Things You Should Know About Starting A Rock Band

So you've decided you want to be in a rock band? Maybe you've always felt you were different and you didn't belong in Greek-letter fraternities or alibata-activist organizations? You've always wanted to stand out so you think playing on stage in front of screaming fans is the way to go? Okay, if you think you've got what it takes to be the next rock icon take your best shot at it.

If you're good and end up the next big breakthrough band, the whole scene benefits. If you suck and end up as the most painfully annoying band in your barangay, you still make the rest of us look better. Either way, welcome aboard.

Before you start practicing your autograph signature though, here's a quick checklist of what I feel should be the minimum prerequisites to make it in the scene:

1. TALENT. First is you must have some. Obviously. Most contend that with talent, its either you have it or you don't but with rock bands, who needs a lot when you can do with just enough. And since you're not joining the Manila Symphony Orchestra, you don't have to be formally schooled in music although that certainly helps, but you should at least know your instrument well enough to play convincingly. If you don't know enough yet, practice until you do but don't wait too long to start a band. You'll learn more playing gigs than you ever could playing in your garage.

2. ATTITUDE. You must have a certain pride in what you do. With pride comes the discipline and the determination to keep going no matter what. Like they always say, any band is 15 minutes away from selling a ton of records but you wouldn't know that if you can't even keep your band in circulation long enough to finish playing one potential hit song. Market yourself like crazy. There's the local circuit and there's the Internet. Play in both arenas as much as you can. If no one liked your band the last time you gigged in the local bar, odds are someone eventually will. Maybe not this town, this year, or your current e-group but chances are it will eventually happen if you stay the course.

3. LOOKS. Sadly, show business is show business and if you don't have the looks, natural or enhanced, you've got something of a problem. You need the x-factor to stand out. Don't despair though if you feel you're no Adonis. Even Keanu Reeves couldn't get his band to take off. You don't have to have a perfect mane or well-chiseled features to look the part. In fact, only in the realm of rock can you find the ugliest celebrities. Fashion wise, anything goes so you can't really make a mistake in that department. In fact, who needs a good top if halfway through the first song it gets thrown at the mosh pit packed with screaming fans anyway. Just remember that there's usually a genre fit for whatever look you're stuck with. If you've got a pretty face, you can join a boy band. Unkempt? Go reggae. Scary? Go heavy rock. Geeky? Go indie. Watch enough MTV and MYX and you'll get the drift.

4. LUCK. Alas, this last item is difficult to quantify much less acquire. In fact, its just one of those things you can't control directly. Some bands are just blessed with luck to be in the right place at the right time to end up the icon of a generation. Others have just enough of it to end up as a perpetual opening act for all the other meteoric bands. But like all things, luck follows a cycle and favors the prepared. So pool all your connections and send out as many band profiles and demos as you can afford. Do it twice over, and then again. You'll never know if the next kit will strike the jackpot and land you a multi-album record deal and a savvy band manager.

I could have listed six more items to make it a top ten list but then there's a limit to my article length so I'll keep it at four. Just remember you don't have to have all four under your belt. You can compensate for lack in one by having more of the others. In fact, you can surely make it big with just one item if you've got tons of it. Tons of talent never hurt anyone. Unyielding drive gets you there too eventually. If not, who needs attitude and talent if you've got looks that could kill. (Okay, you might need a stylist plus a sharp dance choreographer and probably a dedicated publicist). If all else fails, lady luck just might favor you even without the other three items because like justice, luck wears a blindfold and doesn't care who she strikes on her next swing.

So to be famous, you don't have to die when you reach 27 like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, or Kurt Cobain, bless their souls. If you plan to kill yourself anyway, why not by throwing all your energies into your band. Just remember my TALL order: Talent, Attitude, Looks and Luck plus the rule of compensation if you're lacking in one or more departments. If you still fail, take heart. There still are ways you can get rich without getting anything actually done. Like working for the government. But unlike the music business, you'd do well to avoid, by all means, getting a recording out.

About Author:
Orven Enoveso - For more useful articles on playing in a rock band, please check out a couple of other related articles I wrote for my band's website: Tips on playing in a rock band and Dirty tricks for rock bands.

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Starting Your Own Cover Band? 3 Things You Should Know

I began playing guitar many years ago while in high school. It wasn't long before I got the itch to play in a band. Back then, putting a band together was fairly simple and straight forward. There was always enough talent to choose from roaming the high school hallways. So it just became a matter of finding the right group of fellows that fit your particular musical taste.

Today, things are way different, especially if you're working a full time job, dealing with a family and still yearning to hit the stage. With life as hectic as it most times is, putting a band together can be a daunting task. Often, it's a bigger job than you at first imagined. Just finding the right members can take up a huge chunk of time. But don't worry too much, it CAN be done.

