Today I’m going to take a step back from philosophy and show you how to create a fan page for your band on Facebook. Aren’t you lucky? Less ruminating and more “do this now.” I should mention that creating a Facebook page for your fans doesn’t instantly bring you fame and fortune, there is a little bit of legwork that goes along with that. You will need your own Facebook account in order to create a page; there is a step for you to log in, but if you don’t have an account — don’t worry about it because there will be an opportunity for you to do that later.

Anyway, here are the steps to creating a FREE fan page for your band on Facebook:

GO TO FACEBOOK — You don’t even have to think. Just click on this little Create a Facebook Page link. Guess where that takes you?

CLICK on the ARTIST, BAND, or PUBLIC FIGURE PAGE TYPE — So now you need to tell Facebook that you are part of a band and you want to be showered with money, fame and lots of men (or women). Whatevah! The choices are: Local (For a company or business), Brand or Product (Self-Explanatory) or Artist, Band or Public Figure (Band, Musician, Writer, etc.). From what I’ve seen, lots of bands choose the “musician” option. Makes sense, right?

ENTER YOUR BAND NAME — If you’ve chosen “Band,” probably be a good idea at this point to name your page with your band’s name. Once you’ve put in what name you want to be referred to and searched by, click on the blue “create page” button and remember — it’s permanent so choose wisely, grasshopper. Oh, and you “might” want to include the word “Band” with your name. Check out this Tool fan page on Facebook for an example.

LOG IN WITH YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT — Remember earlier when I said you need your own account? Yeah, well this is the part where you have to log in to Facebook here, or you have to create your Facebook log in. Only human beings, chimpanzees (and aliens posing as human beings) can create Pages, so once you’ve verified you’re not a robot you’re good to go.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR PAGE for YOUR BAND — OOOOOooooo, shiny! Now you have a page for your band, but there is nothing on it! Well, fortunately you do NOT have to be a web designer to customize a page on Facebook, but you do need a bit of reading comprehension. Here are a few of the ways that you can choose to customize your Facebook page.

Add a Picture: Remember when I mentioned all those free photo editing and storage tools for your band photos? Here’s where that’s going to come in pretty handy. The maximum filesize for an image is 4 megabytes. Our MXTABS.NET page on Facebook can give you some ideas. Though, I’m sure those photos can get kind of…dangerous. *evil grin*

Add Your Band Website’s RSS Feed: Got a band blog or a website? Click on the “Add a Note” feature for your band page’s customization and add your RSS feed. On the right hand side in a small, grey box you’ll see “Notes Settings” where you can import your blog. This is kinda cool because you won’t have to update your page as often.

Add Band History for your Information: Take a peek under your band’s picture. Notice that dead space? Well, here’s a chance for you to write a couple of paragraphs about your bandmates, what type of music you play, where people can listen to you, etc.

Add a Music Video: OOoooo… I heart home-grown music videos, don’t you? Unfortunately, shorter videos work better than longer ones because there’s some extra hoops to go through here. You can add links for other videos on “the wall,” though.

PUBLISH your BAND on FACEBOOK — Yeah, so pretty self-explanatory, but in order for other people to see your creation, you’ll have to publish it. DOH!

PROMOTE YOUR BAND’S PAGE LIKE CRAZY — Do I really have to explain what this means? You can add a link to your band’s page on Facebook pretty much everywhere, but there are some “restrictions” on how you can promote yourself. (Read the long laundry list of what you can do with Facebook pages, including promotion – here.)

So there you have it. Delivered straight to you, this is a free, legal way to promote your band. Just the way we like it. Got a Facebook page to share? Yours or another band’s? Post ‘em in the comments below!

Anyway, without further ado and long-winded predications, here are some t-shirts that will amplify your cool factor just by wearing them. It’s a cheap way to establish your trademark performer or band image, so choose wisely. Don’t believe me? Yeah, well these t-shirts are so awesome they speak for themselves! (Not to mention, I picked ‘em out. HAH!)

For starters, why not play your band’s music on a t-shirt? You heard me right. Embedded in this cotton marvel is the ability to incorporate a playlist. How freaking cool is that? Not only are you aiding and abetting your music distribution, who wouldn’t stop you to ask you where you got that rockin’ tee from? And no, we didn’t post a picture because seriously? It’s cool to be legal.

