Posted: May 11, 2020
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Gideon Waxman, a London based drummer & music educator.
"...it [performing live] can be stressful if you are not adequately prepared and if your musical equipment isn’t in top condition...your mindset can also be holding you back from reaching your full enjoyment...Whether you are playing at a local open mic night, or if you’re performing a theatre to a thousand people, we’ve got you covered with these top tips to help prepare you for successful and enjoyable live performances."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 7, 2019
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post by Eki Shola, a musician and physician that creates a healing and transformative space for the listener through sharing her lush, jazzy-soul, live electronica vibes.
"We all do it but I’m not sure if we openly talk about it. Instead, what I’ve observed are a range of reactions - some subtle and others not. I’ll chat about two different scenarios but in reality, I think we all fit on a spectrum, save for the bands that appear to play completely perfect and are tight all that time (but I guarantee they did not start that way)..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Nov 20, 2017
Category: Touring
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**Guest post written by Andrew Tufano, Nashville based Acoustic Pop Singer-Songwriter.
"When you’re strapped for cash on the road, it can be a relief to have a bandmate in the passenger seat, lifting your spirits and holding things together. At the same time, splitting $42 in tips and then going out to drink every night can make turning a profit feel like a luxury you can’t afford. Here are some of the pros and cons to touring alone versus with your friends."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 2, 2017
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest Post by Ian Temple of Soundfly.
"If you’re anything like me, your practice routine is something you do intuitively. It often involves sitting down with your instrument, playing a few scales, banging around for 20 minutes on a few songs or improvs, maybe working on something specific for 10 minutes in a repetitive manner, and then bowing out. Basically, it’s casual, repetitive, and thoughtless. The problem is that these tendencies are the exact opposite of what we should be doing if we want to see real improvement, according to Dr. Anders Ericsson." View Full Article
Posted: Sep 19, 2016
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.
"We’ve been working on this list for a while and thought it was high time to share it. Keep in mind that this post is primarily for the working musician..." View Full Article
Posted: Jan 25, 2016
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest Post written by Jay Rutherford of Los Colognes.
"Like millions of other morons out there, I'm attempting to make music both the primary joy and primary financial security in my life. My band Los Colognes has achieved marginal success, just enough to get mom and dad off our backs, so to speak. Without further adieu, here’s me convincing myself I have achieved some wisdom, when in reality I have no psychological control over any of it yet. Pretend this is the Old Ben Kenobi version of me, from somewhere in the future..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 12, 2015
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest Post by Bret Alexander of The Badlees and Saturation Acres.
"I’ve been a vocational musician for almost 30 years...This is an incredibly difficult business to make any sort of sustainable living at for that long, so inevitably people ask me what advice I would have for anyone who wants to do the same. Opinions are certainly like assholes, but I’ll give you my take on that. Do with it what you will..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 5, 2015
Category: Music Festivals
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**Guest post written by Amir Mozafari, Director of BD for Everfest and formerly of C3 Presents.
1. Develop a relationship with local promoters. 2. Practice, practice, practice! 3. Keep your EPK (Electronic Press Kit) up to date...
View Full ArticlePosted: Oct 13, 2014
Category: The Musician Business
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**Guest post written by Carlos Castillo of Schwilly Family Musicians - music marketing strategist, web designer, live performance recordist, international road-tripper, lap steel player, and Captain of the Schwilly Family.
“The first requirement for being successful in anything is to define what success means to you. That is one of the biggest challenges musicians face today. There is no standard to follow..."
View Full ArticlePosted: Jun 16, 2014
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars.
"So many artists forget about and fail to take advantage of what makes an acoustic show in a small venue so important to building a fan base. The audience is close to you. The setting is intimate. The audience can see you expressing emotions with your eyes and face. Yet so few actually capitalize on the opportunity." Read on to find out how you can...
View Full ArticlePosted: May 26, 2014
Category: Live Performance
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**Guest post written by Joshua Powell, singer-songwriter, DIY musician, and frontman for Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery, as featured in his blog Fearsome Folk.
"So we’re on this bill and the first act is a singer-songwriter who sang from a digital piano. Now, I have zero intentions of discrediting him or her, or of being condescending in any regard – this blog won’t serve as an outlet for snark for snark’s sake. But in my observations of this artist, I collected some notes that demonstrate well what I believe to be three ways to NOT conduct yourself as an artist who aims to be taken seriously..."
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