If you were going to relocate...

[cornfordsnob]

You are dead wrong, exceptional talent will open doors.

 

 

Originally posted by gtrbass I'd say that there are still a good number of opportunities in LA depending on your skill set. If you desire to move to LA to support yourself as a working musician, forget about it. The line is around the block and it's as tough here to make money as anywhere else. If you want to move here, get a day job and join a or form a band, you'll find that there are many players here to do that with. The talent pool is deep and contains a higher percentage of truly talented players than most cities. The studio scene is largely gone except for the small number of well established players on the A-list. There used to be opportunities for jingles and TV/film session work. For the last 10-15 years its increasingly been done by the composer in a studio full of samplers/synths and DAW's. Occasionally he/she may bring in outside players for solo's, etc. It's now side work rather than full time work. Lower budget records are done in a project studio with maybe some initial tracking in a good drum room. There's less work for engineers because of these changes too. There's more work doing audio post for TV and a lot less work for doing record dates. A lot of big reputable studios are having trouble keeping their doors open. Unlike other cities, there are opportunities for music industry related jobs. We have more music stores here to work in. Many of the big MI mfg's (Roland, Yamaha, Line 6, Alesis) are either based here or at least their US operations are. Those companies have very good jobs in customer service, product support, etc with decent salaries and benefits. I don't know if you stand a better chance of being signed and becoming famous by living in LA (or NY, London, Nashville for that matter) but you do stand a better chance at acquiring the knowledge and skills to be successful. What I mean is that you'll more likely meet people with the talent and experience to point you in the right direction. You'll also meet people who are plugged into what's really going on currently in the record business. The picture certainly isn't rosy, but it's not as dismal as some think. This might seem off topic, but in the old days, if you were a writer or a performer you had to depend on outside help from agents, mgrs, labels, etc, to get somewhere. You had to go to where they were. Now, more of that responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the artist because either those people aren't there to help you or they have no more ability to do it than you do yourself. The short answer is that for many reasons the system has failed. It's now much more of a level playing field. If you are very business savvy (which I'm afraid to say most musicians are not) you can be just about anywhere and be successful. If and when you get to the level where relationships with big time labels, agents and mgr's can be mutually beneficial, they'll come and find you. The question isn't do you move to a music center to be successful, but are you capable of doing the career development yourself? The days of going to the big city and attracting the attention of the movers and shakers to make you famous are long gone. For them it's now all about who I can expend the least effort and get the maximum return on investment.

 

[gtrbass]

I wish you were right and that is what it takes to be successful in music. It should be. I've known many exceptional people with the skills and talent who've gone unrecognized, while less than stellar stuff is championed by the industry as the next big thing.

 

The criteria for success today is heavily weighted with politics, and money. If talent were the primary criteria then the label guys should be shot for consistently backing the wrong horse.

 

They take an Ashlee Simpson and try to mfg a star, while ignoring someone like Aimee Mann.

[cornfordsnob]

gtrbass, why did you choose "gtrbass" for your screenname ?

 

who was your cousin that played guitar in TALAS ?

 

i'm glad we're getting along now.

 

 

 

Originally posted by gtrbass I wish you were right and that is what it takes to be successful in music. It should be. I've known many exceptional people with the skills and talent who've gone unrecognized, while less than stellar stuff is championed by the industry as the next big thing. The criteria for success today is heavily weighted with politics, and money. If talent were the primary criteria then the label guys should be shot for consistently backing the wrong horse. They take an Ashlee Simpson and try to mfg a star, while ignoring someone like Aimee Mann.

 

[gtrbass]

Simple. GT Richards (GTR) and I'm a bass player...gtrbass. I do play guitar too though. (Obviously GT Richards is a stage name. My real last name is italian.)

 

My cousin is Dave Constatino. Haven't seen him in probably 15 years though. I run into Billy at the NAMM show just about every year. Super nice guy. Dave was the original guitar player.

 

One hilarious true lore about Talas is that U2 opened for Talas at a club called Uncle Sam's in Buffalo on the Boy tour. One of my other cousins was a bouncer there and snuck me in because I had heard I will Follow on the radio. It was awesome! Talas was one of a kind. I goit to open for them many years later at a bar that was around called the Salty Dog. This was after Dave and Paul had left the band. The lineup at that point was Johnny Angel, Phil Naro and Mark Smith (I think that was his name).

