Opening / Coming Soon
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I am very excited about this issue. The goal of the musician's
cyber cooler is to share ideas on music, marketing, and how to make
your band run smoother. This issue has some great input from our
subscribers (Breaking up is hard to do part II), some insights from
the road from FountainBleu Recording artist Doña Oxford (I
also review her concert), and I finished the book The Musician's
Handbook (And I tell you what I think). We also have some changes
to the "Battle of the Bands." For the first time ever,
it is going to 1000 members.
Where do I get ideas for stories? I was talking with some musician
friends and we got on the subject of "Stalker fans."
We all admitted we appreciate all our fans, but what do you do when
the 23 year old guy in the "Babylon 5" t-shirt asks you
if you want to know how to say your band's name in Klingon? How
do you politely move away from this fan without them knowing you
are "running away?" While this won't be a major story,
it could be a fun to hear some stories.
Next Issue
The next issue we will be looking at creating a band logo (any graphic
artists that want to chime in now would be the time), as well as
a review of Café
Press (I actually ordered some stuff).
.
-All comments welcome - Dave Contact Us
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Spotlight Artist: Doña Oxford
What do you get when you mix Jerry Lee Lewis, with the funk
and soul of James Brown, mix in the Sass of KoKo Taylor and
wit of Bette Midler, with the power of Mahalia Jackson, and
top it off with a contagious Cheshire Cat Grin? You get Doña
Oxford. Doña is on tour now promoting her new CD RAW
and takes some time to share
her thoughts on the road (one of our best interviews
ever).
"When it comes to touring, you have to think of it like
an athlete. If you're not in shape, then you're going to have
problems." (A great interview with this FountainBleu
Recording Artist ).
Read how she keeps her voice in shape, her tips on picking
band members, and why she had to leave New York after September
11th.
Did I mentioned she jammed with Keith Richards? (check
out the pic)
Read the Doña Oxford interview
as well as a review
of her concert. Click
here.
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Breaking Up is Hard to Do (Part II)
You Can't Fire Me - I Quit ! ! !
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By David Jackson
Last issue we talked about those times when you have to ask a member
of your band to leave. This issue we carry on with the other side
of the coin, which is when you decide this time for YOU to leave.
As in asking someone to leave, “Musical Differences” raised
its head again as a reason for quitting. As Johnny Gnote puts it
“I was the oldest member of a Classic Rock band I was just
plain tired of tunes I'd been doing for over 25+ years (as well
as stoned lazy musicians). “Personal conflicts” was also
sited. This typically revolved around commitment, and/or drugs.
Johnny Gnote continues, “Stoners do not know how to do things
in a good way. As you might expect, as you are the person leaving,
the conversion was classified not as volatile as last issues discussions
of firing a person (as you occasionally catch someone off guard,
and they get very angry). Most conversations were classified as
“Smooth and Professional.”
Bowing Out Gracefully
Adam from Beggarz (http://www.beggarz.com)
Had this to say: “Although I had helped develop the name of
the band, and had played a large role in reigniting the fire in
the singer, I had no hard feelings at all. We had started to jam
together during a period when both of our bands were laying fallow,
and a year later his band got curious about what we were doing,
and got involved again. I wanted to do my own thing, and thought
if I could bow out gracefully; it would work better for all involved.
The band went on to become quite successful, and I was pretty excited
for them. I could see myself up there now, of course, but at the
time I didn't think we were a fit.”
Making it Easier
The way you make quitting easier, is the same way you make firing
a person easier. You plan your band (Which is one of the reasons
this site has a “goal center”). If you have defined what
your band stands for up front, if things change you can address
the issues quickly. You can see in print what you stand for, and
how you operate (hard to argue with that). The best time to do a
“band plan’ is now. For this I will use my own band. I
have always stated that communication is the key to a smooth running
band. I was growing more and more frustrated with the band I play
in. I began to search the local want ads to see if anyone needed
a guitarist. To me this was a red flag that I needed to start communicating
my thoughts to someone before things got ugly. I have been in this
band (a local cover band with a pretty solid schedule) for five
years. By talking with the leader we were able to come up with a
plan where I can take an additional side gig (as we weren’t
gigging as much) and I may record a solo CD (unless the guys want
to play on it) without anyone raising an eyebrow. We have all our
“Cards on the table”. We never created a “band plan”
and are basically trying to do this on the fly. TRUST ME when I
say this would’ve been much easier if we had done a “Band
Plan” when we first started. We have avoided things turning
ugly through communication.
Pulling the Trigger
I was surprised that most people in our poll who quit didn’t
have another band lined up. One resounding thought came from those
who quit. Once all the talking is over, and you know there is no
changing the bad situation – pull the trigger. If things are
going bad, and communication is gone, things will only get worse
with time. The hardest part is trying to keep that professionalism
up while leaving.
