If you are trying to pull more people into your shows, then you are going to have to be sure that your venue is actually complimenting your music. Simply put, some venues are better for certain kinds of concerts. Finding your optimal audience, then, can be rather difficult, as you are going to have to develop a rather solid understanding of all of your local venues. Of course, there are several ways for you to go about doing a little bit of field research, and you can certainly have fun while you are doing so. If you have never thought about how you are going to conduct this kind of research before, simply allow yourself to pay special attention to this article.

First and foremost, you are going to want to go to as many concerts as you possibly can. The reasons for this are rather obvious. By attending concerts, you are going to be able to get a solid feel for the kinds of demographics that your local venues are pulling in. This, of course, is going to point you in the right direction. By narrowing down your local venues to the ones that are going to make sense with your music, you can hope to begin pulling a lot more people into your shows.

Of course, you are also going to want to attend a lot of concerts so that you can get a feel for how you are going to make use of the performance space. By seeing bigger, more established bands make use of the stage, you can allow your creative juices to start flowing. Until you have seen the professionals perform, you are not truly going to understand just how successful you can be working within such limiting parameters.

Finally, here, you are going to want to be sure that you are talking to venue owners as you are making your rounds. You are going to have to ask them whether or not they are looking for anything out of the bands that perform in their spaces. Of course, you are going to want to get a little bit more particular with them, seeing if they want you to cater your set list or performance techniques to their specific desires. Always remember, here, that a happy venue is money in your pocket. You always want to work with them to be sure that you are on target.

Of course, at the end of the day, you are not going to have to worry about very much when it comes down to spotting all of the best venues that are in your area. Simply be sure that you are making the rounds and taking careful notes as you do. At the end of the day, when you have narrowed your list of options, you are going to be able to return to your Columbia storage units to discuss your course of action with your band mates.

As some of you may know, I enjoy playing the drums. I have played the drums for many years now, and I have to say, I am very happy that I chose them as my instrument. Of course, the only time that I do not enjoy being a drummer is when I have to move my instrument out of the house. Granted, I have gotten really good at breaking my set down, packing it up, and lugging it over to the car. Even so, I still do not enjoy doing it in the slightest. This much being said, I would like to devote this entry to my fellow drummers, such that I can offer them a handy little bit of advice. If you are sick and tired of moving your drums and you are looking for a little bit of solid advice, then look no further than this very blog post.

First of all, you have no business trying to move your drums around if you have not purchased travel bags for them. Travel bags for drums are not an option for drummers who know that they are going to have to move their equipment around frequently. Without these bags, you are going to end up damaging your equipment rather badly. First off, you are going to end up chipping your paint off of your drums. No matter how careful you are, you are going to end up bumping into a few things. Of course, travel bags are going to protect your kit from this kind of damage. Second of all, without travel bags, you are not going to be able to move your equipment quickly. You quite simply need one consolidated bag for all of your cymbal stands and rods, or it is going to take you A LOT longer than you would like to move.

Second of all, here, always be sure that you are handling your own stuff. At the very least, be sure that you are handling all of the drums yourself. Your band mates don’t understand how important your drums are to you, so they might very well end up dropping stuff out of carelessness. Carry your drums yourself, and leave your heavy equipment bag for those reckless band mates.

Finally, here, always be sure that you do not leave your drums in the back of a car for too long. Drums get banged up when they are left in the back of a car, just as they get banged up when your careless band mates drop them. When you are done moving your drums, get them out of your car and back into a safe, secure place.

Surely, if you have gone to the trouble of renting Columbia storage units for band practice, then you have considered the value of keeping your drums safe. Really, though, I just wanted to remind you of a few of the basics, here. If you have any additional questions about how to keep your drums safe, simply leave a comment on this blog and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

So, you have finally started to land gigs on a regular basis. Though it took you a little while, you have finally garnered a bit of local fame. Though your following is not huge, you still make money at your shows, and you play enough shows to make it by. Now, if you have not even thought about recording your first CD , you are going to want to begin to do so. Of course, if you are going to release a CD, then you are also going to want to think about what sort of CD release party you are going to throw. Here, I will cover a few techniques that you might want to consider. I will not, I admit, delve into the complicated world of actually RECORDING your CD, but I will offer some solid advice as to how you can throw your release party.

First and foremost, you are going to have to figure out where you would like to have your CD release party. Of course, there are several kinds of places—settings, even—that you might choose. Most simply, you could choose to have a small party with your family and friends. This kind of party is not going to give you the opportunity to sell your CD, really, but it will certainly allow for you to celebrate your achievements to your heart’s content.

If you would rather go the money route, then you might choose to play a show at your CD release party. This, I must admit, is the option that most people choose—rather, a combination of private parties and public concerts. Of course, by holding your CD release party at a venue, you are going to be able to sell quite a bit of merchandise. Likewise, you are going to get paid for the show itself. Typically speaking, your venue is not going to require that you give them too much of a cut of your merchandise, so you do not have to worry about that.

Once you have picked a setting for your release party, you are going to have to pick a focus for the evening. Are you going to run your party just like a concert, simply running through a few of your popular songs and leaving the audience to enjoy themselves as they normally would? Or are you simply going to play a few of your songs, hand the stage off to someone else, and spend the rest of your time mingling with your fans? Personally, I prefer the latter to the former, but it’s okay to pick whichever style fits your band and your priorities.

At the end of the day, reader, all that you are going to have to do is be sure that you are personalizing your CD release party. While you can always have a low stress, private release party for your first CD, chances are that you are going to benefit the most from bringing your release party into public space in some form or fashion. So, the next time that you have gathered the entire group for a practice session in your Columbia storage unit , be sure that you start to think about how you want to introduce your CD to the public.

Are you sick and tired of cluttering up your home with all of your spare musical equipment? Do your band mates leave all of their stuff at your house when you guys are not practicing? Well, if you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, it just might be time for you to start looking around for a self storage unit . Not only are you going to be able to get some of your equipment out of the way with a good self storage unit, you might also (depending on where you live) be able to use it as a practice space. If you have never thought about renting a unit before, allow yourself to take a few notes as you make your way through this article.

First of all, reader, know that self storage units are well within your monthly budget. As it turns out, college students and young adults need to use them rather often. This, of course, means that property managers are not going to price them in such a way that only full timers and older people can afford them. Thanks in part to move in specials and promotional rates, college students, bands, and younger people hardly ever have problems when it comes down to finding a unit that is going to work out well for them.

Second of all, reader, know that you are going to be able to keep all of your musical equipment perfectly safe while it is in your self storage unit. True, your musical equipment needs to stay at a reasonable temperature throughout the year, but self storage units are often built to accommodate this kind of need. Surely, some of your local facilities are going to offer climate controlled options, which will, typically speaking, cancel out all of the dangers of seasonal changes in the temperature and humidity.

Finally, here, you need to recognize the convenience of renting a unit as a practice space. If you practice in your own garage, you are, first of all, going to land yourself with a lot of clutter (music equipment that you really don’t have room for). Second of all, you are going to land yourself with some noise complaints from your neighbors. By renting a self storage unit from a facility that is not in a residential area, you can avoid these problems entirely. You are not going to have to worry about plugging up your garage with equipment, and you are not going to have to worry about the cops coming by to tell you to quiet down.

So, if you have never looked into Columbia storage units , you owe it to yourself to call around a little bit and see what’s in your area. No doubt, you are going to be able to find something that will work out well for you and your band.

Let’s talk about a few techniques that you can use to spice up your CDs. Sure, you may think that apart from getting your hands on recording equipment, putting together your first CD is going to be simple. After all, what more could I call for than simply recording the set list that you’ve been practicing for your live shows? Well, if you want to create a unique experience for your listeners—perhaps I should say, “more unique”—then you might consider a few unconventional approaches to recording your first album. If you have not already done so, allow yourself to consider precisely how you could lend your first recording something entirely unique.

First of all, you might consider recording an entire album that take the form of a story. Before you write this idea off entirely, allow yourself to think about it a little bit. Very few bands even try to pull this off nowadays, so your attempt, alone, is going to serve to set you apart from the pack. Of course, if you can lend your story a little bit of humor, then you are going to help yourself out even more. As with anything else, laughter can bring you quite a bit of love and loyalty.