T-shirts from webcomics that emphasis bands, like Questionable Content, can instantly increase your “kewl” factor because they are often a great conversation starter. This t-shirt featuring Pintsize (an anthropomorphic robot) might appeal to your wearing pleasure; if not you can always get a t-shirt that represents one of the fictional bands in the strip.

If you’re looking for 80s retro tees look no further than a site that specializes in everything eighties — including the infamous band tees that used to be every concert-goers badge of honor. From Led Zeppelin to Devo (oddly enough, wearing flower pots on their heads) you can find quite a few band tees that are a throwback to music that inspires. This store, dubbed Concert Tee offers quite a few more, including some contemporary bands. (For meself, I’m looking for ye olde Queen tee. If ye find one, let me know — would ya?)

‘Course, there’s always the obscure or funny tees like this Han Rockin Solo t-shirt. The nice thing about some of the “newer” sites is that they’re a bit more female-friendly for those of us of the female persuasion. I have started a t-shirt collection, but some of them are quite a bit boxy. My favorite t-shirts proudly display slogans like, “I’m not dead yet” (purchased at Spamalot) and “Zombies like a girl with brains.”

Last but not least, the worn tee — that’s right, your old stand-by lucky t-shirt that’s stood the test of time — can be cool. Just…make sure it doesn’t smell, okay? One of my well-loved tees are the ever-popular (and really affordable) MXTABS.NET t-shirts. In black because, well, that’s just me. Come on, you know you want one!

Inquiring minds want to know. What’s sitting in your closet? Where do you tee up for some great looks? Pictures? Do you even have a t-shirt collection?

Before you can distribute your music though, you need a product “to” distribute. In fact, I recommend several. :) Keep in mind that since you love cheap and easy (After all, why get your free, legal tab from anywhere else?) these ideas are meant to be low-cost or “free” ways to help you out. There’s no shame in using the tools that are available to you — even if you build a following. A lot of bands still use print-on-demand t-shirts and the like so they don’t have to sit on inventory and store it in their apartments.

Without further ado, here’s some tips to getting “product.”

Bands Can Self-Publish Music on CDs and More!

Gone are the days of finding a label to distribute your music. As many musicians have shown their success through online resources like YouTube! and MySpace, you now have the option of becoming your own music publisher. This resource called the “Indie Band Survival Guide,” points this out by saying:

Your home doesn’t make a good warehouse. You don’t need to duplicate 1000s of CDs anymore. There are now services that will print your CD on demand – when a customer actually orders it. Usually these services allow you to order your own CDs at a discount so you can have an inventory on hand for live shows. –SOURCE: Print-On-Demand CD Resources

I could not agree with this site more. Even places like Lulu.com allow you to upload and package a very professional-looking product and what’s more — you can supplement your online music distribution with other print-on-demand products through places like CafePress or Spreadshirt. From t-shirts to DVDs, the only thing you need to do is make sure you have a quality product to produce.

Your profit margin may be smaller than if you go with a larger print run or a pile of t-shirts, but the benefit is that you don’t sit on inventory and you don’t have to come up with a ton of money up front. Many places have a lot of design flexibility, too. So if there’s a particular design that isn’t working for you — you can swap it out easily enough.

Besides hard goods, you’ll also want to ensure you have digital files of your music. From downloadable MP3s to other file formats, offering your music in digital formats is a great way to reach a broader audience.

Now that we’ve talked about getting a range of “products” — including CDs of your music — let’s look at two, other ways to distribute your music online.

Distribute Your Own Music Online

After doing a bit of legwork with some local bands and folks here who play, there were two sites that were mentioned for online distribution. I’m sure that there might be others, but these two stood out for the people I talked to.

Tunecore is an online distributor that will get your music into iTunes, Napster, Amazon.com and other places. They also offer a mastering service (pretty cheap per song, considering) that will ensure your music is of a professional quality. Here’s a little bit about their philosophy:

TuneCore is all about getting your music heard and available to buy. We want you to earn money from your music and make a living doing what you love. We believe that all artists and bands should have equal access to the channels of music distribution, the physical and virtual stores alike.–SOURCE: Tunecore

In order to get those listeners to hear you, you have to give them a way to do it. I know that some bands I’ve talked to were pretty resistant to the idea because they wanted to be more traditional or old-fashioned. Well? How are people going to know about how awesome you are unless you give them tons of options to listen to you play?

