… I’ll try to blog a lot more. It’s just that I have been spending time doing other things. Like guitar playing, practicing my singing, working out at the gym, doing some reading, etc. I guess, I’m slowly starting to get bored of the blog and figure, I needed to do more important things. Things that are more worth while, and do good things in my life, ya know? There are things in my life off the computer, that needs improved on. I’ve just been doing other things. I’m trying to improve my musical talent and all that stuff.

Trying to get the songwriting thing going again. I’ve been keeping myself busy off the computer.

As for the album reviews by bands, here is another thing I need to get off my chest. The albums that come in by unsigned bands. I know there’s going to be stuff coming in, that I’m not gonna like or don’t even care for their music. I don’t know whether or not I should write negative critiques about it, or just ignore the bad albums that come in. I don’t have to ignore the bad albums that come in, so I’ll do my best to write those critiques as positive and respectful as possible. Try not to sound too hateful about it. After all, that’s what a critic does right? That’s their job. Keep things real and honest. If it’s good, they’ll write about it. If it isn’t, they’ll write about it. If bands send me albums, I don’t like, I’ll just do my best, so I won’t hurt them. You can  tell my reviews are already a little honest by the first three I just did. So it’s all good. Bands shouldn’t be hurt by negative reviews, though. They should be professional enough to take it that it’s just an opinion. They should know that bad publicity can sometimes be good publicity. Bands can’t please everyone right?

When I say I LOVE a band’s music, I don’t say just to try to be nice and polite. I say I love a band’s music ’cause I really mean it by heart. I’m real honest about music and it’s good to keep it that way. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Kev

Ya know, something else I wanted to say about original slow ballads, kind of songs. I don’t know anything about piano, but I’ve always wanted to learn to play. I started to learn to play piano a little, but found that I’m into guitar more. I have always wanted to write piano songs, so I would have to collaborate with another pianist. Somebody who knows music theory and good with improvisation so I can give him/her the ideas that I have in my head. I think I know a few pianists around my area, so I will have to reach out to them sometime. I’m a big fan of Billy Joel and the earlier music of Elton John, so I like listening to that type of stuff, and I always wanted to sing that kind of music myself. Someday…..

Kev

You gotta love how bands promote their gigs in social networking sites in facebook, and other places online. When bands & solo artists promote their gigs, a lot of them like to write a little something about it. Just their way of getting people excited so they can come out. I understand their marketing ways but there are certain ways of doing it, and yes it does matter. People take what bands write seriously. Make no mistake about it. They really do.

Before you write something when you promote your gigs, whether in facebook, your website, newsletters, etc., where ever, please re-read what you write a couple of times before hitting that “Post” button. Ask yourself, “Will people like what I wrote”? When you want people to take your show advertisement seriously, then you got to leave your ego out of things. Try not to make your write up about the gig too negative and be careful not to try and sound much like an egotist.

Instead of saying stuff like: “Come on out to this kick ass show, we got a great set planned and about to melt some faces.”. (which I see bands write stuff like this often)

How about saying stuff like: “Have no plans this weekend? If not, it would be cool if you could come out and hear us.” (See how kind and courteous that is? It’s not rude and demanding. Asking people if they want to come out, instead of begging is a better way to do it.)

Or even better, don’t say anything at all and just post the gig information or flyer alone.

You have to be careful and not try to turn people off with your advertising. Don’t always think that your shows are going to be great. You need to let the music speak on it’s own, and let the fans tell you that your shows are great. You NEVER tell the public that you’re about to play a great show. Too many bands make this mistake these days.

This is how I always promoted my shows over the years. How are you going to play a great show when you haven’t played it yet? Whenever I get a gig, I can never tell when I’m gonna play a great show. I just go to my gig, play it, get it over with, and let the feedback come to me. I understand that bands want to try and make themselves look good by saying they’re about to play a killer show, but the people will make you look good if you don’t say things like that.

Letting the music speak on it’s own is pretty important. I always took it seriously.

