Browsing all articles in Issues.
Fight to be a Rock Star, or Just Who You Really Are?
You are absolutely positive that if you could just get the right break, your band would be the biggest in the world… You’re getting bigger turnouts at the local shows, you got a whole bunch of Facebook friends (is this important?) there’s even been more hot chicks around who are even starting to wear your [...]
The Struggling Artist…Is it Our Own Fault?
Simple facts, watered down into selected stories, have circulated in the entertainment world for decades about how the artist was always broke while his blowing-smoke posse became rich. The artist has always blamed the industry, while the fans just listened and shrugged their shoulders to what they don’t understand. A simple fact is that without [...]
YouTube: Broadcast Yourself…If YOU Don’t, THEY Will!
I’m sure all up-and-coming filmmakers, musicians, and violent narcissistic teenagers are very thankful that they have YouTube to fulfill what YouTube promises: to broadcast yourself! And their doing just that…Like it or not! Broadcast Yourself…if you don’t, they will! YouTube can hurt you MUCH more than it helps you. Their mission is to accumulate page [...]
Music: Killed Daily by Twitter-Brain
RT @##bit.ly@#/m! Could Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have written “Stairway to Heaven” if they were constantly stopping to TWEET? Well, we’ll never know for sure, but the odds are pretty much non-existent. Since our culture insists…or DEMANDS that you become part of the SMS (short message service) Twitter mentality, by joining the short-attention span band-wagon [...]
Artists: Free to Create, or Slaves to Popularity?
Wouldn’t it be your dream to get signed to a major label, have your first record sell a million copies, open for the Rolling Stones and win a Grammy? Vernon Reid, legendary guitarist of Living Colour did just that. Here’s what he had to say about it in an excerpt from my new documentary film “Welcome [...]
Success: What Does That Word Mean to YOU?
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary sub-defines success as “the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence”. The problem with the word success is that sadly, most of us think that wealth – in the monetary sense – actually is a mandatory component of success, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Belair mansion, the swimming [...]
How do Musicians Handle Criticism?
You’re in a band. You recorded a couple songs that you think are absolutely incredible. You can’t wait to play it for your friends. So you and your drummer get them in a room, pop your CD into the player and watch their faces as the first note of your masterpiece fills the room. Your [...]
Hail to the Almighty…WEDDING BAND!
I distinctly remember how close minded and self righteous I was as a young artist. (see my story) I was absolutely certain that I had to be touring the world and playing in front of thousands of people to be a success. Looking back I neglected that one crucial element… I never defined success. But [...]
24 Hours of Rock Stardom
Have a young musician close his eyes and tell you what he thinks his life will be like when he becomes a rock star. Just like how Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” adoringly fantasized about getting a Red Rider B.B. gun, the typical young wanna-be shares with me his dream of grandeur something like this: [...]
The Band Family: Dictatorship or Democracy?
I really believe that a bands earliest days together are their most fun; the thrill of what lies around the next corner, having your buddies with you as you explore uncharted territory together. And the best part: the innocence of just doing what you feel without any other agenda. Pure and simple fun! But, getting out [...]
Musicians and Drugs…For ALL Occasions
What reason does a young musician have to abstain from drugs or alcohol? The answer: none! I mean, isn’t that supposed to be part of the fun, the requirements, the identification? Long hair, Marshall stacks, rebelliousness! It says right in the creed: sex, drugs and rock and roll! Keith Richards, Guns ‘n Roses…messed up is [...]
More of What You Need on: