Advice for local bands

11 August 2009 18 Comments

Sergio provides some quality advice for local bands.

I’ve been a professional music journalist for the past 3 years and a music fan since the day I first made my G.I. Joe’s moonwalk to Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’. Over the years, I’ve met and spoken to many people in the music industry – local and worldwide – and what’ve I’ve learnt from them I’m about to share with you.

RECORDINGS
Quite often, I get emails from unknown bands asking me to review their “groundbreaking debut album”. Needless to say, the product is normally 4 kids screaming an obscene amount of “fuck” and “hate” over an incoherent buzzing noise, while their cellphones ring and neighbourhood dogs bark in the background.

Before you even consider recording an album, please do the following:

• Hone your musical skills. Practice, practice, practice and when you think you’re done, practice again!

• Build a fan base by performing regularly. Think about it, who’ll buy your CD if nobody knows you?

• Don’t be too concerned about record labels at this point. Gone are the days when you get a fifteen million dollar advance for your album – you probably won’t ever see a cent for your recorded effort in this era.

• Make use of free resources such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Even if only one person more knows your name, it’s one person extra that you didn’t have to start off with.

When you feel that your band is ready to record an album, get professional advice and go into a proper studio with qualified personnel. It’s probably going to cost you an arm and a leg, but the final product will be worth it.

Even if you have Cakewalk and a nice mixing board, I still wouldn’t recommend home recordings. It doesn’t sound “raw” or even “live” – it just sounds like shit! Use home recordings to keep track of your ideas and song development for yourselves only – don’t hand them out!

MERCHANDISE
I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I’ve gone to a local gig and failed to see one single merchandise stand. This is probably the stupidest thing any band can ever do, because gigs are the perfect places for them to sell merchandise.

Think about it, the audience is there to have a good time and 90% of them are merrily drunk, so even if your band is terrible, they’ll fork out money for your T-Shirts or armbands. Merchandise will make the bank balance healthier and is invaluable marketing too. Having people walk around with shirts bearing your brand is priceless advertising!

Nonetheless, when you do sell merch – do it properly! Set up a clearly marked table or area for people to purchase your items – don’t just tell them to go find ‘Peter’ or ‘Susan’, who has the stuff in his/her car. People are generally lazy and will say “fuck, it’s too much effort to look for these people”. Remember, they are the consumer and you’re the seller!

MANAGEMENT
The reality is that the music industry is a business like any other and in order to succeed you’re going to need an experienced person to help the band. From day-to-day processes like organising gigs to bigger deals such as reading record label contracts, you’re going to need someone who knows the industry inside out.

Key points to remember when choosing a manager:

• Understanding of your musical genre. You don’t want to end up on the wrong bill with an audience booing and egging you.

• Experience. You want to see the list of bands that they’ve managed and are currently managing.

• Make sure that you’re a priority and not just a filler for their other bands.

• Watch out for chancers! I’m talking about these kids who hover around the scene and believe that they are managers, when they are actually just fame groupies and are using you to meet their favourite bands.

IMAGE
If somebody tells you that image isn’t important, do me a favour and kick them in the genitals! That is the biggest lie you’ll ever hear! You need to form an identity that your audiences can identify with. You may be the band that plays in suits all the time or the guys that come on stage half-naked – but it’s still an identity.

Take Alice Cooper, for example. He believes that a performance should be theatrical, and makes use of stage props and appropriate clothing.

You want to give your audience something more than just four ugly dudes standing on stage and headbanging to similar songs as the last two bands before you. Play around with different concepts. Give the audience a complete performance that satisfies all their senses.

PERFORMANCE
Like I said earlier, hone your skills. When you go onstage, go up there to dominate and put on a near flawless show!
Here are some other tips:

• Don’t go onstage drunk or high. As much as we all want to be rockstars, we don’t want to rob the audience of a performance. Even if you can handle your poison, it sets a bad example to those in your band, who may not be able to handle it as well as you. Performance first, party later.

• Be careful of crooked promoters, this is where a manager will be essential.

• If you notice that something isn’t right with the stage, whether it be a wobbly platform or live wires, inform somebody.

• Interact with crowd. Take some time to watch music DVDs and see how successful bands get the crowd involved. You want people to remember you as the band that gets them jumping, not the one that rushed through their setlist.

• Have fun! Dude, it’s a rock ‘n roll concert, you’re allowed to enjoy it! If you feel like running into the crowd and dancing with them, do it!

Hopefully, this information helps you and your band become extremely successful. If it does, I want my name dropped at your Grammy award acceptance speech!

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/scpereira

(8 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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18 Comments »

BretD said:

Perhaps the wisest words for local musicians that i’ve ever seen.

I fully and utterly agree with every single point you mention.

Absolutely brilliant post! Nice work!

# 11 August 2009 at 7:48 pm

Lethe said:

Interesting…

# 11 August 2009 at 8:00 pm

Jason said:

Nice, I enjoyed that

# 11 August 2009 at 8:14 pm

sergiop said:

Thanks everyone. I just really hope that it makes a difference and helps bands out!

