Rock On

A permanent record

2006-12-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

When you’re on your own, it never feels like there is enough time or money to get the job done properly. In a month I will be heading into the Pus Cavern for 8 days of recording, but even these daily 10 hour sessions don’t seem like ample time.

We will be recording 11 songs with 2 guitars, bass, drums, vocals, and some electronic instrumentation. Though this may be a simple set up compared with other types of bands and musical genres, it still takes an immense amount of time to track these instruments.

On the first day of recording, a band must first set up all of the equipment and get all the necessary microphones placed. This seems simple enough, but in reality this initial preparation can take hours. The drums have to be balanced and equalized and the tone of the kick and snare must be adjusted to fit in the mix. Guitar tones must be decided upon and the mics placed to reflect this choice. Finally, if acoustic guitars are to be used, other mics must be placed on standby so that they can be used when the time comes.

After setup is complete, the tracking process can begin. When a signed band records, they have the time to record each instrument individually. They start with drums and then add guitars, other instruments, and finally vocals. With a tight budget however, we will have to track multiple instruments on each take. For example, the drums, bass and rhythm guitar will all be recorded at the same time. Once these parts are finished, it is then possible to go back and add additional rhythm guitar tracks, leads and solos. While recording each instrument separately allows for greater flexibility when editing and mixing, a live recording can make the performance feel more vivid and saves valuable time.

The instrumental portion of recording will take 4-5 days to complete, not including the mixing. Following this begins the real challenge; capturing the vocal performance. Oftentimes this is the most challenging part of the recording process, but also the most vital. Vocals are what draw a listener’s attention and the thing that they remember in a song. They are what define the song. Because there can be so many different tracks dedicated to the vocals (harmonizing, doubling, etc), it takes a large chunk of time as well.

Once the vocals have been tracked comes the final part of the whole process; mixing and mastering. In this portion of the recording, all of the individual track levels are determined, effects are added, and the tracks are made ready to be put on a CD. Although making simple level adjustments and adding some effects would seem like quick undertaking, in actuality it also burns time faster than one might expect. As the band members sit in the control room with their tunes playing over the studio monitors, each person interprets how things should sound differently. One might think an instrument needs to come up, one might think it needs to be turned down, and another thinks it is fine the way it is. The democratic part of talking out these differences of opinion can eat away the clock rapidly. There’s also the business of getting the songs into the right order with the right amount of time in between and setting a standard volume for the CD. Ultimately mixing is a critical part of recording, that can get shorted if tracking runs longer than expected.

If you think about it in any other context besides recording, 80 hours is a long time. But from the moment you step into a studio that time chips away faster than you or anyone else can expect. As an independent band recording, you realize how much time and money a professional band spends to make their CD. For their recordings perfection is a must while an unsigned band must sometimes learn to not sweat the small things. With limited time the miniscule details are less important than the overall product.

This is my last blog entry of the semester, but feel free to check out my band’s page in January to hear some of the recording. I hope you have enjoyed my column and don’t forget to Rock On.

A Life's Pursuit

2006-11-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

For many people music is a way to pass the time, a background noise that accompanies a car ride, or a radio buzzing away at work. For others it is a hobby; a fiddling with a guitar or an ingrained habit of tapping one’s fingers on a countertop. For the rest it is a way of life.

Bill “Buckwheat” Young is an example of a man who has lived with a lifelong obsession of music and all things music related. He has spent the greater portion of his life collecting vintage and new guitars and perfecting his bluesy guitar skills. One step into his shop, the Antique Rocker, and one is instantly confronted by musical trinkets and memorabilia surrounded by walls plastered with acoustic, electric and bass guitars. For Buckwheat this isn’t a job, but a kind of retirement. He spends his days tinkering on his guitars and conversing with his buddies that make their way in after work or while on lunch break while classic rock and blues music fills out the relaxed environment.

His obsession with guitars has led to a body of knowledge that outflanks many music store owners and equipment junkies. He can tell the difference between two Stratocasters made in different years or tell you how a particular manufacturer changed their production in separate years. He can help you straighten out a buzz on your fretboard or adjust the action of your strings to get the type of playability you desire.

