Recording Artist Advocate: Our Journey…

Here at Rough Wood Recording Studio we’re always trying to make it easier to get the right sound and the right mix… and even the right mastered sound for our clients. It’s easy to get discouraged or think that someone somewhere else has the magic room or piece of gear.

I’ve been talking to studio designers and realized that the best ones have the same things in common: They know their stuff when it comes to acoustics, and they know how to work with what you’ve got.

A good example of working with what you’ve got is Electric Lady Studios in New York City. It’s an old working studio from an era when the engineers made do with what they had and the control rooms reflect that. The rooms are wider than deep, and with New York real-estate at such a premium, not as big as you’d expect.  But they’ve pulled out every trick to make them work.  And they do sound good!

Our room is good, but I’m on a quest to really tamp down the low end below 125Hz.

Over the next few weeks or months we’ll be addressing those low frequencies. At each step we’ll be testing to see how we’ve done and what is still left to do. I don’t expect this to be easy.

You have to do the same thing with your song writing, playing, even band presentation and how you sell merchandise. The way you get bookings or how you present yourself in an interview are always up to be improved on.

When the room sounds just right we’ll move on to something else to make your experience here at Rough Wood Recording Studio even better.

You keep improving too. One day you’ll look back and realize you’re the success you wanted to be.

Recording Artist Advocate: Who knows you best?

I read this in the Monday Morning Memo from Wizard Academy:

"Whether you read a newspaper, watch TV or follow the news online, only 14 percent of the stories you hear were developed by journalists defining an issue and pursuing it.

A staggering 86 percent of the stories were fed to broadcasters by official sources and press releases.

In 1960 there were only three-fourths as many PR people as there were journalists.

Today the ratio is 5 to 1."

- The Death and Life of American Journalism, by John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney

So, PR folks greatly outnumber journalists and most of what you think is news… isn’t.  

I may sound cynical, but if you’ve ever been interviewed, you know how often they get things wrong.

I completely understand why companies and high profile individuals have PR departments or publicists.

It’s just self-defense. Why trust your image to someone else… someone with their own vested interest, or even prejudices?

Writing interesting stories is easy for people who write interesting songs. It’s easier than writing songs actually.

Make your press releases easy to copy-and-paste so that the person “writing” the peace has plenty of good material. In time they may start asking for more material. Or they may offer you a column.   

Mike Nesmith figured this out years ago. He predicted 24 hour news channels and MTV. He was in the band “The Monkeys” and was doing what MTV does back in the 70’s. He said content would be the critical factor in the success of these news outlets and they would source from wherever they could.

Start writing your own press releases. Who knows you better than you?

Recording Artist Advocate: Yes make a plan, Butt…

Todays ramble was inspired by a statistic I came across. It turns out that people who succeed take great pains to make a plan, but those plans always have to change. Well over 98% of a business plan will have to change in the first year.

Military folks say the mission plan goes out the door with the first shot fired. All the Business planning changes as soon as the doors open. Successful business change with the circumstances that come up. Doggedly clinging to your beloved business plan is a sure way to fail.

Things just don’t go the way you think they will. And that’s OK.

Keep your eyes open to the opportunities that are always presenting themselves. Watch for trends and talk to people. When you talk to people, actually listen to what they say. People like to talk and you can learn a lot.

You can beat your head against a wall trying to play in one area just to find that there is another place that will embrace you. Texas country plays great in some areas, but blues-rock plays better in others. College crowds are different from… well they are their own animal. Get in good with them and you'll own your own bank. 

Merch for women always sells better than regular T’s, but don’t buy too much too soon. The customers will let you know what they like. Even then you’ll notice trends based on venues and such.

You’ve also got to be open to different ways to make money with your music and notoriety. Again, things will present themselves if you’re paying attention. Good ideas come from the strangest places.

Try to run your career like a business. Plan for success. You will use some of that plan, but don’t be surprised when the road to your success twists and turns in directions you never thought about.

Oh, and live off half your money when things start going well. Save or invest the rest and you'll be able to survive in those inevitable down times. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is that the audience is hungry for good material. If you turn out good work on a regular basis they’ll eat it up.

However you plan to deliver it; CD’s, downloads, thumb drives, web content, mind melding…

When you’re ready to record, call me.

Recording Artist Advocate: An album a year…

Are you a prolific writer? More specifically, are you a prolific writer of good material?

The writers I know who consistently put out good material work at it every day. It’s funny how often someone will be recording and they’ll leave a note book behind. Page after page is filled with songs, stories, song ideas, or interesting thoughts. All these pieces come together as songs for sure… but also as a disciplined writer that turns out a lot of good material.

Pick one thing and do it enough and you’ll eventually get good at it.

So write every day. The goal is to write good songs, but you’ll get to that. Just Write! Stories become fleshed out till the characters become real. It’s easier to write a song when you know the characters. Poems do the same thing with the added benefit of clever rimes and the twists and turns that writing discipline requires.

When you don’t have a pad, use your phone. Take pictures of the quirky things that inspire ideas, and the notepad for longer form ramblings. You can even make voice-notes… if you’ll review them and act on the idea starters.

That’s how you can generate an album worth of good material every year.

Your fans will appreciate the steady flow of new material.

A good song every month or so? You can do that.    

Recording Artist Advocate: Let’s go to jail! Mmmm. Let’s not.

You might be surprised how often a recording project has to be postponed or at least parts have to wait because a band member is in jail. Another player gets his “big break” filling in and the guy may not have a band to come back to. It’s especially true if they are touring or just playing out a lot.

It’s usually for the stupidest things too. And attitude always plays a part.

Chris Rock has a great video about this:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koAyLPUftHo#t=35

Dave Chappelle has done great bits about how to act when interacting with the police too. I’ll bet a lot of comedians have. The best ones are pretty smart.

It really comes down to common sense. I know a lot of police officers and each one will tell you that people fall all over themselves trying to get arrested. Belligerent, drunk, high, and stupid don’t play well in a cop’s face. Eye contact and a nod is better than any hand gesture.

If you have a band member that is likely to be arrested, keep a lot of subs in your phone. You’ll need em”.