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Pro Tip #8: Knowing Value – Part 2

Pro Tip #8: Knowing Value – Part 2

If you read part 1, you probably were thinking I was saying we should all play for free (don’t do it, unless a charity) and we should all just hug and sing John Denver songs (real name Deutschendorf  BTW).

Nope, I’m like any warm blooded human and American, show me the money! let’s derail this train and make money!

Given “value” has two meanings, we can now consider both in our determination of overall value. We’re now armed with our values of why we do it outside of money. We can combine that with money to build our definition of real value!

Ok, back to money. It’s what pays our bills, it’s what puts food on the table, it’s what kept me up at night in my earlier years as I plotted to be a millionaire by 30 years old, it’s what people sometimes get obsessed with and die without enjoying it (where is the fun in that?).

So, let’s talk money. Strictly speaking money, we need to first consider a few value systems.

  • The market value
  • The values of the bar, venue, restaurant
  • The actual values based on numbers

The market value

In this area (and pretty much what I’ve seen in my travels), the market price for a musician performing at a small / medium club in 2019 is $100 per person a night (and it’s going down if we’re not careful). Yes, there are some folks who make more and it’s supported by the number of crowds and even music genres but I’m being general. If I’m wrong here, please message me and give me your secret because everyone I talk to tells me these same basic numbers.

Did you used to make more, absolutely!

Should it be more now?

The musician in me says “damn right, you know how much equipment, time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears I have into this music thing?” but the business analyst in me says “it sort of depends”. Why? Continue reading.

The values of the bar, venue, restaurant

Those places value people. The more people they can serve, the more money they generate, the more they can pay their bills and people. I’m sure they have the internal values as well but we are just talking money. They are after the same things we are, the glorious dollar. Instead of spending their time practicing for years on instruments or singing to be reimbursed, they spend their money they worked for years to obtain in hopes to gain profit (not much different and the goal of everyone, use your assets to bring more assets).

Leveraging some business strategy to get people, they utilize entertainment and other measures. In our case, they desire our bands (notice I didn’t say need us) to bring in crowds, fresh faces, and to entertain. They are essentially gambling at this point at time and asking “Will the band bring in enough people to pay for itself?” If it does, boom… we’re all successful.

One thing to know, bars / venues / restaurants for the most part are not trying to rip you off. They are trying to keep their doors open. Sure, many will try and get the best deal they can but this goes back to the idea of partnering for mutual benefit.

Therefore, knowing what you bring is part of the equation to consider.  

Pretty simple. The venue desires people to make money and they need it to pay you. It’s a relationship I’ll most likely write a whole other article on but failure to understand the relationship completely can lead you to either never getting a gig due to your own perceived values, a disdain of clubs all together, or limit your ability to negotiate the best deal.

Given that info, we can start to formulate things.

The actual values based on numbers (door or ticket sales)

Spoiler alert: your perceived value may not align with the actual value to others mathematically. Don’t shoot the messenger! This is a ugly reality and I did not enjoying typing it.

First, let’s categorize the places you want to play.

  • Large – 500+ people (Casino / Mega Club / Concert Venue)
  • Medium – 200 – 300 people. (bar, restaurant, venue)
  • Small – Less than 100 people. (bar, small venue)

If you are playing the large, this article probably never applied. You are already with an agent or you’ve been through the small to medium to get where you are at. You’ve obviously got your stuff together and have a large draw. That’s awesome!

However, for us more normal working folks, let’s focus on the medium and small clubs and cover bands. Original bands are a different beast and unfortunately get even less sadly.

For quick math sake, small or medium clubs charge / or expect $5 a person as a baseline.

That means, the number of people you bring would determine what value (money) others may see versus maybe your perceived value. Think of it like ticket sales or even door sales (although there is a difference)

  • 25 people = $125
  • 50 people = $250
  • 100 people = $500
  • 200 people = $1000
  • 300 people = $1500

If that were ticket sales and you sold 25, you made $125. Does that mean your band is only valued at $125.. i don’t think so.. but.. the numbers do. The bar / venue / restaurant may feel the same.

It’s kind of like a gofundme where you ask for $2000 and you get $125. It’s reality versus the perception of things. You may feel like you should have gotten $2000 but people may not like you as much as you think, at least not enough to let go of their hard earned money.

Even worse, a true “ticket sales model” in places like L.A. would require bands to actually pay money to play a location and then sell tickets to reimburse themselves and make profit (yikes).

And possibly even worse, companies like live nation are now exclusively signing contracts with venues / bars where they take a cut off the ticket sales and who knows how much more. I got to do more research on this but just yesterday they just signed the basement east in Nashville. Not sure the fallout for bands just yet (hopefully it’s positive?)

So how is the door different? The door is a collective of work where all parties share from the effort. Much like profit sharing, both bands and venues are working towards the promotion of an event. Everyone benefits from the hard work and nobody gets left out in payment. Bands receive those rewards generated by the venues hard work and promotion and investment as an example. (hint: choose venues that also partner). Some venues / bars are doing a guarantee plus door (overage).

So are ticket sales and door deals bad? It depends again.

If the Kid Rock asked you to play in front of 50000 people but only gave you $150 in tickets (to sell), is that good value? YES. Did you compromise on your “we know our value” absolutely no. You invested in your band and that gig is paying huge returns towards the real value.

If your local venue is packed and the place is electric with music lovers who will follow and become fans to your next event, is the door deal good value? YES. You invested in your band and it will pay dividends.

If the place usually has 10 people with no structure, no PA, and they are all drunk worth a door deal or ticket sales? NO. That is divesting in your band and brand.

Is playing the same places over and over with the same material good? oh, that’s a different subject. Short answer NO!