For all his years spent in absorbing music and its many facets, one of the most impressive things about Buckwheat is the way his fingers nimbly move up and down the frets in rhythmic pentatonic figures. Upon sitting down to jam with him, he instantly picks out the sweet spot of a scale and proceeds to hammer out ascending and descending licks supplemented by soulful bends.

In the living room of his house there sits a single guitar and a small coffee table filled with paper parchments indicating chord progressions for songs and even some lyrics scrawled out in the evening hours. Downstairs in the basement, however lies the real treasure, a robust collection of electric and acoustic guitars amidst other coveted amplifiers. While it is not uncommon for musicians to have a couple of guitars or amps, it is obvious that this is an obsession. Stacks of black guitar cases lean against the perimeter of the walls while some guitars sit out on stands. In the bathroom sits a small amplifier for him to jam on while he sits on the toilet with the seat down to jam. It’s his own personal utopia.

Some people find their calling in other areas of life, but I doubt there is anyone out there who can say that Buckwheat isn’t doing exactly what he should be. He is the epitome of what happens to some who take on music as a hobby and ends up developing a lifelong obsession. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that a few little notes can have such a lasting effect on our lives, but there are worse things to be addicted to.

Hear a work in progress on my podcast

Fanatic

2006-11-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

Despite what some arrogant musicians may think, they didn’t make their own success. The fans did. If there isn’t anyone listening then there would be no need for bands to make the music. If fans didn’t buy CDs there would be no money for tours or incentive to continue to write new songs.

With this in mind one of the most important elements for a new band is developing a solid fan base that will buy recordings, tell their friends about you, and pack your shows. This is a simple process for a signed band; their label has the money and people to adequately promote you to a much larger audience.

But for bands that act as their own promotion and management, getting the word out about your group can be a difficult task. Things have improved as new technologies have emerged including the proliferation of free web profiles such as those offered by Myspace. On this site a band can add friends to their profile and send out bulletins detailing show information and recordings. Bands can also post several songs that can be heard by anyone who stumbles onto their page. Myspace is truly becoming a one stop advertising machine that can reach a wider audience faster.

But just using this site doesn’t enable you to get people to go to it. You have to get your name out there first so that people know about your band and go to the profile rather than hoping that people will accidentally end up there and like what they hear.

With a small budget and no representation, this is where the aspiring musician has to put his time in. What’s the point of spending money on recording if you aren’t going to get people to hear it?

In late January or February my band will be ready to begin our own promotional campaign. To begin we will try to get some free press in local publications, and hopefully a CD review. This will require us hitting the pavement and plugging a short feature story on our band. Reno also has an entertainment publication called the Reno News & Review that often covers local bands and would be a perfect candidate for this type of article.

The next task –getting airplay – is a crucial part of promotion but the most difficult part to obtain. We hope to go to KDOT 104.5 and get one of the dj’s to play our material. The problem with this is the fact that stations have pre programmed schedules and are not apt to play your material over that of an established act. This station, however, has at times played local band’s recordings late at night.

Finally, we hope to talk with some of the club promoters throughout the city and hopefully convince them to let us play when larger touring acts come through. Often times local bands are used to open a show, such as at the New Oasis. This would help get our name out to fans of certain genres that come to see a bigger band but maybe become interested in us as a result of the performance.

Ultimately promotion comes down to time and hard work. Although creating the music is an extremely important part of being a musician, promoting that music is often overlooked and should be considered an equally crucial step. Fans make bands.

Hear some new stuff on my podcast.

Metamorphosis

2006-11-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

Last week I was thinking about musical growth and this week that theme sort of continued, but in a slightly different manner. I was thinking about the way an idea or a set of related ideas become a song. I was looking back at some of stuff that I came up with when I first started playing guitar and comparing it to the newer songs that my band had started putting together. It was interesting to see how something really basic can become something new and different yet retain a tie to the original idea.

Many music fans don’t realize that writing a song can be an extremely long process before the writers are even happy with it. One simple idea can morph and mutate into countless side branches before becoming anything worthwhile. It is rare for the writer to bring in a song idea to the rest of the band that is completely finished or to use an original riff exactly as it was written.

But the fact that things change when band members get together is one of the best parts about music. The interaction between members and the contribution of each player are what make a song what it is.

In the case of my band, each song (all of which are still unfinished) has been through what seems like 5 versions a piece, each with different structures and variations of the basic theme. Through this exploration we hope to make each song stronger by giving it a chance to write itself rather than being satisfied by pushing it in only one direction. Some of the best material comes from each member pulling the song in a different direction than the others, sometimes to the point where the song itself tears and the band has to start over again.

While this seems relatively simple, this process is in fact slow, confrontational, and sometimes agonizing. Arguments about how the song should go and how parts should sound are commonplace and can slow down the writing pace to a slow crawl. One of our songs, "Panacea", has been around in various forms since 2004 when I first came up with the root idea. It has taken up until this very day for the band to reach an agreement on the song. We have argued for hours on what we think should happen where, which instrument should shine in which part, and how the vocals should augment the piece. While 2 years may seem like a long time for a song to come into being, progress was delayed due to the distance factor between the band and myself and the college academic schedule.

I do think that the extra time has allowed the song to grow and find its own identity. I’m sure that some great songs have been written in less than an hour or even a couple, however, I think for the most part that time benefits songwriting.

Here is a link to my newly created podcast. I'm trying to get the files into the right formats to get some stuff up, but until then I posted a filler/intro track.

click here to go to my podcast

"I've watched you change"

2006-11-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

If you were to ask an older adult, say 60 years or so old, about rock music most of them would display a kind of scorn for it. Many would say that these musicians are party animals who flip the finger in the direction of authority while simultaneously corrupting the youth. This may be true of some, but not for all. There are positive elements in some artists out there who become better people by continuing to write music and others who have journeys of self discovery that lead to positive outputs.

The Deftones released a new record this week and it got me thinking about this growth in terms of both music and personal development. It is their 6th album and their music has changed a lot since the release of Adrenaline in 1995. In today’s industry it seems that there are many bands that stay in a comfort zone and never push themselves to try innovative things. Others continue to express the same things over and over rather than tackling new things in their lives.

I was reminded of where I started out as a musician way back in elementary school with the violin and the snare drum. In middle school I focused on the drums and continued up through high school. As with most people I wasn’t great when I started out, I was just looking to make as much noise as possible. As time went on I improved and began trying things that I had never been able to do before. That was my first experience with purely musical growth.

When I joined my first band sophomore year in high school I ended up writing some of the lyrics while holding down my drum duties. As I look back at the words I wrote, I am reminded of the person that I was at the time and the limited experiences I was drawing on. Flipping forward in the spiral notebook at the things I have written recently, it feels as though I have in fact become a better person and expanded my views. I don’t feel like I’m the same foolish and naive person that I was at that time.

A perfect example of this type of emotional and personal growth is in the career of the band Tool. When they started out in the early 90's vocalist James Maynard Keenan was full of anger and even hate. His lyrics were bitter and biting as they erupted from his throat. Jumping ahead about 10 years, the band grew enormously in terms of musicianship and also lyrical content on 2001’s Lateralus. The album had many positive themes laced through the tracks and Keenan has also said in interviews that the record is largely about healing. When asked why he no longer seems as angry, Keenan said that if his music can help heal others then it can also heal himself.

Tool in 1992. Video from rev79 on youtube.com

Tool in 2001. Video from Beast6 on youtube.com

I hope that bands, no matter how known or unknown they are, will try to achieve both kinds of growth and continue to push music and their own potential. If this development ever ends then the art will be at a standstill. I hope that I can also follow that same path as I continue my musical endeavors.

Good Luck

2006-10-29T18:31:00.000-08:00

As I watched the U of A battle of the bands last week I was reminded of the hard luck that one encounters as a member of a local band. Just as the second band took the stage, the Arizona sky decided to let loose.

As an owner of musical equipment, I instantly thought of the damage that the rain could cause to the band's instruments and amplifiers. A guitar half stack can cost a few thousand dollars and a drum set is no drop in the bucket either.

