As a struggling artist, it’s hard to get work. Whether you are a musician, a producer, a painter, a sculptor, a dancer … exposure is the key to generating interest. And with that, musical artists are often asked to do shows for no money and be compensated by “the exposure” they will get from an event. A friend of mine played an outdoor festival this summer and inspired me to really think about why we donate our time and when it is ok to say no.
Below are FIVE REASONS to play (or not to play) that we use … depending in the situation.
M – MONEY: All other conditions of the event ( below ) are really sour, but the money is guaranteed and solid ( ie: it is a reoccurring event, they have sponsors, or you saw the other bands get paid, etc ). You play through the heartache and move on. If you are doing the show for free then don’t get bossed around ( unless it is SUPER HIGH PROFILE - ie: TV Interview, etc ). If there is any reasonable expectation that you are NOT going to get paid, then start growling about it ASAP ( ie: if you see poor attendance and the other musicians look very disgruntled ) … you don’t have to play if you are not going to get paid what you were promised.
I – INFLUENCE/EXPOSURE/FANS: Everything is going badly, however, if there are major influential people in the audience and a fantastic crowd then you put your game face on and play. You’ll hate it now, but you’ll thank yourself later. If you are doing the show for free and there is no one in the audience and no one you need to impress ( ie: big concert promoter ) then why are you there?
D- DISTANCE. The show is in a market you really need to develop and you are willing to make sacrifices to make it in to a long term relationship. However, driving your day and night away for a free event better be yielding you some positive results!
S – SAFETY and SOUND. THE NUMBER ONE REASON NOT TO PLAY! If you are playing an outside show and your gear is going to get rained on, say NO! Even five minutes before you go on … if it is not safe, worse things than ruining the finish on your custom Les Paul can happen - like electrocution! No questions, your safety and your hard earned money to buy that vintage guitar are number one. If the sound system isn’t right ( I don’t mean it sucks, because that happens all the time. I mean it isn't blown, or an indoors system for an outside show, etc ), then why are you playing. You are going to sound like a**, so no one would want to book you anyway.
T – TIME/SETS: If you are asked to play much longer than agreed on, and M,I,D above are bad, then say no. If your set gets moved over an hour from its original spot – then consider moving on ( unless the Influence/Crowd is great ). There is also a reasonable expectation for the work you do. You didn’t just play for three hours, you also drove for one hour, set up for three hours and will tear down for two and drive for one … adds up to a ten hour day!
So, MIDST – Money, Influence, Distance, Safety and Time. Keep these in mind when you have those questionable shows on your plate ( or are in the middle of one ). Yes, you did give your word you would play, that is true. However, the event also made its own agreement with you regarding reasonable working conditions, times, safety, etc based on industry standards.
Use your judgment; but keep these two very important questions as a guideline:
1. If you are not doing the show for the money, the influence/fans, or the distance sucks , or your time slot has changed so dramatically that no one you told will be there when you play - then why are you playing?
2. If you fear for your safety and the safety of your gear , then think about who it will be at the music store paying for the replacement of your gear, or who will be paying your bills when you are recovering in the hospital?
A good “rule of thumb” is this. One of M,I or D … then S MUST be there …and T is negotiable based on the others.
Honestly, it’s ok to say no.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Honored to be a part of the inaugural Larlee Creek Hullaballoo
For musicians, we play a lot. If it’s not a CCCC show, it’s the duo, or solo, or sessions or Chris gets stir crazy, packs up his gear and heads down to the Fox on a random Thursday to play with the house band. We’ve also played a variety of event types from conferences to music festivals to headliner to support to sidewalks to 10,000 seat arenas - and it’s all in a day’s work. With our experience, we’ve come to recognize the subtle clues of greatness in an event. And we saw them this past weekend in the small personal touches that made the homegrown Larlee Creek Hullaballoo Music Festival outshine the biggest most lavish international shows we’ve done.
Located near Perth-Andover on Baird’s campground, this nearly 90% NB Programmed event had style, class, organization and heart. For us, it started with the detailed advance info – every question answered. Then on site we were ushered to a spectacular green room with everything including beverages, fruit, veggies, a full turkey supper ( and a veggie lasagna for me!), embroidered towels with our names on them, bug spray ( just in case), nap chairs … and the list goes on. We were housed in a private on-site cabin that was perfect in its coziness. The music/performance grounds were safe and secure with professional stage and lights (including backline), fans could sit/lay/lounge in front of the stage or hang out in the beer garden, there was also a merchandise tent where the artists hung out, a food tent and so much more. And when it came to bands, some of our favorite artists were on the bill. Always love Lisa MacDougall, was introduced to a great new artist Ashleigh Bernard, Jens Jeppesen cut through a blazing set, the Hupman Brothers (who are new to me) rocked a fantastic blues-rock set, then three of my fave bands sizzled in the late night hours– Andrew Hunter, Ross Neilsen and Matt Anderson. (Oh yeah, CCCC played in the midst of all that too!)
