General Music Chat

We have been having this very discussion lately. I started a business 4 yrs ago and am finally successful. I do have the option of taking some time off here and there but a big tour would have to be right with our own music to promote etc. I did a lot of gigging and touring but that stopped in the late 80's. The band was good and we had a strong following. I was about the only one ready to give it all up to be a musician, the others didn't want to quit their jobs. so we did a lot of local stuff and only 2-3 day shows on the road. It was the most fun I ever had in my life, and the most peanut butter and kraft dinner I ever ate in my life (I remember being down to about 140lbs back then and I am closer to 200 now LOL).

we had a number of agents offering us gigs, and some were good some attrocious. Creston, BC stands out as a latter. we slept in a "room" in the basement made out of plywood. a sign on the wall said beware of unwanted guests. we assumed rats until people were banging on the door all night. that was the early days and we had to take whatever came along.

never ever let a bar give you a tab. learned that one too. we ended up with about 50 bucks after a week's gig from all the food and booze we ordered. when things imploded at the end, I moved back to the coast here. I went to a vocal instructor from the vienna choir to try and get some lessons. I was a smoker but had great range. she said quit smoking for 6 months and come back. I took many wierd jobs to survive and ended up doing a sales gig. that turned into being a promotional manager for sooter studios (photography) and I was back on the road for the next almost 4 yrs doing that. wasn't much different than music except I made good money, but not as fun.

when I got back from that, I went and took a studio recording course. student loans and all that. put me deep in debt and never made enough money to pay the loans (ended up making less as a sound engineer than I did as a musician) went bankrupt, lost a little side business... floated around.

I tried to get bands going and for about 3 yrs it was all fluff and got depressing. I became a garage musician then and played my acoustic as it was at least enjoyable...

recently, I started jamming again and have met musicians with similar tastes. 3 of us live in this complex. the drummer and I have become really tight. the guitar player has allready changed. I switched to bass so we could jam. I thought oh no here we go again... another ego trip. I came on here looking for a band or musicians... turned out the drummer felt exactly the same as I do (he also runs a successful business). i swapped back to guitar and got a midi setup. we met a bass player through this site who is coming out this weekend to jam. we have a free plce in the complex to use, no complaints (the people actually come out and listen to us here and love it).

we talked about gigging. sure we'll go and do a gig if it feels right, but we'd rather just play and do some recording. if our songs get some popularity, and we can see there is a reason to tour then sure man I'd do it. but it'd have to be financially feasible. I love what I do for a living. I found detailing cars is another artistic outlet for me. I am very good at it. I do some stuff for classic car shows (had first and second place entries too). I make more money off the regular stuff though.

I still consider music my hobby, much like my rc cars. I spend a lot more money on the toy cars just to go hang out once a week with my buds and trade paint. I even did that crap as a sponsored driver (and have some sponsorship now just for spreading the word about products) jet pro pipes are the best btw LOL. and to tour would mean leaving all that behind and probably selling some of my toys off that took me many years to build the way I want.

I won't say never, but it would sure take a good opportunity to take me away from what I have now. I think too that internet promotion will be the wave. I saw that when I was doing the recording school trip. you can pirate download just about anything now so music sales will never be what they were back when I was gigging. it's all about having fun. if it becomes a chore and starvation life again, I won't do it. I don't even remember the last time I cooked kraft dinner, though I still love peanut butter LOL

I think too that internet promotion will be the wave. I saw that when I was doing the recording school trip. you can pirate download just about anything now so music sales will never be what they were back when I was gigging. it's all about having fun. if it becomes a chore and starvation life again, I won't do it.

One thing I did early on was try to learn about marketing. The Grateful Dead were geniuses at it. If there's one thing I've learned it's that, with the right marketing, you can get people to pay you for the privilege to eat their own feces. McDonald's are living proof!

The Minutemen never saw their albums as a "product" to make a living from. To them, the albums were like flyers to get people's butts to the shows. That strategy worked pretty good for them!

Besides, album sales mostly benefit record labels, who often gyp their artists, anyway. The band Too Much Joy is a good example. Their albums never recouped their expenses because the label didn't bother to get an accurate accounting of how many units sold. The label didn't care! Which left the band in debt to them in perpetuity.

I REALLY need to experience this touring thing! I already eat ramen noodles on a regular basis, because I like them for some demented reason.

All these stories are making me antsy. Time to hit up an open mic.

The high experienced is something I haven't found anywhere else though I will admit. haha I remember playing a soccer club thing in a hall. some dude bumped a table and knocked a beer over, about halfway between the stage and soundboard. he turned opened his mouth, guess he said go for it. he got to drink a bit, rest splashed surrounding people. then it was like a wave of beer erupted. we were covering gear and pulling things back. just reading this stuff is bringing back many fond memories too. was some of the most fun I ever had in my life, no doubt. I guess as we get older that no fear factor fades a bit.

I see it like this: How fun would it be to take a road trip, and play music and meet people along the way? What could be more fun?

On the flipside: I've had some friends that went on tour, and wanted to strangle everyone in their band. Actually, all of their bands broke up after those small tours. Not only does it depend on the people you tour with, but also your set of circumstances. I've been told a few things that I know would irritate me.

I see it like this: How fun would it be to take a road trip, and play music and meet people along the way? What could be more fun?

On the flipside: I've had some friends that went on tour, and wanted to strangle everyone in their band. Actually, all of their bands broke up after those small tours. Not only does it depend on the people you tour with, but also your set of circumstances. I've been told a few things that I know would irritate me.

Like being trapped in a sardine can of B.O.?

How UNFUN would it be to travel for a couple months
meeting people that want to short change you at venues.
Living like a HOBO actually and only reaching a few thousand
people that mostly will forget you within 24 hrs. Whats the point?
There's another band right behind you pushing their shirts and CDs.
This is not the way to go in my opinion.

Klug I tend to agree with you. I believe it all starts with the song. You MUST be able to write and record a song that absolutely kills! This creates demand for your product, which you can then supply on your terms.

JD you and I have the same view about this. Fantasy view of
touring I think has warped many musicians, especially younger ones,
views of a successful band. I do think it is necessary but only at a
smaller degree and totaly controled and taken advantage of in terms
of how it is used to reach the masses. Some young musicians think you have to suffer first to be legitimate. They will use the words selling out
to describe bands that comercialize themselves. That is just silly. The
music business is such a mishmash of opinions. Success is objective.