There’s an interesting discussion in facebook that came up, that intrigued me to follow, and people were trying to define what a “professional” musician or a hobbyist is. There were some facebook users getting into that discussion and even I got into it a little bit as well. It seems like everyone has their own definition of what a professional musician is. It has been debated by musicians for years and there is always crazy myths about it. Everyone else thinks their version of “professional” musician is exactly right and thinks they have it defined.

In my opinion, I think a “professional” musician mean 3 different things:

1) If you make good money doing it

2) Your playing ability and skill. If you’re in the advanced level of playing your instrument and pretty much mastered it, you’re a professional.

3) Your professional attitude. Meaning being polite and courteous to everyone. Keeping negative opinions to yourself. Just having a positive attitude as a musician just like you would do on  your day job.

If you have any of those three things, that’s a professional musician, in my book.

A”hobbyist” (or an amateur), is someone who plays music just for fun, and doesn’t really look at it as a job (or a career). A lot of people want to mistakenly view an “amateur” musician as a crappy musician, but that’s not the case here. There are plenty of VERY talented musicians in your hometown and plenty of great guitar players in youtube showing off their stuff, but they play music as a hobby. Just because you maybe an amateur, doesn’t make you talentless. Some of these guys just don’t care to make a name for themselves. So they just play their music at home, show off their talent online or play local open mics occasionally. They never really cared to get big. This is where I fall in.

I never saw myself as a professional musician, even though, some folks out there would mistakenly see me as one. I don’t take the “career” thing seriously, even though some people would like to see me move forward and make a name for myself. I just do it for fun. Period, end of story.

It’s crazy how, most musicians want to see themselves as “professional” ’cause they get so caught up in delusions of grandeur. They all want to see themselves as professional. Think about it. You wouldn’t be a real “professional”, if you weren’t online, trying to define it. Why are they on here, trying to define “professional” musician? I’m not afraid to say this, but it’s gonna be said. It’s because they are scared of the truth. They are worried that they really may not be a “professional” musician, and it’s bothering them a little bit.

If you were a real professional, you wouldn’t be in facebook. You would be working on your albums, playing your gigs, doing your marketing, and just keeping, busy, busy, busy. If you were wealthy and make good money off of music, you wouldn’t be online much. I’m not saying these guys are not, “professionals”, some of them are, but I’m pretty sure a lot of bands around here don’t make a lot of money playing music. Some of these guys are afraid to admit that they are not really professionals, but I’m not afraid to admit it.

Now to be a professional musician, you don’t have to be a big name solo artist, or play in a huge band. You can be just a session musician. Session musicians are considered professional too, but they are smaller gigs. Subbing for members in other bands, and collaborations. Things like that.

To be a professional musician requires those three things I pointed out above: 1) Making a living off of music 2) Having the skill and talent 3) Having a good attitude. All those counts. If you don’t have any of those, then you don’t have a right to call yourself a “professional” musician. I’m sorry. Just being realistic here, folks!

Kev

While I am proud and happy that original music has finally taken over the music scene, my only complaint is that there are a lot of original bands that are so obsessed with being a party band. Sure, you can only be a party band when you’re a cover band, but you can still be a party band with original music. Allow me to clarify. When an original band wants to be a party band, they want all of their music to be upbeat and tight, so their fans can dance to their songs at all of their shows. Nothing wrong with putting on a tight and upbeat show playing fast songs, all night. I know that stuff can pull people into shows, but one thing to keep in mind folks, that original music don’t always have to be a “party” kind of show.

I mean, what the hell happened to art of writing music?

If I ever get myself a band going one of these days, I’m going to completely focus on the art. Yes, I will write fast, tight and upbeat songs for fans to dance to at the shows, but I’m not gonna obsess with it too much. I don’t care how the tempo of a song is, whether the song will be slow, moderately fast, or upbeat. They are going to get played at the shows. Just make music from the heart. Songs don’t always have to be dancy.

I love those type of bands that concentrate on the art with music. The bands that don’t care to play “hit singles” or don’t care to get the audience dancing. The fans will stick around and listen to you, no matter the tempo of the song. I understand bands want to put on an exciting and fun show, but don’t always be, “the entertainer”. You want to be, “the artist”.

My original music has always been about the art. I never cared to write radio friendly songs or write songs that people can sing along to, I just wanted to write, and I will continue to have this method of songwriting. That’s how Neil Young and David Bowie has always been.