Simple rule: Assets bring your things. Liabilities take things away. Consider this in every step in your bands journey if you can.

Oh my, the meme is true! Musician: someone who loads $5000 worth of gear into a $500 car to drive 100 miles to a $50 gig!

Something to mention, at no point did I say anything about free. I don’t recommend it unless it’s for a charity. If you do, you could be impacting the market value we do have.

I wanted this article to be something which would spawn thoughts and just maybe put a different perspective on why we are generally seeing those rates in the area. I know in the 90’s it was around $1000 a night, 2000’s was around $750, and by 2015 it’s become $500 and dropping. You are seeing more lead singers doing solo projects and karaoke because venues / bars are not seeing where the numbers line up and the crowds are about the same. No disrespect for those solo folks, you guys are on the money.

It should however cause us to think, how did we get here and what can we do about making a change? Reviving live music and creating the scene (#CTS) !

My biggest hope is that this article would present another perspective and that together working with each other and bars / venues / restaurants, we can all receive value together that is fair and equitable and that increases the exposure of live music in real numbers with real expectations. I feel if we collectively work together, we’ll create a thriving music scene which will get those number back up in the market value and we’ll be having fun while we do it.

BTW, I’m waiting for people to say “I wouldn’t even get out of bed for $500”. My response, not talking about you dude, you are the best. Rock on.

Last, this video of the “beard of truth” gives a perspective from a working drummer. He reminds us why we got into music in the first place and shows a guy playing big shows and enjoying himself while doing so. Good stuff.

Thanks for reading and rock on.

Pro Tip #8: Knowing Value – Part 2

Pro Tip #8: Knowing value – Part 1

“Hey dude, you playing at Wombats, that new bar in town?”

Hell no man.

“Why dude?”

Not enough money man.

“What do you mean? Isn’t some money better than no money?

No man, we know our value.

As someone who has booked myself and artists, I have actually used the phrase “We know our value” as to somehow tell those bars / venue owners that I’m the stuff and they can’t low ball me (1990’s). I think it was mostly arrogance as if I had some band that was better than others, never realizing there are a lot of bands (even better) that wanted that same gig. I think it was my idea of a marketing tactic or something. I want to go back in time and punch myself in the face. Why?

  1. I didn’t really know our value.
  2. I didn’t really know our value.

Read on.. maybe that will make sense.

So, what is value? By definition:

Noun: a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.

Verb: estimate the monetary worth of (something).

Interesting huh? It can have two meanings! One is based on an internal need in someone’s life (playing music as an example) and the other is based on the worth in dollars.

Frankly, I was always looking at the verb (money side), as if to share with pride my accomplishment to make that extra $100 over the last band. It’s human instinct to want to be better I suppose. My use of “we know our value” didn’t play out as I expected. It showed my cards and ultimately prevented me from being able to work with the venue for mutual benefit. Even worse, telling them “I knew our value” meant it opened me up to the question back “ok, what is your value?” .. uh oh.. what is my value? If I would have just changed the words to “we feel we can bring value to you”.

Fast forward many many years, the good news is I’ve found the money is a byproduct of what’s actually important (the noun)… not the other way around.  It comes after you establish the core values.

Anyway, I’m writing this article / rambling because I think sometimes we get this stuff confused and end up losing opportunity over our perceived value (in dollars) versus our real values to get out and play. It’s a two parter because it’s long and I could go on and on about this. I expect people will disagree with me on this and that is perfectly OK. In honestly, I’m looking for others opinions and their experiences. That’s the whole idea around putting these articles (ramblings) out there.

So, back to the story, it’s a good question. If money is what you value, then any money is better than no money right?

  • If you said yes: Go get that money, go forth and prosper. No need to read further. (I’ll give you a tip though, you can make more working at Publix or Walmart than in a band –  and you get insurance!)
  • However, if no: Then we agree, money isn’t everything. You may actually value being in a band because it’s the coolest thing ever!

So, what are some things that you may actually value over money musically?

  • Being in a band / rockstar
  • Playing to a room full of folks / fans
  • Connecting with others musicians
  • Sharing your song / music
  • Getting in the spotlight
  • Being a part of a community
  • Being on tour / travel
  • Meeting people / getting followers and fans
  • The energy / excitement
  • Fame / Ego
  • Giving back / charity
  • Getting drunk (I hope not)

Obviously, there are many more reasons why someone plays music and enjoys it but when you start adding things up, money may not be the only single thing of value. It may be what comes after the “noun” value happens.

Side note: I can tell you with my own venue that money was never even talked about. The thought of having a venue dedicated to supporting bands / artists and providing a real listening experience trumped any thoughts of money. It’s our value that creating experiences and helping bands at that place is much more important than making a buck. We’re blessed to be in a spot to pay bands and do this type of thing and it’s great to pay the electric bill (our goal) but being a part of community growth and seeing and hearing some great bands is more than enough payment. I digress.

By now, I’m sure you are either disagreeing completely, or just maybe, it has caused you to realize that being in a band is not all about money, and you would be right, there is much more value to be had.

My goal in this part 1 was to try and look back to why you starting playing, singing, running sound, doing lights, or whatever role you have in a band.

I think you’ll find that you started playing because is the most fun experience on earth to be able to make noises, be in front of a crowd, and connect with others. It’s just plain cool. It’s hitting on some of the intangible values, which based on some of the previous articles can be most important (see the love languages article).

When I manage / managed bands or artists, I always ask the question. Why do you want to do music? The expected answers are: Girls, Money, Fame.

However, once in a while, I get someone who says “it’s all I want to do”. Those are the people who truly love and value music. Those are the ones I gravitate towards because they are fully committed at any cost and their goal is about creating something for others to receive, not the other way around.

