The older and more professional bands & musicians are usually good at putting themselves out there ’cause they know what they are doing. They’ve been around it long enough ’cause they know how the music industry works and knows how the music world goes.

For the younger bands just getting into the scene, they’ve got a lot of learning to do. The younger bands seem to be doing everything they can to get noticed. They seem to be jumping at every opportunity that throws at them. It seems like they’ll get any gig they can get, and they seem to be wanting to play almost anywhere.

I understand bands & solo musicians do whatever they can to achieve their dreams & goals, but they need to do their careers responsibly and carefully. I mean, there are sleazy things they have to watch out for. They have to be careful of the scams that go around the music business, the pay to play schemes, they have to worry about getting ripped off by venue owners, etc. All kinds of bullshit.  This is why you can’t say yes to everything that throws at you. Some of these bands will still think this stuff is legit and a good opportunity for them. Plus, worst of all they have to watch out for sleazy club & venue owners ’cause not all of them are going to be so kind to you, believe me.

If I ever get my own band going, I’m going to be careful with everything and take everything we do seriously. Before getting booked a gig at some venue, look into it in detail and make sure the gig is worth it before saying yes to it. Don’t be afraid to turn down gigs you don’t agree with. You don’t need to agree with everything in the music world. Don’t be afraid to be real and honest about things.

Of course, when you say this stuff to other bands, they’ll think you’re full of shit and they’ll get upset easily, when all you’re doing is just looking after them as a fan and friend.

If you want your career to be on a positive note, you have to take everything you do seriously. This post is not just aimed at the young and new bands, this is aimed at the some of older bands as well, ’cause even they can mess up their careers sometimes as well.

Take it all seriously… the way you put yourselves out there. Your music, the way you promote yourself, the way you book gigs, the way you enter contests & other competitions, the way you talk to people, etc.

Another thing, communication skills. When you want to put yourself out there, you have to have your best communication skills possible. Having a good attitude and being professional is a must. Bands make the mistake that they think they can act however they want to in the music scene. They think they can act like an asshole to people whenever you want to, but if you want your music to go somewhere you can’t. Bands have the worst communication skills, it’s crazy.

This goes for me too. In the past, I wish I put myself out there better but I learn from my mistakes and I’ll learn to do much better in my next musical run.

Kev

A lot of local musicians who have their own personal facebook pages, would have a lot of friends in their friends lists. Meaning, they would have somewhere between 1,000 to 5,000 friends or way more. Not me.

I don’t care to have that many friends. I like to keep my facebook page, short and simple. What I use it for, is to keep in touch with family, friends, people I knew from high school, supporters/fans, local musicians, people who I think are interesting or cool to me, etc. I don’t add a bunch of random people. I’m very selective and choosy of who I add and don’t add.

I believe that those people who add a bunch of people randomly, are just desperate for attention. Not naming names. They just want to make themselves look popular online when they are not really. And I’m pretty sure, that other people didn’t send them add requests. They go around trying to add as many people as possible, to see if they actually accept them.

Of course, if you call them out on this, they would think it’s marketing or promoting of their music, when you know that’s a flat out lie.

I’m okay with adding a bunch of random people on my facebook music fanpage, but with my personal facebook, no.

Kev

So we talk about how to tell musicians who have big ego problems, lets talk about how to deal with them. When you become a musician, and the more popular you become, you’re going to run into a lot of musicians with huge ego problems. A lot of them will think they are better than you and more important than you.

The trick is, don’t let them. Don’t let them think they are better or bigger than you, no matter what they say or do. Other local musicians have tried to destroy my reputation as a person and a musician lots of times before. They tried to do it with all the bullying and harassment over the years, but they failed every time. You need to be one tough, son of a bitch. The trick is, you want to think you’re better than them. It really works too.

Another trick is, just keep going with the music. Keep playing and prove them wrong that you are talented and something special. You don’t have to give up music if so many musicians are coming after ya. When they do that, it’s pretty likely they are jealous of you and they will never admit it.

This is another reason why you need to be a bit of an egomaniac yourself, so you can stay above them. Don’t let ’em ruin you. Other musicians just want to see you fail at your career ’cause they know that you are talented, that’s why they do what they do. Period.

Kev