Members shades990 Posted March 6, 2011 Members Share Posted March 6, 2011 I wasn't sure which subforum this should go in, so I figured the general forum would work. tl:dr at the bottom. Here's the rundown... I am setting goals for myself right now. I am going to get LASIK so I can not be worrying about glasses and contacts, I'm going to sacrifice the pleasure of eating whatever sounds yummy for a well-rounded diet that is both cost-effective and wholly nutritious, I'm going to go to Mass regularly , have a decent workout routine to stay in shape, and work on my image overall. Those are all the little things I know I am going to have to keep up with to 'hit it hard.' The big thing is, of course, the music. I was set on the 'psychedelic rock/grunge/jazzy' thing, and I had fancied Incubus, Nirvana, Poison the Well, and Dungen to name a few. However, danceable music does not go out of style and I have rediscovered my liking for techno and just discovered that I love making tracks. I can still keep my writing style, and just chill in a different genre. Alright Cool. But... I don't know anyone at the moment, should I just get out there and play my track with a live vocal? I watch bands like La Roux or Owl City play live and they each get a couple people to play live instruments. So does Justin Bieber. But then Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rap Musicians, etc. don't seem to have that going on. TL;DR -- Since I will be doing electronic music with vocals primarily, how will doing this live work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted March 7, 2011 Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 Have you got a line on where you'll be able to get paying gigs? If you haven't been on the scene maybe you should try a couple open mic nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted March 7, 2011 Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 If your vocals are OUTSTANDING, you might be able to get away with having everything on backing tracks. But most audiences want to see you do something other than sing, even if it's just pushing buttons and moving faders to add some variations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shades990 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 Have you got a line on where you'll be able to get paying gigs? If you haven't been on the scene maybe you should try a couple open mic nights.There's not a large scene where I live by any means, but there are still several venues (probably 6 in total for what I'd be doing.) Two of those are coffee places that do 2 hour gigs while the others are clubs/bars that seek 4 hour acts -- of course, I'd be looking to share a night with another group/performer rather than tackle all 4 hours myself. And I hate to talk like this but... just having heard some of the acts that get hired here I shouldn't really have too much difficulty getting a gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted March 7, 2011 Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 I think the first question you should ask yourself: is there a market/venue for what you want to do? Are there enough people that would want to hear that style of music, presented in that fashion, to make it worth your effort? I live in a rural area of N. CA and serve on the arts council for the county. It is my responsibility to keep a good feel for what the community wants to hear, what they don't, and make sure the right events get promoted. As far as my area (and I'm only speaking for my area) what you're doing (or want to do) would not be well received. It would be viewed as "Advanced Karaoke". Your part of the country/town could be completely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted March 7, 2011 Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 I think the first question you should ask yourself: is there a market/venue for what you want to do? Are there enough people that would want to hear that style of music, presented in that fashion, to make it worth your effort? As far as my area (and I'm only speaking for my area) what you're doing (or want to do) would not be well received. It would be viewed as "Advanced Karaoke". Your part of the country/town could be completely different. I think the same would be true here. The ugly truth is that around here when you talk about venues you're talking about bars. These places are in business to sell alcohol and when they hire bands they want groups that not only sing and play well, they are playing songs people know. The obvious idea is to get girls dancing and men buying them drinks all night. There are perhaps a couple places around that cater to more artistic or original music but even there your chances of being accepted are fairly slim if you don't play some sort of instrument or have some type of a backup group. If you can't put together some sort of group your time might be better spend learning to produce some sort of video presentation for your music and see if there's any chance of it catching on when uploaded to youtube. Of course I may be completely wrong. A low risk "water tester" is still most likey to be some sort of jam session or open mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shades990 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 I think the same would be true here. The ugly truth is that around here when you talk about venues you're talking about bars. These places are in business to sell alcohol and when they hire bands they want groups that not only sing and play well, they are playing songs people know. The obvious idea is to get girls dancing and men buying them drinks all night. Why is it 'the ugly truth'? I see a lot of people here talk as if music is altogether dead or stark or something. I am not going to be doing Autechre, Animal Collective, oddball soundscapes. I am going to be doing stuff with straightforward 4x4 beats, rolling basslines, and chorus-verse vocal hook structures. After all, that seems to be some of the most popular stuff right now. I would also do some covers, in the same style. Keep the beat going, keep it danceable. There are perhaps a couple places around that cater to more artistic or original music but even there your chances of being accepted are fairly slim if you don't play some sort of instrument or have some type of a backup group. If you can't put together some sort of group your time might be better spend learning to produce some sort of video presentation for your music and see if there's any chance of it catching on when uploaded to youtube. Well, I'm hoping I can attract at least one or two people to team up with me. When that happens I'd look into acquiring some actual gear/sequencers/etc and get more instrumental with it. Thanks for your input so far! Keep it coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted March 7, 2011 Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 Why is it 'the ugly truth'? I see a lot of people here talk as if music is altogether dead or stark or something. I mention that because I'd spend a lot of time playing in cover bands and my experience showed me that often people just starting out have trouble understanding the significant difference between music as an art form and music as a business. You exude confidence, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Book a gig and go for it. It's the only way to find out if you've got what it takes to deliver the goods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shades990 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 Another question: assuming I would play a 2 hour set, how many minutes of music should I roughly have prepared? Around 80 minutes? edit: started looking at USB keyboards/controllers. It might make more sense than a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.