Moving on, here, you can also make your first recording stand out by offering something else along with it. No, you don’t have to pack in a feature length movie or anything like that. Really, though, you should be able to come up with something that serves to set your album apart from the pack. Perhaps you can include an artbook—one made from all of the cover art that you decided not to use. Maybe you can include a behind the scenes DVD? Maybe you can sell your DVD in a larger box and include something like a T-shirt or a poster. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

Finally, here, one of the best ways that you are going to stand out is release your CD for optional payments. How do you pull this kind of thing off? Well, it’s rather simple; take a look at what Radiohead did with one of their newer albums. While they wanted to turn a profit on their music (I mean, it IS their job), they made the amount of money that you paid for their CD strictly optional. This, of course, meant that you could pay one penny for their entire CD. If you thought that you were going to like it, or if you wanted to show your support for Radiohead, you could simply opt to pay a little bit more. Leaving your fans this kind of freedom will, from the very get go, serve to set you apart from the pack.

At the end of the day, reader, there is a lot more that goes into making your band successful than simply music. While it’s important to spend a lot of time in your Columbia storage units practicing, you are never going to want to forget to take a pragmatic look at yourself—and your band—from time to time.

Do you find that you are intimidated by the success of others? Well, if you do, then you do not have to feel too ashamed. It’s entirely natural to compare yourself to your peers, and to gauge your own success by comparing your accomplishments to those of your peers. Of course, when this becomes dangerous is when it begins to make it harder for you to concentrate on your true passion: music. Indeed, if you’re thinking about others so much that you can hardly get yourself up on stage to play a show, then you are going to want to rethink things. Remember, here, that the name of the game is always patience—well, that and determination.

It helps to remember that not even your successful peers started out that way. Indeed, just like you, they had to put the hours in and practice their butts off to get as good as they are today. There’s nothing that you can do to speed up that process; you can only work at your natural pace, continue to practice, and improve over time.

Now, what you can do, here, is make sure that you and all of your band mates are on the same page as far as what you want to do is concerned. Be sure that you and your band mates share the same goals, dreams, and what have you. If you know that you are all on the same page, then you are not going to have to fight any individual struggles. You’ll all be in it together, and you’ll all be working towards the same goals. Of course, you’re going to find this quite comforting, as you are going to have plenty of people to fall back on for a little bit of confidence.

Finally, here, you are not going to want to let yourself become so intimidated by successful bands that you do not appreciate their music as well. Of course, to be a real musical success, you have to be in tune with other bands, what their doing, and so forth. If you truly want to stand out from the crowd, then you have to know what everyone is doing so that you can come up with something different. And of course, you want to appreciate other bands because you have to be a fan of music in general (not just your own music) if you want to find success within the industry.

At the end of the day, as you practice your music in your Columbia storage units , take a little bit of time to sit back and pat yourself on the back. If you have the means to do so, record some of the music that you’re playing and listen to your own toons when you have a moment. For a second, allow yourself to forget that you’re the one who’s playing, and see if you really like what you hear. If you do, then there is absolutely nothing that you have to worry about.

Here’s some quick advice about how to organize your set list . And really, you can only do yourself a favor by paying a little bit of attention, here. The more you know about how to put on a good show, the more viable (money making; fun) you band is going to become. Sure, it is going to take you a little bit of time to reach your stride and find popularity, but with the right advice, you’ll be moving along your way before you even know it.

First and foremost, here, you are going to want to start your show off with a genuine bang. No, that does not mean that you are going to have to spend thousands of dollars on pyrotechnics or anything like that. What it does mean, though, is that you are going to have to be sure that you are starting your set list with something that is really going to get your audience excited and involved . Unless you’re going for something entirely different, be sure that you do not start your set list with anything that is too slow or depressing. Bust out loud and proud!

Second of all, know that you do not have to remove all of your slower (possibly more depressing) tunes, but you are going to have to be sure that they are coming in at the right times. Of course, you are not going to want to play all of these tunes back to back, as that would risk upsetting your audience. What you’re going to want to do, here, is be sure that you are spreading these songs out evenly, and that you are not starting or stopping your set list with any of them. Heck, you might even consider sandwiching these songs in between some of your happier ones as a way of keeping your audience in a good mood for the full duration of your concert.

Finally, here, you are going to want to be sure that you do not lose a bunch of steam towards the end of the concert. If you like to drink, be sure that you are pacing yourself throughout the show. It’s never fun to watch a musician struggling for coherency on stage, and it’s even less fun to BE that musician on the stage. Pace yourself in all respects, and you are sure to find the middle ground that is going to keep you happy.

As you can see at this point, there are a lot of things that you are going to have to take into consideration as you are mapping out your set list. This, though, does not have to be a problem if you are ready and willing to sit down ahead of time and do a little bit of planning. The next time that you and your group are heading out to your Columbia storage units , be sure that you reserve some time (either on the way or once your reach your storage unit ) to do a little bit of planning.

When you set out to market your concerts, you are not going to want to forget about your demographic. Indeed, if you lose touch with your true market, then you are not going to be able to set about marketing very effectively. Of course, if you are ready and willing to put a little bit of thought into your marketing strategies, then you are not going to have to worry about a thing when it comes down to marketing your shows. Now, grab a pen and begin to take a few notes, here.

First and foremost, you are going to have to decide, very early on, whether or not you are trying to make a profit with your show . If you are trying to make a profit, then you are going to have to be sure that your advertisements are reaching out long and far. Indeed, you are going to want to get in touch with as many people as possible, as you are not going to particularly care who ends up attending your show. The more people you get in the door, the more money you are going to end up making; a simple concept, indeed.

Of course, not every concert that you host is going to be geared at making money. Sometimes, you simply want to put on a good show, and you are only interested in getting in touch with people who are going to genuinely enjoy your set list. If this is the case, then you are going to want to focus on passing the word around yourself about your show. Approach people who are advocates of your band or your style, and be sure that they are telling all of their friends about your upcoming show. By limiting the scope of your audience, here, you can virtually guarantee that you are only going to bring people through the door who are going to enjoy your show. Sure, you are going to cut down on the profits that you are going to make, but you are going to be able to build up much more loyal fans.

Finally, here, it is important to keep in mind that you are not going to be able to rely on marketing for your first couple of shows. At the end of the day, you are going to be a “no name” band no matter how much effort you put into marketing your shows. Do not let this get you down, though. Play your first couple of shows well, and be sure that you are picking up fans who are going to give you a positive review. Then, when you begin to put your fliers up around town and spread the word about your upcoming shows, you are going to be able to enlist the help of those who have actually attended (and enjoyed) one of your shows in the past. Put differently: do not fret if your attempts at promotion do not produce the kinds of numbers that you are looking for; these things simply take time.

The next time that you and your fellow band members get together in your Columbia storage unit to practice some tunes, put a little bit of thought into how you are going to promote your shows, and be sure that you are all on the same page when it comes to profits vs. integrity. If you can reach a solid understanding of these things early on, then you are going to be able to find success much more easily.

So let’s talk about how you are going to advertise your shows . When you finally begin to land gigs at a couple of your local venues, you may feel like you’ve struck gold. You may think that your venues are going to take care of promoting your shows, and that all you have to do is practice, practice, practice—get ready to put on the perfect show. This, however, is quite simply not the case. In addition to practicing your set list, you are going to have to help your local venues get the word out about your show if you really want to pull in a sizeable audience. Fortunately, there are several ways to spread the word about the shows that you are going to be putting on. If you have not already done so, allow yourself to think about how you are going to promote yourself.

First of all, you are never going to want to forget about the power of a word-of-mouth campaign. Indeed, one of the best ways to get people in the door of your local venue is to tell all of your friends and family about your shows. Tell anyone and everyone that you know, and tell them to do the same. The greatest benefit to word-of-mouth promotion is the trust that it carries. When people receive recommendations from people who they actually know, they are much more likely to follow through and attend your show.

