Recording Artist Advocate: Inspiration and how to find it…

An artist I work with is in the control room editing vocals while I write this. He just finished his latest CD and songs are still pouring out as fast as he can write them down. Has that ever happened to you?

I was at a writing class in Austin last week and the presenter was very insistent that you write… even when you don’t feel inspired.

Write, “I can’t think of anything to write.”

The act of writing and accessing that part of your brain will eventually pay off. After that it’s editing and re-writing. He even said that he doesn’t believe in “writer’s block”. If you have something to say, start writing and it will come together.

Your writing feeds on itself, and if you do it enough you will get inspired. That part of your brain will click on and you may find yourself more productive than ever.

When you get in that mode, good stuff keeps coming out. So write, and keep doing it.

I also read that poetry and music bypass the analytical part of your brain. You can excite your creativity by reading poetry exactly like working out exercises your muscles.

So, write, and write some more.    

Sorry for such a short post. 

The best part of what we do here at Rough Wood Recording Studio is when we catch lightning in a bottle. That has been happening tonight and I can't wait to get back in the studio.

Recording Artist Advocate: Steady Improvement

In any creative pursuit you will have people giving you advice. My first thought is to ask if that person has had any success doing the same thing. If I’m a painter I’m going to take advice or criticism from other painters, but especially one who has been successful. Some people will think you're just being defensive, but you need to work out the filter you run all the advice you get through. Some you take to heart and some you have to politely discard or ignore.  

People know what they like or don’t and they want to tell you all about it. When you get criticism you don’t have to take all of it or none of it. You can pick the parts you think have merit. For your own sake apply your filter.

I read that Craig Ferguson has a meeting after every show with someone who critiques his performance and helps him stay on his best game. Personally, I don’t know how he does it, or why that person doesn’t have his own show if he’s so smart. But the point is that Craig doesn’t mind the criticism. I imagine he takes the parts he can use and discards the rest.

We tend to take criticism to heart and often from the wrong people. A booker or bar manager sees more bands than anyone else, and they know how the audients reacts immediately. Their livelihood depends on it. I’ll take their advice. The person who just wants to hear his favorite song, not so much.   

If you’re not quite ready to ask someone you respect for advice, try this: Have someone video your performance and critique yourself. Listen and watch. Would you pay to see that show? See yourself the way your audience sees you and if there is something that needs changing do it.

Ze Frank has a YouTube channel and gives some real good advice. Look for the video titled “Thoughts on the Creative Career” where he goes over some advice he wishes he’d been given sooner. Check it out. I think it applies very well to musicians.

If you are willing to do the work to keep improving you’re already ahead of most other bands. Sorry other bands.

Keep writing. Keep getting better. Never think you’re as good as you can get.

Recording Artist Advocate: Help them help you.

EPK, Electronic Press Kits, are great for bands. No longer do you have to stuff all that info in a manila folder and send it off hoping someone will actually take the time to go through it. But now that every band sends out an EPK, how do you make yours stand apart?

Put yourself in the mindset of the person you’re talking to. If it’s a bar manager, they want to fill their venue with customers. A booker wants to find bands that make the venue folks happy. And music directors at radio stations want listeners. They also want to be able to say, “I discovered that band. We were playing their music before anyone else.”

For the bar manager tell them about the venues (not in their area) that consistently have you back. It speaks to the value you bring that they want you there again and again.

For bookers, highlight the events you’ve been booked into and how well they went. I’ve seen a booker sweat bullets because he needed to please his client and the band was late to set up.

And for radio, you should send high quality .mp3 files of your front man (or woman) doing intros they can use over the bed of your songs. This requires some detective work to make certain you get their slogan right. The radio station’s website will usually have everything you’ll need.

A little studio time is worth it if it gives you an edge and gets you radio play. This works for internet radio stations and anyone with an interview show. Think about what they need and see if you can make it easier for them to promote you. Those relationships will make all the difference in your success in this business.

Recording Artist Advocate: Professionalism.

Last weekend a band I recorded was setting up for a show when the club manager told them another band scheduled to do a festival show in the same town broke down on the road. He asked if they would be willing to do the other show immediately after. This meant a huge amount of work tearing down after the show and resetting for the other one along with the extra time performing. Of course they jumped at the opportunity. (…it doubled the money they made.) Late that night they were totally exhausted when a guy who does an internet radio show asked for an interview. They did the interview and found out that the club manager had been telling everyone how professional they were and how they got him out of a jam. Just being willing to do the extra work may have a long lasting positive effect on their careers.

Think about most bands you know. Are they good about showing up on time? How’s their attitude? Do they interact well with the fans and work the merch table? The bookers are paying attention. People who book bands want to bet on a sure thing. A booking agent once told me that there is no lack of talent, its finding bands that also act professionally. She said when she finds those bands she’ll book them every time.

It’s always been true that to make it, you have to set yourself apart. Be the band that the bookers know they can depend on and you’ll never want for work.   

Recording Artist Advocate: Don't hold back.

So, Paula Deen is losing her job and lots of sponsors for using racial slurs sometime in the past. I don’t watch her show and won’t notice, but I have to say if your glad about that – Don’t cheer too hard. Anything you’ve ever said may get you fired someday.

What does this mean for the rest of us?

The owner of a bakery didn’t want to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, and got in all kinds of legal trouble.  Another bakery called the cops when a family wanted a birthday cake for their  little boy named Adolf Hitler. Some land mines are obvious and some are not. 

I’ll record anything I can feel OK about. If an all gay band wanted to record at Rough Wood Studio, I’d probably record them, if they’re music is any good.

If a racist band wanted to record with me. Would I have to record them too? Or risk getting sued.

I’ve had to draw a line with a few artists. But so far I’ve been able to show them how what they were trying to do would harm them or turn off their audience. Maybe I need sensitivity training.  

Things are cyclical. We’re moving into a cycle where you’ll see a lot more witch hunts. This is a time when walls are going up, metaphorically, and people are getting kicked out of the group. We’re in the part of the cycle where we divide ourselves into smaller and more exclusive groups. It’s not good. Watch out for it.  

It might not be the most popular time to reach across those, barriers? Do you reach across a barrier, or reach around - a barrier? But, I say, “Don’t give in.” And don’t be afraid to talk or sing or write about - anything. The best music seems to happen when artist point out a wrong that needs to be addressed.

You may upset some people. Talk to other folks you respect. You might find a more subtle way to say the same things.

Music slips in past our normal defenses. It reaches us in a very deep way. People with dementia or Alzheimer’s may not recognize their families, but they remember songs.  Music is - amazing. 

When you are ready to record something amazing, call me. Robert Snyder at Rough Wood Recording Studio in the Great state of Texas.