The Larlee Creek Hullaballoo was a magical combination of the right people with the right resources (and sponsors) and the right music. For those that were there, they will have the memories of the most spontaneous (and wowing) jams I’ve seen in a long time (double, double-neck fever with Chris Colepaugh and Matt Anderson, Chris Colepaugh playing drums to Freebird, four part harmony on the Colepaugh/Hunter/Hupman/ Jeppesen /Anderson/Neilsen jam(s), Ross Neilsen conducting the band from standing atop the kik drum ) … and so much more.
And for those that missed it … well, what can I say other than …
You don’t want to miss HULLABALLOO TWO!
Located near Perth-Andover on Baird’s campground, this nearly 90% NB Programmed event had style, class, organization and heart. For us, it started with the detailed advance info – every question answered. Then on site we were ushered to a spectacular green room with everything including beverages, fruit, veggies, a full turkey supper ( and a veggie lasagna for me!), embroidered towels with our names on them, bug spray ( just in case), nap chairs … and the list goes on. We were housed in a private on-site cabin that was perfect in its coziness. The music/performance grounds were safe and secure with professional stage and lights (including backline), fans could sit/lay/lounge in front of the stage or hang out in the beer garden, there was also a merchandise tent where the artists hung out, a food tent and so much more. And when it came to bands, some of our favorite artists were on the bill. Always love Lisa MacDougall, was introduced to a great new artist Ashleigh Bernard, Jens Jeppesen cut through a blazing set, the Hupman Brothers (who are new to me) rocked a fantastic blues-rock set, then three of my fave bands sizzled in the late night hours– Andrew Hunter, Ross Neilsen and Matt Anderson. (Oh yeah, CCCC played in the midst of all that too!)
The Larlee Creek Hullaballoo was a magical combination of the right people with the right resources (and sponsors) and the right music. For those that were there, they will have the memories of the most spontaneous (and wowing) jams I’ve seen in a long time (double, double-neck fever with Chris Colepaugh and Matt Anderson, Chris Colepaugh playing drums to Freebird, four part harmony on the Colepaugh/Hunter/Hupman/ Jeppesen /Anderson/Neilsen jam(s), Ross Neilsen conducting the band from standing atop the kik drum ) … and so much more.
And for those that missed it … well, what can I say other than …
You don’t want to miss HULLABALLOO TWO!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Gambling in the Music Industry
The toughest part about working in the music industry is the amount of gambling required. It’s not just enough to have good songs, but you need to invest every ounce of yourself in to something that you may or may not see some kind of recoupment from. Every show is a gamble (Will anyone come out?), every album is a gamble (Will anyone buy it? Like it? ), every little detail you spend money on is a gamble (Will this press kit actually get me shows?) and the faith required to hold yourself together is pretty astronomical.
That said, one of the biggest wagers that an artist will make in their lifetime is one that most don’t see coming – or think they can avoid. Oh, but it’s there. Looming in the distance ready to decide your future whether you want it to or not.
It’s the big “T”. Time. The number one non-renewable resource that you can’t escape.
And it’s waiting for you to place your bet.
I’ve had my wrestling bouts with Time. I worked forty hours a week as an administrative assistant way-back-when. Getting a Friday afternoon off to travel to Halifax for a show was like asking for a vegetarian option at a Texas cook-out … it just wasn’t happening. And Chris was working five night-shifts a week – not exactly conducive to creativity. We had reached a point where we had gone as far as we could and we had to make a change. We had talked to a friend of ours, Jodie Ferneyhough, who told us pretty bluntly that artists that weren’t ready to quit their day jobs and be in the industry full time were never going to be that - full time artists.
His argument made sense. If we had no steady income to rely on then we were going to be on the hunt for gigs and music opportunities. We were also going to be available for any last minute prospects that popped up and we would be immersing ourselves in the scene. We’d also be leaner and meaner in learning to budget and making less feel like more and we wouldn’t be racking up expenses for toys we couldn’t afford. However, we would be giving up a lot too; short term financial security, a regular life, normal living, sleeping and working conditions and the all coveted “disposable income”.
