just get all the band members on the same page as to what the recording should be.    It’ll take a few conversations and maybe even doing some demo sessions or co-writes with different producers and artists before you can really determine what you’re looking for in a producer and which one will deliver what you want.

Featured Artist – NYLE

I recently posted Nyle’s video for “Let The Beat Build” and if you read the post you know how much I enjoyed the video!  I had to feature Nyle and get some background on how they pulled it off…and as expected..time, energy, planning, and talent.  If you missed the video, I highly recommend checking it out before reading any further!!  Here’s the inside scoop….

Nyle, I was turned on to your video “Let The Beat Build” by our A&R Scout Kiran and have probably watched it 50 times!  I sincerely love the creativity, passion, and what appears to be the unadulterated love of music and performance.  I gotta get into your head a bit and know what it took to make such an original piece.  So let’s dig in…

What’s so impressive is that both the video and audio is recorded simultaneously – LIVE!  How long did it take to plan and choreograph the shoot prior to hittin’ the studio and doing your first run-through?
Plan? Ha! The 32 of us were just sitting around one day and Chadd the director was like “Do guys want to make a music video, so we just did the whole thing that day.” Nah, actually the whole project from start to finish took around 3 months. Alot of it was just planning and booking equipment, the Director of Photography had to see the space and map out the lighting. We were assisted by 194 Recordings  (school run label) who coordinated all the people. … Continue Reading

Featured Artist – Adams Dagger

As promised, we’re going to start featuring independent artists that are out there hustling for themselves! There ARE success stories and I want to share them. We can learn from one another..so let’s share information!

First up, Adams Dagger. They recently toured the entire US from southern California to NYC and back. Self booked, no agent, and actually came home with money in hand! I hit up the band’s drummer, Mick, and asked him to share some insight as to how they turned this tour into an indie success!  Here’s the story…

Mick, Adams Dagger did something most signed bands can’t do – come home from a national tour with money in your pocket! Let’s focus on how you did that. First, how long was the tour?

The tour was 20 days. We played 16 shows during that time.

Before leaving, did you budget tour expenses like hotels, per diems, and gas? If so, what exactly did you include in your budget?

The only thing initially budgeted was gas expenses. I knew that from the guarantees we had we would “almost” cover gas for the entire tour. There were no per diems. The first time out was every man for himself. We weren’t planning on staying in hotels much at all, just sleeping in the van mostly or staying with friends or family. … Continue Reading

I love this…

With protools, it’s so easy for mediocre bands to enter the studio and come out sounding great.  Many a time I’ve sat there in the booth cringing at the vocals, then with a few tweaks…  Perfect.  I get it, that’s cool…but lame as well.  Imagine no punch-ins…straight through recordings where EVERYONE had to hit it perfectly or everyone had to start over.  Definitely would make you work harder.  Definitely would force a game plan.  Definitely would inspire everyone to perfect their part and be aware of everyone else in the room.

So check this out…my friend Kiran sent this to me and I’m very grateful for it.  Whether you like hip-hop or not, there are a few thing every musician/artist can take from this.  These are a bunch of NYU students… shot the video in one take. All the audio was recorded live… simultaneously.  You’ve heard me go on and on about offering creative content…your fans want something unique and of quality.  Here’s a great example…

Nyle “Let The Beat Build” from Nyle on Vimeo.

Have you heard of this kid?  Over 250,000 plays on youtube… Get creative and work hard at offering something unique.

Ben

Chicken and the Egg…

Dan’s in a band from Austin.  GREAT music scene with a lot of opportunities.  His band is a couple years old, consistently plays out, crowd is steadily growing, and wants to know how best to attract some press around their hard earned achievements.  He doesn’t want to spend the money on a publicist as he fears the money will be spent to only hear, “we’re going to pass on featuring the band in our magazine because they don’t have a story yet.”  So if “press” needs “press” to justify featuring you, where do you start?  How do you build the “story”?

You’re doing it.  You just told me what your story is, however it’s no different than any other band out there.  And your gut is right…if you spend money right now, you’re not going to get the press you’d hope for.