 

The original Talas re-united for a concert in 1997. It was released on CD & DVD. That was an amazing thing. That was the band I grew up seeing as the standard. When Billy Sheehan is your standard referefnce for being a good player it's quite inspiring and quite discouraging at that same time.

 

Now there's a point ... Sheehan was obviously one of the most brilliant guys ever to pick up a bass. He had to struggle through so many years of adversity before he became successful. He was a houshold name among musicians long before his paycheck caught up with his abilities.

 

Getting along is a good thing...

[Janx]

 

Originally posted by Beachbum I was thinking somewhere in the South Texas coastal region myself. .

 

 

I'd avoid Houston, if you count that as South Texas coastal (more South East). I've met folks from two different bands that claim this area has a poor music scene. It's not that there's a lack of bands, more like a lack of support from audiences (few going to see live shows) and clubs making it hard.

[gtrbass]

What do you define as a strong music scene?

 

In So Cal. you have the ability to be seen but not such a good chance at making a living at it. I'm not so sure there is a region left where you can make a good steady living as a live performer.

 

Vegas maybe... They have several live acts in the casinos and I know at least one guy who's making a very good living in a Vegas lounge act.

[elbow]

 

Originally posted by gtrbass What do you define as a strong music scene? In So Cal. you have the ability to be seen but not such a good chance at making a living at it. I'm not so sure there is a region left where you can make a good steady living as a live performer. Vegas maybe... They have several live acts in the casinos and I know at least one guy who's making a very good living in a Vegas lounge act.

 

 

That's my understanding as well. Unless you are getting some good session work, or similar income stream, it can be damn near impossible to make a living today by playing out in clubs.... except maybe where the clubs are the industry.. like in Vegas. Are there any forumites with some experiences in Vegas that they'd like to share?

 

Everybody I know, with the exception of maybe two guys, has to have a "day-job" or a SO that will support it.

[elbow]

 

Originally posted by Janx I'd avoid Houston, if you count that as South Texas coastal (more South East). I've met folks from two different bands that claim this area has a poor music scene. It's not that there's a lack of bands, more like a lack of support from audiences (few going to see live shows) and clubs making it hard.

 

 

And another question that came up from reading Janx's post. Does anyone know of a region that is lacking bands? I live in BFE and there are plenty here. Go to Austin, Nashville, whatever, and you couldn't count them all ......

[gtrbass]

I went to Nashville two years ago to do some work. The guy driving the cab from the airport was the classic story. He says to me "Are you in the business?" I say well, yeah I do some stuff. He proceeds to throw in a CD and play me his demo. He was a songwriter. looked to be about 55 years old. You know what? The stuff was pretty good. I don't think you're even allowed to live there unless you play an instrument.

 

That said, I heard the most Gawdawful band in my entire life in a bar on Broadway where they serve $1 Pabst Blue Ribbons ... in the can. Bad...and loud!!! Piano player who thinks he's Jerry Lee Lewis.

[Lee Knight]

I was raised in the suburbs of L.A. Today I live close enough to it to know I don't want to go back. No offense to the Angelenos. I'm in North Coastal San Diego and love it and most likely will stay but...

 

... I've always loved Chicago and London. Both of those towns for very much the same reasons. The people are wonderful, the downtown life is beyond compare, the seasons change, and there's great public transportation. Both cities have great food, contrary to what a lot of people believe about British food. Theatre, music, parks, diversity.

 

My wife is English and somehow I think I might end up there. Then again I might just stay where I'm at, because I love it. Love it, love it.

[cornfordsnob]

what would you be playing live if you weren't signed ??

 

you say you can't make a living being a live performer... what about the strippers, they're live and they're performing ???

 

 

Originally posted by gtrbass What do you define as a strong music scene? In So Cal. you have the ability to be seen but not such a good chance at making a living at it. I'm not so sure there is a region left where you can make a good steady living as a live performer. Vegas maybe... They have several live acts in the casinos and I know at least one guy who's making a very good living in a Vegas lounge act.