I’ve been silent a lot more often in this blog ’cause I’ve been practicing guitar a lot more. I’m really am desperate in trying to get better. Like I said, I’ll start writing songs when I’m ready. I’m mostly focused on trying to get better at lead guitar currently, ’cause I want to be able to play my own guitar solos over my songs and be good at it.

Kev

I understand that my criticism toward bands and local music can be quite controversial. Usually when I have something to rant about, or have something honest to say, people around the scene would go nuts. It certainly would piss others off. I mean, some people around the scene try to avoid me like the plague and many refuse to add me in facebook, ’cause many around here, don’t like the way I treat the music scene. I also have some that actually like what I write about local music and some really do agree with some of the things I say about it. Like I always say, I like a mixed reaction. When people go crazy about my criticism and then they start hating, I’ve always believed from day 1 that the truth just simply bothers them. They just don’t like hearing the truth and they know I’m right about the things I say.

I know I can be a bit of a dick sometimes, but it’s just my way of getting people to listen and pay attention. I have the right to talk about music, bands, and the scene however I please, just like everyone else. It’s pretty funny how I can’t talk about local musicians, yet everyone think they have the right to talk about me whenever they want to? How hypocritical is that? I’ve been trying to figure that out for the past 10 years or so. Just proves my point how messed up and weird people can get in local music.

On top of that, I haven’t been a part of the local scene much anymore for the past couple of years or so. Haven’t been to any other band gigs (other than EBJ), and haven’t played any gigs of my own lately. I’m at the point where I don’t care about the scene anymore. It’s not much of a scene to begin with if you think about it. No places to play. Shit bands and not much good music anymore. Bands can be too much of an asshole around here, it’s crazy. All of it.

This is why it’s best that you should only care about yourself and your music. If you only care about yourself, and not give a shit about others, that’s what makes you a real, honest, and respectable musician. When you put yourself out there, people are going to be opinionated about you and you’re going to be criticized. Just be proud of yourself and your music, don’t worry about what others think.

Will I get myself out there, this year? Maybe play a few gigs? I’m gonna try. Just need to write up some new songs and learn new covers whenever I get around to it. I’ve been most focused on polishing up my guitar skills. I’m in no rush to write new songs. I’ve been studying guitar a lot lately, practicing and learning, to take myself to the next level in guitar playing. When I’m ready to do the music thing again, I’ll be ready. I’m just not ready right now. Don’t want to get too ahead of myself.

People are always criticizing me of not doing shit with my music or when am I ever going to release new stuff or gig again, but like I said, when I feel I’m ready, you’ll be the first to hear it, right here on this site. I really am trying to improve my talent and musicianship. I want to be the best musician and guitar player, I can be and trying to get there.

Kev

I’m amazed at the number of musicians who take image and looks seriously. There are too many unsigned & indie bands trying to look pretty as possible. I never thought image was that important in music. To me, I never cared. When I go to the stage to perform or take photos, I never cared what I looked like, or what I wore. There are too many bands out there, that will play dress up for the stage or photo shoots. They would even go as far as doing make up or try to make their hair cool. This goes for both men and women who play in bands or just acoustic acts. I understand that musicians need to look their genre that they play, but… image should not be all that important.

There are even famous bands & artists in national music today, that don’t even care about image like Neil Young. Perfect example right there. I mean, you never see Neil wearing nothing but all black leather or other crazy band fashion. All Neil mostly wore over the years in his career were ripped up blue jeans and he wore mostly old t-shirts or flannels. He didn’t care what he wore on the stage. He just wears what ever he wore in everyday life, when he goes on stage.

That’s where I come from. As long as you have the talent and the music is good, who the fuck cares about the image, ya know?

Personally, I believe, that the only reason people support your music is because the band looks good. It doesn’t matter to them if the music is good or bad. If the members are good looking people, that’s when fans will support their music. Point being, it’s the image that what makes people like their music, and in my opinion, the looks is cheating to get popularity or fame.

If you want to prove that you’re talented, you don’t need to worry about the image or trying to look pretty. We’re not celebrities so get over yourselves. Let the music speak on it’s own. If I go on stage sometime in the future, I’ll just wear what I have on now. That’s how I always played my gigs in the past. I didn’t care how I looked. Fashion, and image just takes away the music. Just my opinion.