This reminded me of the experiences I had while playing in my first band in high school. It seems now that we were bombarded by bad luck more often then we were blessed.

I recall the time that we were set to play a big show with some popular local bands including Fall Silent and December. Club Underground (formerly called Ark a Ik) was full of anxious kids ready for a night of live music. As the opening band it was our job to get the crowd excited and kick the night off right.

It seems simple enough to hop up onstage and play a quick 25 minute set. But as soon as we were ready to begin, our guitar player's amp decided to malfunction. We instantly knew that this was going to be trouble. After several minutes of tinkering and troubleshooting, there were no results and some people in the crowd began to turn on us. There was some booing and a few shouts to get off the stage. As a bunch of high schoolers with no money we had no way to simply switch out an amp. As an independent band we couldn't just rely on some guitar tech to fix the problem; it came down to whether or not we would be fortunate enough to have things go our way on any given night.

I can remember other times where a power or guitar cable would be lost in transport and we would have to search out someone from another band kind enough to lend us one. Sometimes while drumming I would break sticks for no apparent reason and be left to finish out a set with cracked or completely broken sticks. There were times when drum hardware would break and I would have to find ways to make it through.

Going back to the battle of the bands I couldn't help but think what a bad feeling it must have been for the band to know that their equipment might be getting damaged. But the band didn't stop playing right away and run to cover their instruments. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that although they hadn't lucked out in the weather department, that band was lucky enough to be able to take the stage and share their music. Eventhough band members can look at any situation in a negative light, they should realize that they have to take the good with the bad and the misfortune with the good fortune. It's not an easy lifestyle and things aren't always going to go your way, but when they do, it can be the best feeling in the world.

A battle ensues

2006-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

The U of A will be hosting its annual battle of the bands contest starting this Monday on the mall at 5 pm. The bands will play twenty minute sets in hopes of getting the most audience votes at the end of the night. Scheduled bands include Sketching In Stereo, Slingshot Automatic, Class Project and Skitn.

When I found out the battle was going to be this week I started to think about why a local band would want to participate in such a contest. My past experiences have been that they are lack luster shows in front of curious people rather than die hard fans. The prizes are minimal, usually the University gives a gift certificate to the winning band, which then must be divided between the members.

Some people might think that these contests are a good way to make some new fans and gain some recognition, but this is not usually the case. "First place in the University Battle of the Bands" isn't likely to turn any industry heads or instantly boost a band's popularity. Most people who watch on the mall are merely passing by or taking a break from studying rather than showing up specifically for the bands. The few fans that are there are usually friends of the band members.

So why then do bands even participate? The answer is rooted in our very instincts. Humans are competitive. We feel the need to compare ourselves to everyone around us in order to evaluate who we are. We value self pride.

A band competes in these contests to gauge themselves against other individuals who are undertaking the same activity as them. They want to see how they stack up and win so that they can be proud that they were able to take the stage and get more votes than the other bands that played. The winners may also be filled with a new kind of hope that they are better than what else is out there and can make it in the world of music.

So whether or not it is a solid gig that helps get their name out there, a band can always take away a better understanding of where they stand in music compared to other bands in their area.

Painting a picture

2006-10-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

When a person thinks about the CD they are listening to, their minds often draw associations to the cover art that adorns the front of the album. Most can call up images of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy for their unforgettable designs. With this in mind it is apparent how crucial a small time band's artwork can help attract attention and give off a professional feel.

As I prepare to record in January, the process of creating the artwork has been much more involved than I ever could have expected. Because the cost of hiring a designer to create a concept and see it through can be great, my band is relying on the drummer (who is studying to be a graphic artist) to come up with a workable design that can grace the front of our CD.

It turns out that the road to creating the artwork is a bumpy one. We have gone through three separate designs that have all made their way to the computer's trash bin. After we had produced each one of these drafts, it seemed like something was missing or we found that the final product just didn't turn out the way we had imagined it.