Kev

So you’re a musician wanting to be part of your local music scene. You want to get recognized for your talent and become part of the musicians community. No matter how good of a person you are, or how good your music is, chances are, you will come across a handful of musicians who are going to be critical about you. They will criticize who you are as a person. They will criticize your playing or singing, and musicianship. They will tell you what’s okay and what’s not okay to say. They will also not be afraid to tell you whether or not they like you or your music. If they feel that your talent is not professional enough or you have lack of success in your music, they will constantly look at you as a music fan, instead of a musician. You want to move forward and get heard like everyone else, and you keep getting other musicians trying to put you down and destroy your dreams. Like always, you will come across a bunch of huge egos who will think they’re better than you, and they will act like they’re know it alls.

I’ve dealt with all kinds of bullshit, I’ve explained above. I’m just speaking from experience here. I hate the way this is myself. It’s pretty dumb. I wish all musicians would stop the criticism of others and support everyone, but it’s obviously not going to be like that. A lot of musicians out there are pretty anti-social to those who don’t have the same success as they have or if their musicianship is not on a professional level. If you have lack of success in your music and struggling to get recognized, you will get accused of being an amateur/hobbyist, kind of musician.

With me? I never cared who’s bigger than who or who’s more talented than who. I’ve always treated musicians the same. I treat them all as real people. Congratulations if you have success in music and I’m sure you are a very talented musician but… that doesn’t make you a better person than everyone else.

If you want to be part of the local musicians community, you want to look after the musicians who respect you in return and look after the ones who believe in you. They will be out there, the ones who will support you, every step of the way. You’re still the same old local resident and a local musician. The reason I believe musicians think it’s okay to be critical of others is because they believe their criticism is right. That’s how they got where they are. They speak from experience. The last thing you want to do is listen to the criticism of other musicians. Do not get feedback of your music and don’t take advice from anybody. No matter how established they are. They want to act like know it alls ’cause of their skill and success that got them there. Hard to explain, but I think you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

If you need feedback on your songs, I wouldn’t just throw my songs on the internet and have other musicians comment on it ’cause that’s gonna do nothing but get mixed responses. If you want to make sure your song is good enough, don’t make your song public yet. Send your songs privately to other people you know well and can trust, he/she will let you know if it’s good or not. This is what I plan to do from now on before I put my future songs out there publicly.

The thing is, music is not about pleasing other musicians. It’s about pleasing yourself and the fans who actually like it. You need to concentrate on your music and getting it out there to the people who do like. Don’t worry about other musicians not liking you. It’s your own music career, that you need to worry about. If you’re having a tough time trying to be accepted in the local musicians community, fuck it. As long as you’re proud of your music and love what you do, that’s all that should matter.

I’ve always had a mixed reaction in the local musicians community. I have some musicians who respect the hell out of me and there are some that hate me. Don’t worry about it. The key to moving forward and becoming more successful in music, is not listening to anybody at all. Just be yourself, play the music, and that’s it. It’s all about believing in yourself. If musicians and other people want to hate, let ’em hate. The more they hate, the more it proves your success and your popularity. All the hate I got over the years, is part of how I got myself out there to begin with, lmao.

Kev

I’ve been a part of the local music scene for many years. For at least 10 years or a little over, I believe. I have been observing how musicians act in the scene. The reason a lot of people mistakenly believe that we have a friendly music scene, is that when people play in a band and they become popular, that’s when they automatically see them as friendly people. They think that when you play in a band, people immediately think that musicians have a professional attitude, that’s why the fans want to believe that musicians are always lovable and friendly to everyone they see. I’m not sure an easier way to explain it, but I think you get the point of what I’m trying to talk about here.

When you get to know the music scene well enough like I do, you’ll start to realize that not all of the music scene is that friendly. You see, all musicians are different. They all have different personalities. Sure, some musicians can be wonderful people, down to earth, and very friendly. I met some very friendly musicians myself and I still know some who have positive attitudes. Sure enough, you’re going to come across some musicians who can be downright rude, and some can be assholes as well. You will come across some negative jerks around here, for sure. Some musicians don’t even care about people at all, a lot of them keep to themselves and they’re in it just to play music or just for the money alone.

When I used to gig and shared the stage with different bands & solo acoustic artists, I’ve noticed musicians who had various personalities. Like I said some were friendly, rude, mean, and some didn’t even care. I even shared the stage with musicians who I didn’t even talk to that much ’cause he/she was just there to play their gig and that was it. I remember some did stay at the gig to hang out with me, so they were the friendly ones.

