Thursday, November 15, 2007

Why do I hate cover clubs you may ask?

Interesting weekend friends... In an effort to track down new talent my brother and I hit the road to check out some local & not so local shows. What we found was rather disturbing. We did find a "few" good original bands but most were cheesy cover bands beating Breaking Ben, Blink 182, and Creed to death. At one point, after 6 or so cover songs I began to shake and twitch as if I was going through alcohol withdrawal. During this barrage of Top-40 turmoil I began to scan around the club to see who really likes this junk. I noticed I was surrounded by drywall hangers donned in Baseball caps & camouflage shorts. Right then I new I wasn't in Kansas anymore. To even horrify me even further I noticed the band on stage was dressed the same!!! What about the chicks you might ask??? Well, I did see a dozen or so that were rather focused on their triple wing orders while sporting their newest fashion of NEPA sweat pants.

To get to the point. It seems that most clubs / bars are filled with cover bands and cover fans. The funny thing that occurred to me is that cover music attracts (2) specific type of people. (1) The people that treat music as nothing more than background noise. I'm sure that if I got on stage and played a cover for these people and swapped out the lyrics with profanities they wouldn't even notice. Basically they don't know or care about music. (2) The people that LOVE covers. The people that only listen to music they've already heard. These are the guys that get drunk and yell FREEBIRD or ask the band if they know any Bob Seager. (I AM NOT JOKING)

So we hopped into the car and headed out of the valley to an Irish pub. We dig all kinds of music so why not. We had a bite to eat while the 2 man folk band played. I thought wow, these guys are pretty good! Then it happened... They did a change up to Beatle songs followed by Simon and Garfunkle!! This was the last straw. There's nothing I detest more than Simon & Garfunkle. Unfortunately, I gave them my business card prior to the intonations of the 60's. I can only hope they didn't empty their pockets before doing laundry.

Bottom line, keep it ORIGINAL people!! Those of you that won't please stay where you are.

See me on myspace!

-JOE


P.S. No disrespect to drywall hangers :-)

Curse of the 13 Year Old Girl (repost from my old blog)

As far as I can tell this is the only REAL curse known to man. So, what is this so-called curse? Well, the Curse of the 13 Year Old Girl affects Musicians, Bands, and even TV shows. The Curse sets in when the majority of your fans are 13 year old girls. You may think this isn't a big deal since fans are fans right? Wrong! Keep in mind that 13 year old girls have very very short attention spans. One minute they love you with all their heart, the next they deny ever listening to your music. To make matters worse, any adult that realizes most of your fans are 13 year old girls will quickly deny liking your music and toss your CD's in the trash to avoid ridicule from friends. Here's a few of many acts that suffered from this curse: The Backstreet Boys, The Hanson's, The Spice Girls, and Donny Osmond. The Curse can make you money as it did with these people but rest assured it WILL make your music career very short and no one will ever take you or your music serious again. Really would you take a few song writing tips from the Spice Girls?

So how can a band avoid such a Curse? Well, the first thing is to be very careful which venues you select to play at. To play a gig for the local 7th grade prom may be a great money maker but do you really want to toss your musical career in the trash before it begins? If you're doing bookings for your band avoid The Chucky-Cheese type venues or your career will suffer the Curse of the 13 year Old Girl. So in the future, if you find yourself on stage with a bunch of Kiddies with their Mommies avoid eye contact and pack your gear up and run.

Time to move on

Spending 6 days a week at the Music Venue I.B.I.M.W. I get into conversations about music daily. Lately, I have been becoming very annoyed by people that stopped listening to “New Music” in 1990. You know the type, the guys that can go on for an hour or so on how Super the Rolling Stones were or how cool the .38 Special videos were.

Frankly it pisses me off how these guys act all smug and shit with their prehistoric music knowledge. After all, how musically informed can you be if you can't name a single Rock & Roll album from the last 17 tears?!

You know, I used to like the Stones, Aerosmith, and other such bands. But I have grown to hate them because I hear sooo much about them these days. Move on people, there has been new songs and artists since 1985!!


So, here's short list of bands I refuse to listen to, talk about or watch their videos:


Rolling Stones

Aerosmith

Bob Seager

The Beatles

The Who – (I really can't stand these guys)

Toto

Glass Tiger

Van Halen

The Scorpions

Alice Cooper

Boston

Kansas

ELO

REO Speed Wagon



Plus many many more has-beens


Monday, November 12, 2007

A Long Hard Road for Indie Music!

A Long Hard Road for Indie Music!



Hello Indie Music fans! It's been an interesting weekend here in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I had my arm twisted by some friends to go to one of those High-Class clubs with $5.50 Coors Lights and valet' parking. I figured what the hell at least they had a band playing I could check out.


The band was just what I expected for such a high class joint... Nice equipment, great costumes, hot chick singer and or course... loads of cover music. What is it with nice clubs having nothing but weekend after weekend of refried cover music?


Maybe it's a time proven formula with these places? Can it be true that Americans are so focused on music they've already heard that they refuse to check out a club that has Indie Music? Or is it a fact that Big Clubs dislike Indie Music even though they can skip out on such things as ASCAP licensing?

Go Figure... but it seems to be the rule of thumb that new, original music can only be found in small clubs lacking in prostitutes and unbridled cocaine use.