Explain to the group that you’ve made your decision, and then
focus on the exit strategy. Don’t get pulled into arguments.
Try to keep it professional.
A person who has chosen to remain anonymous states this: “Let's
face it... when conflict -- personal or musical -- is the primary
reason for quitting, there's no easy way out.
By the time the words "I QUIT!" come out of your mouth,
the atmosphere is often so poisoned and volatile that no one can
think straight, let alone cooperate on an "exit strategy."
The thing to keep in mind, though, is that once the decision to
leave has been made, the worst is over... it's in everyone's best
interest to handle what comes after with as much dignity, cooperation
and professionalism as possible... regardless of how hard it is.
Setting aside some of the emotion to work out an agreement that
doesn't leave you, or the people you're leaving behind, screwed,
serves everyone's best interest in the long term... whether it's
who plays what gigs, who keeps the band name, or who gets the e-mail
list.
The alternative -- to just say "!@#$ it!" and slam the
door on your way out, is generally bad for everyone's long term
reputation, yours included. It may FEEL good at the time, but it
won't endear you to the club owners who have booked you or the fans
who have supported you, or the other musicians that might one day
want to work with you.
Give notice, where possible, honor commitments, and SMILE when you're
up on stage, because soon enough, you'll never have to see those
morons again. :)”
Don’t Forget Your Lose Ends
Don’t leave lose ends. For instance:
If you‘ve invested in equipment, or merchandising, be sure
to get your investment back.
If you have recorded any songs with this group, and don’t want
anything to do with them, you need to sign away your rights to the
songs (are you sure you want to do this?).
Why Should I Keep things Professional When these People Are X%#!
While you want to punch everyone in the mouth, just as people and
times change (that make you want to leave), 5 years from now people
and times may have changed (or even matured). If you’ve left
badly, that will be one of the first hurdles you will have to get
over. In some cases this may block any kind of reconciliation (i.e.
Pink Floyd).
While you may not like your situation now, with some water under
the bridge, you may see things differently.
One Last Thought
Are you sure you want to do this? Sammy Hagar is touring on
a album that I have not heard one song from. David Lee Roth is in
the same boat. I have note heard "note one" from either
of their new CD's on the radio. While the grass is often greener
on the other side, in some cases its not.
"I QUIT!" Poll Results
Here are the stats from the Poll as of 7/26/2003
How long were you in this band before leaving?
Months 35.7%
3-5 Years 25.0%
Year 17.9%
Two Years 10.7%
More than five years 7.1%
Weeks 3.6%
Days 0.0%
Why did you decide to leave? Check all that apply
Musical Differences 19.4%
Personal Conflicts 19.4%
Lack of Work 18.1%
Committment 16.7%
Just Needed Something New 9.7%
Better Opportunity 8.3%
Financial 4.2%
Substance Abuse 4.2%
Did you have another band lined up?
No 57.1%
Yes 21.4%
Kind of.. 21.4%
How long until you were back on a stage again?
Months 32.1%
Weeks 25.0%
Days 14.3%
3-5 Years 14.3%
I'm still looking 10.7%
A Year 3.6%
Two Years 0.0%
I quit the business for good 0.0% (0)
How would you classify the "I'm leaving" conversation?
Smooth Professional 50.0%
Rocky with some raised voices 25.0%
#&+#@! You! I'm outa here 17.9%
Heated and Loud 7.1%
If you had to do it again, would you quit?
Yes 89.3%
No 3.6%
Not sure 7.1%
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Book Review: The Musician's Handbook
A practicle Guide to the Music Business
Author: Bobby Borg |
By David Jackson
If I wanted to read a book about war, I don’t want the author
to be a news anchor, politician, or general. I want the book to be
written by a soldier in the field who can tell me the good, the bad,
and the ugly about war (so I can avoid being killed). Bobby Borg is
a strong soldier with plenty of knowledge about the “war”
that is the music business.
As I started to read the book my first impression was “This
is the drummer from Warrant?” Bobby Borg is not your typical
musician. He rattles off quotes from dozens of books (so he is well
read). He graduated Berklee with a BA in Professional Music (received
the “Outstanding achievement in the Berklee College series)
as well as UCLA (with a certificate in music business). He has been
recording on major labels for 12 years. In addition to recording
two albums with Warrant
he has also recorded with Left
for Dead, and Beggars
& Thieves. Yes, our “Soldier” is WELL decorated.
OK, so Bobby can play the drums and he’s smart. But can he
write?
If I lead a class on “being in a band” The
Musician’s Handbook would be required reading. We have
been talking in the last few issues about “Planning your band.”
Bobby outlines this whole process THOROUGHLY. The whole book is
THOROUGH. Now there are times when you could get “fact overload”
with books like this, but Bobby has done a nice job of adding entertaining
sidebars to keep you interested. At the point my eyes were going
to roll back in my head during the discussion of taxes, Bobby throws
in an interview with freelance drummer Kenwood Dennard who gives
you real life knowledge, and “brings it on home.”