I have been observing musicians personalities online and off. They all have different personalities online as well. That’s how they are. They are not gonna be the same. You’re going to realize that local musicians, are just regular human beings. You know how when you want to meet your favorite famous person, and once you get the opportunity to meet him, he turns out to be an asshole? Well, it’s the same way with the local music scene. You may find what this musician does is admirable and you may respect him/her, but soon you’ll learn that this someone is not the good person you think he/she is.

I’ve met plenty of musicians over the years, who I thought were once cool, but later on you’re going to be very disappointed. This includes the established bands & musicians too. Just because they’re well known, doesn’t really mean they’re friendly people. You’re gonna come across musicians who have huge egos and short tempers.

If you’re a struggling musician like me trying to get respected and get more recognition musically and if you’re not in their league, they won’t make you feel welcome in the music scene ’cause you’ll accused of being an amateur/hobbyist, and all that stuff. If you want to have a healthy and positive music career, you need to be strong and tough. Don’t let the egos destroy your dreams ’cause that’s all they want to do. They want to see you fail. Don’t listen to the critics. Don’t trust anybody. Just simply, don’t give a fuck.

If music is what you like to do, then keep doing it. This is where I come from. Staying above the haters & doubters, and ignoring all negativity at all costs, is how you keep going forward in your dreams and focusing on your goals. People have been trying to destroy my music dreams for years. I just ignore ’em and say to hell with ’em. I continue to do this ’cause it’s what I do. I don’t care if people think my music is not successful or any of their negative opinions. If people want to believe my blogging is more successful than my music, that’s fine too. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m a musician and you can’t change that. That’s who I am.

The point of this post is that people shouldn’t judge music being a friendly world, when not all of it is really. Too many opinionated people everywhere, and personally, I think they all need to get slapped up and keep their opinions to themselves.

I’m coming back to this music thing, I think, soon, and I’ll do a much better job, ignoring those critics, haters, and doubters, trust me.

Kev

One thing I’m noticing at local band gigs, is that I’m noticing that a lot of bands & solo musicians seem to be shy of people, when they’re out gigging. Evidence of that:  1) After the band gets done playing their show for the night, and a fan walks up to them and say, “Good job”, the musician will just look at him/her like, “Really? I played that good?”, not saying much after that. 2) After the show, the band will usually stick around for a while, but they’re usually outside smoking cigarettes or they’re just hanging at the bar with their fellow musicians 3) After the show, the band usually packs their gear and they just leave right after their performances (I’ve seen this too many times).

I can go on with the list. Those are just a few clues that bands don’t even care or if they’re shy of their own fanbase.

You see guys, with my own gigs, I want my gigs to be quite an experience for everyone. I have this rule called, “the no disappointment” rule. I won’t leave the show, until everyone who came out are smiling and happy. The fans drove all those miles to see you and they pay all that money to see you. So the goal is, you want to make going to your show worth it for them. All the time. It doesn’t matter how many fans come out. You must be humble and approachable to all of them.

If you want to earn more respect toward you as a musician and a band, stick around after the gigs and hang out with the fans who came out to see you. A lot of bands appear to be isolated from the fans, and you don’t want to be like that. Hang out and chat with the fans. Sign autographs and take photos with them. Have a few drinks with them and even make friends with them. I’ve done all of that. They reward you by supporting your music, and you need to reward them in return by offering your love and friendship to all of them. I appreciated my fans, and still appreciate them all now.

I’m also welcome of all feedback after performances, I would say more than just a simple, “Thank you”. I would say stuff like, “It means a lot, glad you enjoyed it”. After my gigs, I don’t pack up and leave like a lot of musicians appear to do. I stick around for a while. It’s a good thing to do and it’s respectful.

We’re not rock stars guys, so get over yourselves and your huge egos. Unlike the indie and major labels, where they make bands feel isolated from the fans with barricades at concerts and backstage passes to meet them or guest lists, as a local musician and unsigned, we don’t have any of that stuff. We can talk to anybody we want to. Local bands isolate themselves from their own fans after gigs because they want to play, “rock star”. They only let certain people talk to them who they think are deserving, which is disrespectful and wrong, in my opinion.

I miss going to the shows, and interacting with the fans after my performances, and I want to be doing this all over again. Soon. Hopefully. I appreciate anyone who really enjoys my music.