Of course, you are not going to want to stop at word of mouth alone. You are also going to want to be sure that you have put together some interesting fliers for your local billboards. Here, you are going to want to be sure that your fliers are visually striking, and possibly even funny. If you are not much of a visual artist, try to get one of your friends or fellow band members to throw something together for you. Be sure, too, that you are including all of the information about when and where the concert is going to take place, and how much it is going to cost to get in the door. When you capture someone’s attention and give them all of the information that they are going to need in one breath, you are going to find that you end up attracting a lot more attendants in the future.

Finally, here, you are going to have to remember to pass out promotional materials in a way that is not obnoxious to your attendants. Do not plug your show throughout your concert, and do not plaster every available surface with your fliers. Place your fliers strategically, not overzealously; moreover, plug your show in a genuine way, not throughout your entire show. You do not want your attendants to think that you’re desperate; you want them to think that you are simply there to show them a good time and play some great music.

So, as you are practicing your tunes in your Columbia storage units , don’t forget to take a few minutes off to consider precisely how you are going to promote your shows. If you put a little bit of thought and time into this part of the process, you are going to reap the rewards before you even know it.

So I bought a new game last night— Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the Playstation 3. Plenty has already been said about this game, so I’m going to avoid editorializing for the most part. What I will say, though, is that this game serves as a powerful reminder of just how awesome interactive media can really be. With this much in mind, I’d like to talk about a few things that you can do to pull your fans into your music a little bit more. I mean, if you can encourage active participation in your music, then you are going to find that your fans are really, truly in it for the long haul. Hear me out, and, if you need to, take a few notes as you make your way through this blog.

First and foremost, you are going to want to be sure that you have a pretty good website for your band. Of course, you are going to want to give your fans the option to participate in the happenings of your website, so you are going to want to be sure that you are giving them to option to create some kind of account. You are going to want to be sure that your account registration process is free—at least to start—as paid subscriptions are going to chase off a significant portion of your demographic. It goes without saying, here, that you are going to want to leave all of your features open to all of the accounts that people register. Micro transactions might very well work for you down the road, but they are only going to annoy your fans when you are just starting out.

Of course, you are going to want to be sure that you have created some kind of forum for your users. Forums, you will find, are a great way to encourage participation in your site. Moreover, they are a great way to grow your site for free. Of course, when you have an active forum on your site, it is going to be generating a great deal of text. If you go back through this text and saturate it with keywords and backlinks, then the search engines are going to pay a bit more attention to what you are doing. You will become, in other words, a bit more relevant to your subject, genre, or the like.

Finally, here, you should know that it is never going to hurt you to offer a few simple little games on your website. If you can contract a person to code a few games that incorporate your band, your music, and the like, then you are going to find that a lot of people are coming to your site a lot more often. This kind of interactive media is going to go a long way to move your site towards building a more solid userbase.

So, reader, the next time that you are practicing in your local Columbia storage units , you are going to want to put a little bit of thought into precisely how you are going to give your music a little bit of interactivity. If you can come up with a few fun ideas, you are going to be able to pull in quite a few fans.

If you are absolutely terrified of performing on stage, then there are several things that you are going to want to keep in mind when you set out to put on a show. Of course, you may feel that you are simply stuck with your stage fright. You may think, here, that you are never going to be able to put on a confident show—one where you truly feel “in your element”, so to speak.  Never fear, though, because with a little bit of patience and a little bit of practice, you are going to be able to put on the show of your dreams before you even know it.

The first thing that you are going to want to remember, here, is that you are putting on a show; that is, you are entertaining your audience. The very fact that they are at your show means that they are looking to have a good time. Sure, this may seem like a simple point, but it’s also one that people seem to forget rather quickly. Your audience is not there to criticize your show; they are not there to pick apart all of your solos and songs with the scrutiny of a music critic. They are simply at your show to enjoy a little bit of music and have a good time. If you keep this in mind as you are going through your set list, you are going to find that you are much less preoccupied with the tiny little mistakes that you make along the way.

Of course, the best cure for stage fright is practice. When you really begin to think about it, this makes a great deal of sense. The more you practice, the better you’re going to be at playing your set. Now, when you know that you are really good at playing your set, you are not going to be as afraid of making mistakes when you finally take to the stage. Indeed, as you are facing your audience, you are going to feel confidence surging through your every vein. You are going to know full well that you are perfectly capable of playing through your set list, so you are not going to have to worry about a thing when the time comes to perform it.

Here, then, you can see that stage fright is but an easily tamed beast. Granted that you are willing to actively set aside your fears and put in plenty of practice hours, you are not going to run into many problems when it comes to playing the perfect set. Of course, if you do not have a great place to practice, then you are never going to want to forget to look around for a few Columbia storage units . Storage units often make for the ideal practice environment, as you are not going to have to worry about upsetting your neighbors.

So, you might think that you are firmly set in your ways. A lot of the time, you are going to be right in these regards. There are certain qualities about yourself that you are never going to be able to change, despite your best wishes and efforts. Of course, your musical taste is not one of these qualities. While you may think that you do not like a particular genre of music, you probably just haven’t listened to enough of it to find the bands or songs that you would actually like. I say all of this, reader, because I recently had one of these experiences myself.

I knew that I sort of liked metal music before I bought Brutal Legend , but I guess I never knew how much I actually liked it. Playing through the single player campaign, I began to realize just how much I liked a lot of the songs that are featured in the game. Of course, surprising myself in this way, I began to think about how malleable our tastes in music actually are when you really get down to thinking about it.  Allow me to explain myself.

Half of what makes us enjoy music is the context of its presentation. Indeed, I’ve labored to make this point before (in an earlier blog post). Of course, it only makes sense, then, that Brutal Legend, a game that glorifies metal and rock constantly, is going to drastically affect my opinion of the genre. So long as I’m playing that game—so long as I’m taking part in Tim Schafer’s carefully constructed adventure—I’m going to love the music that he’s chosen to present me with. It’s pretty simple, really.

Here, though, I’d like to pose a simple question to my readers: have you ever had your opinion about a particular song, band, or genre changed by a single experience? If you wouldn’t mind, leave your own stories as comments on this blog, or create your own blog on this site and share them that way.

When we begin to delve into each other’s stories, we are going to begin to see precisely which types of events, presentations, and the like can have the heaviest impact upon our preferences. Of course, by tracing the commonalities in our stories, we can hope to arrive at a formula, of sorts—a basic understanding of what we should do with our own music, concerts, and the like to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.

Anyway, these are all just thoughts. Leave your stories, and I’ll read through them carefully. I’d love to see what you have to say about all of this. The next time that you’re playing in your Columbia storage units , be sure to keep this theme in the forefront of your mind.

To those of you omega nerds out there: it’s time to celebrate! Today, my friends, is Rocktober 13^th, and we can finally head out to our local game retailers to buy copies of Brutal Legend , the latest production of Double Fine studios. Brutal Legend puts you in the shoes of the world’s best roadie, Eddie Riggs, and asks you to smash your way to victory with the power of a genuine rock army. I’d like to say a few things about this game, here.

First of all, wow. Never before have I seen a game pay such respect to the tradition of American metal music. I mean, seriously, people—this entire game looks like the cover of a metal album. Mountains made of bones, demons, armies of head banging teenagers, Ozzie… it just goes on and on. If you’re even slightly into Metal, then you are going to want to give this game a shot.

Of course, part of the reason that I’m bringing all of this up right now, reader, is that our site is devoted to exploring music. Needless to say, Brutal Legend marks a pretty clear attempt at exploring music in a very, very unique way. Sure, the game is very much a comedy, but at the end of the day, it is also a very honest, very passionate, and very carefully crafted celebration of American metal music.

If you have never heard of this game before, I cannot urge you to look into it strongly enough. There’s something distinctly important about celebrating works of art that are this well realized—and yes, I’m willing to go so far as to call this game art.

At any rate, I’d be interested to hear how you guys feel about this game at the end of the day. Give yourself a few hours to really sit down and play it, and let me know how you feel about it so far. I’m sure that it’s not going to take you all that long to fall head-over-heels in love with this one. It may even keep you out of your Columbia storage units for a few days, as you are going to be too distracted by its wonder to even consider leaving the comforts of your own living room.

As for me, I’m taking off to check into this game a little bit myself. I really can’t wait any longer to sink my teeth into this one.