This style of “commentary, sidebar, and interview” is
used throughout the book. About half the way through the book, I
noticed that not only does Bobby do a good job of making things
easy to understand, but he is a really good interviewer. When he
interviewed Fred Croshal (the head of Maverick Records), he was
not afraid to ask the tough questions that might show a record label
in a bad light (the type of questions that you would ask if you
had the chance). His chat with Chris Arnstein (who has worked for
um, EVERYBODY) about touring is CLASSIC.
The book covers about every aspect of the business from starting
the band, choosing your management team, recording, publishing,
and a whole lot more (see the table of contents at http://www.bobbyborg.com/handbook.htm
). He shows the reality of the BUSINESS. For example, how you can
obtain gold record status and still owe the record company money.
If you’re thinking, “Well I’m just in a cover band”
this book is still for you. I can see having this in my library
as a reference book (I’ve added it to the “Success
Library” on our site). It really does a nice job of covering
a large amount of topics. When I turned over the back cover to see
how much this book was, I expected to see a price of at least 35
bucks (the book is 288 pages and could inflict some bodily harm
with some velocity put behind it). The fact that this book is 20
bucks is amazing. Throw in the fact the as of 7/25 this book was
30% off ($13.97) at amazon.com
and you should now have a three word plan: BUY
THIS BOOK.
Bobby says that he wrote this book because so many awesome musicians
polish their art, only to learn about the business end one mistake
at a time. He wanted to create an easily understood book that musicians
could use to better understand the music business and he did a fine
job. Here at the Musician’s Cyber Cooler we are all about mentoring,
and if we gave out medals, this solder would get pinned for a job
well done.
To read an interview with Bobby Go to
http://www.scorerocks.com/032003/bobbyborginterview3-03.html
Wish you could ask Bobby a question? Check out
http://www.scorerocks.com/musicbizqa.html
Battle of the Bands
New Rules – New Voting Software
We’ve been running the Battle of the Bands since March. While
the software I purchased stated that it would block people from
voting more than once. It is only reliable about 95% of the time.
About a month ago, I put the disclaimer that “All totals are
checked for duplicates before posting total votes.” While this
is true, it makes the voting confusing when a band thinks they’ve
won, only to find out that 30% of their votes were done by a fan
who had tricked the system into letting them vote more than once
(and thus disqualified).
So we’re trying something new, we’re using a voting system
from html gear.
One of the side effects of this is voters will now be allowed to
vote more than once (but limited to once a day).
Current Lineup
Rock
The reigning Rock champion Mink
was dethroned by the guitar heavy Seimic
Anomoly. "Seismo" will take on challenger "The
Semis" and their song "Minesota."
Hard Rock
Jackass
continues to roll on in the "Bud Light World" but now
face challenger Cheshire
Grin and their song "C.N.T."
We are in need of challengers in the following genres: Hard Rock,
Metal, Blues, Country, R&B/Rap, and World Music. The next battle
starts 8/11 (deadline is 8/8). For more information go to.www.jammindave.com/battlebands.htm
.
Conclusion
Thanks for all the input
The next issue we will be looking at creating a band logo
(any graphic artists that want to chime in now would be the time),
as well as a review of Café Press (I actually ordered some
stuff).
I was talking with some musician friends and we got on the subject
of "Stalker fans." We all admitted we appreciate all our
fans, but what do you do when the 23 year old guy in the "Babylon
5" t-shirt asks you if you want to know how to say your name
in Klingon? How do you politely move away from this fan without
them knowing you are "running away?" While this won't
be a major story, it could be a fun to hear some stories.
. Contact Us
Dave Jackson
Moderator
(Check out Dave's New Hard Rock CD)
http://www.jammindave.com/recess
Get Your Band Out of the Basement (And Keep them Out of the
Asylum)
Order this book full of communication, marketing, and promotion
ideas now It's only $12.99, and you receive the CD Consignment FREE
http://www.jammindave.com/merchandise.htm
CD Consignment Guide
Got a CD you want to sell on the Internet. There are LOTS of
places to choose form. This guide spotlights 18 different sites.
(Free when you purchase "Get Your Band Out of the Basement).
http://www.jammindave.com/merchandise.htm
Finding Time To Achieve Your Goals
This guide leads you through making SMART goals, that lead to
success. Check this out and more (including the new cyber mentoring
service).
http://www.jammindave.com/goalcenter
New FREE Ebook From Dave Jackson
Look Before Leaping into Cyberspace.
Learn how to plan your web site before you build it.
http://www.jammindave.com/lookb4leap.pdf
(You need adobe acrobat reader to view this document) You can download
adobe acrobat reader at http://www.adobe.com
As always this is produced with great passion, but a general lack
of sleep. Please forgive any typos.
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