I hope maybe this spawned some thoughts for you. It’s something I think about often. For those who play music, please don’t forget about the noun value. Don’t let the verb value be the only thing that determines your real value(s).

Don’t worry, we’re about to talk money in part 2 and I like money.

Pro Tip #7: The Ruinous Monster of the Unchecked Ego

Pro Tip #7: The Ruinous Monster of the Unchecked Ego

By Carey Henderson

I’ve been playing guitar for nearly 31 years. I started like many people: my parents bought me an inexpensive guitar, because they were smart enough to start this way to see if I’d stick with the instrument first, I took lessons (from Jason Harlow himself), and spent a lot of time driving my parents nearly out of their minds playing the same chords and riffs over and over until I began to find some proficiency.

I can still remember the moment when I knew, however, that I wanted to be a serious guitar player. My parents were on vacation somewhere. At the time, we had one of those giant satellite dishes, not these tiny DishTV ones you see remnants of now. I was still in the early stages, and I happened across Van Halen’s ‘Live Without a Net’ special the night that they were gone, and at the moment just before Eddie took his prolonged solo. Sammy noted that this was the time during the show where he got to kick back and drink a beer, and Eddie went to town. I was floored by his grinning self, in those ridiculous pants and that wife-beater tee, as he began to rip the sky from the ground in the way only Eddie can. I’d already been a fan of bands like Stryper, and of course Van Halen, Motley Crue, and I had discovered players like Steve Vai and Satriani. But I’d never seen anything like the spectacle of Eddie doing what he does best.

From that moment on, I was hooked and knew that I wanted to be able to do what Eddie could do.

In those early years, I was mostly into hard rock, hair-metal, and some thrash, as well as instrumental guitar music. I can remember riding with a friend at the time to the local mall any time we found out that a shred guitar player had been released on the inimitable Shrapnel Records. Marty Friedman, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Tony McAlpine, and then one day I heard Micheal Lee Firkins. Firkins became very quickly my favorite of the lot, with his wild but precise use of a whammy bar to mimic slide guitar, and his obvious blues and country influences. I cut my teeth, so to speak, on these players. Some years later, I discovered Zakk Wylde, and then Stevie Ray Vaughan, and to this day both remain my two biggest influences.

As my proficiency with the instrument grew, even in my younger years, I could see my own limitations. I’ve never been any good with arpeggios. I could tap well, and within a Pentatonic scale, I could do two notes per string fast and with precision. In those early years, as well, I used a Floyd-Rose set up, and learned to work the whammy bar with some precision, though I never came close to achieving the skill of Michael Lee Firkins. One thing that I credit to being a good player today is coming to terms with my own limitations early on, and working within them, stretching when and where I could, but never pretending to be something that I wasn’t. I’ve always enjoyed serving the melodic sensibilities of a song anyway, so my limitations didn’t hinder me terribly when it came to making music that I enjoyed making, and music that other people seemed to enjoy listening to.

But the thing I credit most in terms of both being a good player and never losing my love of the instrument some 31 years later was learning quickly to command my own ego.

I find ego to be something like a drug: with the correct dosage, it can push you to become the best player you can be, but abused, it will derail progress, alienate you, and take all the joy out of playing in any situation other than by yourself. There are few things that can be as much fun as sharing the stage with other competent guitar players, and enjoying the back and forth as you serve the music and the moment. But when the ego is left unchecked, there is no hope of this joy.

I’ve played in live band situations since college, though not consistently. I’ve had years on end where I took breaks from it, only to find myself drawn back to it again because the shared experience of music is something that I enjoy. In my many years on many stages, I’ve seen the ego ruin the experience for many a guitar player (not to mention the band backing them, and often the audience!) I’ve had so many of them step on the stage with me and proceed to try and make the moment a competition, which for me steals all the potential fun from serving the songs and the moment. I’ve been off the stage and watched guitar players compete with each other from the perspective of the audience member, one cranking their amp louder, only to lead to the other player doing the same, until the entire thing became a spectacle of ego rather than enjoyable back and forth that can come from two competent players who respect one another.

I’ve always tried to keep my ego in check by competing with one person only: myself. I want to be the best player that I can be because I think that serves the music, and because it keeps out the toxic need to ‘show up’ other players. When I want to improve, I listen to my influences, and when I know my ego needs to be checked, I do the same. And these days, if any adult player begins to find their ego taking over, thinking that we are more special than is true, we only need to pull up YouTube. We can then see kids at ridiculously young ages who can already ‘shred our faces.’ We can also watch consummate players like Eric Gales, Andy Timmons, Joel Hoekstra, and a host more, who all respect one another and share a stage with respect, and learn from their example. I find doing this to be a marvelous tool in making certain my ego is being administered at the correct dose.

Of course, there are always those players who derive a sinister joy from wanting to show up other players, and nothing can be done about or for them, as this is just the human condition. But most genuine musicians want to serve the music and not destroy others. Some have this quality early on in their journeys, and some find this as they age, realizing with time and the wisdom of growing older that an unchecked ego is a zero-sum game. Like the habit of abusing a drug, the ruinous monster of an unchecked ego can never be satisfied, only satiated moment to moment in a never ending cycle.

Carey Henderson is the lead guitar player for The Michael James band and one of three guitar players in the band Reagan and The Advisors.
He can be found on Facebook and can be emailed at carey.henderson@gmail.com

Pro Tip #6: Practice at home / Rehearse with your band

Pro Tip #6: Practice at home / Rehearse with your band

Oh no, pucker factor 10! (pucker factor – the amount your butthole clinches up during a tense situation)

In a world far far away, this is a fictional story.

Jim Smuckatelli, bass player who played with the band “Sasquatch” comes into rehearsal with a new band called “Lazerbeam”. Now everyone knows that Jim is a player, he’s got 87 Facebook followers and has recorded at Larry Gussledorf’s (a.k.a. Night Rider Band) home studio right outside Nashville at the microtel Rm #23 . Jim will self-admit that he is a bad ass and when he walks in a room, people don’t notice, I mean notice.. this is fiction.

Jim, who is now playing with a cover band (strictly for money to pay for his drinking habit) approaches the night of rehearsal.  Jim knows that his “reputation” will prevail and he will slay the 3 songs set as goals for the rehearsal, because, that’s what Jim does.   

Enter the “rehearsal”: The drummer kicks it off 1,2,3,4.. and boom. Jim is playing some weird progression, it kinda sounds like something I’ve heard before… hmmm… what could that be… I know! “shit”. Yeah, it sounds like “shit” (as if it has some musical properties to it).

The band stops. Other members confused as to what has occurred given the pedigree of such a player.  The poor leader asks “Jim, what was that?” Jim is at pucker factor 10.

And like clockwork, the excuses start coming out. (Have you heard these? I probably said some of these when I was younger!)

  • “Man, I didn’t have time to really learn them, I “mapped” them out though!”. – I’m not sure what the term “map them out” means but I’ve heard it a lot in my career. I can only deduce that “Mapping something out” appears to be a term that means “I really don’t know what I’m doing but trust me… I listened to it!” Net gain: 0
  • “Man, I learned the tune in a different key / different version” – As opposed to the tab that you were given and the explicit instructions to play the version on the album in the key of “g”? Net Gain: 0
  • “Hey man, show me that one part” Because you just now realized you don’t know how to play it? You are now asking others to learn your parts as well? Net Gain: 0
  • “Hey man, I’m gonna be honest (like you are not always honest?), I got with a chick the other night and didn’t practice”. – Well, at least you now know where the commitment is and I appreciate you being honest the day of rehearsal (yes, I’ve heard all of these). Net Gain: 0
  • “Man, I thought we were doing our own version of it” i.e. My musical integrity would never let me play something like the original recording, after all, people will be able to recognize my version.. NOT. Net Gain: 0
  • “Nobody told me”. This is a fabulous excuse given that everyone else seemed to know what was going on. How about some self accountability bro, maybe ask if you don’t know what songs to learn? Net Gain: 0
  • “I listened to them all week” – Awesome! I never knew you are one of those people who can just listen to it and know the parts, that must be nice. Did you just develop Alzheimer’s before rehearsal cause it appears you can’t remember anything. Net Gain: 0
  • “I’m a dumb ass and I think my time is more important than yours” BINGO! I’ve never actually heard this one but I’d respect it much more than the others because it would be the truth. Net Gain: 1 – at least you know who to escort out of the band (politely).

The Impact:

What Jim failed to realize is:

  • His actions have built frustration / distrust with his fellow band members.
  • His actions have spoken louder than words and have wasted others time.
  • He does not possess the same commitment as others.
  • He has no integrity. Cannot be relied on.
  • He has disrespected others.
  • He is the weak link,
  • He sucks.

Awe, come on, give Jim a break! He works and does not have time to practice like the others.

My response: You are exactly where you want to be (as a band).

If you are ok with Jim not learning his parts and you not really progressing, rock on. It’s ok, you folks do you. It’s totally your choice as I’m sure Jim is a great dude, maybe your best friend and you folks will have a great time. I’ve been in bands where it was all about just jamming, in which case someone like Jim may thrive playing part and pieces of songs because nobody cares.

However, I’m talking about a band, a unit of people with the same focus. I’m just saying that I’ve never seen anything become great by choosing to be average, below average, or not putting in the work. As for me, I cannot recommend enough finding people who have the same commitment, values, and work ethic. I personally value my teams time as well as my own so I don’t know how long Jim would last in one of my bands. LOL

So, what’s the different in Practice and Rehearsal and why does Jim suck?

As nouns the difference between rehearsal and practice is that rehearsal is the practicing of something which is to be performed before an audience, usually to test or improve the interaction between several participating people, or to allow technical adjustments with respect to staging to be done while practice is repetition of an activity to improve skill.

More specifically, Practice is what you do at the house. It’s what you learn prior to a rehearsal with a band. It’s what you do to ensure you are NOT Jim.

It’s where you are learning your songs, and yes, to the very detail of what is recorded.

Why do I want to learn every detail?

Ultimately, by learning the details from the album or even official tab, you and your band now have a baseline. The baseline provides the same “operating picture” to work from. From there, you can always make the tune your own (if you want to), but knowing the baseline will not only make things smoother, it will give everyone confidence that you are nailing a song.

What is Rehearsal?

Rehearsal is where everyone comes together as a band to “practice” together. It’s a different mindset completely because knowing your parts now allows you to work on the other aspects of the musical journey such as dynamics and performance. The rehearsal provides that fine tuning of the songs and allows for the band to take the song and make it their own (if required).

“Practice is personal; rehearsal is relational.”

Bottom line: Please, don’t be a Jim!

If you are a Jim, do yourself and your band members a favor by communicating what you are able to provide. Don’t sign up for something you cannot accomplish given whatever circumstances you have. It’s so much easier to be honest and upfront so band members can plan properly and manage expectations. We all have jobs, we’re all busy..etc. This is why it’s important to consider everyone’s time commitment, not just your own.

If you have a Jim in the band, speak to them about the standards you have and what is needed, otherwise, consider removing Jim. Jim could essentially be robbing you of your time, talent, and opportunity.