In addition, there were also struggles for creative control. Being as I am sort of considered the "band leader", the drummer relied on me to supply a concept and ideas for the images. The problem here was the communication of my ideas over the phone as he lives in Reno, Nevada. Each time he sent me new artwork, I found myself asking if he had understood what I said. It turns out that things that you think will look good end up being less than perfect when placed in a real format. Also many of my ideas shy away from the traditional graphic design rules that the drummer had been learning in college.

A Possible Design

Ultimately I have learned that you probably aren't always going to get what you expect when you are not your own artist and are not utilizing a professional designer. This does not mean that the final product can't be visually stunning, but you have to realize that it may not be exactly what you expected.

Doing More doesn't equal less to do

2006-10-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

It's always much more work than it seems. That's what I am slowly realizing as myself and two friends prepare to take our own stab at the world of putting a band together and recording.

When we began it all seemed simple enough; we strapped on our guitars, gripped our drumsticks, cranked up the PA system and simply started writing songs. A surging power chord was driven by clashing cymbals and the thud of the bass drum. Although many of the songs were partially written prior to the three of us coming together, no matter how solid a tune appeared it always melted away and became something completely new.

After a complete summer of this process, it was time for school to begin and me to make my way back to Tucson and the University of Arizona. We agreed that after my December graduation, the three of us would put our money together and head to the Pus Cavern to record an 11 track CD that we had spent so much time developing.

Now as the semester edges on and December creeps ever closer, I am finding that there are still so many things to be done. The first thing we had to work out was the dates for recording and how much time we could afford. Studio booking must be accomplished in advance and a deposit paid as a confirmation. The hardest part was getting three college students' work and academic schedules to cooperate. Although I would be out of school, my fellow bandmates would only be on a winter break. We also had to account for the fact that we would need time to rehearse the songs and write two additional songs to replace others we had fallen out of love with when the hiatus took effect.

After the booking fiasco, other necessary tasks started popping up. I had to go through each song, figure out keyboard and other similar effects, and record them at their respective song tempos using the program Reason. We had to begin working on the artwork for the CD cover, which went through several different concepts and drafts before settling on one. Next a track order had to be determined as well as the segues (to make the tracks flow together). Following these details, the order of business became the lyrics. Changes were made to better complement the music, and more had to be written for certain parts. Finally, because we lacked a bass player, I was give the responsibility of writing all of the parts and practicing enough to be able to record the instrument when January rolled around.

Though this is only the beginning of my own experience, I have found that this is not merely an endeavor that one dabbles in. There is no way to just run out and make a record on a whim; it takes hard work and most of all plenty of time. For now it seems that the more I accomplish, the more there is to do.

local help wanted

2006-10-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

As I observe the world around me it becomes more and more obvious that the world thrives on business and profits. There are advertisements everywhere for the newest products and the hippest gadgets, all tempting us to open our wallets and empty our bank accounts.

This same profit mentality is also present in the microcosm of a CD store. The albums are strategically arranged in order to boost sales of new releases or catch a certain customer's eye. Because of this, local bands who try to sell their CD in these stores have essentially no chance of attracting any potential fans. Their album undoubtedly ends up being buried in a back bin where few people have the chance of stumbling upon it.

But last Friday I saw something that made me think that perhaps there are some businesses who do support the local music scene and try to give musicians a way to get their songs and name out.

While browsing the Tucson Guitar Center at Broadway and Swan, I encountered an ordinary listening station that might usually contain tracks from big time artists. This rig, however, was filled with the tunes of local bands, along with their name and track information. Any person could walk up, pop on some headphones, and be free to make their way through the musical landscapes of some fellow Tucsonians.

It may not seem like much, but I was glad to see Guitar Center offering this opportunity. It also seemed that the store wanted people to stop and hae a listen as the setup was located right next to the only exit. I hope that in the future other stores will begin to help strengthen the local music scene by providing similar outlets. It would cost virtually nothing for a business to dedicate a small portion of a rack to local bands where their CD's can be discovered and purchased or rotate local albums into their own listening stations.

Burn, Burn, Burn

2006-09-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

In a time of advanced computer technology, most of us have access to a CD burner. Although many still routinely purchase albums from record stores, many more have turned to their computers to make their own discs. Using common software, one can make their own mix CDs or make exact copies of any record in a collection.