Bottom line: Screw the big clubs... they suck.


Remember CBGB!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

What makes a great band?

From what I can tell just by my experience in the music business is that there are 4 basic elements to being a great band.


  1. You need good lyrics. This kills a lot of metal bands that sing about Satan, death & destruction when they really don't have those beliefs. Lyrics must come from the heart. I mean.... why sing stuff because you think it will appeal to a particular group of people? If you sing fake, canned, or other such lyrical refries your fans will know and you will be a flash in the pan.

  2. You need good music... I don't mean playing good, I mean playing something new that fits. Why try to play like Hendrix? You need to play like YOU without a bunch of cheap effects. Be sure to vary... Remember the band Boston? The guitarist played the same effects over and over on each track. People do get sick of that. Bottom line... don't break your back trying to sound like somebody else.

  3. Eye Candy... When people come to see you they want to SEE and HEAR you. Don't be a visual show that puts them to sleep!! Look at some past successful bands. What did they all have in common? A great stage show! Look at the Stones, Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith... They worked the crowd and never got dull during the show. Don't be afraid to dance like you're in front of your bathroom mirror!! People do have an interest in a band that works the crowd! As a matter of fact, some bands that sucked but had a good stage show went far... look at KISS. Nuff said.

  4. Talent is the staircase to success...who you know is the elevator... This is a sad but true crucial element. If you think for one minute that the above mentioned elements are the only keys to you being in the Rock-n-Roll hall of fame you're sorely mistaken. You really need to meet people.. lots of people. You need to be like a politician. Make damn sure as many people as possible know you and your band. No band ever became a raging success unless people knew them.


That's my take... feel free to add!

Indie Music Marketing & Booking 101

We've been booking Indie Music here at I.B.I.M.W. For several years now and I'd like to pass on some helpful tips to your survival in the Indie Music business.

First of all, if your first priority is making fast money just forget about it and look for a new line of work . Many new Indie bands start off playing for free and are just glad to find a venue that will book them.


SO YOU NEED A GIG? - There isn't a whole lot of venues that book original music in the first place so you really need to work this. If you haven't done many public shows you're going to need a demo CD so the venue can check it out. Don't ask for a booking without a music example. If you have done a few shows put together a press kit. This is your booking resume' that shows what you play (include a demo CD) and where you've played at. Be professional, if possible visit the venue in person to shoot the breeze, break the ice, and “Sell” your band.


BE VENUE FRIENDLY – If you want repeat bookings don't bite the hand that feeds. Some things venues truly dislike is music that's unnecessarily loud. Venues can and do get fined for music that's too loud. Respect the venues property, many music venues have “House” sound equipment and tend to get annoyed if it gets damaged, stolen, or not put away.

Use common sense... your goal is to get your music heard, not getting drunk or rowdy.


WHAT SHOULD YOU CHARGE? - Pay-to-Play or being forced to sell tickets to your own show is outright nonsense and you should avoid it whenever possible. Be reasonable with the venue, they need to make a buck too. If you have 8 people show up for you show don't think you deserve a whole lot of payment. What I do here which works for both band and venues is having a cover charge. You'll need to market yourself and get as many people as possible to come to your show. Make a prior agreement with the venue what the cut will be. Some venues do a 50/50 split of the cover some do better. Here we let the band keep 100% of the door. We know you need to make at least gas money.


HOW DO YOU AFFORD STUDIO TIME? - Paying a studio $65 an hour to record a Demo isn't a good idea. With todays computer technology and cheap software you can set up your own basic recording computer or laptop for the price of 3 hours in a regular studio. Don't pay a lot for studio time until you really need to master that perfect album.


MARKETING – You need to let people know your band is out there. Always post fliers for every show, make contacts on-line with MySpace or other social network. Never go to a show without Merch. You'll need CD's, stickers, buttons, tee-shirts if you can afford it. This will make you a few bucks plus get the word out.


This are the ground level basics and there many other tricks to the trade.


Good-Luck!


Sunday, November 4, 2007

Vinyl Record Sales -- Sales Are Strong!

Indie music never ceases to amaze me -- sure, I purchase a good deal of vinyl from the local indie musicians but I never really paid much attention to how my purchase of vinyl from an indie musician is moving the audio market!

In an article from Wired online mag, vinyl record sales are quite strong and have a strong backing by indie musicians and fans. I agree! I see this first hand almost every weekend. More and more indie musicians are choosing to distribute their musical wares on vinyl for its warmth and lack of digital sampling and loudness pumping ("loudness war"). Indie music fans are choosing vinyl for their format of choice for home listening and for collecting.

Of my favorite vinyl from indie muscians is a 7" single on white vinyl from the local indie band The Swims. Check them out on the myspaces: http://www.myspace.com/theswims

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Get on Web Radio


Just in time for your back-to-school listening pleasure, we at IBIMW have fired up our own live internet radio channel! Using WinAmp or your fav media player, tune in at http://radio.ibimw.com Featuring the best in indie music, indie music reviews, indie band guests and interviews, IBIMW news announcements, and our own variety shows.

If you are an independent music artist, contact us for details on how to get your music heard. And, as always for musicians, this is FREE!