The other online music distributor that people mentioned was ReverbNation. The site has a much different feel to it than TuneCore, and it’s philosophy can be summed up from their website:

Nothing is more important to Artists than the relationship with their Fans. All of an artist’s financial success comes down to the strength and breadth of the relationships they have with their fans. It is from those relationships that artists can earn a living selling music, tickets and merchandise. It is our mission to provide the tools artists need to create, nurture, and strengthen fan relationships. We call the total value of these relationships an artist’s Band Equity™, and it is our mission to help artists maximize this.–SOURCE: ReverbNation

Whichever method of online music distribution you decide to use, do the math first and see what might be in your best interest. Different distribution models and company philosophies do come into play, so find the one that speaks to what your business plan is for your band. Don’t forget to also use your friendly neighborhood search engine to do some good searching, too. I found a ton of leads by typing in “print-on-demand music cds,” and I’m sure you can too!

Until next time, practice hard and master well — one of you out there may be a rock star one day, I just know it!

It’s simple really, every band is a collection of mates with different personalities and talents. The drummer keeps the beat, the guitarists add flavor, the keyboardist fills out the tune and the singer brings it to life. People, though, aren’t always the best at working together. Enter the nefarious “Band Drama.” (Drum roll, please!)

Band drama is a band killer, because when tempers flare and misunderstandings happen — it gets in the way of your music. While there are lots of reasons why band drama can happen, the band drama I’ve witnessed usually comes down to one, sordid point: someone either takes credit for something they didn’t do OR they neglect to give credit when other people were involved. Singers who take all the credit for a song, for example, can really irk the rest of their band. Or how about former leads who tell tall tales about where they really got their start as a musician?

Heartache, hurt feelings and bad business decisions can all be avoided by simply sucking it up and giving credit where credit is due. Credit is your way of saying “thanks” for all their hard work without getting all cheesy and overly emotional. It’s a professional FREE way of recognizing someone’s contribution to your band and your music, and it’s also a great “team builder.”

How can proper credit help minimize band drama? Simple, my peeps. It sets you up as a professional that other musicians will want to work with. If, for whatever reason, your band needs a new drummer or guitarist, word will get around that you give credit where credit is due. Maybe your keyboardist is a poet at heart and wants to contribute to the lyrics or maybe your lead singer wants to take a turn playing a lead guitar solo. By tuning into your bandmates, your music will be stronger as a result.

I hope that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. For those of you that are working afterward, may all your customers and fellow employees be in a spectacularly good mood. My best wishes go out to you.

Who can you give credit to this Thanksgiving holiday? Are there any musicians that inspire you to play?

So if you had to pick one thing that your band knows everything about, it’s your music, right? From funk to emo and everything in between, your music defines you and your band. In terms of business, your music is what you make. If you think about that way, your songs are also your “product.”

What do you do with your product after you make it? Do you sit on it, only playing it at rehearsal? Do you perform it? Only offer your product on an LP? Here’s what I’m getting at: the whole idea of thinking about your songs as your band’s product will help you figure out better, smarter ways of distributing it. Not only will that focus take the pressure off of you, as a band, it will also give you some ideas on how to market yourselves better.

Rules for Distributing your Music

*cue music* Example time! All right, so when last we checked in with Biff and his fabulous band Moonsliver, they were a little shocked to be playing at a country music bar. Well, they got into a huge fight after the gig was all done. There was some band drama (not good) and the drummer threatened to leave. So now they’re wondering what to do next, how to get their music out there. The guys at Moonsliver are on a limited budget, but they really love 8-tracks because it fits that whole “exclusive” retro feel kind of a thing they’re going for. So they go ahead and focus all their time, energy and moolah on publishing their music on an 8-track.

Like the Fail blog says, “EPIC FAIL!” Why? Well, if your music is your product, then smart distribution is key. If you only offer your music in one format, you are limiting the depth and scope of how far your music can reach people. You may love 45s, but not everyone else does.

So what is smart distribution? Well, in my book it follows three rules:

• Your Music is Accessible: By “accessibility” I mean that anyone, regardless of how they listen to their music, can listen to YOUR songs. It’s kind of like buying an awesome computer game, but you find out it only works on Windows 95.
• Your Music Reaches People: By only providing your music in a particular “physical” format, you are killing your chances of distributing your music to a broader audience. Ensuring that you have good reach means that you are targeting a broad audience.
• Your Music has Different Methods of Distribution: By “method” I mean that you are able to distribute your music both online and offline. Depending upon how technology-savvy your “customers” (i.e. fans) are, you might find that you have a greater reach for MP3s than for CDs

Next week I’m going to give you some cheap-and-easy ways to distribute your music. I have a thousand and one different ideas, so I will probably break up distribution into two posts (online and off).

Thanks for staying with me, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition of “Off-Stage.” Until next time, party like a rock star!

Remember these words, grasshopper — to get experimental to come across well, it’s gotta look intentional, not accidental. “Intentional” as in “you planned it that way” will distinguish your image in a more artistic light.

Well, I suppose now you’re wondering how to go about creating these fabulous band photos, right? I mean, come on — you’re supposed to be about making music not taking pictures for crying out loud. Here’s a few FREE and LEGAL photo editing tools, clipart sites and photo storage sites to help you get the job done. You can thank me later by spreading lots and lots of MXTabs.net luv. You know you want to!

Free and Legal Photo Editing Software

GIMP.ORG — This complex photo-editing software may be called “gimp,” but I’ve found you have to be pretty smart to use it. Fortunately, there are several GIMP tutorials you can take to learn everything from retouches to fancy special effects. While this software is maintained and updated, I’ve found that there’s a high learning curve to using it.

Paint.net — Oh, the things I can say about this photo editing software! I picked it up fairly quickly; it works similar to the Adobe Photoshop behemoth where you can add layers and manipulate them. Paint.net also offers forum tutorials and similar to GIMP, you can ask questions about different effects that you’d like to use. I still haven’t figured out blending yet (oh, the pain and horror!) but I’m working on it.

Photo Plus, DrawPlus, 3D Worlds — Had to include this offer from FreeSerifSoftware because they have a boatload of other goodies on their site. From 3D modeling to photo editing, these are very “robust” software downloads good for graphic designers, illustrators and the “weekend” artists like yours truly.

Free and Legal Photo Storage Sites

Flickr — I can not possibly say enough good things about this photo storage site. There is a “free” version, which allows you to have two or three sets. I have the professional subscription so I can create multiple sets. Why do I heart Flickr so much? Well, it’s very “Web 2.0″ compatible. You can add tagging (like you would on a blog), write stories about your photos, friend other people, set rights, allow people to order product based on your photos and more! Free version is just as good as the professional one, so don’t feel obligated to go pro.

Photobucket — Before I used Flickr, I used Photobucket. Their site is night and day different from when I had first used it. Photobucket now offers several social media enhancements to allow you to easily share photos through places like MySpace. If you want a photo storage site that allows you to easily post on Facebook, LiveJournal, etc. — then this is the storage site for you.

Shutterfly — Store unlimited photos, then print them out and pick them up at your local Target store. In addition to Shutterfly, several conveniences and department stores have partnered with different photo storage sites (or have created their own) to allow you do to the same thing. If you are looking to print photos for cheap, find a department or drug store in your area and see if they allow you to upload and print pics from their website.

Need an Image, Logo or Photo for your Band?

Last but not least I had to mention Openclipart.org. What’s not to love about a community-based project that offers legal and free clipart? This site uses an integrated tagging system to store the clipart, using Creative Commons. Artwork styles are all over the map, but if you’re looking for something to fill that void on your MySpace page or blog this is a good place to go.

Pictured at left is an example of an image released under the “public domain.” I found it through OpenClipArt’s Music tag page.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Off-Stage. I did. So I’m going to do something a little crazy. Do you have a photo you need manipulated? How about an image or logo you need made to promote your new album or concert?

Send your band’s photo or image request to tablovers AT mxtabs DOT net. (Please, no essays. Paragraph is cool.) Your request can be something as simple as “Help! I need a logo for my heavy metal band!” or something like “Can you touch up this photo and make me look good?”

I’ll even throw a few of your requests up here on the blog, and then YOU — MXTabbers — get to vote on which band’s request is worthy of an image attempt by yours truly. I can’t promise you my skills are mad skillz, but what the heck…I’ll give it a shot. ‘Course, if I only get one request then I guess you’re stuck with me. I can think of worse things. :D

Rock hard, play hard.

Well, now that that’s over and done with…

The brave souls over at Plowing Mud Forever sent us some photos to critique and talk about their band’s image. This band is the perfect example to show what I’m talking about, because in this case — image does matter.