Kev

On a yearly basis, you would often see bands in facebook, trying to get fans to vote for them for various voting contests. You know, they would say stuff like, “Please help us vote for this______” (whatever contest they are trying to enter). This Grammy’s thing is the most popular. Bands would also enter other contests such as opening for national acts, landing a slot on big festivals, etc. I never understood why bands obsess with these things too much. Personally,  this is just my opinion now, they just want to make themselves look good. It’s their way of making their fans feel proud of them, so the bands can have something to jerk themselves off with. I believe they already know that these contests are fake (I hope they do know they are fake), the voting count is usually rigged. The company hosting the contest, already picks the winner even before the contest even started. So why bother with these things?

I understand bands want good opportunities and they want to move forward in their careers. This is not the way to go if you want to move forward and succeed. This is just my opinion, so no offense to anybody. If you want to make your fans feel good and proud of you, in my opinion, you don’t boost your ego, by forcing fans to vote for you for these stupid things. You make your fans proud of you just by making the music, and playing the gigs.

These voting contests makes bands look a little desperate and self centered. If I ever get myself a band, one of these days, I would not take part in any of these things.

Another thing that people fail to realize about these voting contests, is that the company hosting them, radio station or whatever, they usually do these things as a huge marketing ploy for their business. That’s all they care about. These people that hosts the contests don’t really care about the bands, it’s just their way of promoting themselves as a business.

Bands try to do these things just so they can make themselves look like an established act, when in reality, they are nothing. Bands promoting voting contests, also, seems kind of spammy, that’s another thing that bothers me.

Don’t worry about winning opportunities. You can earn the good opportunities and succeed just by making the music on your own. You can get opportunities to open for national acts, land on huge festivals, etc. without entering any contests. That stuff will come to you, if you’re not desperate. Just work hard, keep making the good music, and who knows what may happen. In my opinion, these contests are pointless and a waste of time.

Kev

If you’re a struggling musician like me, trying to get recognized for your talent, or trying to get accepted in the musicians community, don’t worry about any of that stuff. I realize a lot lately, that I’ve been complaining about trying to get recognized or get accepted for my talent by other musicians, but I got to learn to stop worrying myself. I’m at the point right now, where I make music for myself, and not really to other people. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I like getting new listeners, new fans, and new supporters who actually like my music, but my point is, I’m not worried about whether the reception of my music is going to be good or bad. I gotta stop that.

There are too many musicians out there who take themselves way too seriously. They expect all of their songs to be good, all the time, and they expect everyone to like them. You shouldn’t worry about the kind of reception or feedback you’re going to get with your songs. Just make music for you. As long as you enjoy your own songs, that’s all that should matter, ya know? Whether the reception is positive or negative, it’s all good. There are plenty of other bands out there who have had negative reception with their albums. The feedback is not always going to be positive.

While I would love nothing but positive feedback toward my music, I know it’s never going to happen. I’ll just take what I can get. Make the music, put it out there and see what happens. If the reception is great, I’ll take it and I will be flattered. If the reception is negative, I’ll take it and will be flattered with that too. Any kind of feedback is good. I don’t get defensive with negative critics toward my music like so many musicians out there do. I just let it go and ignore it.

I would like to get more well known as a singer/songwriter and music artist than a blogger, but oh fuckin’ well. There’s nothing I can do about that, but take it for what it is. People believe what they want to believe. If people are going to keep treating you like you’re some amateur or hobbyist kind of musician, keep in mind, that’s all opinionated. You’re just misunderstood. It’s just that the so called, “pro’s” out there want to think they’re much better than you. Yes, there are musicians out there that can play way better than me, but if they want to see you as a hobbyist, don’t listen to ’em. I’ve been accused of being a hobbyist kind of musician and continue to be called that even to this day, but do I give a fuck?

I’ll admit that I’m not a professional/advanced kind of guitarist yet, but I’m working my way up there. I’m learning and practicing.

My point being in this topic, to keep it all short and simple, you should only care about you in the world of music. Don’t worry about other peoples thoughts and opinions ’cause that’s all they are. I’ve been ignored by the local papers, and even local blogs like Crumbs.net, when I try to submit my music for them to plug in ’cause they think I don’t “fit” in the professional level of music, which is bullshit in my opinion. All musicians should be treated equal like I said before, regardless of the level of talent.

