One of the great pleasures of being a local
musician is the ability to creatively express oneself in front of both peers
and other music lovers, in a local market or region. The privilege of being
able to showcase talents that have taken an individual, or group of individuals
years and countless rehearsal hours to hone can be a very exciting and validating
experience to those with a desire to perform in public venues.
Today, I had a great conversation over coffee in
my own hometown with one of our industry professionals and local heroes, music reporter Tad Dickens of
the Roanoke Times & World News. Tad
is an artist himself with formal training from the Musician’s
Institute in Los Angeles, CA and over ten years of real
world education in various touring bands. Our conversation has four main focal
points with some excellent insight on how local musicians can become either a
performing part of their local scene or an even more viable part of the entire
region.
I. What makes a local project marketable and
ready for expansion into the region?
· Make
the project simple and easy to review
· High
Resolution Photos
· Short
Bio
· Plan
for self promotion
Explanation:
A talent buyer, music writer or industry
professional that usually receives a large number of submissions each week
doesn’t really have a lot of extra time to seek out reasons to like, book or
want to review a project that may otherwise have great potential. If the
submission is clean, easy to read, good quality and answers the who, what,
when, where, why and how of the information the group is trying to convey, it
makes the entire process much easier for the person considering and researching
the project.
Photographs and recordings (live or studio)
should always be good quality. More often than not, a group will get overlooked
because their press shots and recordings aren’t in the proper format to be
featured in the media.
The band biography should be easy to read and
convey the group’s information clearly to everyone wanting to learn more about
the band. The shorter, the better; pack a great punch, but do it in one page or
less. Music Dish’s E-Journal has
an awesome resource for learning to elevator
pitch a band’s bio for press-worthy consideration.
II. What are the key things a group needs to do
to get involved in their local or regional market?
· Get
the right venues
· Be
persistent but not pushy with the talent buyers
· Be
dynamic in the promotion of shows
· Be
well rehearsed and honest with themselves as a musician and someone that wants
to perform in front of an audience
· Professionalism
Explanation:
One of my favorite quotes is “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of
enthusiasm.” –Winston
Churchill I am a firm believer that persistence is a
virtue and if handled correctly will pay off tenfold; however, when calling a
talent buyer, club owner, music writer, etc. more than once a week without
their solicitation or request, this is an absolute sure-fire way to shoot
oneself in the foot and potentially have them cringe each time they hear the
caller’s name. (Note: this is not a positive cringe)
Some venues are more receptive to certain types
of music and groups than others; this is simply a fact. Booking an original
punk band at a cover venue or jazz club usually doesn’t draw the best crowds
for that particular show. Booking lots of clubs at first and then narrowing
down where and how often the project performs in that region will be a huge
help when trying to build the best audience for the performance(s).
Once a group is starting to book shows and
establish their presence in a particular area it is extremely important to be
well rehearsed and play each show as if the group is at a civic center or
well-known venue, to a packed house. People that are initially excited to come
see a show and tell all of their friends how great the band is won’t usually
come back if the group seems let down by the turn-out or the quality of the
venue. Have fun and love the fact that the group is actually playing live! This
will work to the groups’ advantage every time.
Be
dynamic in the event's promotions. Though digital technology
and social networking are huge pluses for a project, and also has the potential
to help save money in advertising dollars, that doesn’t mean that each member
of the group is exempt from becoming an active part in their own street team. Blending
traditional advertising (print ads, radio spots, local magazine announcements,
newspaper announcements, flyers, etc.) with the digital marketing (Facebook,
Twitter, Reverb Nation, blogs, RSS feeds, etc.) in conjunction with the venue
getting behind the performance and lending their own promotional efforts is
absolute the best method for drawing and retaining larger crowds at each show
or event.
Finally, being professional. I spend a great deal
of time speaking on professionalism in the music industry, so it was great
re-enforcement of that principal to hear Tad speak on the subject as well. No
one is saying that a band can have a great time at the shows or that that they
can’t live La Vida Loca if that’s what they chose, but what the industry
professionals are saying is that there is a time and place for everything.
Being honest about what the group looks like to the club owner, talent buyer(s)
and show-goers should be at the forefront of the entire thought process and at
the top of the preverbal list. The absolute last thing a group with great local
success potential needs is to be blacklisted from the venues that are gracious
enough to give them a shot and open the doors to their project. It’s better to
address this issue upfront and keep each person on the same page, or put the
project on hold until the group has the right members to accomplish their
goals, instead of making each individual member of the project look bad to the
public and other venues in the area. It is a huge disappointment for a music
journalist to be excited to scout and review a band and then leave thinking
they’ve wasted their time due to lack of professionalism. A great interview on
band professionalism is the Ramones interview “End
of the Century” and on what Brian Epstein brought to the Beatles
concerning being true professionals.
III. What are some suggestions for people searching
for other like-minded musicians to write, record and (or) perform?
· Network,
Network, and Oh Yeah, Network
· Local
publications, forums and musicians’ boards
· Tradeshows
(if applicable)
Explanation:
The busiest musicians are the ones that are out
networking with other musicians. Supporting the other bands and musical groups
in the local area is a huge plus when it comes to finding other like-minded
talent with which to partner for additional projects. Having a strong alliance
with the peers in the music community leads to recommendations and word of
mouth advertising and then ultimately a diverse group of people that can be
called upon to fill a spot, a gig, a recording need or any other number of voids
in a local music scene.
Tradeshows and industry get togethers can be a
great way to network for other musicians. Companies like the Music
Taxi, OneSheet, Harmony Central and The Local Musician Union, all
have wanted listings for musicians in each local network, as well as Craigslist
want ads, local musician boards, music store musician boards, coffee shops,
etc.
It’s obvious that some areas have more musicians
than others, but the only tried and true way to find others to work with is to
go out there and look, regarding what works best for that particular project.
IV. What are some examples of groups making
headway in the region that others can learn from?
Tad and I briefly talked about some of the more
interesting new bands and regional acts that he’s had the opportunity to see in
the area. Here is a short list of some that are currently doing great things
and also some groups keep an eye on in the near future.
The Sword, Baroness, The Floorboards, The Bastards of Fate, Heevahava, Mafia Track Suit, Madrone, Amanda Stathos, The Niki Barr Band, Honor By August, and
My
Radio to name a few.
It is always a pleasure talking shop with Tad
Dickens. He’s truly an asset to the local community and well respected by every
venue and musician in the region. If and when you see him out and about in the
Roanoke, VA area, please don’t hesitate to shake his hand and thank him for all
that he does for the community and spreading the word on what’s happening in
the area musically.
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