So, when we hit our crisis we were faced with either living the normal life or rolling the dice and betting it all on black and hoping the house didn’t have the wheel tilted in their favor. We decided to go for it – but did so with a lot of planning. We saved up our money, got a P2 Visa, quit our jobs and went on a four month tour across Canada and down to California. Booked and managed the tour ourselves with no grants, no funding … and we not only survived, but we created a network of dates that we have kept playing throughout our album releases.
I see people just like Chris Colepaugh - Steve LeBlanc, Ross Neilson, Alex Madsen, Samantha Robichaud , and Dominique Dupuis whose majority income is music based – and I am so proud for them. It’s a hard old world out there for music, especially in the Maritimes. Gambling on a future in the music industry is not the easiest way to make a living. These artists not only do their own music, but also do sessions and teach to keep their feet firmly planted in the music industry. Others, like myself and people like Robin Anne Ettles and John Maher who perform music and also do other industry related jobs like producing, film, management, internet etc are doing alright too. We’ve diversified enough in the music industry to make our living out of several related fields.
We risked it all. Not sure of what we’d find, but we made the bet regardless.
So, when I meet with artists that have great tunes, huge potential and are full of fire and ready to take on the world - all I can think of is their next leap of faith. Are they ready? I find myself digging in my conversations with them to see if they have recently bought a new car, or maybe have a mortgage, are parents or are newly married . . . just so I can get a sense of how comfortable they are in their life and what responsibilities they have to themselves and to those around them.
And then I ask them if they have ever bought a lottery ticket.
That said, one of the biggest wagers that an artist will make in their lifetime is one that most don’t see coming – or think they can avoid. Oh, but it’s there. Looming in the distance ready to decide your future whether you want it to or not.
It’s the big “T”. Time. The number one non-renewable resource that you can’t escape.
And it’s waiting for you to place your bet.
I’ve had my wrestling bouts with Time. I worked forty hours a week as an administrative assistant way-back-when. Getting a Friday afternoon off to travel to Halifax for a show was like asking for a vegetarian option at a Texas cook-out … it just wasn’t happening. And Chris was working five night-shifts a week – not exactly conducive to creativity. We had reached a point where we had gone as far as we could and we had to make a change. We had talked to a friend of ours, Jodie Ferneyhough, who told us pretty bluntly that artists that weren’t ready to quit their day jobs and be in the industry full time were never going to be that - full time artists.
His argument made sense. If we had no steady income to rely on then we were going to be on the hunt for gigs and music opportunities. We were also going to be available for any last minute prospects that popped up and we would be immersing ourselves in the scene. We’d also be leaner and meaner in learning to budget and making less feel like more and we wouldn’t be racking up expenses for toys we couldn’t afford. However, we would be giving up a lot too; short term financial security, a regular life, normal living, sleeping and working conditions and the all coveted “disposable income”.
So, when we hit our crisis we were faced with either living the normal life or rolling the dice and betting it all on black and hoping the house didn’t have the wheel tilted in their favor. We decided to go for it – but did so with a lot of planning. We saved up our money, got a P2 Visa, quit our jobs and went on a four month tour across Canada and down to California. Booked and managed the tour ourselves with no grants, no funding … and we not only survived, but we created a network of dates that we have kept playing throughout our album releases.
I see people just like Chris Colepaugh - Steve LeBlanc, Ross Neilson, Alex Madsen, Samantha Robichaud , and Dominique Dupuis whose majority income is music based – and I am so proud for them. It’s a hard old world out there for music, especially in the Maritimes. Gambling on a future in the music industry is not the easiest way to make a living. These artists not only do their own music, but also do sessions and teach to keep their feet firmly planted in the music industry. Others, like myself and people like Robin Anne Ettles and John Maher who perform music and also do other industry related jobs like producing, film, management, internet etc are doing alright too. We’ve diversified enough in the music industry to make our living out of several related fields.
We risked it all. Not sure of what we’d find, but we made the bet regardless.
So, when I meet with artists that have great tunes, huge potential and are full of fire and ready to take on the world - all I can think of is their next leap of faith. Are they ready? I find myself digging in my conversations with them to see if they have recently bought a new car, or maybe have a mortgage, are parents or are newly married . . . just so I can get a sense of how comfortable they are in their life and what responsibilities they have to themselves and to those around them.
And then I ask them if they have ever bought a lottery ticket.
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