Kev

You gotta love those musicians who constantly bash bands & musicians for doing covers, saying that they have no talent and they would get criticized constantly by many around the local scene. I’m talking about the people who seem to only support original music, nothing else outside of that. There are many bands & solo artists who don’t do too many cover songs or they don’t do none at all. I still see this lame argument today around local musicians in facebook, and other places online.

You see, I LOVE doing covers. I’ve always loved doing both originals and cover songs. I think it’s important for all musicians to do both. It doesn’t make a musician talentless hacks ’cause he/she wants to play covers. If you’re a musician and don’t want anything to do with cover songs, then I’m sorry, you’re not an actual musician. It’s pretty important to do cover songs. Playing covers is important for a few reasons. 1) It’s important to have a large repertoire of songs, that people will recognize so that people can take you seriously more as a musician. 2) It’ll help improve your talent and skill as a musician and songwriter. Writing original songs is great, but if you want to take your songwriting to the next level, learn cover songs. Cover songs will help make you play your instrument better and WILL help your singing better too. Playing cover songs certainly helped me play guitar and sing better, that’s for sure.

On top of that, there is nothing wrong with a cover band or an acoustic solo artist who plays nothing but covers. I think it’s pretty cool to hear different takes on cover songs by different musicians. It is also possible to make the cover song sound like that you wrote it, if it’s good enough.

I like a good cover band. I’m practicing and learning better guitar, and when I improve, I’m actually thinking about joining a cover band someday. Since I can’t get any other job anywhere else, I’m actually considering this idea.

It’s why I like to play covers at my live gigs from the past and upload cover songs on youtube. Doing covers is fun. It’s challenging and can be useful. I plan on getting back into learning covers again soon. I want to be doing this again.

Kev

The funny thing about being a musician or singer/songwriter, you can never tell if you’re supported or not. It really is hard to tell whether people like you or not. I know I’ve been complaining a lot about how I get lack of respect for my music and guitar playing, but I gotta stop that. It is turning out that I really do have loyal followers and true fans. It may not seem like it but they’re out there. Sure, there may not be any fan sites of me online and I may have very little followers in my facebook “like” page, but I have quite a bit of lurkers out there who don’t want to admit that they’re a fan of mine.

I put up a rant about the way local musicians support local music this morning. On how they think they are better than the amateurs and the music scene need to treat all musicians with equal respect.  Meaning, they need to leave their egos at the door and support all musicians, regardless of the level of talent they’re in. The reason I put up that rant was not to talk about myself and my music. The problem of this area with local music is what they call, “cliques”. There shouldn’t be any “cliques”. The point of the rant, was that I wanted to vent about that all local musicians need to work on this together, if we want to put on a good local music scene. Even though, you think other musicians and bands are bad players, you should keep that opinion to yourself and support them, anyway. Be more music appreciative.

A woman quoted me that in a facebook music forum, and that post got way over 20 likes, and people gave it some likes on my personal facebook page, so I must be saying the right things, and people are agreeing with it.

I really didn’t want that debate to be about me originally (my original intention was to help make the music scene more positive), but some people replied explaining I do have a loyal fanbase out there and other musicians enjoy what I do. They also said, that I am a good musician. I do have fans out there, but they said some are silent about it, and some are not. Maybe I am a recognizable music artist and respected, after all! It was good to know that and am honored.

It’s just that I still feel underappreciated and overlooked by the scene, though. I still would like to get some recognition with my music from the scene. Maybe a radio interview, or an online review of my songs, or a newspaper article. Just anything! I know I can’t demand the respect, it has to be earned. One day though, I will create a huge buzz with my music with the local media, just give it time. It’s why I decided to take a long break from songwriting. Start practicing guitar and singing, so I can improve my skills to the next level.  I’m just like every musician, yo. I want my stuff heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible too!

If local super stardom doesn’t happen to me anytime soon, that’s great. I’m just as happy, playing my guitar and rockin’ out ’cause that’s all I care about, really. I still would like to get recognized for it, somehow. I just need to make my songwriting as best as possible and learn new marketing skills. Not only good songwriting, is a way to get recognized for your music, good marketing is key for getting recognized.

Back to the topic, I was talking about, I just want a positive music scene, ya know? Enough of the ego clashing with musicians and we all need to get together and help each other out. Help each other reach the same dreams and goals that you achieved. Instead of being opinionated, bashing, and hating. Get my point?

Kev