I realize this article was a little touchy and if you have been in one or more bands, you’ve seen it. There is no rule that says you have to run a band like a business or take any of this advice. It’s just things I’ve seen and have grown to despise at times and getting rid of the Jim attitude and ethic is crucial to growing.

I will continue to say this over and over, find people with your same commitment, values, and work ethic. From there, you can do just about anything your band sets out to do. Rock on.

Pro Tip #5: It really don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing…

Pro Tip #5: It really don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing…

Written by Jason Boyd – Professional Drummer

When Jason Harlow invited me to write an article, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about first… Groove. Groove is such an important element of music that I find is too often overlooked. In my opinion it is what makes music truly enjoyable. I really look forward to hearing everyone’s input on this topic. As musicians we should always try to learn from one another, so your input is valuable to all of us!

A bit of history… I have always considered myself a mediocre drummer. When we look at people who are “experts” on our particular instrument, we normally tend to gravitate towards the ones who are extremely technically proficient. This always left me feeling a bit “less than” as a musician. However, I started noticing a pattern, especially moving to Houston, TX. What I noticed was that I could be on the call list with drummers who were without a doubt more technically proficient than I, yet I would still get the call. The only thing I can contribute this phenomenon to is that I tend to get the same compliments. These compliments are “You have a great feel” and “I love what you don’t play”. That last one felt kind of offensive the first time I heard it, but it is probably the best compliment I’ve ever received.

Is groove something learned or is it something you either have or you don’t? This is the question that I’ve wrestled with more than any other. I think for the most part it can be learned, but not in the same sense a learning a new riff. To me, groove is a feeling and a state of mind.  As a kid, I remember when my dad would say “find the groove god”. It sounded ridiculous back then, but makes complete sense now. Groove is kind of like a dance. It has multiple layers that I’ll expand upon below.

Tempo: In order to have great groove you need great tempo. Tempo is the foundation that a good groove is built upon. Without this solid foundation, everything else WILL crumble. Most of us have heard those dreaded words, “can you play with a click?”. Those words used to throw me into an immediate panic attack until I was forced to do it. After a little experience with a click track, I began to love it! Now I welcome a click track and realize that it relieves a lot of pressure off of me. Try to look at the click as another band member in your mix and embrace it.

Listen: It’s impossible to find the groove if you don’t know where all of the pieces are! Listen to your bandmates and compliment them! It’s not all about you!

Beat Placement: Now this is the hardest element for me to explain, yet it’s critically important. In a 4/4 measure there are 4 beats, yet where you choose to place them is critical! You can play ahead, on or behind the beat. This is the element of feel that’s so elusive, yet it’s what gives a song life. This is the “dance” part.

Relax: It’s next to impossible to find the groove if you’re stiff. Relax and play with confidence! We’re human beings and will never be perfect. Those imperfections are the subtle life of the song. This is why a “perfect” computer will never replace an imperfect human musician.

Again, this is a tough subject to teach, but I hope this has given you a few things to think about. If you are constantly working on new riffs, I urge you to stop and analyze your feel first. There are so many bands out there that are technically talented, yet I could care less about listening to them. I appreciate the technical abilities of Neil Peart, but I enjoy listening to Steve Jordan more any day of the week! My dad was a brilliant musician and could groove like no one I’ve ever met. Something he said about my old band The Mutt Brothers that always stuck in my mind was this… “Y’all are like a locomotive that’s getting ready to derail, yet you’re right on track”. Be a beautiful trainwreck and embrace your human imperfections. You’ll be a better musician and probably get more jobs if you do.

Pro Tip #4: That’s how we role

Pro Tip #4: That’s how we role

Have you ever stepped back and considered all the moving parts of a band? It’s a miracle things actual happen at all given how humans interact.Ever thought about your role in a band?

  • Am I a support or lead musician?
  • Am I a volunteer or getting paid?
  • Will I be allowed and/or expected to contribute creative ideas?
  • Do I have even have a role?

Maybe you’re in a situation where you feel like you are pulling all the weight or feel like you are not being used to your full capacity. Look no further as roles may solve your woes.

Why are roles important?

Roles and Responsibilities provides clarity, alignment, and expectations to members in the band and those executing the work to make a successful performance, record, or any other musical venture. Roles & Responsibilities enables effective communications between the various members, preventing folks stepping on each other’s toes and building trust… not to mention making things much more efficient.

As you can imagine, there are many roles doing music. To prevent this note from being a book, I’ll touch on the more common roles and be leaving out roles such as manager, engineer, publicist, publisher, social media strategist, music supervisor, video tech, promoter, a&r, radio promoter, tour manager, website designer, stage crew…etc.

Leader: The life blood of the band. The role is to guide the band, mission, and to be an effective communicator on goals, schedule, and all band affairs. If you are the leader, you have the greatest responsibility. The bands health, morale, momentum, and success rely on your ability to communicate effectively, to serve, set goals, to inspire, and to be honest and transparent with your members. It’s a role which requires patience and the ability to understand others perspectives while holding members accountable as well as yourself. As a leader, you need to be the solid rock who exemplifies the standards that you expect from others. The disposition a leader has in the room drives everybody else’s behavior to a large extent. A positive and confident leader not only stands like a rock for the team, but helps promote and dissipate the same reaction among the team.Band

Members: Without you, the band doesn’t exist. You and your input are critical to making the ship move. Make sure you exercise diligence, flexibility, support, and participation in transforming the band. You must be transparent and honest with the leader and let them know when they could use extra perspective. Learn others strength and weaknesses and always respect the capabilities of others and encourage. Continue exercising your commitment to the band through learning material, lending a hand to others, and ensuring the standards are also met.