If you have never heard of Netflix before, then allow me to express my amazement that you are reading this article, here, on the internet. At any rate, Netflix is an online movie streaming and rental service that focuses on quick deliveries and cheap costs. Of course, if you get yourself hooked up with this site, you can really increase the number of movies that are able to watch. What’s better, here, is that you do not have to watch all of these movies on your computer. If you take the time to set up one of their web streaming devices, you can actually stream something like 17,000 movies straight to your television set.  Pretty amazing stuff, really.

Anyway, I bring this up because I spent the vast majority of my time this weekend watching movies—again, I know. This time, though, I was thinking less about the movies themselves and more about the convenience of using a service like Netflix. That, of course, got me to thinking about how a band might make use of a service like Netflix, or provide their own, similar service. Here are a few ideas for you:

First of all, you are going to want to be sure that you are putting your stuff on the internet in some form or fashion. Be sure, here, that you are not forgetting about all of the services that are going to be available to you free of charge. First, you are going to want to make sure that you create an account for yourself on sites like MySpace music. These sites are going to allow for you to host a lot of your music for free, which is going to make your life a lot easier when it comes down to providing people with samples of your songs (say, potential venues). Of course, these kinds of sites are also going to make it much easier for you to reach out to the members of your local music community , as they, too, are going to have accounts on these sites.

Second of all, you are not going to want to forget about putting up a podcast. Sure, you may not want to do all that much talking, but you can put up all of your songs in the form of a podcast. Gather up your resources and talk to a few other local bands, and you could be running a fairly successful podcast before you even know it.

Finally, here, never forget to bring a camera crew along with you when you finally get down to performing your shows. Be sure to capture plenty of video of your shows, and always be sure that you are uploading this video to popular video hosting sites. Sure, you may not stand out from all of the other Columbia storage units bands, but you can at least begin to take steps to make your crew better known.

So, let’s talk a little bit about the podcast as a way to promote your music. Sure, you may not be a huge fan of podcasts, but the fact remains that they’re a great way to get a little bit of exposure. You do not have to start your own podcast necessarily, but you should know at least a little bit about how they run.

The first thing that you are going to have to realize, here, is that when you become a guest on a podcast, you are going to have to surrender yourself to the organization of the show. The last thing that you are going to want to do, here, is disrupt the normal flow of the show that you are watching. Podcast audiences do not like it when a guest is too gung-ho about taking over the show. Wait your turn to talk, and be respectful of your host.

Second of all, you are going to want to be sure that you are not taking yourself too seriously. Do not plug your product all that much when you are on someone else’s podcast, as you are only going to going to end up annoying their audience rather badly. This, of course, is something that you are going to want to avoid if you are serious about benefitting from your appearance on a podcast.

Third of all, reader, you are going to have to be sure that you are in a pretty good mood when you make your appearance on the podcast. You are not going to want to turn off your audience by failing to entertain them. After all, a podcast is an entertainment program. Be sure, here, that you are telling a few jokes to your audience and sharing a few laughs with your host. Once again, you are going to want to be sure that you are not taking yourself too seriously, here.

Finally, reader, you are going to want to be sure that you are willing to give a little bit of your product away. A successful appearance on a podcast might require you to give away a few t-shirts or CDs. Of course, every time you show that you are willing to reward your fans, you are going to end up pulling a few more people in. After all, people are never going to turn down free stuff!

So, as you are practicing your music in your Columbia storage units , be sure that you are taking a few of these points into account. Be sure that you are doing everything within your power to market yourself, and be sure that you are not taking yourself too seriously as you do so, and you are bound to find success before you even know it.

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about whether or not rhythm-based games (e.g. Guitar Hero; Rock Band) are ruining the minds of children. This talk, though, does not center on the topics that are most frequently discussed by parents when it comes to gaming. Rather, they center on whether or not music-based video games are leading children away from picking up actual instruments. Of course, as an avid gamer, this kind of discussion interests me quite a bit. If you will, take a moment to think about a few of these topics.

Your intuition might lead you to believe that fewer and fewer children are picking up real instruments as a result of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. After all, why are kids going to want to commit themselves to the hassle of learning an actual instrument when musical satisfaction is only a few hours away with a game like Guitar Hero? If what “they” say is true—those ubiquitous naysayers—we might actually have something to worry about.

Really, though, it’s pretty easy to look at the other side of the coin as well. How in the world do we know that musical video games are leading children away from learning actual instruments? Without cold hard data, how in the world can we possibly make the claim that these kinds of video games are harmful? Loaded questions, these.

My opinion, here, is that music-based video games are not leading children away from actual instruments. Of course, kids are going to like these games quite a bit, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to want to learn how to play the real deal. I mean, come on—you had to force your kids to join the school band before these games ever came along. If you blame these games for tainting your children—for robbing them of their natural talents and ambitions—then you’re simply turning a blind eye to the reality of the situation: perhaps you’re not doing enough parenting.

Anyway, that’s just one man’s opinion, and I’d certainly like to hear what you have to say about this kind of issue. If you have any kids or friends who have their own bands—bands who practice in Columbia storage units –do me a favor and leave a couple of your comments on this blog. Do these people play music based video games? Have these games affected their lives in any way? Does your child love Guitar Hero, but does not have any interest in picking up the actual instrument? I’d love to hear from you.

Man, oh man, did I watch a lot of movies over the weekend. It was just one of those weekends, I guess. I didn’t really feel like leaving the house; didn’t really feel like heading out to any shows—so I just popped a few movies in and tried to have a little bit of fun. Of course, movies are full of music, and a lot of the movies that I ended up watching had some pretty good tunes in them. Let’s talk about it!

I’ll begin, here, by quickly mentioning the difference between diagetic and non-diagetic sound. When a sound is described as “diagetic”, it means that the sound can be heard by the characters in the film. In other words, the sound exists inside of the fictional, filmic plane. Non-diagetic sound, then, usually refers to background music—music that the characters cannot hear themselves. When you’re talking about the role that music plays within a particular film, you have to be sure that you are paying special attention to this distinction.

This much being said, a lot of the movies that I watched over the weekend made very interesting use of diagetic sound. I find the use of diagetic music rather appealing, reader, because it quite often serves to emphasize the importance of the music that you’re hearing. A character’s response to diagetic music might very well lead us to interpret said music through a radically different lens—through the eyes of the character, if you will.

One of the movies that I watched was The Passenger , an older European film about a man’s quest to adopt the identity of one of his deceased coworkers. The film is entirely without non-diagetic music; that is, the only music that you’re going to hear actually exists within the world of the movie. Of course, what I took interest in was the juxtaposition of the main character (played by Jack Nicholson—a very white man in a not-so-white part of the world) and the regional music. The music itself, coupled with Nicholson’s reaction to it, creates a powerful sense of otherness and estrangement; viewers can hardly help but feel a little bit out of place, themselves. Of course, the entire movie is about assuming a false identity, so this juxtaposition—that of music and physical appearance—serves rather well to identify the impossibility of genuinely becoming another person.

I guess the reason that I’m talking about all of this is that I’d like to emphasize the power that music can wield when the context of its presentation is carefully managed. As you’re practicing in your Columbia storage units , put a little bit of thought into how you are going to craft a setting for your music. This, of course, is how you are going to put on a unique show at the end of the day.

Last night, I watched a documentary called “ Man on Wire ”. This documentary follows Philippe Petite along the path to tight rope walking from one world trade center tower to the other—a harrowing stunt, indeed. Needless to say, I found this documentary rather inspiring, and I’d like to share a few thoughts with you today. While the film is about tight rope walking in the strictest sense, it goes a long way to inspire us in all of our pursuits.

The first thing that this made me think about is how very few things—conceivable things, I mean—are actually impossible. When it comes to actualizing your dreams, all that you are going to have to do is be sure that you persevere and do not let anything or anyone deter you. Sure, the obstacles standing in your way might seem daunting, but what good is it going to do you to simply quit? Well, the answer to that one is pretty obvious.

Now, don’t make any mistake, here; I’m not condoning that you head up to the top of any buildings to test your luck at tight rope walking. All that I am saying, here, is that the path to musical success is very much like path that Mr. Petite embarked upon. Do not allow yourself to become discouraged too easily, and do not allow yourself to despair all of the little mistakes that you make along the way.