If anybody has any other points or comments, I’d definitely welcome them.

# 11 August 2009 at 8:34 pm

NielDLR said:

Great advice!

I would like to add that local musicians should stop copying overseas artists. Do something original! It’s so silly seeing people “just being band, cause I’m look cool hey”. If you wanna make music and do it good, do something original and unique. That’s my 2c. I’m tired of local acts just imitating interational artists.

# 13 August 2009 at 5:43 pm

sergiop (author) said:

Thank you very much, Neil!

You raise a fantastic point! Lately, I’ve noticed a heavy deathcore influence in the local scene. Every band looks and sounds like a cheap rip-off of Bring Me The Horizon or Suicide Silence.

It grates me so much! A couple years ago, every lead singer thought they were Brandon Boyd (Incubus) and now they’ve moved onto the next popular pony!

What do you think?

# 13 August 2009 at 7:36 pm

Lethe said:

I totally agree with those last two comments. don’t get me started, it’s so bloody bad… the thing is, our crowds are sheepish enough to follow all those B-grade copy bands, since they themselves are trying to be cool.

# 14 August 2009 at 10:22 am

sergiop (author) said:

It is very sad. It’s very rare to see a South African band doing something different or fresh. I really wish they would push the boundaries a bit – with regards to image and sound.

I’m tired of paying to see guys that dress like they just came out of Boogaloos and have the stage presence of a catholic boy at a priest convention.

# 14 August 2009 at 10:30 am

BretD said:

lol’d

Oh man… I agree with you all.

something extra:

5 tips for singers.

1. You are not Brandon Boyd. Incubus are a truly great band and Brandon Boyd is a highly accomplished singer. But, you are not Brandon Boyd, do not imitate him, because frankly, you just aren’t him and any attempt to imitate him comes across poorly.

2. Scream all you want, but make sure to back it up with something original. Screaming is Cliched. Get it right, but make sure to add something else to the mix.

3. Do not force accents! You are not American or British. You are South African. Yes, your accent may inhibit the quality of your singing, but make it work. Don’t think that’s possible? Well, listen to Arno Carstens and the Nudies.

4. Learn how to use a microphone properly. Honestly, 90% of the time I can hear you screaming, but 90% of the time I can’t hear you singing normally.

5. Swear less, grow up. In my opinion, you are welcome to swear on stage, but don’t overdo it! You come across pretty poorly when you use excessive “c’mon on let’s burn this Motherf… house down” “f…. get up people! let’s rock” “are you f…. ready for this?”

# 15 August 2009 at 12:01 pm

sergiop (author) said:

Absolutely spot on, Bret.

Swearing is so 1990s

I actually recommend for most screamo’s to check out Melissa Cross’ DVD ‘The Zen of Screaming’. She explains how it’s a technique that needs to be learnt and developed.

I’d like to hear more people’s thoughts on this topic. It may just prompt me to write a part two…

# 15 August 2009 at 2:45 pm

NielDLR said:

The sad thing is, this trend of unoriginal music will continue, because many gig-goers go for the whole “gig vibe” and depending on their preffered genre, they can experience the live “gig vibe” on their own home soil. Innovate rather than immitate!

# 15 August 2009 at 3:53 pm

sergiop (author) said:

I think it was Marilyn Manson who once said, “You’re just a copy of an imitation.”

Perhaps those are perfect words to describe this new wave of mimic metal…

# 16 August 2009 at 3:52 pm

Is Your Band’s Management Actually Managing You? | MusicReview said:

[...] couple weeks back, I wrote a piece titled Advice for Local Bands, which received an absolutely phenomenal response from our readers (thank you everyone, high 5’s [...]

# 8 September 2009 at 6:24 pm

Chocolate said:

Being a “music journo” for 3 years and a “music fan” makes you about as qualified to hand out advice as the hairs on my ballsack.

# 9 September 2009 at 11:21 pm

sergiop (author) said:

@Chocolate Sigh. If you doubt my credentials, feel free to email me directly and I’ll send you a comprehensive list of information.

And if you have a better opinion piece for South African bands, by all means, please write one – if not kindly refrain from making stupid comments.

# 10 September 2009 at 5:55 am

BretD said:

haha!

You’ve gotta love useless comments like Chocolate’s.

Completely irrational, provocative and stupid enough to make me laugh

# 10 September 2009 at 10:58 am

sergiop (author) said:

@Bret Haha flaming is like sooooo 1999.

# 10 September 2009 at 2:55 pm

koile16 said:

Hmmm. I must say i do agree with most of the comments besides the obvious ballsack that clearly has nothing intelligent to say but besides him i will admit that i would rather have those wannabes running around than nothing at all. I love going to live gigs and even though there are the random sreamos in between the good SA bands, i still wouldnt trade them, because for me they make the entire experience that much more enjoyable. lol I do still get exactly what everyone is getting at though, some more originality wouldnt hurt Great article!!!

# 21 November 2009 at 3:29 pm