Sound guy / light guy: Well, maybe you are the most important after all. I include the sound / light techs in with the band because after all, they are your ears and eyes to a successful performance. They know more than you do in terms of what the crowd is seeing and hearing so respect them and be kind and let them do their role. When there are literally hundreds of variables going on and there is a small feedback, realize it’s a bit more complicated than you think and many times this could be caused by changes in stage volume. Pro tip: loud stage volume leads to less control on the mix, louder isn’t always better because you end up competing with each other in smaller clubs.

Booking / Promotion: If you don’t have an agent, most likely you or someone on the band is doing this role. It’s not the most fun role and it comes with a lot of pressure. It’s not just making calls, it’s doing flyers, promotion, managing schedules and people. The trick I’ve found is to define what the bands requirements / goals are up front and allow the person booking to negotiate on the band’s behalf. If you play in a band because you want to have fun, rock on! Do that and enjoy having the best time of your life. If you play in a band to make money, rock on, Do that! However, when booking, please respect the venue / bar or establishment and look at it not from what they provide you but how you can partner with them to equally benefit. I’ll write an article on this by itself as I see folks who do not completely understand where money comes from to pay bands, the death of live music, or understanding actual value versus perceived..etc. Hint: Remember why you got into music in the first place. ?

The everything role: Unfortunately, the role many people find themselves in. Although it can feel rewarding at times, I’ve seen it personally take a toll on the individual and the band leading up to eventual problems. We’re human and we all want to give everything we got but running everything can ultimately lead to error and burnout.

Example: If you find yourself doing the promotion, booking, setting up PA, running sound, creating the song lists, doing the website, social media..etc. You will inevitably start the human instinct of feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated (it happens, it’s normal). You may even start to feel like others just don’t care when in reality, it could be because:

  • Roles were not defined
  • Roles were not equally distributed and accountability not in place
  • You failed to rely on others
  • You have members that are in fact included but not committed (uh oh!)

If for some reason you can handle the load of everybody and everything, rock on, you are better than most! However, in my experience, that’s not a band.. that’s a boss that just tries to tells others what to do.

I realize this was a bit less exciting of a read, however, please take time to evaluate your roles and place people in the roles where they have strengths.

Everyone cannot be the leader and there are no leaders without followers.

Hopefully this rambling can help in your band and personal development. I continue to make mistakes and learn from them. These notes / articles are meant to establish thought and if you have other experiences, please share your insight! Rock on.

Pro Tip #3: Bands, have the same goals

Pro Tip #3: Bands, have the same goals

“Dude, we should totally be a Slayer tribute band” / “no man, I think we should only do country music!”.

Yeah, that’s real. It exists. Two musicians discussing their goals and desires to form the ultimate band. Houston, we have a problem.

Most of the bands I’ve seen that are short lived happen for a number of reasons but at the heart of it is because members of the band simply don’t have the same goals in mind. Worse, the members are not flexible or they’re actually prideful.

I’ve actually been in projects where folks would not play a type of music because they apparently where “too cool for school” – Jason Harlow 1987. Yep, I remember telling myself I would never play a “poison” song. Fast forward 2019, I play them freely as some of the most fun songs ever to play. What was I thinking??? It’s interesting to see how perspectives change when you learn what is actually important.

If you don’t get anything out of this article, get this… music is about having fun. Period. We’re not curing cancer or doing anything that is that serious. I mean really, we’re getting the opportunity to get in front of folks and have a great time doing what we’ve practiced our whole lives. If I had a time machine, I would go back and punch myself in the face for even considering that one genre of music was superior over another. Turns out that most of that music I considered inferior (jazz, country, pop) is much more complex than anything I’d ever played. Good news is that I learned quickly and realized just how ignorant I was fortunately. If this is you, learn from me! I’m so glad with age comes wisdom and experience.

Back to goals! Inevitably, if bands and members don’t align their goals, they simply fail because everyone is pushing in different directions and there is no satisfaction.

So, what happens when you have 2 or 3 different people with opposing goals? How do you fix it?

If you have mature members, divergent thoughts and mixed goals can work to build a chemistry that makes something very special. If members respect each other and have those love languages I spoke about intact, there can actually be some goodness out of it.

Unfortunately though, if you have members who are at the opposite polar ends of the musical spectrum with song choices, attitude, likes, values that are unwilling to change…etc. You must remove them and place them in a project of like people. Sorry, it’s the truth because otherwise you are wasting your 86,400 seconds a day.

That being said, preventing these problems can be solved with a well laid out set of goals prior to taking on members or setting goals with your current members will greatly attribute to the growth and stability of your band.So, what do band goals look like?

  • Let’s play Harlow’s in the next 90 days. We can lock in 12 songs to play a 1 hour set. We’ll rock peoples faces and having fun while increasing our social presence through fans and followers (ok, shameless plug).
  • Let’s learn the songs: brown eyed girl, honky tonk woman, and mustang sally by next week and incorporate them into our wedding gig next Saturday.
  • Let’s save up $500 in the next 2 weeks to record our original “Rock your momma” at Sunland Studios. We’ll take $250 off the top from the Harlow’s gig to help fund and another $250 off t-shirt sales to fund it.

What do many band goals actually look like:

  • Let’s get signed
  • Let’s become famous
  • Let’s make money

Notice the difference?