For Conscender, however, the CD burner has become an item associated with painstakingly mundane work that now occupies a large portion of their practice time. After recently recording a three track demo, the band is now in the process of producing hundreds of copies for distribution to fans and for their press kit that will be sent to record labels.

Armed with an older model Sony desktop computer and a stack of blank discs, the band’s members repeatedly load each CD and click the burn button in the browser of Windows Media Player. As each new copy emerges warm from the hard drive, a designated member slaps on a printed circular sticker label that contains band info and slides it into a paper CD envelope. These envelopes are loaded into a cardboard box to be taken to shows and handed out to anyone who will take one.

Conscender hopes that the demos will help expand their fan base and gain some label attention. By self producing the CDs and circulating them free of cost, the band hopes that people will be willing to listen to their music and attend their shows. By not relying on Oasis Manufacturing (the same company that pressed their previous 2 records), Conscender will try to preserve the band bank account to pay for other needs such as equipment, merchandise, and gas for traveling.

Pressing at Oasis typically runs around $1,400 for 1,000 jewel case CDs with 4 panel inserts. On the contrary, the band can purchase blank discs for around $35 per hundred and completely cut out labor costs. The labels are also printed by the band and are relatively inexpensive.

A band with a deal would have no such struggle to get their music out. The label would take responsibility for all manufacturing and distribution and also front all the cost to be later recouped through sales. Until the day comes that Conscender sees such a contract, they will go on and continue their assembly line until the computer's burner is burned out.

We're Rolling

2006-09-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

When music fans purchase a new CD, they rarely think what went into creating the 45 minutes that will soon blare over their speaker system. Most of us think that the band just went in the studio, played their parts, and walked out with the next chart-topping album. This impression is most often completely wrong, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the studio with an independent band.

I had the chance to spend four days in Pus Cavern, a professional studio in Sacramento, California with the metal band Conscender. During my stay I realized that there are many factors that go into producing a record, and not all of them are pretty. There are struggles for creative control, performance mistakes, and the realization that certain parts simply don’t sound as well recorded as they do live.

Everything started well as the band tracked the drums, bass, and rhythm guitars on day one. There were few problems and little time wasted, except for the hour and a half it took for set up. There were a few small mistakes, but they were quickly remedied by the computer.
On the second day, however, the band really began to find out what parts of songs worked and which ones did not. Time was consumed listening back over newly recorded parts and trying new licks to spice up the tracks. There were many disagreements over what sounded right in which part, but for the most part members were willing to listen to each other’s criticisms.

After two nights of sleeping on the floor of the studio’s live room, the ten hour sessions were beginning to wear on everyone. The focus of the third day was to be vocals. On one song, drummer Marc Davis was not happy with the outcome of Nick Bonauro’s screams. Later that night after the session, Marc tried to convey his dissatisfaction with the vocals, while Nick argued that they were perfect. Marc soon gave up and spoke of the frustration he had been building up for a long time.

Through the night Marc remained upset and even mentioned that he may quit the band. More arguments broke out when guitarist Anthony Sullivan and Marc discussed the vocals and the fact that he had missed a few practices.

By the final day the atmosphere had changed from the optimism of the first day, but the band finished up its demo in time.

From this experience it was clear that recording is no walk in the park. Bands can be made by their record, but they can be broken by it as well. When the amount of time a band can afford without label support is short, tensions run high and the pressure to perform can lead to conflict. So the next time you throw your favorite CD in the car’s player, realize that a lot more went into the record than is entering your ears.

The Tools of success

2006-09-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Most people will tell you that a major rock concert is a great experience; in fact, few will tell you otherwise. The popularity of these concerts is obvious by the hoards of individuals pulsating through venue parking lots and by the sound of faraway music that fills the neighborhood air.

Perhaps on the same night a few miles down the road there is the humble local band show where 15,000 people are reduced to 50 dedicated fans and friends. But how does the small band reach the paramount of the music industry? How do four individuals command the attention of 15,000 fans?