Why? Well, Plowing Mud Forever is a band with a sense of humor — literally. Described as comedic alternative metal, you should check out Plowing Mud Forever on MySpace to hear what I’m talking about.

So…here’s what I think…

From the photos you sent us and from your website, I can tell that you’ve been experimenting with how to portray yourself for a while. The ironic thing is, I didn’t get a “funny hah hah” feel to your music at all. Inventive? Yes. Experimental? Yes. But not campy in a “They Might Be Giants” sort of a way. Therein, my bandmates, lies the challenge. I feel that your music is so far removed from what you portray yourself to be that you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Instead of a comment like, “Oh, yeah. You’re trying that hard to be cool?” it’s “Oh, yeah. You’re trying that hard to look stupid?”

Now, before you chuck your computer across the room and send me hate mail, I want you to know that I don’t think you guys are stupid at all. It’s obvious you are having fun –with your music, with your band — and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, if you’re looking for an image to market professionally, then I’d stop trying to reinvent the wheel and bring back the focus on your band as a brand.

For example, I’d take a cue and base some band image ideas off of your name. “Plowing Mud Forever.” I can think of 10,000 different ways to come up with photos involving mud, plows and guitars. Okay, maybe you don’t want to mix mud and guitars together, but there is a lot you can do. From hyping up the experimental side to your photos to adding in special effects, I would make your photos look intentional rather than accidental.

For Your Experimental Band, Intent Does Matter

Really, setting that tone for an image that will attract and retain fans is about hitting a good balance between your music and the fun you’re having. To you, your band’s music may be really off-the-mark, but when I listen to it it’s nothing like I expected it to be. You guys can seriously play and play well. Artistically, if you want to attract more of the female persuasion I’d definitely tone down the camp. Helloooooo! Remember, you guys are in a rock band. You don’t play flute and sing about Oompa Loompas while dancing around in white robes with long-flowing hair and a tambourine spreading glitter everywhere. You rock, and rock hard.

Grainy, black-and-white photos would be the easiest way for you guys to go because it fits the box logo with “Plowing Mud Forever.” A little more complicated and “pretentious” would be images without your band in them at all, like a close-up of a rubber ducky swimming in mud with your logo at center. Either way, I like the superimposed logo on the photos because it definitely associates the pic with your band. If you want to go the “community” route, you could have a photo or a logo contest where fans submit pics to you.

Remember these words, grasshopper — to get experimental to come across well, it’s gotta look intentional, not accidental. “Intentional” as in “you planned it that way” will distinguish your image in a more artistic light.

But what do I know? I just work here. So MXTabs-at-large, I put it to you. What do you think? Love my advice? Hate it? Let’s show Plowing Mud Forever some luv and speak up!

Aerosmith. KISS. Ozzy. Alice Cooper. What do these bands have in common? Well, for one thing — you’d definitely know you were at an Aerosmith concert if the microphone stand was decorated with a bunch of ties coming off of it, right? How about KISS and their costuming? Or Alice Cooper and his look? Most popular bands either have an image that you recognize right off the bat (that hasn’t changed since they got their start) OR they have evolved with the times. Take Metallica and their short versus long hair, for example. Long hair? 80s. Short hair? Today. Kind of a contemporary feel to go with their music, to show that they’re rollin’ with the times.

Let’s take another look at Brian’s performance gear. You can see from this picture he’s wearing a Nintendo Power Glove, which was used back in the day. Why is he wearing one? Well, it turns out one of this parody band’s most popular song’s lyrics are based on the code from the retro video game Contra. (UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A SELECT START). People see the glove? They think of the song and subsequently, the band. The reason why this works for their band is because Brian’s glove has turned into a prop. For their song. Brilliant, really because even if you don’t know who The Gothsicles are, wouldn’t you want to know why he’s wearing a Nintendo glove?

Sure, your band’s image might never be set in stone and you may just want to roll with it — but when you’re just starting out? Your image can help you “sell” your band’s performances and music because it’s something recognizable that people might hone in on. Let’s take a look in the wayback machine at two, different types of images and see how they’ve worked for various bands and performers.