I just make music for the love and enjoyment of it. In other words, I make music to please me. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but this is what you must do, if you want to fight back at your nasty critics and win, is to be selfish. Don’t let ’em think they can take your dreams away ’cause that’s all they’re trying to do. They want to see you quit ’cause they don’t like what you do.

Kev

Often, I would see bands in their facebook pages using obscenities or offensive material in their marketing. For example, profanity is pretty popular with local bands these days. I would see a lot of them use the F word a lot. They would also say stuff like, “Come out to this show, bitches”, and all that. You get the idea. I would even see some bands put up dirty jokes as a way to entertain their fans. Some bands would even make offensive photos for their flyers and stuff. Is using obscenities a good idea for your promotional material? Does this always help draw people to your shows or help get you new fans?

It all depends.

Keep in mind that this kind of marketing is not for everybody. If you want more respect and better opportunities with your music, the key to that is to make your marketing and promotional material, family friendly as possible. If you keep using obscenities in your promotion, then you’ll probably be stuck playing over 21 shows and you could get rejected by family friendly events. Sometimes you can turn venues off, and they might refuse to book you by how you put yourself out there.

Some music fans out there may even get the wrong idea about your band. They’ll look at the way your promote yourself and they’ll say something like, “Who the hell are these guys? I don’t want to support these hacks.” I believe that bands & artists that uses obscene stuff in your promotional material, I’m going to think that you’re the type of band who think they’re so cool. It’s gonna make you think you’re better than everyone. I understand that bands do this to entertain their fans but keep in mind, this kind of marketing isn’t for everyone.

If you want a wider audience and more respect, change the way you promote yourself. Bands do this ’cause they believe it’s okay to be themselves and act how they want to in local music, but in a way, you can’t always. It’s about being careful of how you put yourself out there.

Kev

As I explained in a post just not too long ago, yes, a professional attitude in music, does matter. When they choose to act unprofessional and act like jerks, they deserve to be called out. Some of these guys can be in bands, and they can be well known, established people, in the music scene. Not only that some of these guys treated me badly, I’ve seen them treat other people horribly too. Some of these guys can be bullies to other people. Like I said before yesterday, when these musicians think they can play good or if they think they made a lot of accomplishments in their careers, that’s what makes them turn into assholes. Look, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure you’re a great musician. I’m sure you play fantastic and I’m sure you have had a lot of success and had a lot of accomplishments, but that still doesn’t mean you should feel the need to put other people down. You’re not better than other musicians. We should all be treated equally. Even the less successful musicians and the amateurs should be treated equally.

This music scene have always had a love & hate relationship in the music community. You have to admit that the things that I’m saying here, is true. There are a lot of jerks around here, it’s crazy. Sure, some will call me a hypocrite and say I’m no different. Some may say musicians no longer supporting me is my fault, but the truth is, it isn’t my fault. It’s the way these guys respond to people. Their attitudes. Like I’ve said, I’ve been nothing but supportive of everyone, as much as possible. I don’t rant about this stuff for no reason.

You see, to earn respect as a musician, it’s not how many accomplishments you made or how long you’ve been playing. It’s how you respond to people, the way you act professionally, is what gives you the respect. You have a really great & positive professional attitude, then people will start liking you and taking your music seriously. Being friendly and humble is key. Nope. They will never take this advice and they will never learn. They will think they are important, that they think they can act how ever they want to. I try to be supportive of other bands & musicians around here, and a lot of them just don’t care to be supported. That could explain their attitudes. That’s what it is. There is the answer right there.

I like being supported by other musicians and non-musicians in the scene. It’s great that they stayed loyal to me over the years. It’s an awesome feeling. I still keep in touch with a lot of musicians in facebook, and yes, many of these guys were from the old CRUMBS forum years back. There’s no ego and bad attitudes in any of us. We treat each other equally as a music community, and I wish a lot of guys out there would be the same way. Leave their egos at the door and be more appreciative for the love of music.

I have been treated badly by a lot of musicians out there over the years, basically because of who I am, how I write online (my web presence), and they think my music is not in their league. They think my music is not professional enough, which is why they feel the need to act better than me. Oh well, I can’t please everyone. If we want to have a good music scene, then we all need to be supportive of each other, but if you’re going to be a douchebag, then you can expect me not to support you in return. You have to learn what karma is about, ’cause it’ll get to you. Knowing from my own experience.