So where am I going with all of this, anyway? Well, I suppose that what I’m getting at is that success—in absolutely any field—requires a great deal of practice and commitment. The fact that you’re practicing songs in your Columbia storage unit at the moment does not mean that you are not going to be taking on the stage at your favorite venue sometime very soon.

Perhaps this film has impacted me; perhaps it’s simply Friday—but I feel genuinely compelled, today, to offer a slight message of hope. Stick to what you love, practice all of the time, and do not listen to any of the naysayers. Take every bit of criticism with a grain of salt—or a handful of salt—and maintain a positive mental attitude. Before you know it (and I’m sorry if I’m sounding a little bit too much like The Secret, here), success is going to be headed your way.

I’d be interested to hear a few messages of hope from you guys, though. If you’re trying to find your own avenue for success, musical or otherwise, I’d love to hear from you in the form of a comment left upon this post. Share a few of your thoughts with us—a few of your stories—and perhaps we can really help each other reach out to our dreams.

So let’s talk about creating atmosphere, readers. Let’s talk about catering to someone else’s needs. After all, as an emerging band, you might very well end up playing at events that are being held for specific purposes. As you are just starting out, you are not going to have the luxury of throwing your own shows, parties, and get-togethers all of the time. Thus, it is very important for you to begin to consider precisely how you might work with some of the clients who are bound to come your way. Never fear, though, for I do have several thoughts to share in these regards. Read through this carefully, reader, and be sure that you are taking notes whenever necessary.

First and foremost, you are going to have to be sure that you have a working understanding of the event at which you are going to be playing. The very last  thing that you are going to want to do, here, is show up to an event with entirely the wrong set list in mind. While you certainly have your own artistic visions for your music, you are going to want to be sure that your music does not run contrary to the purpose of the event. You probably don’t want to rock out with an anti-war song at a veterans’ event. Likewise, you probably do not want to sing a religious song that does not match up with the religion of the proprietor of your event.

That’s all well and good, but there are other things that you are going to want to take into consideration as well. Of course, you are going to want to be sure that you are dressed up in accordance with the event. If it’s a fancier event, don’t allow your own personal style to trump the mood that your proprietor is shooting for. Even if your music, in other settings, relies upon a certain style, you are going to want to be sure that you are going along with the wishes of the person who is going to be giving you your check at the very end of the day. In order to land more solid gigs in the future, you are going to have to establish a solid track record of pleasing your patrons and their audiences.

Finally, here, you are always going to want to be sure that you are preparing for the big event. Even if you know your set list extremely well, you are going to want to be sure that you practice quite a bit before you get up on stage. The very last thing that you are going to want to do is get up on stage if you are not ready to play through your set list without making many mistakes. If you disappoint your proprietors, you are going to have a very hard time when it comes down to finding shows in the future.

Now, with all of this being said, you can set forth and look forward to launching an incredibly successful show. As you are practicing your tunes in your Columbia storage units , never forget to take into account precisely how you are going to prepare for these kinds of events in the future.

Of course, if you have anything that you would like to add to this little article of mine, do not hesitate to create an account on our site and leave a comment on this blog. I would be happy to expand upon any and all of the observations and advice that you send my way.

If you’re into music, chances are that you’re also into other types of art. I mean, the two seem to go hand in hand, nowadays. You never see a successful song (commercially, I mean) that doesn’t reach out to film aficionados with some kind of music video. Likewise, you never see a successful album that does not have a creative album cover; moreover, a creative website made (usually) specifically for the album in question. Thus, if you are trying to make it big as a musician, you are going to have to begin to think about how you might begin to represent your tunes with visual art. You are going to want to begin to think about how you are going to set about setting yourself apart from the pack, here. While I may not be a successful musician myself, I do have an extensive background in visual arts. My father is an art director, my mother is a photographer, and my sister renders photorealistic portraits of her friends using oil pastel and charcoal. Myself, I enjoy working with a combination of Adobe Photoshop , Adobe After Effects, and Final Cut Pro. Let’s take a moment to do a little bit of thinking, here.

My best piece of advice would be to look for a theme that your music strives to capture, and move forward from there. If you can come up with your central theme (or themes), then you are going to have a much easier time when it comes down to finding an aesthetic. Let’s say, for example, that your album strives to call attention to social injustices in America. From here, you might choose to make use of a few cultural icons or styles. Folk tales and cultural traditions can make for some really great art, in my humble opinion.

If your music does not carry any sort of central meaning, you might choose to develop your art in more abstract way.  A lot of electronica artists strive to create album covers and music videos that visually capture the feel of their music. Hard, abrasive beats are often accompanied by images which create a sharp sense of contrast; moreover, a sense of visual disarray. Smoother, house-like albums are usually accompanied by smoother images: lots of round edges, light, pastoral colors, and very simple shape-patterns. Sure, these suggestions may seem a bit pedantic, but they can certainly provide you with a good starting point.

Now, I don’t mean to keep you away from your Columbia storage units –your band practice spaces—for very long, here. I only mean to provide you with a little bit of information. If you have any ideas or any observations that you’d like to contribute to your fellow band mates, please do not hesitate to create an account on this site, or simply leave a comment on this blog entry. We—and by “we” I mean the entire community, here—would love to hear what you have to say. As aspiring artists and community builders, we are always open to new ideas.

So I’ve been on vacation for the last couple of days, and boy have I enjoyed myself. I went back to see my parents in my home town, St. Louis—only about an hour and half drive east of where I’m living now. Of course, when I was in St. Louis, I did manage to peel myself away from the TV and video games for long enough to see a few live shows. Needless to say, a few of the shows that I saw gave me a few ideas—ideas that I’d like to share with you.

I went to a little place called BlueBerry Hill—a hamburger joint in The Loop, if you’re familiar with the area. Of course, Blueberry Hill is far from a convert venue; really, it’s just more of a restaurant. Fairly often, though, they allow local groups and major artists to grace their patrons with their sweet songs. While I’m not always a huge fan of the music that I encounter at BlueBerry Hill, I am a huge fan of the atmosphere that they have created. Allow me to expand on this point just a little bit.

BlueBerry Hill is truly an establishment that understands what its patrons are looking for. From the very moment that you walk in, you can tell that they have put a tremendous amount of work into decorating their place. The walls are absolutely plastered with memorabilia, the servers are wearing appropriate uniforms, and the general feel of the place is appropriately aged. The paint isn’t chipping or anything, but everything just feels a little bit older. Of course, this places BlueBerry Hill rather firmly in the Americana vein.

The reason I’m sharing these observations with you is because I believe that BlueBerry Hill makes for an excellent venue. The artists who play there generally capture (and expand upon) the aesthetic that the owners are going for. And you had better believe that these artists are aware of the joint that they are going to be playing in before they even set their feet in the front door. These artists have, in all likelihood, selected a venue that is going to match up rather well with their music, and in so doing they have created a mutually beneficial relationship with the venue.

Thus, when you are finally ready to leave your Columbia storage units and seek out real venues, you are going to want to be sure that you are keeping these sorts of things in mind. When you are trying to select a few venues that are going to be good for your music, be sure that you show up ahead of time to take a quick look around. You are not going to want to play music at a venue that is not going to match your style at all; you are going to want to be sure that your venue is going to be able to appreciate your style, and vice versa.

Once again, you may think that is a simple point. If you do, it’s because, well, it is. Sometimes, though, we simply have to be reminded of a few of the simple points. Of course, if you have any questions about BlueBerry Hill or about identifying your style, feel free to leave a comment on this blog. I’ll be sure to send you a response!

Let’s take a break from my common theme today (music) and talk about something else: social networking. For the sake of relevance, let’s restrict our discussion to online forms of social networking, as these are the ones with which we are most intimately involved. Why is online social networking becoming such a big trend? Are we about to see a plateau in the development of new social networking platforms? Are people becoming tired of social networking on the internet? Let’s think about it for a minute.

First thing’s first: there are tons and tons of social networking platforms on the internet. There are services for short message posting, namely twitter. There are websites for creating your own personal profile, specifying your interests and professional pursuits, and the like (namely MySpace and Facebook). There are sites for sharing your favorite web destinations with all of your friends, namely Digg and, once again, Twitter. And of course, there are sites for smaller audiences as well, such as MySpace Music, Gamespot, GiantBomb, and the like (all very niche). I haven’t even scratched the surface of social networking tools that are available on the internet, and already I’m beginning to feel a little bit overwhelmed by the prospect of creating accounts across all of them.

