Inheritance

Hey all...
Just wanted to catch up with my blog, and keep you all posted on the happenings in the band. We are off to a great start for the new year and things just keep on getting better. Checking into a great solution for our backdrop and upgrading our practice space. Keep on checking back for new ideas for your band.

Below you'll find a guest post I wanted to share with you.. Thanks again!!




Contributed by Alec Bates

For almost a year my high school sweetheart and I have been dreamy about inheriting his grandmothers little farm house. I had already formed an image of what the little white house would look like on the outside. Imaged in my head I would soon be able to renovate the house too match the dream house I envisioned in my head for so long. It would have black shutters against its freshly painted white surface; the old antique door would be painted red. Big rose bushes would root themselves against the house and springtime ferns would hang from the porch. I had imagined the outside but soon I would have to attack the decoration to the inside of the house. My friend told me a few days she had upgraded her direct plan and got many different home improvement stations so I visited www.tvbydirect.com and upgraded my plan. I then found many ideas on channels such as HGTV. I have now turned the inside and outside of my house into the house of my dreams.

Thanks Alec!!! Great post!

Lineup Change

Lineup Change
Thanks for the guest post by Jonathan Curtis
Recently I noticed that a bunch of channels had changed places in my regular lineup. I was wondering how often satellite providers do this? I know it’s pathetic to admit it but these changes totally made my life annoying for a while. When you are used to having all of your channels memorized it totally sucks to have to memorize them all over again! I was too lazy to change my whole favorites menu again since I am a little technologically challenged. It only took me a few days to get the hang of all the new channels but I keep wondering when they are going to change it up again. I wonder if there is a reason behind it? I can’t imagine that there is any real consequence to what number your channel is assigned in the long run. There are only a few channels I really watch regularly and I don’t care where they end up in the lineup, I would flip to them anywhere! Nothing could ever separate me from Bravo, E!, MTV, HBO and Showtime! Who knows though? The companies probably do some crazy statistical analysis on what channels get watched the most and the numbering must have something to do with it.

TV Backdrops

A great idea for anyone with some extra cash in their pocket, looking for a great backdrop idea for their band is using tvs.
With the right connection cords and a great program you can link them together and create moving background scenes, your band name, clips from movies and more!

Although this may be pricy for some, it is a great goal to work towards. Bringing a whole new level to your performance, and giving your fans something great to view while enjoying your music.

Save your pennies... This would make even the most amatuer band appear right on top of their game!

Dressing the Part and Cover Band Stage Performance

OK, So there is alot to be said about being "different but the same", as our ol friend Chong would say. No matter what genre of cover band you have found yourself in, you need to all fit the part. If your in a modern punk band, you don't want your bass player dressing like he just got off the polka train. You'll need to discuss a dynamic that your shooting for, and generally stick in that range.




!!!!!!!!!!!!CLICK ABOVE TO HEAR BORN THIS WAY!!!!!!!!

 

Some bands find that a theme or dress gimmick might work best for them, and that's all fine and good. Just make sure that its working to your best ability, and that you haven't become the county's biggest joke. Be creative, but never look like your trying to hard.

         We touched on stage performance a bit in a prior post, but I just want to clarify a few things that were brought to my attention per that post.

Being yourself is the most important thing on stage, but you may also want to challenge yourself to try new things. If your playing your guitar like a bump on a log, how can you expect your audience to get pumped up and excited? Maybe try some moving around, (cordless guitar jacks work great for this), perhaps you have a wireless mic and you want to step off stage and sing to the pretty lady's out front? Anything you can do to engage your audience, and keep their attention will work to your advantage. Be creative, but don't be fake and soon you'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand!

$$$Cover Band Cash$$$

Don't let money be your sole motivator. Unfortunately, many talent buyers have limited budgets. Sometimes, it's just shrewd business. Sometimes, it's just a really cheap club owner calling the shots. Often, it's both. The business in the club scene isn't what is used to be. Bands are rarely booked solely as entertainment any more. Bands are most often booked, and usually priced, based upon their ability to bring business to the club. If you have to play for less to "get your foot in the door," do it. If you don't take that initial shot for less money, you may never have the opportunity to prove your self and secure the gig. However, make it absolutely clear that you will expect more pay down the road once you have proven that your band can put asses in the seats. If you don't talk about it up front, you may pigeon hole yourself into a price.