 

[JacieFB]

I live in Cincinnati now. I was born in a rural area about an hour east of here. It has it's perks, but just about every year, I tell myself I'm not going to spend another winter in this town. Of all the places I've been...vacations, tours, business travel, I'd say that New Orleans (at least as of last April) would be the only place in the states that I fell in love with enough to move to. Other than that, I would want to move someplace warm, definitely...and beachy...alas, there are very few beaches that I've been to in the US that I want to go back to. The only other possible acceptions would be NYC, Boston, Seattle, or Portland, all of which I've never visited. But Cincinnati weather drives me fricken bonkers, I don't think those places would be any better.

 

*counts pennies*

 

And I've said this on here before...but no matter what town you go to, there will be someone there that says, "the scene here sucks!" I had it happen a couple of times the last time my band was on tour...after playing a room full of excited kids, someone actually told me that the scene there sucked. It is what you make it, I guess.

[MONGOOZ]

um.....Fairbanks Alaska......cuz i've never been there before, and cuz i'd be the only act in town......well.....almost.....

 

[elsongs]

 

Originally posted by gtrbass Dude, Just about nobody's actually from LA. (LOL!!!) The doors were formed in LA while Jim was at film school at UCLA. His father was an admiral in the US Navy so he lived all over the place. Van Halen is an LA band, but Roth was born in NY state, Mikey was born in Chicago, and the Halen's were born in Holland. Don't know about the others, but I'd bet some of the guys in Los Lobos and Ozomatli are from far South of the border originally.

 

 

Um, the members might have been born elsewhere, but the BAND was born locally. *The band unit * didn't relocate.

 

And as for Ozomatli and Los Lobos, your observation is a stereotype of ethnic people. But I don't necessarily blame you because The Industry likes to shut them out or marginalize them.

Most of them were born in the Los Angeles area I know this for a fact. They might have been the children of immigrants, or their family had been here for generations ("I didn't cross the border, the border crossed me"). Believe it or not, there are non-white/black people in America who are actually born in this country. Like me.

 

People who think "Nobody's from LA" have a very narrow image of the place anyway. They really don't know the city, even though they think they do. There's actucally babies born in the hospitals, you know, and Los Angeles County has the largest percentage of live births in the state of California.

In fact, the health care industry is the largest employing industry in the Los Angeles area (it's not Entertainment, which is just the 4th largest). I bet you never knew that.

 

Oh, and here's a list of well known folks who were born in Los Angeles (the city, not including the surrounding area):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Los_Angeles

[gtrbass]

Deleted post

[daddymack]

Originally posted by elsongs Um, the members might have been born elsewhere, but the BAND was born locally. *The band unit * didn't relocate. And as for Ozomatli and Los Lobos, your observation is a stereotype of ethnic people. But I don't necessarily blame you because The Industry likes to shut them out or marginalize them. Most of them were born in the Los Angeles area I know this for a fact. They might have been the children of immigrants, or their family had been here for generations ("I didn't cross the border, the border crossed me"). Believe it or not, there are non-white/black people in America who are actually born in this country. Like me. People who think "Nobody's from LA" have a very narrow image of the place anyway. They really don't know the city, even though they think they do. There's actucally babies born in the hospitals, you know, and Los Angeles County has the largest percentage of live births in the state of California. In fact, the health care industry is the largest employing industry in the Los Angeles area (it's not Entertainment, which is just the 4th largest). I bet you never knew that. Oh, and here's a list of well known folks who were born in Los Angeles (the city, not including the surrounding area): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Los_Angeles

 

well said...but, the perception has some basis in fact. The population in LA in the late 60's was about a third what it is now, and that surge is not due to birth rate. Most of the people I know are transplants, and the 'Native Angelenos' are seriously outnumbered, and many have moved out of LA as they watch the city change.

I have lived in LA (mainly the West Valley, but also Hollywood and Venice in the early/mid 70s) for over thirty years, and watched it change...I have watch the city change, in some ways good in some ways bad, and have suffered through some of the worst and bet musical eras here.

 

Would I relocate here for musical reasons? Nope...I would go to Nawlins, or Chicago, or Austin...where there is a live scene happening. Clubwork in LA has been choked out by the incessant influx of struggling bands willing to pay for stage time.

Studio work is nearly impossible to find in this age of sampling and digital music.

 

Would I leave? Haven't yet...