Four years ago, I was 49 at the time, I began sitting in with a local band. Well, it wasn't long before I wanted more. And the only way to get more playing time was to join a band, or start a band. I settled on the latter, as I felt I would have more artistic control over the sound I wanted. As it turned out, I was right...it did give me control, but it also gave me all the responsibility that went along with running a band. And running a band today is way different that it was when I was in high school. Back then...all you needed were the instruments, some microphones and some amplifiers (talent helped too).

Today, you almost need to be an electrical engineer to perform on stage. I got a crash course in this as I progressed, and there are three main things I learned, that, if you know in advance, can save you some headache down the road.

• Become Familiar with the Art of Mixing

The first thing I learned was that a band lives and dies by its PA system. In order to deliver a quality sound, you not only have to be able to play, you have to be able to use a mixing board. There are many types and styles of mixers, and choosing the right one for your band is just as critical as choosing the right guitar or keyboard you use. My suggestion is to acquaint yourself with as much literature on mixing as you possibly can. Understand how the board works, and what can be done with it. In the long run, this will save you a lot of time. To produce a quality sound from your band, everything must be blended correctly. The bass on top of the lead is just as bad as the vocals being unintelligible. The key is always in the mixing.

There isn't enough space here for me to teach you the intricacies of mixing. But it is something that must be mastered...and if you're the one running the band...it's ultimately your responsibility. Of course, you could always hire a sound man, but in today's market, that will undoubtedly cut into the band's profits. So my advice is...read as much as you can before you choose a mixer, and know how to work it once you have.

• Get the Right Sound

Ok, let's assume you've done the auditions and settled on the right group of musicians for your band. Let's also assume you already laid out your initial song list. So, you begin practicing, trying to make your covers sound exactly like the recording. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I've found that you really have to add something to make it fly. What do I mean? Shouldn't what you're playing sound like a reproduction of the band you're covering? Well, yes and no. What I mean is that you have to add your own style to what you're playing. You have to be able to put your heart into the music of someone else. If you don't, no matter how technically well it's played, it comes across flat. You have to be aware that there are certain "signature" sounds to a particular song. But you also have to be aware that you are performing...you're putting on a show. A reproduction of a song, played exactly like heard on the CD is no more exciting to an audience than turning on the radio. You have to be able to grab people and hold them. So...yes...make sure the lead solos to "Amy", or "I Should Have Known Better" are there. But on songs that don't have a "signature lead" experiment. Add your own flair. You can even do this with some "signature" solos.

Think of it this way. When you go to a concert, does the band sound EXACTLY like their recording, or do they add flair and punch to their hits. It's a live performance, and they want to make you, the audience, come alive too. And it's same if you're playing in Joe's Pub. You have to get the audience to become participants, not just listeners.

• Control Your Practice Sessions

I learned very early on that maintaining control over the practice sessions was a vital necessity. There are a few reasons for this. When you first start out, you'll find yourself blasting away at your songs...amps at high volume, mics barely above that. You're intent on copying the artist you're covering. But this has a big price. My suggestion is to turn everything down. Make sure you can hear the vocals and the harmonies. If you don't do this, the vocals can get away from you, and you may not sound quite as good as you think you do. In my experience, I've found that, what truly works wonders for the vocals is turn almost everything off. One out of every five practice sessions, we use acoustic guitars only so that we can hear every note being sung. I can't begin to tell you how much this pulls the harmonies together, so that, when you do plug in again, the whole thing sounds right.

Another aspect relating to control, especially for the leader, is listening. You have to HEAR everything. It's more important to underplay than to overplay, which is all too easy to do. As I stated above, it's good to make the song your own...to add that flair that makes it come alive. The trick is to know what notes NOT to play. Sometimes, as they say...less is more. As the leader, you have to hear everything to know when a song is being overplayed. It sounds simple enough, but if you aren't paying attention, it can happen without you even knowing it.

So, is that it? Is that all you need to know to run a successful cover band. Well...no. Just like a quality diamond, there are many facets to putting together a paying cover band. Many you will learn along the way through trial and error. But if you're aware of the three I've discussed, you'll be in a much better position to bring your band on line and ready for gigs faster.

© 2008 Thomas A. Bradley

About Author:
Thomas A. Bradley - Freelance and ghost writer. He has several active articles in e-zines. He has designed two active websites, written several short stories in fiction and worked for both small and large companies. You may contact him at http://www.bradleywritingservices.com, or at tabradley55@gmail.com

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How To Pick The Right Musicians For A Band

Ready to start your own band? There are plenty of musicians out there willing to pursue a career in music with you, but how do you choose the right musician? Different musicians contribute different sounds to a band depending on their technical skills, innovations, and music diversity. For example, Metallica would not sound the way they do without James Hetfield, or Dream Theater would definitely not sound the same without the drumming talents of Mike Portnoy.

Here are some tips on how to narrow down your list of potential band members.

1. Determine their level of commitment. You want a musician that is in the same commitment level as the rest of the band. Is the band a full-time thing or are you just jamming on occasions for fun on weekends? Musicians with a high level of commitment are always good but they can discouraged if the rest of the band is lazy and only wants to play at minimal times. Figure out how often the band should get together to play and then find musicians that can commit to that schedule.

2. Technical abilities versus diversity. While technical abilities are important, there should be a good balance between music diversification as well. Anyone can pick up a guitar and shred like Yngwie Malmsteen with proper amount of practice picking the same notes over and over, but not everyone can play with such feel as Jimmi Hendrix.

3. The right musician should enjoy playing the same music style as the rest of the band members.

4. Compatibility with personality. Playing in a band is about having fun and you should be able to get along with all your band members off-stage. Generally speaking, you might get along with people within your age group better, so that might be something to consider when choosing musicians.

5. Open-minded to other music genres. While this may not apply to every band, it might be good to consider if your band ever decides to change its musical direction.

6. Band playing experience. Typically, the more band playing experience the better. There is a difference between self-taught musicians that practice at home by themselves and musicians that learn through others by playing in bands. Musicians with no band experience might have trouble with following songs since they are used to playing at home to album CD's. In addition, if your band ever plans on performing live gigs, inexperienced musicians might have stage freight.

7. Enthusiasm. Does the musician take the band seriously enough to prioritize it? Does the musician contribute to the band musically? Enthusiasm is shown if the they contribute a lot of ideas into the songs and take some extra to practice at home as well. If the musician is always running late to practices, does not contribute and only plays what they're told to play, then chances are he/she is not very committed to the band.

About Author:
Kenny Auyoung: Webmaster @ http://www.getmeaband.com Looking for a band? Search through our directory of musicians to find band members in your local area.

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Kicking Out Members

Firing members of your band is never a pleasant experience but I can tell you it is one of the things that you will face in your pursuits as a professional musician.

The ideal situation for a band would be of course to form a band with three other musicians and stay together with the same four people for years and years. The band then eventually gets signed and the same four members tour the world and sell multi platinum albums. The truth as you probably well know is that just keeping a band together is hard enough and staying with the same four members for years and years seems almost impossible. So it is my goal with this article to shed a little light on the subject and help you out with these situations.

Open Communication
The key to keeping any relationship strong is honest open communication. This is very, very important! You should be having weekly band meetings and talking about any problems that come up. Have an agreement with all of your band members to be totally honest and if things are bothering them they should bring them up. Using this approach often times can nip problems in the bud and doesn't allow bad feelings and attitudes to develop. Little problems should be addressed often so locked up hostility should not exits with any of your band members. If you are not having weekly band meetings I suggest that you start immediately.

Your Only As Strong As Your Weakest Link
So what happens when you have a member that doesn't do what he or she is supposed to do? You need to ask some questions which will tell you what action you should take. Identify if the reason that this person did not accomplish what they were supposed to do is can be attributed to an ability problem or an attitude problem.

Ability Problem
An ability problem means that the person wants to complete the task but doesn't know how to do it. An example might be if this person was assigned to layout a flyer for one of you up coming shows however he doesn't know how to operate a computer to do this. You can fix this problem by getting some type of training for this individual and the problem should be fixed.

Attitude Problem
An attitude problem on the other hand can be difficult to fix. Take the same scenario as above however this member was out getting drunk and chasing women instead of getting the layout done. Since this person knows how to operate a computer the problem lies in the attitude to get the job done, he rather be doing something else than doing his part to help the band. You need to sit down with a person like this and tell him that what he is doing is hurting the band and if it keeps up then you will have to let them go. Of course it is up to your discretion of when to actually say your fired, however , I would let him know every time a situation comes up when he screws up. Keep in mind that if you have one member that's dragging his or her feet it actually brings the whole band down and you must fix the situation if you want to move ahead with a career in the music biz.

I have had to fire many people in my years as a band leader and it can be real painful. Most of the time after I have talked to the member that was screwing up a few times previously as to what I will do if their actions continued they accepted it and moved on. One of the best advice that I ever got was from John Sutherland (at the time a Publisher with Zomba). He said the best thing you can do is surround yourself with top notch people. I believe these are words to live by.

About Author:
Steve Veloudos is the owner of http://www.zebramusic.com

Steve is devoted to helping musicians and bands further their careers in the music industry. Stop by his web site and subscribe to the free Musicians Tip Sheet. The Tip Sheet includes industry contacts, and many other items designed to advance a musicians musical career. Subscribe to the newsletter by going to: http://www.zebramusic.com

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