You hear me say this over and over again…start locally.  Find every local magazine, newspaper, college paper, fanzine, webzine, and blogger within a 50 mile radious and hit them up.  Hometown stories are good stories.  Let them know when you’re playing and invite them to the show.  Put them on the guest list and make sure to find them, shake their hand, and thank them for taking the time.  Find someone who can write to write your bio.  And don’t exagerate and fluff it up…I personally think the simpler the better at your level.  What have you done, who are you, and what can I expect from your music and live show?  Don’t cheese it up…it’s so transparant and desperate.  Something I’ve done in the past that works is contact a local paper or weekly and ask if they have anyone on staff who writes bios for musicians.  You’ll most likely have to pay $100 or so, but now you’re on their radar, and if they wrote your bio they may have an interest in helping you out a bit too.  It’s a good way to start a partnership.

So for the next 6-8 months hit up everyone you can in your backyard and start accumulating as much local press as you can from album reviews, live show reviews, interviews, small features..anything.  Once you have a healthy quote sheet and some real substance, now you’re building your local hero story.  Take this to your next market.  “Hey, just wanted you to know we’re buzzing in your backyard”.   It’s work…  It’s a lot of follow up and staying on top of the ball, but if you focus on this you will see results…assuming the music is good!  If you’re independent and working for yourself, this is a necessary step.

Thanks, man..keep hustling!

Ben

New and Improved..

Welcome to the new site!  I’m excited about the growth and thank all the artists who continue to be engaged!  I have some exciting things planned, so keep the questions coming and expect to see more very soon…

Ben

Should beginning bands give music away for free?

Yes.  Here’s the scenario…

Antonio’s band is just getting off the ground in the Boston, MA area.  They’re about half way finished recording their debut album and are starting to play out around the area.  There seems to be a bit of a debate on whether or not to give some of the music away for free.  One side of the argument is…hey, after all the time, energy, and money we put into recording this it makes no sense to give it away…the other side is, let’s focus long term, give tracks away, and encourage word of mouth with hopes to find more fans.

If you’re an independent band, with no label support, just getting off the ground…you absolutely need to give some of your music away for free..and not the left overs..you need to share the best songs you have!  If you don’t…how are people going to hear your music?  Naturally gravitate towards your myspace page?  Doubt it.

Here’s my advice…make everything you have available for purchase.  Get your tracks on iTunes (and everywhere else), link your sites to it, and let people know they’re available for purchase if you’d like to support the band.  You’ll be surprised how many will purchase to support.  Your current FANS will support, but the new one’s wont..they’re not yet convinced and are testing your water.  You need to convince them with your music.  Give it to them, let them live with it, enjoy it, and guess what…if your songs are good enough…they’ll react!  And if they react, they’ll buy the other songs and maybe even a t-shirt and ticket to the next show…that’s what you want.

And really?  Is $0.99/track really going to make any difference in your career right now?!  No…be real.  It’s not..If you’re working for $0.99 then you’re way too short sighted and wont make it…besides..just a reminder..you’re doing this for the love of music, remember?  And there’s nothing better than sharing your music with new people, right?!  Share your music now, think long term, and the money will come…LATER.  Don’t bottleneck yourself this early.

So what’s the best way to give your music away?  I’m a fan of getting a little something for the free track.  I’ve started working with loudbytes: loudbytes.com.  You can get 1000 band cards for next to nothing that have your artwork on the front and a download code on the back.  Hand them out at shows and to the people you know.  When they go to loudbytes to download your track, loudbytes grabs their e-mail address and sends it back to you.  That’s cool.  Now you can hit everyone up who checked out your tunes and personally invite them to your next show.  These guys can attach your music via download codes to cards, button, hangtags for t-shirts, stickers…whatever.  I’ve even started using them to cut out the cost of CDs.  I put music on hang tags now.  So rather than sell a shirt for $10…I sell it for $15 and you get the album as a digital download for “free”…now you’re thinking like a business..cutting cost of goods sold.

So yes…give it away in one form or another…your fans will appreciate it and like I said…if the music is good enough people will react.

Ben

Long long time….

Wow…I’m bummed how long I’ve gone without posting.  Needless to say I’ve been pretty swamped…which I’m incredibly grateful for.  I’ve recently engaged myself with a company set out to provide more and better tools for indie artists!  The model is broken and there are no rules…why do we continue to do things like wait for 10 songs before recording 1…put them on plastic when they’ll just be burned to iTunes anyways, sit on myspace and hope people gravitate towards us, waste money on services and/or manufacturing that is useless…and so on.  We have some very exciting tools coming online that revisit the fundamentals of discovery, development, distribution, and marketing of artists.  So hang tight!

