Why you don't need the holy grail

     I've discussed image consistancy, sound image, and many other tips on constructing a bangarang sound (thank you Hook fans), but never gone over exactly what the mentality discovermyband.com uses to pick instruments to review and endorse.
     First of all, I will say that we do NOT pick items that are the ultimate best instrument ever to be mass produced. 
     Why not?  If you are purchasing equipment to play the crap out of it- to take it on the road and play in the rain, heat, cold, and whatever else you face, you don't need a $7,500 guitar.  If you do then every nick and scratch and drop of rain can be painful and devastating to its value. 
     If, however, you have one cool looking $700 guitar that plays really well, and at an outdoor concert you fall off the stage, you can cover that cost many times over before you come close to that holy grail guitar that you might have bought.
     So the guitars that we endorse sound good, they look cool, and they are as inexpensive as I can find without terrible comprimise.  Someday there may be a "holy grail" list blog for your personal collection, recording studio playing, or once you land that elusive record deal and they foot the bill, but that is not what you need now.  Good quality, inexpensive, good looking guitars that match you look and sound.
Here's a link to our Instrument Review Section

The Goods

After all is said and done- you practice, you have solid equipment, a good sound, great image, professionalism all around, to get a gig a venue manager probably wants to hear what you sound like- or know that you have a following that will come to their location just to hear you.

The first obvious solution is to have recordings of some songs you've played. Good recordings. If you have a phenomenal stage presence, then a live recording from a show would be good- also the hoots and hollars of a crowd might help some too. If, however, you are not all that exciting to watch- it might hurt you to bore your potential host. Make a good recording. there are tons of programs out their that are free or next to free like cakewalk or ACID Music, but I use protools which is more expensive.

The next step is establishing a following, and conveying that said group will make an appearance at any given performance. Be creative. Grassroots marketing is fun, invite coworkers, it'll be a connection that many people are looking to make without gathering at someone's house, and supporting someone you work with is always a good ploy. Also advertise some special giveaway, It doesn't have to be expensive. If you are single and funny you could say that you are giving away a free date to someone in the audience. Anything to connect the person you are talking to with the concert you'd like them to come to in their head. Even if it's something that they aren't interested in, it's just a way of distinguishing "this is a date to remember" vs. "you may come if you aren't doing anything else."

Sound Image

I recently wrote on the importance of finding a solid image, and to compliment that identified image, think about limiting the genres of music you enter into. Of course you can think of bands that have crossed into all sorts of styles or music and awed listeners in every one, yes. I can also compose a list of groups that have performed naked, but that doesn't mean that it is a model to follow to increase popularity.
Think of your band as a business. If you go to the owner of a business and ask them who their market is, they will give you a clear answer (and it won't be "Everyone"). Your product is your music and it will appeal to a specific group of people, and you want to market to them as best as possible. This again goes hand in hand with the image idea.
The mark of death is when you have turned yourself into a tool of image branding. You want to look like you sound, but you don't want to be a sell out! In every style of music, every aspect of what is a beautiful sound, dynamics matter, passion matters, lyrics matter! You CAN write a punk song that gets quiet, you can rap with tempo change, and counter melodies enhance good music of all kinds.
My point is this: if you focus your energy in a specific area, you keep your fans in that area, you gain word of mouth, you are reinvited to venues that play that music, and people who listen to that can play your cd to other people without skipping half the tracks on the music.

Image Consistancy

Think of an image of your favorite band. Now look at a picture of you and your members. See a big difference? Many aspects of band image must work cohesively (along with a great photographer) for the great divide to occur between the joes from the bands that look concrete.

1. The Cloths

You don't need a uniform to look like your group belongs together. Between the 'average' style of everyone, the style of music you are playing, and the feeling you are trying to create, you should be able to identify and physically articulate how you want to construct yourselves. Say the exact feeling out loud with each other. Then when preparing for a show, everyone can consider that very word, or phrase and pick the perfect ensemble.

2. The front man

Nearly every band that makes it big has a front man. This lead figure will define you. He will be the name on everyone's lips and the others will be 'the drummer' and 'the keyboard player.' Take extra care to decide who this is, and figure out how he has to be for the group image to be successful.

Example: If the lead singer/front man does nothing but stand at a mic and sing, it's very difficult for the rest of the team to make a show exciting. They can jump and rock and dominate their instrument, but without the charisma from that key player, it's just a bunch of lost energy.