Pros and Cons of a “Timely” Image for your Band

When I use the word “timely” in the context of your band’s image, I’m talking about your band setting a trend at the right time in the right place that’s in tune with your performance or your music. Take MC Hammer for example, and his “You Can’t Touch This” Hammer pants. First? You gotta show some love for MC, seriously. MC Hammer has been written about not just for his performances or his music — but for his fashion like in this article about the History of Fashion from 1980 to 1990. Those pants, no matter what you might think about them, added a kind of “trademark” to Hammer’s popularity. Second, you have to give MC props because he’s still out there, still performing and doing contemporary projects like DanceJam with an updated image to match his current work. Here’s a performer that not only set a trend, but is able to keep working professionally in the entertainment industry, which is a very tough thing to do.

So what have we learned from MC Hammer’s “timely” image? The pros of having a timely image for your band or performing group are really easy to point out, because they are unforgettable, cued in to a particular memory. That memory could be based on an event, period of time or on the heels of a trendy, popular idea like sushi, Christmas, fashion or steampunk. The cons of structuring your band around a timely image have to do with the fact that it takes a lot of luck to hit that “right time, right place” and there are no guarantees. Hit it at the wrong time, you could end up working harder so your band won’t appear “dated” or worse — on the downward side of an unpopular trend.

Just having a timely image that includes a gimmick or some other performance quirk (like Van Halen’s “Jump”) isn’t enough to make your band recognizable, but it’s a start. Instead, you have to figure out how that image will relate to your music and what you’re trying to portray. MC Hammer’s pants were a trend-setter sure, but not just because of their style. His dance moves and performance capability complemented his image, too. If the man couldn’t dance, we would not remember his pants.

Pros and Cons of Being Timeless Band

Aerosmith. The Rolling Stones. Madonna. U2. Janet Jackson. When you think of bands and performers that appear to have a timeless image, it seems like they all have one thing in common — flexibility. Now, you might think that because they are popular they can afford to change their image constantly and not lose fans, but I don’t believe that to be the case. I believe that a timeless band image is one where your band has the ability to adapt physically to the performance, regardless of what time period it’s played in. Let me explain.

Say that you have a slow rhythm and blues band and you’ve been playing for a while, playing in a really, sharp red suit that can weather even the most mundane fashion trend. Do you play every gig that way or just certain songs? How does that suit speak to your musical style? Do fans know you buy what your group wears? If so, then that red suit is probably now part of your image, and you may not have even realized it. But what if you’re playing a holiday show? Will you adapt to the stage you’re playing on or keep on performing the same?

Part of being timeless, is being able to recognize when you need to be timely. It means avoiding trends that are too memorable, and opting for “safer” image-builders like holidays, benefits and charities. Or, on the flip side, it means that you’re constantly evolving with the trends and fashion so that you always appear contemporary no matter when people are following your music.

In my mind, being “timeless” also means that you either choose to play a show, where every song has its own set of costumes and glitter, or you play a musical performance, where you have one “costume” that represents your band’s image for that particular show.

The pros of having a timeless image is that you have the potential to have more “staying power.” More focused on the music, you’ll be able to float through trends with ease and may even get a bump when some trends fit your music (Rap, anyone? Grunge? Goth?). The cons of being “timeless” is that you can get stuck. Instead of having that flexibility that’s so important to every band’s image, you get into a groove and don’t move because it’s comfortable. Safe. Then what? Then you look dated and some music fans will avoid your performances because you look like something out of Rocky Horror or Grease. All of a sudden your mullet, afro or slicked back hair doesn’t look so cool anymore, and nobody has the basketballs to tell you.

Are you Brave? Send Us your Band’s Photo and Get a Critique!

Okay, so now that I’ve gone on and on about your band’s image I’d like to throw something back to you. If you’re brave, if you’re feeling…fearless…email me your band’s photo to tablovers AT mxtabs DOT net. I’ll throw it up here, on MXTabs.net’s blog with some honest feedback for you and some semi-intelligent commentary from yours truly. Maybe a poll, too. I just need permission to post the pic in the blog, so no worries about rights. You retain all of those. Have questions about your pic and your image? Feel free to include them in the email. Questions are good.

Till next time — work hard, play harder.

Take Biff and his band Moonsliver, for example. (Yeah, I just made that up, by the way.) Biff is the lead singer for his rock band; together with his fellow musicians they’ve been practicing like crazy but they haven’t played a gig yet. Then, out of nowhere, a man in a magical white suit shows up offering them a couple hundreds bucks for their first show at a local club. Going with the flow, they agree to play the gig. Friday night rolls around and they show up only to find out it’s a country bar, with line-dancing and peanuts all over the floor. At the end of the night, Moonsliver gets stiffed, goes out to the parking lot and find their van’s been stolen. Come to find out this “promoter” sets up other “green” bands like Moonsliver to rip them off, then goes *poof* on to the next city. Sucks to be Biff, eh?