In the business world we use “SMART” goals. Which stand for:

Specific / Measurable / Attainable / Relevant / Time-Based

When planning your band goals, be specific. Without knowing where you want to be specifically in your music journey, it’s likely you’ll take some dirt roads and find yourself lost and broke down.. mostly broke. Consider this when planning your song choices, venue choices, marketing choices. What specifically is needed.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t tell if you are making progress. To many times I see bands set a goal but fail to measure whether or not they hit the target. After a while of not measuring (whether performance, sound, or connecting with people), they seem to wonder why folks quit coming to their shows. Always measure!

Make the goals attainable! Example: If the singer can’t sing it, don’t do it. Sorry guitar shredder dudes (I’m one of them), people in the crowd aren’t really talking about your string skipping and legato, they are too busy saying the whole band sucks because you thought a dream theater song would impress people but the singer can’t sing it. Make the goals attainable for your band and put any song choices in the sweet spot and strike zone of your singer. Know your limits and play to your strengths not your weaknesses. Before setting the goal to write an album, set the goal to write one song.. then three..etc.

If the goal is not relevant to your band and it achieving something meaningful, it’s practically useless. I also like to use the word “realistic” here as well. You can have the most specific, measurable, and attainable goals but if it’s not really relevant or realistic, you’re wasting your precious 86400 secs.

Time based is key! It’s not only key to be able to measure but it creates the urgency needed and baseline needed for other members to achieve success. If no timeframe exists, you have no real management of expectations. BTW, it’s ok if you don’t make a timeline… this becomes knowledge. It’s likely you may not hit all the goals but if you set a timeline for a week to learn 4 songs and the band only learns 2, you’ve gained extremely valuable knowledge on your band’s velocity (2 songs a week). You can then adjust your timeline based on your new knowledge and continue to refine your capabilities for a well tuned face rocking machine.

Hopefully this rambling may give you some ideas. I recommend you start with small goals and grow. It’s really fun to look back as well to see the accomplishments. You quickly realize without goals; you would have been in the same place, doing the same thing, and expecting different results (insanity). You don’t even want to calculate how much time (your most critical asset) was lost. Rock on.

Pro Tip #2: Learn your band members love language

Pro Tip #2: Learn your band members love language

“Great Job Man”… for some, the most important thing you could ever say. More powerful than money, gifts, or acts. Why? Because these folks respond to “words of affirmation”.

Admittedly, this is what drives me and I think it probably drives most musicians. At the end of the night, I’m not thinking about money, what’s for breakfast..etc. I’m wondering if I made an impact with the music I played and if folks had a good time. The measure of success for me is someone coming up and saying “harlow, that was awesome” (or something similar).

So, let’s dive in.Hey, we’re all humans and we have feelings (most of us). Did you know your attitude and response towards other members will greatly impact your bands health and ability? Yeah, I know this because I’m the worst at times and have seen the impacts.

If you’ve not heard of the 5 love languages, let’s discuss for just a moment. I read this book many years ago and it’s written by Dr. Gary Chapman. Yes, it’s meant for marriages or relationships but isn’t that kinda like a band?Even if you don’t apply it to a band, this is real deal stuff that homeboy wrote about and can apply to your life, your relationships, family..etc. so get the book or read more about it online.

So, here are the 5 love languages:

1. Words of affirmation
2. Gifts
3. Acts of Service
4. Quality time
5. Physical touch

ok, i realize most of you are already saying, hell no, I don’t want #5 with my bandmates LOL… so let’s talk 1, 2, 3, and 4.

1. Words of affirmation. Again, to me, I believe this is a primary language for musicians. Why? Because doing music is not easy, it’s a lifelong commitment with years and years of practice, hard work, failure, struggle, and ups and downs. When those beautiful “words of affirmation” happen, it seems to make the effort worth it. Point is, take time to recognize the efforts of your band members and the hard work they’ve have put in. They are likely going to work even harder because after all “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. #BOOM. That’s some Teddy Roosevelt / John Maxwell in your face.

2. Gifts. The book talks about marriage aspects such as giving tangible property (flowers, necklace..etc). However, let’s consider “gifts” being money in the band lane. Some of your members are driven more by the dollar or items than anything else. Hey, that’s understandable and if that’s the language they speak, find ways to encourage them so all of you can have the rewards of gifts from your ultimate performance. Maybe buy them a drink at the next gig because they rocked someone’s face.

3. Acts of service. “Hey man, thanks for helping me with my air conditioner” as said by me on multiple occasions to our drummer who is an AC guy. Some folks respond to receiving acts of kindness or service. In doing so, you are building a trust outside the band environment and a long-lasting friendship. If your member is one who responds to acts of service, it doesn’t take much to build a bond. Simple things like helping members setup their gear is a great start.

4. Quality Time. A band that plays together stays together… or something like that. I’ve been in many bands and 1000% of the time, bands who can spend time together last longer, have more fun, and usually even sound better. Some of your members may just want to hang out once in a while, outside of rocking peoples faces. How simple is that? and the reward is great.

5. Physical Touch. Ok, I’ll address it. Some drummers like to stroke and touch other members. Just tell them no. Setup your “no zones” and spray them with vinegar. LOL

Bottom line, each of us are different. It’s what magically makes a band great, the yin and yang, push and pull..etc. All that said, we all want respect and to be loved and feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. Knowing others love languages and your own can greatly reduce problems and build a stronger and more effective band. Rock on.

Pro Tip #1: Have the same commitment

Pro Tip #1: Have the same commitment

Note: These are some perspectives, opinions, and truths I’ve found from my travels and dealing with humans for many years in music and business. These are no brainers for many but I hope these thoughts may assist you in building a great band and make you a better band member or artist. If you disagree with these, no worries.. these are just my thoughts and what I’ve found to make a difference in the development of great bands and people. There will be more of this rambling as time goes on. Enjoy

Have the same commitment:

Commitment (noun): the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

Whether it’s with a band, business, job, or life, finding folks with the same commitment is crucial to success and happiness.