3. Grooming

Bands change their image drastically over time. The transition observed in most that survive more than a few years is as follows: Clean cut, precise hair, and otherwise looking like a model for the Gap. As fame progresses, there is a tendency to move towards the unruly. Untamed hair, facial hair that comes and goes, well worn cloths, and now looking like the product of some industrial waste land. Find your passion and get your groom on, but do it consistently across the band!

4. Stage presence

The same band can play the same music in the same venue to the same people with different results just by the way they act on stage.

Should you all smile- or are you too cool for school?

Jump, kick, and rock? Dance? Casual?

You decide- just make sure you do it together and on purpose.

Before and After:

Sound Presence

Recently, I listened to a very good local band. They were together, harmonized vocals, had clear dynamics, and the system was powerful enough to reach any vocal level you could possibly need...but they sounded unprofessional.
Why was that?
Even though the speakers could handle the volume, they weren't controlling the sound properly that they were sending to those speakers. It's a tight balance between having no processing (raw) and too much and sound cheesy, especially in small and medium sized venues. If you put an echo on a system in a small room it may be hard to take yourself seriously, but leaving that sound raw could be even more unforgiving.
Bands with a dedicated sound person will change effects and processing throughout a show, but what sound you want will be different from other people depending on your style of music and your concept for a song. Try going to a music store and trying out all the various effects, choruses, echos, and what-not. the bigger the store you go to the more that they will have in house to try, and on average, the more knowledgeable their staff will be.
Don't let that last step of the process comprimise your sound.

Are you what 'they' are looking for?

No matter how big or small your band may be, securing future gigs is key to survival. In a competitive field, like performing musicians, it's important to consider how your presence is marketing itself. So what does a venue look for in a performer?
Hosts need to make money. They make money in a variety of ways: ticket/cover sales, food/drink sales, and in more rare circumstances, advertising. Almost all of these avenues are directly impacted by foot traffic levels. Therefore, if they have a group come and play that brings in its own crowd they win.
Can you bring more people to listen, than would come with a band having its first performance? That's why marketing your name can pay huge dividends, even if your recognition isn't selling merchandise. Repeat performances in the same area, music giveaways, posting your name everywhere you can, these all help you create a solid fan base, which in turn bumps your desirability to play.
Professionalism. Be prepared with the right equipment needed, on time, and if possible, have a system to how you assemble yourself on stage. If the manager of wherever you are only remembers hassles and trouble when you last played, they are much less likely to want you back. In addition to the host, you will also have more time to socialize with the crowd and make them believe in you off the stage.
Remember to casually talk about your preparedness, and your follower crowd draw directly with you venue host. You want them to know, not speculate, that you have your stuff together and are worth the money.

Does Your Band Have A Rider?

Expanding from a garage band toward a profitable concert performing success story requires a lot of transitions. Are you prepared to handle your next venue? Is the venue ready for you? Having a band rider is an effective way to get all of your ducks in a row well in advance.
A rider is simply a paper that lists everything you expect/want/need from the organizers of an event. Make sure anything that you absolutely need is listed. You can be as specific or vague as you want, and be flexible too.
The idea isn't to scare off anyone that might want your band to play, but conversely to show your professionalism. How many power outlets does your band need access to? If you are using their sound system, how many inputs will you need? The clearer you are on your needs, the more likely your show will be a success. Try going to successful bands websites that you like, they probably have a section somewhere for booking, and take a look at their rider. The more demand for the musician, the more specific they get. As a place looking to host live music, they will usually apreciate the lack of "winging it" when all eyes are on you...but until you really hit it big, don't ask for the moon.

Bag of Tricks

Being a traveling musician, there are endless perils to be discovered waiting for you at a gig. Finding outlets, connecting things in new creative configurations, if you are using an existing sound system, you never know what kind or how many inputs/outputs they will have. This is why it is essential to have a 'bag of tricks' of sorts to take with you.
My bag of tricks is mainly a large assortment of small converter pieces for audio. xlr to rca, rca to quarter inch, eighth inch to quarter inch, male and female adapters of all varieties, so that when the occasion arises, you are ready. I also have a battery or two of various sizes, scissors, tape, a flash light, extra picks, needle nose pliers, strings, marker, and a screw driver.
The band that I was in a few years back had optional video that companioned with our show with textures, music videos, pictures, live video of the crowd, lyrics, and a pre-show countdown, so it was also necessary to include every type of video adapter we might come up against to hook to the computer.
The hard part is creating the kit with everything you'll need the first time...after that you just grab it and go. You'll be suprized how often you need to change things on the fly, even when using your own system.
On a side note, I also put the kit in a professional looking gig case for my own enjoyment. It looks very professional when at a show a problem arises and you pull our a shiny brief case filled with all the stuff you need.