So why, exactly, should you be looking to join a new social network like this one? Why bother with creating an account on a new site when you already have so many accounts? The answer, reader, is rather simple: free self-promotion. What you have to realize, here, is that the average internet user does not have a reason to create a huge pool of social networking accounts. For the casual user, a few accounts on a few different networks are going to suffice. If you’re trying to promote yourself or your product (or, most pertinently, your band), then you’re going to want to take full advantage of all of the free tools that are at your disposal. Creating an account on this site, for example, is going to give you another place to plug your shows, network with other local musicians, and the like.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this site does not have many active users at this point. Just like any other network, though, we have to get started from somewhere. Each and every one of you who joins up with us can contribute to the creation of a healthy, thriving business opportunity.

So I’m calling you out, reader: all of you who are practicing in Columbia storage units and storage units across the entire country. And all of your friends. While there may not be much content on our site right now, there can be with your help. The more you help us, the more you are going to end up helping yourself in the end!

So let’s talk about concepts and executions (and no, I don’t mean the violent kind!).

Many of my friends—musicians, I should say—are what the industry refers to as “ high concept ”, meaning that their central ideas and motivations can generally be linked back to ONE concept. Some artists are trying to mess around with the ways in which you perceive sound; others are trying to mess around with your understanding of a particular genre; and others, still, are simply trying to make a political or social point. I should make it clear, here, that I do not have a problem with high concept music, movies, or the like. What I’d really like to reinforce, though, is that you can never forget about the means with which you execute your high concepts. Regardless of the point that you are trying to make, you are going to have to be sure that your show is actually appealing to your audience. Luckily, it is not going to be all that hard for you to pull this off if you are ready and willing to put a little bit of thought into it.

The first thing that you are going to want to do is make sure that your point is not all that esoteric. Sure, your music can be high concept, but you are not going to want to alienate your audience by failing to give them any hints. Some obscurity is good, but you are not going to want to leave your audience without any clues at all. In essence, then, what I am saying is that you should give your performance and your lyrics some subtlety, but that you should also provide your audience with a few open hints. If you let them penetrate the surface of your music, your audience is going to feel a bit more special.

The next thing that you are going to want to do is avoid making any smug, elitist gestures. Just because you are trying to make a point with your music does not mean that you have the right to talk down to your audience. Be sure that you are welcoming them into your shows, as they are the ones, after all, who are going to be paying your bills and sending profits your way. Without them, reader, you are nothing, so you are not going to want to offend them unnecessarily.

Finally, here, you are always going to want to remember that practice makes perfect. If you are in your Columbia storage unit for band practice and you are trying to gauge whether or not one of your techniques is working, simply invite a few people—random tenants, even—to listen to your song and tell you what they think about it. If they are into it and they can grasp your overall concept, then you are on the right track!

There’s something absolutely great about sharing a musical experience with someone for whom you truly care. That, I think, is why I enjoy (or enjoyed, perhaps; it’s been a while) playing the drums in a moderately sized group of my friends. Importantly, though, you don’t even have to be in a band to share a great musical experience with someone who’s important to you. Remember, here, that concert tickets and CDs, even documentary DVDs about musicians and groups, can make for absolutely fantastic presents. I’ll henceforth explain myself.

There’s nothing harder than buying a gift for someone. As we get older, our taste—our preferences—become a bit harder to gauge from the outside. What used to thrill you may not thrill you any longer. This, of course, means that people may be left without a clear understanding of what to get you for, say, your birthday. This, of course, may explain why, in recent years, you’ve gotten so many gift cards and impersonal presents from your friends and family. If you want to show people that you truly care about them, though, you are going to want to avoid giving them something as impersonal as a twenty dollar bill, a gift card, or a credit to an online music store. There are ways, reader, for you to figure out exactly what your friends and family are into, and this kind of information can truly inform your gift-buying process. Think about it for a minute.

First off, never forget about online wish lists. Most major online music stores allow for you to create an online wish list, specifying which things you’d like to receive as presents (should an occasional call for a present, of course!). The great thing about these wish lists is that you can set them up in such a way that your friends and family can find them without your knowledge. If you make your wish list available for public viewing, then your friends and family are going to be able to purchase things for you that actually matter to you. Needless to say, when you are setting out to purchase a gift for someone who you care about, you should always be sure to check in on all of the major online stores to see if you can track down any of their wish lists.

Now, if you already have a pretty good feel for what your friends and family are into, you should simply go out there and buy some tickets that they are truly going to love. The best gifts are ones that you can experience with your friends and family, not the ones that they can open. If one of their favorite groups is going to be in town, buy those tickets instead of something else. You get to have fun with them, and the real present is the experience that you will share with them.

Now, if you’re really looking into giving someone a gift that they’ll appreciate, you could always get the band member in your family some Columbia storage units for band practice . That’s the gift that truly keeps on giving!

Maybe I’m a little bit superficial, but there are a few things that I really love to see. One of those things is a band who are not afraid to get a little dressed up and put on a little bit of a show while they are on the stage. I believe that I have talked about this kind of thing a little bit in the past, but I’d like to let my mind wander a little bit more right now.

One of the coolest bands that I have seen live are the Hootin’ Hollers (I would give you a link to their site if they would ever set one up!). Now, the important thing about the Hootin’ Hollers is that they do not do anything all that complicated or special, but they put on an amazing show nonetheless. They usually stand on the stage under strictly red lighting, which creates a really ominous (but cool) vibe. There are only two people in the band, the drummer and the guitar player/vocalist. It’s hard to put your finger on precisely what makes their setup as awesome as it is; it’s some kind of aura, I guess.

At any rate, they really liven things up when they begin to perform. There’s a lot of screaming and shouting, and the drummer is actually standing as he plays the drums for the entire time. Truly, if you have never been to a Hootin’ Hollers show before, then you are missing out on one of the greatest local bands in Columbia .

Now, the next time that you take off to your Columbia storage units to practice a few of your tunes, don’t forget to work in a few elements of how your set is going to play out on stage. Sure, you may have an amazing set to play, but using your space on stage in a different way is going to be an excellent way for you to stand apart from the crowd when you are first starting out.

Of course, if you are do not have any ideas about how you are going to make yourselves stand out, simply head out to a few local shows and see what some of the competition is doing. When you are watching a band like the Hootin’ Hollers, make note of all of the things that they are doing to make themselves a little bit more appealing to their audience. Even when you are at a bigger show—a professional show with a really, really high budget—try to make note of some of the things that they are doing to stir up their audience. Sure, a lot of these techniques are going to be too expensive for you to execute—too expensive to even emulate much of the time. Really, though, if you exercise the creative half of your brain, you are going to be surprised by how easy it is to pull a few of these techniques off during your own shows.

And on that note, I leave you to practice a little bit more of your music. Stay confident, readers, and always give it your all.

Well, if any of you are following me on twitter, you know how much I’ve been griping about not having the newest music video game: The Beatles Rockband . Fortunately, though, I've found the time to make it to my local store, and I’ve purchased a copy of this ever so critically acclaimed title. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to share a few things with you, as I’ve played it for nearly five hours, now.

The first thing that I’d like to offer to you, my dear reader, is a warning of sorts: The Beatles Rockband will get the Beatles stuck in your head—FOREVER. I mean, sure, these songs are supposed to be poppy and catchy, but wow! Never before have I found myself humming the same songs over and over and over again to quite the same extent.

The second thing that I’d like to mention is that this game is certainly a lot of fun. The gameplay has been dumbed down on purpose, such that it might appeal to Beatles fans who do not find themselves playing video games very often. While certain songs can become a little bit tricky, you are never going to find yourself gasping for breath as you try to shred your way through some sort of solo section. Indeed, the development team has removed the solo mechanic entirely, focusing instead on delivering an accurate Beatles experience to players. And never fear—the whammy bar has been removed entirely, so you can’t ruin any of your favorite tracks.