What I’ve learned in my years of experience (surviving mistake) is that productivity, success, and achieving goals requires great commitment and sacrifice. Achieving those goals requires those around you (your band) to have the same commitment, values, and work ethic as well.

As a software developer and project manager, there is a corny story about a Chicken and a Pig that relates to commitment.

The story goes like this: One day a chicken approaches a pig and suggests they should start a restaurant. The pig is intrigued by the idea and says, “That sounds great. I’m an entrepreneurial type of hog. What are we going to call the restaurant?” The chicken suggests, “Ham and Eggs!” To which the pig replies, “No thanks, I’d be committed. You’d only be involved.”

It’s a goofy story but can relate if you’ve been in bands where some are just involved and not committed to the success of the band.

Commitment to the band means you personally hold yourself responsible for the success and failures of the band. It means you’re serious about taking time to learn your parts, be active in promotion, and also respect others time in their efforts to never be the weak link. It really means you have personal accountability and the band is a reflection of yourself.

Then there is the involved folks. Not bad people. Matter of fact, they are contributing to the sound and the band with their talent. However, maybe they just aren’t as serious or don’t have the same goals, work ethic, or even time. To those who are just involved, become committed!

Here’s why: if you’re unable to consistently put the same commitment as others in the band, you’re unfortunately doing the band a disservice. Even worse, you are most likely putting your very friends in a bad position and your actions can ultimately be seen as disrespect for those who have committed their time and energy into the band.

However, there is good news! The difference in being involved and committed can be solved with managing expectations and communicating what level of commitment you actually can offer. This requires the courage to actually look at your schedule and abilities and telling the band what you can accomplish (and acting upon it). By simply communicating what level you can commit will help others with their expectations and will help set the bands velocity (how much can actually be accomplished). By being real, transparent, and honest, it should lead to a better band and relationship among members.

BTW, commitment doesn’t mean you drop everything and focus only on a band… that’s silly. Being in a band is about having fun at the heart of it. It doesn’t have to be all that serious, but you do owe it to your friends and band members to give the best you have to offer and have integrity (do what you say you are going to do) in what you commit to. Doing so will always keep things fun and productive! Rock on.

Bands/Artists, looking to play Live at Harlow’s?

Bands/Artists, looking to play Live at Harlow’s?

Thanks for inquiring. We get a lot of requests to play our venue so this is to help explain how to go about booking with us, who we are, why we are doing this, and what to expect. First and foremost, welcome to Live at Harlow’s, a venue built by musicians for musicians for the betterment of our music community and to promote upcoming artists and bands.

  • Who are we? We’re musicians, just like you. We’re folks who are passionate about building a thriving music community and to support our fellow musicians. We’ve accumulating quite a bit of experience in the music business and we’ve developed a venue to help others on their musical journey. We believe #musicmatters and the idea of “creating the scene” #CTS. We value creating a long lasting impact and experience over creating income for ourselves.
  • Who can play? We are open for all people and genres of music. We look for bands and artists hungry to perform and interact with our crowds.
  • What is Live at Harlow’s? It’s a venue tailor made for the performance of artists and bands. In other words, we’ve created exactly what we would have wanted as musicians to include stage, great PA (JBL SRX), light show (Static and Moving), Backline (yes, we provide the backline for drums (DW collectors kit), bass (AMPEG) – guitar amps (KEMPER, JCM 800, 5150..etc), sound guy, light guy, promotional material, and most importantly the best crowds in the surrounding area.
  • How much do I get paid? We partner with bands to try and generate as much revenue for the bands. We provide 100% of the door to the bands and artists, unless there are other fees required for additional production costs. This model is transparent (as we always are) and puts everyone with the same goals, commitment, values, and work ethic to ensure an amazing night of live music, and, the best time you could possibly imagine.
  • What we are not: We are not a bar. Yes, we offer alcoholic drinks but the model is quite different that a bar where we hire bands to perform in hopes they will return profit. We simply don’t hire like that as profit is not our driver, we partner to develop a showcase to create an amazing and memorable experience to grow our community. Bottom line: We are a performance venue that invests in bands and artists.
  • Can I setup my own show? Absolutely, should you wish to do this, you can rent the venue and pay for our staffing services.
  • When do we rock faces? We have events every couple of weeks which feature 2 to 3 artists / bands each month. We like to theme our events and find others who are similar in your music genre.
  • Where do we rock faces? It’s in the small town of Ozark, Alabama. Near Dothan, Enterprise, and Troy Alabama. Address is 190 West Reynolds Street, Ozark, Al.
  • Why do we do this? We do this for several reasons but most importantly because its become our passion and our purpose to serve our music community. We believe that a rising tide floats all ships. If we can assist you in your musical journey and you have the right attitude, commitment, and values, we want to be on your team.
  • Can I sell merch? Absolutely, we will help you setup an area and we don’t want a dime!

Sounds great but I just want to know how to get booked! To be considered for a spot, please provide the following information via email at venue@liveatharlows.com or fill out the form below.

  • Video of your performances. We don’t just look for a great sound, that’s only part of the equation. We look for the performance and connecting with people. We are showcasing your talent and we want everything you got.
  • Previous or Upcoming Events. We would like to come see you and support you. We also are strategic when we book events based on your scheduling.
  • Number of members in your band
  • Social media pages (facebook, instagram..etc)
  • Your music genre (rock, country, blues..etc)
  • Average number of fans that attend your shows
  • Your goal with playing at Harlow’s
  • Some open dates on Fridays and Saturdays

We look forward to serving and seeing you at an event soon!