Watching yourself in a mirror while you perform or practice can help you elevate your music and performance, so find opportunities to gaze while you play and learn from what you see. Read the post.
Heartwarming stories, insane stories, tragic stories — anyone who has spent a life playing music has them. Whether a performer, manager, roadie… live music gigs are too unpredictable for there not to be some weirdness. Read the post
An input list should include every instrument, DI, and vocal that’s part of your stage set-up. Here are some tips to help you put together an effective input list with minimal headache. Read More.
Think you’ve told your live sound engineer everything he needs to know for your big gig? Don’t forget these important details. Read More.
A well-crafted stage plot – customized to the lineup and tech needs of your band – can go a long way towards setting yourself up for success once you hit the stage, especially for a multi-band event. Read More.
The fifteen minutes between one artist’s final note and the next group’s first “hello” are precious. How you handle the transition can set you up for your best performance at your next music gig. Read More.
You’ll love Jewel’s story because it’s incredibly inspiring. You might also hate it, because it will leave you with zero excuses in your pursuit to find happiness in your music career. Read More.
When working toward your music career goals, the big question I want to focus on is: “How do I know if a gig is worth playing?” Read More.
Unconventional venues require additional promo on your end and you should see it more as an active partnership with the venue. Rather than expecting the venue to promote you to their followers or patrons and pack the house for you, you generally will need to anticipate some involvement when it comes to spreading the word. Read more.
When jazz pianist Vijay Iyer scheduled the New York City release show for his 2015 album Break Stuff, he didn’t choose a standard venue. Iyer’s concert was staged in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iyer isn’t the first artist to eschew traditional clubs and concert halls in favor of more unique performing grounds. Read more.
If you want to perform live more than just once a month, there are plenty of ways to fill up your performance schedule without saturating a particular market. Four basic strategies you should consider include: 1) A club residency, 2) Alternate format performances, 3) Dual territory performances, 4) A tour. Read more.
When people come to me for band practice tips, one of the questions I get asked a lot is, “What’s too much rehearsal? We want to keep it spontaneous.” Well, spontaneous is one thing, and winging it is another. And most people wing it. When you’re making it up as you go onstage, instead of in rehearsal, you’ll never be great, consistently. Read more.
In “Tales of the worst music gigs ever,” we shared a handful of on-the-gig horror stories and lessons learned from them. While those stories were all wrenching in their own rights, here is one from New York bassist Dmitry Ishenko that stands in a category of its own. Read more.
Every musician has stories of the best gig ever, that performances where the music, the crowd, and the stars aligned. Then there’s those other times when nothing goes right. Gear explodes, drunks attack, people vanish… But even the worst gigs can be valuable learning experiences. Read more.
Nearly every touring musician has at least one story about load-in or breakdown gone awry — that emotionally scarring gig where the venue promised a full drum kit but only delivered a broken snare drum, the festival slot when you expected fifteen minutes to set up but only got fifteen seconds, or that sickening post-gig moment when you realized your vintage Les Paul had grown legs and walked out of the club, all by itself. Read more.