Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/ ... myths.html

Gold!

fisherman bob's method on how to become famous: Play utter garbage and create a website with all your extreme left-wing viewpoints on it and watch the high dollar gigs roll in...

The bands that I've seen that have gone the farthest all had one thing in common - they didn't give a sh*t if they became famous or not.

The only way I'd become famous is if I shot someone who's famous.

And if you're a woman, find the leader of the band or the hottest producer for your genre and f**k him, or just bat your eyes as you promise him the world.

I used to laugh when I'd hear certain people talk about how they sent in a demo tape and the record company called them. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

On the other hand, you're right, most of the real famous bands just did their thing and the labels found them. Times were so different 30 and 40 years ago because popular music was still very young. You could still hop in there and create a sound all your own. There was no Internet to pollute everything. You could go out, write your songs, gig your butt off and eventually Mr. Record Label or Mr. Big Tour Promoter would wind up at one of your gigs to offer you the deal of a lifetime. But then, I also knew people who got signed to deals and the label had no intention of releasing their music, they were just a write-off. I knew labels signed certain people simply to take them off the streets because they were too much competition for another artist that label had.

There are still bands out there who are phenomenal and have their own sound, but the general public are so apathetic now that only those who can get their attention (which involves usually making a total ass out of yourself somehow) will find any sort of real success.

Now there are all these businesses popping up where musicians can sign up and showcase their material. I'm watching industry people get rich off them by charging them high fees to submit their music probably for opportunities that doesn't exist. On that music service I signed up for, I came across some producer who says he worked with all these people and so on, he's legit, but then he wants $95 to critique your song. WTF? He's not offering anything other than he's worked at a record company and was somebody back in the late 80s and 90s, so basically, he's a hasbeen trying to make a buck. I stopped submitting for stuff because I found that the site was just full of people making extra money, but not really offering anything.

I figure I'm just gonna get my band and play my gigs, whatever happens, happens, I don't care anymore. They want my music, they'll have to come get it.

Chaeya

Being a famous artist is overrated, it's much more interesting being a working musician or a side in a famous artist's band.

Music overload, musicians overkill, there are now more musicians, artists, singer, song writers than the past 50 years combined, today’s technology has given musicians the illusion of more opportunities IMH technology has diluted whatever talent one may have, technology has created a forest where any one tree is almost impossible to spot, before we could count the outlets playing music where one could tune in to listen with the fingers of one hand, now there is a plethora of gadgets bombarding listeners with music thus rendering people if not numb to music at least jaded.

During past decades there was a clear path from obscurity to stardom, now that path looks to me a labyrinth, creating a buzz for an artist or a band is more difficult.

Gone are the days when a hit song made a career, today’s success has been redefined general speaking a successful band is lucky if it gets to ride the wave of notoriety for a year or maybe 2 before it disappears into oblivion.

Sorry for the pessimistic tone of the post but there is fine line between pessimism and reality, and no I’m not anti technology but it’s just the way it is nowadays adapt or perish.

I think we both agree with that, Nav4c.

Case in point, I was watching Amy Winehouse from a few years back. Many people just know her as the "crackhead." Sad, but she was a top jazz vocalist in Britain. I heard her do some amazing stuff and her voice is wonderful! But alas, she gets addicted to crack, gets tattoed up, puts on a ratty beehive and gets press behaving badly, her Back to Black album skyrockets her to worldwide fame. I get to read on forums about how she's a "tortured artist" and people were like waiting for her to die so they could worship her even more. What a f**k waste. Her older music is like 10x better than her last album.

Not a whine, just an observation, that's all. I tend to call things as I see them.

Chaeya

This has become true for all the arts.

We have worked tirelessly to make everyone into an "artist," without giving them real tools to use. We have replaced those tools with technology.

Music, photography, film-making, graphic arts, even poetry & prose have been dumbed down by technology.

About the only path left open for the inventive types is in technology, cuz virtually anything else you can do or imagine, a machine can do as well or better.

The result is fast becoming that, if you don't want to be a tech-whiz, then there's no need to THINK.

But hey, as long as they keep coming out with aps...

Really cool reading everyone's view points on this.

Fame seems to be destructive to a lot of musicians, especially when they forget that when they are no longer the main attraction and fall into obscurity. These are the players that last for one or two years and then are no more. Some try to make a comeback but it's futile. Talk about reaching a big high, only to drop to civilian status! Anyone ever watch the VH1 show Unsung?

Technology has provided a lot of clutter. I think in a few more years the amount of internet musicians will be insane...especially with the ability to have a decent sounding home studio.

I hope arena bands stick it out for as long as they can. Are we near the end of an era?

Chaeya to carry your point even further I know of (and I suspect this is true for many others) Emy Winehouse more for her antics than her music.

This is just an observation for me as well not a complaint.

Philbymon wrote:

This has become true for all the arts.

Very true indeed.

About the only path left open for the inventive types is in technology, cuz virtually anything else you can do or imagine, a machine can do as well or better.

enter the fine art of Traditional Irish Uilleann piping

amazing to watch, and hardly falsified by any other means...

:>

Etu has it right....to be really famous would be a horrible drag. Not being able to go out for being mobbed, paparazzi everywhere.

I worked in a very famous musicians house and he said last time he went to a Starbucks 300 people showed up before he got his coffee. The crowd was so heavy it scared him.

I think the ideal would be to become a respected musician who got great gigs but you could still walk down the street and travel the world with people still leaving you alone....

Yeah, I want to be able to browse around in Walmart. It's the best place to people watch.







Chaeya