I want to address a question I received just before the end of last year from Joe.  I’m stoked for Joe…his band has been grinding it out and developed themselves to performing in front of 300 on average locally, started the buzz, and is now invited to be THE local band to perform at the summer outdoor concert series with 5000 plus people!  Well done…the question is preparation.  It’s undoubtedly a different environment than what you’re used to and how do you prepare for that.

PRACTICE!

I know that sounds so elementary…but in all sincerity from now to then practice, practice, practice.  You’ll be opening up for national acts who perform about 5 nights every week for weeks on end.  How do you compete and show you’re ready?  Practice.  Play every show you can leading up and hit the rehearsal room.  Come up with your set list now (if you haven’t already) and jam it non-stop in rotation…over and over about 5 times through.  Take a 15 minute break…then do it all over again..but this time with the lights off.  Muscle memory and instinct..you need to show up owning that stage!  There’s no other way.

Logistically, make sure you have back ups for everything.  Back up guitar, back up bass, back up snare, back up peddle, and back up mics.  I know this may seem overboard to some…but if this is your one shot to impress the masses of your local scene….be prepared for anything.  Prior to check all the tubes in your head…your patch cords…replace the pedal batteries…make sure the fuses are all good.  Know your equipment!

Also, be sure to create a stage plot and provide it to the sound guys.  just open up word and create a stage design with simple objects that show how many guys, where they position themselves, how many drums, vocals, amps, etc…this will help the sounds guys know what to anticipate.

Remember…most people at the event will have no idea who you are…so focus more on the music/performance and less on the “stage presence”…a lot of young bands make this mistake and come out acting like everyone is there to see them…no, no, no…just so what you do…be the band and kill ‘em with you music and chops!

There’s a book out everyone show read called “The Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell.  It states that for anyone to be GREAT..really great, as in the best…at any one thing they must have a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice under their belt…he supports this with examples like The Beatles, Bill Gates, athletes, and so on…how many hours you got under your belt?!

Have a great show…
Ben

Should we release an EP BEFORE singing to a label?

I just got off the phone with a manager friend of mine who works for a great firm representing bands most of you would know.  They deal regularly with both indie and major labels.  She’s great…very smart, works incredibly hard, and loves her bands.  One of her acts is in the process of figuring out WHAT to do.  They were dropped from a major-indie label about a year ago and have since continued to write, record, and play as much as possible.

They’ve found themselves, yet again, with a few label A&Rs kicking their tires… The band wants to release an EP…but do you wait for the deal to happen, if it happens, or just throw something out to your fans without any major push in the meantime?

THROW SOMETHING OUT TO YOUR FANS!!  I told her…look…IF a label signs your band again it’s going to take AT LEAST 12 to 18 months before the antiquated sloth of a business could turn around a new product.  You think your fans are going to wait that long?  If you do…best of luck.  Labels are dying.  I keep saying this and you know it.  You need to keep your fans engaged and entertained.  You cannot exist on your myspace page alone and assume people will come to you…you need to reach out to them.  You need to provide something worth keeping their interest…and that’s great songs.  That’s your job.

Get out of the album mentality.  When you have a great song…record it and release it…we have the means to do this now!  Albums exist so that labels can make money… I highly recommended to her, and you, to record what you have and offer it to your core fans.  By doing so, you’ll keep the fans you have entertained while the label drags along.  Further, her band will then OWN that EP…and if you own it you keep the money from it.  I questioned why she wanted to sign her band to a label again, but some still go for the gold…and god bless ‘em…but you have to understand what you’re getting yourself into at the moment..particularly with the majors.

Quality songs over quantity….I’d rather you offer me 3 great songs than wait for 15…from which I’ll most likely only buy 3 from iTunes…so why wait?  Get the songs out there….because if you wait…you’re A&R guy will most likely be fired, the album budget will disappear, and you’ll most likely get dropped and the album shelved.  And I’m not being pessimistic, this is what the current situation is and the reality for most new bands.  Bet on yourself.

Ben