Powering your system.

  Powered soundboard? Powered speakers? Seperate amp? Why choose one over the other? There are advantages to all three, and disadvantages as well. Of the factors that play into your choice, a few are more important than others.

  Having a powered soundboard is best for ease of setup. Both the seperate amp, and the powered board need a single outlet. All you have to do is plug in at the soundbooth, and run the audio cables to your speakers whereever you put them. That also means if power has a problem in the system it is easily identified, as aposed to being plugged into outlets on multiple breakers, but all on one circuit also brings a higher likelihood of blowing a breaker. Which brings us to the next point: with a powered soundboard there is a limit to the size (loudness) of your overall system with the amount of electricity you can draw.

  Speakers that have a powered amp built inside is a great idea for people who don't want to worry about ruining their system, A built in is designed for the optimum compatibility with amp size and speaker capacity...which means that it won't blow the speaker. If you crank the volume all the way up, the speaker will stay in a solid range, and many brands will automatically cut itself for a second on a signal that is too loud. The disanvantage here is that if a speaker cuts, then there is dead time on that one speaker, but that can be avoided by getting speakers that can handle the volume levels you need, and not sending a signal turned up all the way. Again, you have to have an outlet, or an extension chord going to each speaker, which makes setup time a little longer, but it may be worth it for the security of your system. Another great reason for a powered speaker is that you can run audio cables to a powered speaker in any arrangement you want: daisy chain some, run some individually, or even plug an instrument straight into it.

  The seperate amp has many of the pluses and minuses as the all inclusive board, with flexibility. If you only require one amp for the size show you are playing, it can be stowed in the soundbooth and used the same way as mentioned, but you can expand to multiple amps, which means you can also diversify them over circuits, and place them where needed. If an amp, a speaker, or the board goes bad, or you outgrow the number of channels on your board, with the seperate system you can buy just an amp, or just a board, or just a speaker which is much cheaper than buying another powered unit. This configuration is ideal for poeple who understand The amount of power their speakers can handle, and how to setup the right way everytime.

  So there is no complete answer. Having each piece seperate is ideal for people who really grasp electrical capacity of the system they are configuring, and is cheaper to replace individual pieces. A powered board is great for simple, quick system setup on location. Powered speakers are best to never worry about blowing, or wearing away at your speakers by overpowering them.

Guitar Bug

I have an AKG guitar bug, and I love it. it operates on a UHF signal, never had a single problem with it as long as I replace the battery often. love love love it. So I searched for the official stats on this product in order to write a review, and found none.
What am I to do? There are a number of offbrands that now carry wireless guitar products, a few look the same as mine...but I've never used any of them. What I'll tell you is why I bought mine, and what I like about it, and let you decide what to do.
The UHF signal as opposed to VHF is pretty important because of the transmitter capacity limits the range of signal, and VHF won't go as far, which in a large venue packed with warm bodies, and obstructions, the signal may experience problems.
My "bug" known by the sampson company as a "bud" is very small, no wires that attach to a pack or anything, just a little device just slightly larger than the AAA batter it holds that plugs into a quarter inch jack and can velcro the instrument so it won't jerk around.
I like many products by AKG, and I am familiar with the company more than any of the brands that made them or make them now. I love the versatility of being able to run into a crowd while playing, if everyone is sitting or unresponsive, I would always go sit next to the "cool guy" and play right next to him...This usually was crowd pleasing.
There may be a reason AKG stopped manufacturing this product that I am unaware of, but the fact that other brands still make it lead me to believe it was just lack of sales.

The Keyboard I use

Hi, I'm Mike the creator of DiscoverMyBand. Wonder what equipment I actually use on stage? I most often play the keyboard, and I am very particular about the feeling of my keys.
Just read a few reviews of any keyboard on Amazon or any other site, and you'll see some people say "KeyboardY doesn't feel as authentic as keyboardX" and then under keyboardX's comments someone else says it doesn't feel as authentic as keyboardY. It's primarily a matter of opinion, and whether your fingers easily tire with much resistance.
I play the M-Audio ProKeys 88
. Admittedly, I can tell the difference from it to my upright in the back room, but this does not discredit it. It feels convincing and easy to play at different velocities, which is what I need to play music that has some emotion to it. I love the sound quality, the options, and the ease of understanding this keyboard.
The combo of that and it's price range, it's a no brainer to me. To get any keyboard that I would like better would be more than twice the price.