Many of this bands may think that it is all luck; by some stroke of magic a record executive will hear their music and instantly snatch them up and birth them into the world of rock stardom. Others think that relentless self-promotion will hold the key to their success. But the truth is that there is something more behind the bands that are packing the venues night after night and leaving fans talking about the show for a week.

On Saturday night, the enigmatic progressive rock band Tool performed to a sold out Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix. Before the band took the stage there was a silence over the crowd that erupted when the band settled into its first tune. Throughout the show the crowd could be heard singing along with every lyric and rhythmically swaying with each pulsating section.

It immediately became obvious what makes this band an act to be seen and not just four guys playing in a bar. Even behind the smoke from the machines at the sides of the stage, the frantic light show and the projection screens their secret was clear.

Great music and emotional energy. While many smalltime musicians may be talented at their craft, it doesn't always translate into worthwile compositions. Great music is something more than mere ability; it is that release of emotion and the interaction of the group members that governs what we feel everytime we put in that CD. Sure there are a plethora of guitarists in the world that can play more notes in a minute than others have played in their lives. But I would rather listen to the one who can play one note that can make me happy or make me cry.

So the next time a local band is sitting and waiting for their luck to strike, perhaps they should realize that the most important thing is the product create and the way in which that product comes to be.

Showtime

2006-09-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

On this night there were no tour buses lined up out back, no roadies hauling the equipment and tuning the guitars, and certainly no pyrotechnics or stage theatrics. But there were still bands prepared to take the stage and play their hearts out to their faithful fans.

Thursday night at The Rock (136 N Park Ave) featured several local metal and hardcore bands including Murder Victim (www.myspace.com/murdervictim) and Desired Affliction (www.myspace.com/desiredafflictionband). The venue wasn’t sold out but none of the bands could complain as there were enough fans willing to show support in the form of respectful applause, mosh pits, and crowd participation.

The groups hauled their own drum sets and guitar amplifiers, sound checked all their own equipment, and after working up a sweat playing through their time slot, had to pack it all up once again. Not so glamorous but rewarding all the same.

For a local band a show can be both the best and worst part of playing music. It offers a chance for freedom of expression, a way to make fans, and also an opportunity to pull in some money from the door and merchandise sales. On the other side of the coin, however, musicians can lose confidence when a show is less than packed or a crowd is disrespectful. At times a bands will also be thrown on a bill with other groups that may be out of their genre, which can also be a less than rewarding experience when the audience doesn’t want to listen.

But the bands of this night could call it a success. The cover charge was $8, and although that had to be divided amongst the bands and the venue, everyone most likely walked out with a little in their pocket. The crowd was positive and really cranked up a notch when Murder Victim took the stage.

If there is one thing that can be learned about the life of a local band from this experience it is that playing live is no walk in the park when you are doing it on your own. The musicians have to book their own shows, promote them and set up and break down their own equipment, yet they still do it week after week for the opportunity to share their music.

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Though our younger years are long gone many of us can still remember the fantasies we had as children. Many of us wanted to be sports heroes and some of us actors. And then others wanted to be rockstars.

The truth is that it may be more likely to become the former than the latter. On Mtv we see our favorite singers and bands and think that any one of us could be up there garnering praise and raking in the big bucks. But not many of us realize how hard it is to get to that point. It takes years of dedication and hard work before anyone will even turn an ear to listen.

Few know this better than those trying to live the dream. On any given night of the week you can find musicians gathering in a garage, a basement, or a bar cranking up their guitars in hopes that they may get that one chance to stand in front of 10,000 people and cry "thank you and good night!" But a local band can spend years just trying to develop a fan base and release a recording. Without any label support for marketing or financial backing the brunt of the responsibility lies on the shoulders of those that are also in charge of creating the music. Free internet sites, such as www.myspace.com and www.garageband.com have helped small bands get their name out and book shows, but there is always something to be done and arguments to be had.

With this in mind Rock On will be taking a behind the scenes look at what being in a local band is really like, from practicing to recording and playing shows. Hopefully it will give the reader a look into the not so glamorous aspects of hometown bands as well as highlight the better moments because if you ask any musician, they'll tell you that they wouldn't trade it for anything.