Now, you can’t talk about a Beatles game without casting a critical eye towards the graphics. On the one hand, you’re going to be looking for realism, here—accurate representations of the fab four, and accurate representations of the venues in which they played. On the other hand, though, you are going to want for the graphics to find a way to truly capture the Beatles experience. Miraculously, Harmonix has found a way to deliver on both fronts. The game makes use of an interesting “Dreamscape” mechanic, whereby the backdrops of particular performance slowly transform into—you guessed it—dreamlike, outright fantastic settings. The “Dreamscape” mechanic truly delivers on Harmonix’s promise to make you feel like the Beatles as you are playing their game.

Long story short: get out there and buy The Beatles Rockband. Even if you are not a huge fan of music games, you are going to find yourself having a blast with this one. And, well, if you’re not a fan of The Beatles, then you can just keep on reading your technical journals and waving your fist at those rowdy teenagers who live next door.

Oh, and one final point: if you’re a band that’s practicing in Columbia storage units , use The Beatles Rockband to bring about a little bit of inspiration. If you play it with your band mates for a little while, you will no doubt come up with a few neat—dare I say revolutionary?—ideas.

So I’ve been reading a few articles on the internet about the tremendous influence that popular artists can have on youth culture. Naturally, then, I’ve been thinking about precisely what it might mean to find genuine success as a musician. What kind of responsibilities do you suppose would come along with musical fame? While I certainly don’t have the experience to speak to this question, I can, at the very least, offer a few of my speculations.

First off, you’d have to be very sure that you’re not inciting any kind of violence or hatred. As you’ve no doubt begun to notice, the parents of teenagers and young adults to not typically take to rebellious music very kindly. Even if this is the demographic that you’re shooting for, you’re going to have to be sure that you are not crafting songs that actually lead young adults to misbehave. Remember, here, that the parents are the ones who are giving their kids money. If they do not approve of your content—if they find serious faults within your content—then your actual fans (i.e. the young adults) are not going to be able to purchase your product. I mean, you can surely find a way to get your genuine message across in a way that does not openly condone rebellion.

Of course, having a tremendous influence over American culture places you in a moral spotlight. This, of course, means that you may have to take on a few other roles that are not strictly related to your music. If you can use your influence to bring about a positive change in society, then you had better be sure that you are doing so. In other words, you can use your musical platform and success as means to a different end—as a way to inspire political, sociocultural, or religious action. You don’t have to devote all of your time to this, of course, but it’s a great thing to keep in mind.

Finally, if you’re a tremendously successful musician, then you are going to have to take your economic sway into account. When you release CDs, DVDs, T-shirts, and other merchandise, you are going to have a lot of money coming in. Think very carefully, then, about how you are going to spend all of the money that you are earning. Think, also, about how you are leading other people to spend their own money. If you are doing extremely well, you might consider the possibility of releasing a CD to your fans for free. This can only cause you to develop a much more solid fan base, as your acts of charity are no doubt going to attract quite a bit of attention.

Well, reader, it’s fun to speculate, but I’m going to bring this blog to an end, now. Really, though, as you are practicing your music in your Columbia storage units , don’t allow these kinds of thoughts to escape from you. Always realize that, whether big or small, musical groups have a tremendous influence upon their audiences. When you’re creating your music, never forget to take this kind of responsibility and social awareness into account.

Hello, all.  I hope that all of you, my faithful readers, have had a relaxing holiday weekend. I know that I sure did!

Of course, it’s Wednesday, so the weekend is well behind us. I’ll tell you what isn’t behind us, though: the world of music and online marketing. Indeed, even when we take our days off to relax, the internet continues to buzz in our absence. Naturally, then, I did a little bit of research over the weekend to be sure that I was staying as up to date as possible.

I saw several shows at our local venues, namely the Blue Fugue . I have to admit, I learned quite a bit about performance art in doing so, as I approached these shows with my critical thinking cap planted firmly on my head. I suppose, then, that I’ll use this post to explain a few of the noteworthy observations that I made.

First of all, I saw several smaller, local bands play through their sets leading up to the main performance. If there’s one thing that these groups did well—aside from performing their music, I mean—it was networking with the patrons of the establishment. Before and after their sets, they were mingling excellently with the members of their future audience. Importantly, though, they didn’t put off an air of superiority. Likewise, they didn’t seem overly interested in themselves, necessarily. Rather, they were simply chatting around and having a great time. Several rounds of drinks were had by many a band member, and likewise for their expectant patrons. While this may not seem like a noteworthy observation at first, I simply wish to point out that the way you treat your fans is going to have a profound impact upon how well your music is received. Sure, if you play an amazing set, you’re not going to run into much trouble when it comes time to sell your CDs (hopefully not, at least!). But if you truly chat it up with members of your audience—if you truly lead them to believe that they are valued attendees, not just potential sources of money—then you are quickly going to find yourself with plenty of repeat attendees. You’ll get more fans who track you down on all of your social networking sites, and more fans who attend each and every one of your shows (or try to). Heck, you might even find a few people approaching your Columbia storage units , simply wanting to get a behind-the-scenes look at your creative process.

All in all, then, I’m simply trying to point out how important it is to genuinely reach out to your community when you are just starting out. Even larger bands call attention to the communities that they’re visiting, professing their love for cities as disparate as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Show your community a little bit of love, and you are sure to reap some rewards.

Oh, and while we’re at it: be sure that you’re acting like a real person, here. Don’t socialize with people because you want their money and their loyalty. Socialize with people because you want to understand them, and because you truly want to deliver the kind of performance that they want. Even a hint of genuineness, here, can go a long way to launch your band in the right direction .

So, you’re looking for a way to spruce up your live performances, eh? (If you’re not, just go ahead and humor me for a moment, here.) Well, have you ever thought about putting together a multimedia production of sorts? Have you ever thought about how you might take steps to further involve your audience—or even your venue—in the show that you’re putting on? If your answers to these questions are ‘no,’ then you’re going to want to pay a little bit of attention to this article. Herein, I’ll attempt to provide you with a few brainstorming ideas. (And remember, I’m not, myself, in a band at the present moment, but I’ve been in several bands in the past, and, well… We truly knew how to rock and roll! Sure, I may be in the Columbia storage units business, but that doesn't mean that I don't love my music.)

Some of the coolest shows that I’ve ever seen have made use of multimedia in new and exciting ways. Sure, attending a standard concert is a rather immersive way to spend your time, but video feeds and lighting technology can really serve to bring your show to life in new and exciting ways. Let’s run through a few of the techniques that you might want to consider employing during your next live performance.

First, you might consider mounting a camera on your lead singer’s microphone. Sure, this may seem a little bit strange at first, but bands like The Flaming Lips have put this technique to astounding use. During many of their shows, they have a projector running a live video feed of the microphone camera on a projection screen behind the band. As you’re enjoying the tunes, you’re presented with a (much) larger-than-life version of the lead singer’s head. Of course, The Flaming Lips often take things a bit further, superimposing crazy, psychedelic graphics on top of the aforementioned video feed. As you can imagine, this kind of presentation can leave quite a lasting impact upon the audience; it simply hasn’t seen anything done like this before.

If you are looking to start out a little simpler, though, then there are still ways for you to make use of multimedia technology. One of the easiest things that you can do is download a couple of free programs to help you control your lighting during your first couple of shows. While many venues are going to be able to manage your lighting and sound levels for you, some of the smaller ones are going to expect for your group to step in and run the show. With these kinds of free software packages, you are going to be able to rest assured that you actually can run your own show if you absolutely have to.

Finally, here, you are going to want to look into digital projectors. Furthermore, you are going to want to look into basic lighting animation tools. With a digital projector and a great lighting tool, you can truly look forward to putting on a crazy show.

These, of course, are but a few of the things that you can do to spruce up your live performances, if only visually. If you are looking for more ideas, then all you are going to have to do is take to a few of your local venues. Keep your eyes open, here, and be sure that you are approaching shows with an eye for technique. Before you know it, you are going to be a genuine master of putting on a great show.

I’m a man known for my strange proclivities; likewise, I’m a man who’s not embarrassed to share his strange proclivities. This is probably why I feel entirely all right admitting that I spent nearly two hours setting up a green screen in my own home yesterday. That’s right, readers: I’ve converted an entire wall of my apartment into a green screen for an online show that I’m going to be making; a sacrifice, sure, but one that I was happy to make.