Kev

So you like to be buddies with musicians around the scene as a way to feel part of a musicians community? Is this always a good idea? Will this help you as a musician in your own career and your songwriting? In a way, no it won’t, and let me explain.

There were so many musicians in the past who I thought were pretty supportive of me. I’m not saying they’re my friends, but they were just supportive and they respected you as a musician. As years go along, they all of a sudden have condescending attitudes. They act like a jerk to you all of a sudden, when you’ve been nothing but nice and supportive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dealt with this over the years. I’ve tried to be nothing but very “supportive” and friendly to musicians, but I don’t know. There’s something weird about them. This is part of the big reason, why I don’t care to make friends with other musicians in the scene.

I think the reason a lot of them act like this, they were once supportive of you and now they’re not, is that they “think”, they are a better and more successful musician than you are. The more success they get, the bigger their ego gets. They want to look like they’re smarter than you are, and they want to make it look like they have more experience than you. That’s why they act like douchebags to you.

I also know that a lot of these guys enjoy talking shit about other musicians behind their backs. I know this, ’cause in facebook, I’ve had musicians privately tell me that they don’t like this guy and that guy. Why don’t you be a man and say that stuff publicly upfront? Oh, I know why. They know it’s an unprofessional thing for them to do, and they don’t want to make themselves look bad.

Yes, I can be very supportive of musicians, it’s part of what I do, but when these guys want to act like ego-maniacs and start drama with you, no thanks. Get out of my life, move along please. Just because you have success in your career, and made lots of accomplishments, or you have a lot of years of experience as a musician, doesn’t mean, you have to be a bad guy. I can’t stand musicians with this kind of attitude, and they’re all over the place. They are a legend in their own mind. I can sit here and name plenty of musicians with this kind of attitude, but I don’t want to ’cause I made a promise that I will never bash musicians publicly. So I just do it without names.

Not everyone is like this, I know, don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of kind and wonderful musicians out there who will truly support you and have your back. You just got to find ’em. You will know they have your true support when they don’t care what others think about you. I have had some musicians who stayed loyal to me, no matter what happened. It feels good too. Yes, you’re going to have drama and not get along with some musicians, but, that’s the whole deal with being a musician, ya know? It’s the name of the game. You’re going to go through a lot of ups and downs. You go through good days and bad days, like everyone.

If you get negativity and drama in your musical life, best thing to do is, ignore it all, and let it slide right by. I don’t have time for this garbage, I just want to live a positive and happy life. Other musicians have a problem in replying to drama in the music community ’cause they get so hung up in it. I don’t care to get into any of that stuff anymore. I want my music life to be a positive one from this point forward.

Kev

Are you a musician in a band or an acoustic solo act trying to gig and can’t figure out what to do? I can come up with a lot of suggestions! There are plenty of ways to go out and keep gigging. You just gotta set your mind to it and be creative.

Here are several quick suggestions to help you:

• If venues reject you? Fuck ’em. Move along. – Keep going until you find the one that will care for you and your music! This is part of how I got myself out there. Trust me, I’ve had plenty of rejections. I kept asking for gigs until I found the one that liked me.
• Set up your own shows – You don’t need to go around asking for gigs from other bands, when you can easily set up your own. I did it all the time. All you have to do is talk to the owner of the club or cafe that you’re good at setting up shows, and they’ll be interested in working with ya. I’ve had experience setting up my own shows, lots of times.
• Set up your own music festival – I see bands do this all the time. A lot of them set up their own music festivals ’cause it was the only way for them to play out and get recognized for it. It may cost a lot of money but it’s worth it, if you want to gig out.
• Play house concerts or house parties – This always works. It may not be at an actual venue at a bar or a club, but a live performance at a home is still a gig! Bands put on house concerts all the time. People love this stuff. It’s great for the die hards who follow your music. Live music doesn’t always have to be at a club or a small theater. Live music can be anywhere! Remember that!
• Put on live internet streaming performances – With the use of technology today, why not have a live internet gig? People watching live on the internet is still an audience, in my opinion. It may not be in person but it’s still a live show. In 2013, I’m planning on doing something like this, so stay tuned.
• Take your music out on the road! – You don’t need to be stuck here, playing music in Albany! Go on tour under your own budget. I can understand why more bands and artists around here are starting to tour ’cause there ain’t shit for places to play around here.

There are always different ways to share your music for your live audience and your fans. Just gotta use your brain a little bit.

Kev