Once you've proven yourself, then you should ask for more money. Rarely will a club owner say, "Hey, you guys are doing really well, you deserve a raise." If you are doing well, don't worry too much about losing the gig for renegotiating your price. The fact is, a club owner is not going to get rid of a band that is making the club money.

Things a Cover Band Should Never Ever Do

   Well, I had to post this after seeing this terribly horrible cover band last weekend. They violently violated many of the pet peeves i have with cover bands. There are just some common sense unwritten rules about what to do and not to do when on stage. Well..apparently some of these things need to be the written rule.. so I will take it upon myself to inform you all on the violations. . So here we go,

1.  Do not holler into a mic. No matter what. For any reason what so ever. Just don't do it, and I wont have to break your legs!

2.  If you are setting up your gear when there are people in the venue.. do NOT check your drum set for 15 minutes or strum your guitar for twenty. Have your gear just about show ready when you get there. Nobody wants to hear you check for that amount of time. Chances are people will leave before you even start. For a better experience arrange to have your gear set up prior to the venue opening, or before the evenings crowd shows up.

3.  Under no circumstance should you wear your own merch during your performance. Why don't you just wear a shirt with your own face on it that says I THINK I'M HOT SH!T. It projects arrogance and nobody likes a bragger. Get over yourself and leave the merch on the merch table where it belongs.

4.  Do not plan jokes or anecdotes to tell on stage!! 99% of the time it just sounds fake and planned. Unless you took acting classes and starred in a major flick.. just say what comes naturally to you while your up there, and dont talk to often. Nobody came to hear you talk about a funny thing that happened to you at the bar the other night. They came to hear music.. So just get to the point. (On another note in this topic.. do not announce who plays this song, what year they did it, and their dogs name who helped write the song.. again, nobody cares and you look foolish. Trust me)

5.  If someone messes up, dont turn around and look at them or each other. Just keep on going, and dont stop. The more attention you attract to a mess up, the more the audience will notice. Most of the time if  you just keep on truckin thru a foul up, the audience wont even give it a second thought. But they will if you go blabbing about it after the song is over. Keep quiet about your mistakes, and they'll generally go unnoticed!

6.  Know your part, and stay consistent. Dont start adding a bunch of stuff in, just because your adrenaline is flowin during a packed crowd. The key to a good band is stickin with what you've been practicing in the basement. Adding a bunch of botched up harmonies or flighty notes is only going to make you look armature.

These are just the foul ups I saw last weekend. There are many more, and we'll get to those on another post. In the mean time.. I'm going to go see how much of my own merch I can put on at one time.

GEAR.. To rent sound, or own your own

If your lucky enough to own your own sound equipment, good for you! You probably know then that your take home pay is double what it would be if you would have to rent sound. My solid advise is to try to own your own gear if your currently playing small to medium size clubs. Once you start breaking into the festivals and large venue gigs, then you'll need to start thinking about a sound company. There is nothing worse than playing a large outdoor event, and your sound is comparable to an old school tape deck towards the back of the tent. You'll sound washed out and limp if you dont have the right power to project the mix.


A good tool for getting started is Craigslist.You can find quality used pa gear to get you rollin. Now if you have the money to go out and buy all new gear, then great. But lets face it, who the heck has that kind of cash just laying around? Another good strategy is to pool the band money together from several gigs. Be careful how you go about this tho. Be sure there is a clear written agreement between band members on what should happen if someone leaves the band, and who gets the gear. Normally you would arrange a buy out option so the leaving member can get money in exchange for the gear they helped purchase. Make sure this agreement is in place and clear for all members prior to purchase. Make sure everyone understands and agrees on paper. The last thing you need is for a salty ex member to go all crazy on you if things get sticky on his departure. But if your band gets paid 600.00 for a gig and you all agree to put it towards equipment, you can quickly come up with the cash you'll need to own your own gear.

Just remember to take good care of it. I've seen many a speaker stack take its tumble in my day.