General Music Chat

Howdy back Mr. jazz man. I pop in every now and then to see what is shakin'. It can be a fun place to hang out and there is some deep musical talent here if you can wade past the steer manure. I tend to avoid the drama so when folks get their panties in a twist I find better things to do until the dust settles.

Had a very fun and busy summer with The Road Dogs playing all over SoCal. We actually made some decent coin which was nice..

I find online demos to be one useful piece of the puzzle. Not the only piece or even the most important piece, but a useful look at what they are capable of, their style, their vocal range, and their production values. It is a great time saver for me to hear a clip of their stuff.

If I am reading you correctly, you're agreeing that an online demo is useful as a preliminary to scheduling someone for an audition, but the demo itself is not an audition piece itself. The demo is one element towards getting an audition, but it isn't the audition. Is that a correct understanding of what you posted?

Of course. Part of the initial screening along with a phone call/email and checking with my circle of musician friends who may have played with them in the past. We screen out the no-talents, the no-shows, the substance abusers, and the Prima Donnas, and set up an informal jam with the players we like that might be a good fit. There is no formal audition with The Dogs. I actually think formal auditions are rather useless if you do the prep work right. If they get invited to jam, we already know they can play, have lots of live experience, have similar musical interests, and show up without being stoned. The rest is minor details and seeing if we like each other enough to move forward.

Anyone who does not have a demo is not serious about their craft same goes if they got crappy equipment. So when you hear a song you like on the radio it says nothing about the musicians on the song? You never know the other things you mentioned until you spend time with them. In my case if you dont invest in yourself and display a product of your ability, tone, style and perhaps writing ability then i dont care how kool you are.

That's a large amount of bullshit. Many years ago, I was the producer of a local television show. My job included auditioning garage bands. Some of the best bands I heard consisted of kids without much money who had to make do with the best they could get, including crappy gear. Some of the worst bands were the rich kids whose mommy and daddy bought them all the best Gibson and Fender gear. "Investing in yourself" sounds wise, but sometimes you have to invest in food and clothing for your kids, and make-do with what you can scrounge up.

I have heard more than a few musicians say that same bullshit. They are almost always "hobby" level players, though very good musicians, who work very high paying day jobs. Frankly, I don't think I'd want to have to work with rich gear snobs. Snobs in general tend to be a vexation to the soul, and best avoided at all times, and in all places, if possible.

Well I'm not talking about snobby little rich kids, I'm talking about guys like you and myself who have been doing this for a while and are looking for a more mature situation. And yes I will stand by my word. If you are serious about your craft you will invest in yourself and your equipment. Do you have a demo? do you have crappy gear?

Kids? Food? serioulsy??? That's a given dude. But what do you do for a living? if your a framer you have tool bags and a quality hammer and probably a work truck. People who claim this is what they wanna do for a living but don't have the proper tools, ie; equip, demo are not serious. I worked a whole summer when I was 15 to buy a marshal cabinet. then I worked the next year when I was 16 and save for over a year to get a marshall head. It's usually the ones with natural talent who take their gift for granted and perhaps dont see a need for those things. But If you're getting on stage with me you gotta have quality gear. End of story.

Look, man....some people do this seriously and some people do it as a hobby and some people do it as a second income and some people do it for therapy...

Some people are experts and some of those experts make a living at it...but the overwhelming majority of us do it because we just want to have fun. Who cares that we're screwing it up for the educated and experienced? We're in it for the exposure.



Signed,

Brain Surgeons of America

Look, man....some people do this seriously and some people do it as a hobby and some people do it as a second income and some people do it for therapy...

Some people are experts and some of those experts make a living at it...but the overwhelming majority of us do it because we just want to have fun. Who cares that we're screwing it up for the educated and experienced? We're in it for the exposure.



Signed,

Brain Surgeons of America

I get it amd i agree with you. Im not doing this to make money im just doing it for fun. But my point was some people claim they are ready to tour etc. But dont have decent gear or even a demo. Im not saying your gear or demo automatically makes you good but it does say theyre dedicated to what they do.

Well I'm not talking about snobby little rich kids, I'm talking about guys like you and myself who have been doing this for a while and are looking for a more mature situation. And yes I will stand by my word. If you are serious about your craft you will invest in yourself and your equipment. Do you have a demo? do you have crappy gear?

I have demos, but I don't think they're very good. They do not demonstrate what I do best, which is to fit in well with other musicians in a band.

As for my gear, I reject the binary assessment of gear as either "pro" or "crap". That's just stupid. I would rate my two electric guitars as about 6 on a ten scale, maybe 7. I know more than a few who would automatically deduct points for my six string because it's an Epiphone instead of a Gibson, and my 12 string because it's a Dean and not a Rickenbacker. My acoustic/electric is more like a 3 or 4, but it's not my primary instrument. I have one amp that I'd rank at around 7, and another that's adequate for some uses, but not others that I'd rank at a solid 4. My better amp, a Vox Valvetronix, produces good enough tones for any live venue I'd ever play. It would need to be mic'd for a large venue, or tapped into the main PA.

And frankly, anyone who thinks he's going to make a living in 2017 playing metal and hard rock is totally delusional. The only exceptions are established head bangers from yesteryear who are still selling tickets as a nostalgia act, or sidemen filling out established has-been head banger acts who need extra help.

Sounds to me like you have invested in your music. Evem if its a hobby or serious but you have invested in it amd thats the point i was trying to make.

This whole thing started because someone said having a demo is useless and i just happen to disagree and some disagree with me. Kool no problem here. I dont know you, we are not friends, you dont live near me hell we dont even play the same music. I guess some just feel that every reply is aimed at them.