Bright lights, polished hardware, and a sea of important faces. A cacophony of music, of all genres, from every direction, mixing in your ears. Rock legends signing autographs, scantily clad babes toting products, and big suits from many parts of the world.

A barrage of the senses. the Winter NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show is one of the loudest, brightest, and largest Music Industry gatherings of the year. People from almost all avenues of the industry flock to Anaheim, California for a chance to meet rock stars, order product, get drunk on Yamaha’s tab, and check out the cool new gadgets that the new year will bring. Just blocks away from Disney’s happiest place on earth, the Anaheim Convention center and surrounding area becomes the magic kingdom of any sound, featuring any sonic device you could possibly think of.

My friends Max and Chris, along with myself, had the distinct pleasure of interning for the ineffable Korg - Marshall - Vox (think stacks of amps behind Jimi Hendrix, or the funky bass pedal used by Bootsie Collins). The following is a video I made to promote SUNY Potsdam Experiential Education. It features Max and Chris recounting their experiences in the 7 day flurry:

I was close enough to touch Stevie Wonder’s golden hands. I nearly melted in my shoes.

Jared!

Just because you play an instrument that most people use to play Mozart’s greatest hits, doesn’t mean that you have to be stuck in the 18th century too. String instruments are beautiful, don’t quit on it just because you don’t like classical music. (This need not apply to bass players. Everybody making music in all fields needs more of us bass types.)

Try checking out some music that involves unique use of the instrument:
The Turtle Island Quartet
Yo-Yo Ma - “Obrigado Brazil” or “Hush”
The Cinematic Orchestra
Portishead - “Roseland NYC Orchestra”
Regina Carter
Yellowcard
Dave Matthews Band
The genres of Bluegrass, traditional Irish, and Country
the soundtrack from the movie “Waking Life”

Also, you can buy an electronic pickup to allow you to play just about any kind of music. The jazz realm might be an area of interest to you.

Best wishes for a newfound interest in your instrument,
Jared

How to gain exposure and fans in other ways? There are few questions:

1) Where are you located?
2) What genre are you?
3) Do you have a band, are you a solo act?

a1) If you’re located in a moderate sized city, start playing at places that suit your style. For an obvious example, if you’re pop, don’t play the local hardcore dive or else you will probabiy be physically harmed.
a2) Your genre determines your outlets for finding people. If you’re a classical/musical singer, you have to hook up with performing arts companies. If you’re indie, folk, or adult contemporary, you should start playing at local coffee shops and other intimate venues. If you’re a pop star, find a backup band and start playing larger venues, festivals and competitions. If you’re rock, find a rock backup band and start playing rock venues.
a3) If you have a backing band, you’ll have more options for places to play.

In all, simply playing out and gaining tread (through fans, connections and experience) is the best way to attract attention. The likeliness of a cold sent demo (to an A&R rep at a major company) resulting in a contract is as small as the likeliness of finding a good Mexican restaurant in Canada.

Don’t be discouraged. Meeting people is easy. Networking to the right people is the best way to get your music heard by the money up top. Stay tuned here for more tips.

Best of luck,
Jbrickman

I recently was asked: “How long will it take me to learn how to play bass?”

Depends on a few major factors:

1) How much previous experience do you have with music?
2) How much experience do you have with eye-hand coordination and motor skills?
3) How much time are you willing to put into it?
4) …your learning rate.

Continue reading ‘Learning to Play Bass’

I’ve learned quite a bit about gigs with bands in the past few year. I draw my experience from managing multiple bands, the most successful of which (Behind Bad Luck!) has played high profile gigs, such as the Knitting Factory in NYC and with revered groups like The Pietasters, Reegal Beagal, and King Django. Here is what I have learned:

Who to Contact To Book A Gig

Gigs can be done either directly through the venue or via a show promoter. Promoters are people who have nights locked at bars and venues, making it so you have to work through them to get gigs. They’re supposed to help organize and promote your show, making it easier for the band and the venue. For these services they will usually take either a flat fee or a % of the pay your band receives. Sometimes they take 10% (which is real nice deal for band), and sometimes they’re not nice people and take something like 40%. There have been occasions in the past where my band has given a % or flat fee to a promoter for a show, and they’ve done absolutely nothing to promote or organize the show.

It is possible, albeit a little more difficult to penetrate the scene, for your band to contact venues directly and book yourself.

Agreeing On the Terms of the Gig

Continue reading ‘Booking Gigs for Your Band: Checklists Of Things To Know and Do’

Literally 1,000 artists in 56 different clubs; 100s of industry professionals at over 50 panels…all in 5 days.

On the recording side of the music industry, the CMJ (College Music Journal) Music Marathon is one of the most anticipated events of the year. It’s a place where developing artists have a chance to show off their act, as industry support professionals scope them out. Sarah and I had the chance to (for the first time) represent our fair record label at the event.

It was early mornings of panel discussions, lunching on street vendor pretzels, excursions throughout the MTA subway system, and late nights at multiple venues watching incredible live shows. The excitement left us exhausted, but with fantastic memories.

We had cameras and camcorders at our hip at all times - here are some clips from the action:

I can’t wait to check it out again sometime soon!
Jared Brickman
A&R Executive - Madstop Records