As I took my first few minutes of footage and began experimenting with my lighting, I began to feel as though I could truly produce something great. Granted, I’m not going to be making the next Star Wars out of my own bedroom, but I really do feel like I can make a pretty funny variety show. You know—recording the little, random sketch ideas that pop into my mind all of the time.

At any rate, I bring this up because I’ve been thinking about the possibilities afforded to us all by modern technology. Simply put, starting up a show, a radio program, or a band just doesn’t seem that dangerous or threatening anymore. Think about it.

With the power of video hosting websites , smaller bands can upload footage of their performances for the entire world to see. In very little time, here, smaller bands are going to be able to reach out to a much wider audience than they ever thought possible. If your video becomes a hit, thousands upon thousands—indeed, hundreds of thousands—of people are going to know who you are overnight. Sure, online success does not always translate very neatly into real world success, but at least you are getting somewhere with your work.

And really, if exposure is all that you’re looking for, then you do not have all that much to worry about at all. So long as you are ready and willing to supply your online video hosting sources with new content on a regular basis, you are, over time, going to develop a following. The size of your following is going to depend upon the quality of the content that you provide, of course, but the regularity of your uploads is going to win you over a lot of viewers.

And all of this is precisely why you should take your participation in this site seriously. Sure, we’re not YouToube; sure, we’re not Twitter or Facebook—but we’re looking to provide you with many of the same opportunities for advancement, exposure, and outreach. If you are ready and willing to take your profile seriously, and if you are ready and willing to upload new content on a regular basis, then you are going to find that this page can dramatically improve your place in the SERPs.

Look at this page as a free way to get your band promoted, and take it seriously. Take some time to truly personalize your photo, and be sure that you are not simply ignoring your profile once you have created. Oh, and don’t forget to take a look around at a few other profiles that are on this page. You never know who you are going to meet.

In the coming weeks, we’re looking to make some improvements to this page. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we’ll be able to match up with the quality that you want and demand.

So…

As you’re reading this article, a burning question may begin to creep up on you from the back of your mind: what in the world does self storage have to do with music? I can’t fault you for asking that question, reader; ours is not the most intuitive niche to navigate. Really, though, when you begin to think about it, our entire mission (if you will) makes a great deal of sense.

What we’re trying to do, here, is help bands and self storage facilities. We’re trying to help bands by providing them with an opportunity to network with each other; likewise, by providing them with opportunities to network with all of their local music venues, music stores, and self storage companies. We’re trying to help self storage facilities by providing them with opportunities for networking with local bands, who, more often than not, are in need of a safe, private place to practice their tunes. What we’re aiming for, here, is to create a site that can, at once, benefit the self storage industry and local music scenes all across the country.

And we don’t think that our goal is all that weird! Actually, we think that our goal is pretty great.

So many indie bands start out in self storage units, practicing and practicing with very little hope for the future. Excepting a few of their favorite venues, they are often left without a clear understanding of where to turn. This lack of direction will, more often than not, turn into frustration, and before you know it a perfectly good band is calling it quits. Well, we’re sick of seeing that.

We’d like to step in and help people figure out where they can turn. We’d like to step in and help bands find venues that would like to host their shows; help venues find shows to host; help storage facilities find bands who need a place to practice. We’d like to streamline the entire process, such that a storage unit rental might land you with your very first gig. When we’ve truly build our network, there’s truly no telling how useful it could become.

Of course, to get our network up to that level, we’re going to have to put in quite a bit of work—and that is precisely what we’re gearing up for right now. In the coming weeks, we’re going to see about spreading the good word.

If you don’t mind, though, we’d love to get a little bit of your help as well. If you have a few friends who are into music to the same extent that you are, go ahead and introduce them to this site. Help them set up an account, and share whatever knowledge you have about what we’re trying to do. The more people we have on this site, the quicker we can set bands up with the connections that they want and need. In these regards, each and every user is playing a central role in our overall development.

There’s something really awesome about an organization that strives to bring world music to a smaller community. I’m not trying to condescend smaller communities, here, for their lack of world music; it just seems like they have a tougher time in these regards. Sometimes, it simply takes a few dedicated individuals to truly liven up the art scene of a smaller community.

But what in the world does any of this have to do with marketing and promoting your band? Well, a lot, actually. One of the best things that you can do to spread your name around is become involved in some of your local music organizations, either as an employee or as a volunteer. Indeed, by helping out within your local music scene, you are going to be able to develop a lot of powerful connections. At the end of the day, promoting your band successfully is very much a matter of shaking all of the right hands.

If you live in a smaller town, then volunteering is going to be the way for you to go. Indeed, your local music organizations are not going to be the biggest institutions, and much of the time they simply can’t pay you for your efforts. No worries, though, because these organizations are typically going to come with a lot of perks.

First of all, you are going to be able to attend most of the shows that they host for free. Granted, you are going to be expected to work while you are in attendance, but you are still going to be able to enjoy the show without having to spend any of your money. This, in a rather important sense, is a form of payment. Not only are you going to be able to attend a concert for free, but you are going to be able to meet the patrons of your organization, who, themselves, comprise your local music scene. Shake their hands and make a few friends, and you just might end up landing a big show for your own group.

Of course, you are also going to be able to gain a lot of music experience when you volunteer for your local organizations. While you may not be performing any sort of executive role in their operations, you will gain a reasonable exposure to their methods. Indeed, you are going to be helping out a lot with marketing and concert organization, so you do stand to learn quite a few things about how your local organizations handle their business.

At the end of the day, reader, helping your local music community is simply a good thing to do. Sure, it’s a great way to promote your own band, but it’s also a flat out decent thing to do. By helping your local music community grow, you can demonstrate to future record labels and concert venues that you are truly passionate about what you do.

Now, if you do not know who your local music organizations are, then you are going to want to do a few things. First of all, be sure that you have registered an account on this site, as we are going to be trying to pull as many local music organizations onto it as possible. Second of all, be sure that you are active on your account, as you are going to want to demonstrate to your local organizations that you are actually passionate about what you do. If you can pull off these couple of things, then you are not going to have to worry about a thing when it comes to promoting your band .

On the subject of Twitter:

When I first started using this service, I really, honestly enjoyed myself. Simply put, Twitter is cleaner and simpler than most other social networking sites. It’s not hard to update it, and while you may be tempted to send updates through several times a day, you are not going to be pressed for too much of your time.

Of course, the more I began to use Twitter, the more I began to realize that it certainly has its pitfalls. Indeed, the service is truly overrun by spammers whose accounts seem to find their way into every friend list. It’s almost impossible to find other people who share a common interest, because the spammers have taken over every search term that you’d ever think of.

So what is a person to do when he or she wants to promote their band? You’d think that Twitter would be a great place to do it; of course, the aforementioned problems clearly make things a bit more complicated. The solution to this problem, reader, is on this very site.

Using genuine social networking sites can really help you reach out to other people who are in your industry. The difference between a site like this one and a site like Twitter or MySpace is that we’re taking special efforts  to prevent this site from being spammed to death. We’d like to be sure that this site is a genuine place to link up with other self storage bands , and we’d like to be sure that it stays that way.

I suppose that I’d like to enlist the help of a few of you, here, because we can’t be a social network without an audience. We can’t be a social network without plenty of users who actually want to contribute their thoughts and time. We have to start from somewhere, so I’ll begin by appealing to whoever is reading this entry.

If you are out there trying to promote a band , or if you know someone who is trying to promote a band, get them to come to this site and to register an account. It will only take up a few minutes of your time, and before you know it, you will be a part of a large, growing network that truly aims to help you find success. Sure, when you first start out on this site, you are not going to have all of the powerful connections that you are looking for. In time, though, and as this site begins to live up to its potential, you are going to be placed in touch with all of the people you are trying to get a hold of.

So if you are getting tired of Twitter and you are looking for a better way to market your band, then you are going to want to be sure that you are not forgetting about your buds over at self storage bands . Tell your friends and band mates about us and help us grow into something that can truly help you out in the future.

Once again, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We’d love to cater this site to suit your needs if we can, so any and all suggestions are welcome.