Common sense would say that you should probably check out anyone who approaches you with a gig, that you should go to the club beforehand, see if fits your band fits the club you’re playing at and check out things like transportation, security, headcount, etc. Unfortunately, common sense isn’t all that common.

When you’re excited and eager to get up on stage, common sense can get thrown out of the window. Why? It’s exciting to be in a band, but it’s even better when you get to perform in front of other people! Even though mistakes can happen, it might be a good idea to sit your bandmates down and say, “Hey! So, how do we want to go about making decisions?”

Ways Your Band Can Make Decisions

By figuring out how you and your band makes decisions, you’re headed in a “smart” direction. Trust me. Knowing how you’re going to make choices will help your band figure out what you’re all going to do a lot faster. More importantly, designating a simple “this is the way we do things” helps remove blame and decrease band drama, which gets in the way of your music.

Rule By Committee — All for one and one for all, right? Everybody in the band gets a feel for what’s going on, and has their say-so. This type of decision-making can work well for your band — just depends upon how good your band’s mojo is. Sure, you can groove and jam together, but would you trust your bandmates to buy a house or a car with you? What would you trust them with?

Hit Up a Neutral Party – Ah, the elusive band manager. So here’s the thing, hitting up a neutral party can be really good for you and it can really suck. You might want to consider doing a little background check on your newly appointed “decision-maker” though, before you go through with it. Have they managed other bands? Are they into the music scene? Are they trustworthy? Will they provide you with paperwork and receipts?

The trick is, even if you do have a neutral party, you still might want to consider having a point-of-contact in your band to work with the manager. You know, to make sure that communication is flowing in the right direction.

Follow the Leader — Do you think you have what it takes to make decisions for your band? GREAT. Then what? Are you a natural celebrity? Leadership isn’t about being on stage or enticing fans, it’s about leading by example and inspiring others to do great works. As a leader, you also have to know how to talk to different kinds of people and take it from me: creative folk sometimes don’t give a flying guitar about the business side of things, they just want to keep on performing and playing.

A good decision-maker can be less glamorous and more practical, because they’re living in the “real world.” So if you know someone like this in your band, you might want to go this route. Be careful about picking someone too careful or too negative, though. You want someone who’s going to explore every opportunity and let you and your band know about them before moving forward. Leadership can also involve taking a bit of risk sometimes, putting you and your music out there in new and unusual ways.

Once you know how your band makes decisions, you can graduate on to the next level: figuring out what’s right for your band.

Next week I’m going to talk about your band’s image and how you can start putting your decision-making to good use. I’m sure many of you already have some of these basics covered and if you do? Feel free to share your tips in the comments below for the new guys!

Until next time…practice well, play hard and have fun!

Every Wednesday I’m going to take you off-stage and talk about the business side of music, promotions, and other topics relevant to getting your music heard and your band noticed.

Before I do, I need to bring up something that used to make me cringe in fear, because it goes against every creative and musical cell in my body — planning for success.

I used to be one of “those” creative individuals that never used big words like “product distribution,” “money management” or “production quality.” Used to be. I’d agree with my friends that never wanted to go into self-publishing or learn business, then wait for the proverbial hand of Fate to come pick me up off the ground. I’d be an overnight sensation. Finally, my creative talents would be recognized and money would rain down on me from heaven, rewarding all my “hard” work.

Yeah, right.

These days I’m saying “Yeah, right!” to a lot of musicians, artists and writers that I come across for the same reason: I realized I like to eat. Ramen noodles ain’t gonna cut it on my dinner table; this girl likes sushi. All my creative friends also like to eat, but they’re still waiting for the gods of rock-n-roll to come swooping down and take them to that big, Jimi Hendrix rainbow in the sky, shunning free tools on the internet and other cheap ways to get their music out there because it’s “too corporate.”

Here’s the thing. Success for anyone who’s creative — band, writer, artist, game developer — is part luck, part work. You have to be in the right place at the right time, but you’ll have to do your part to create that opportunity for luck to discover your door. And some of that “work” really, really sucks. It means doing things that are definitely NOT creative. It means that sometimes you’ll have to act like a business owner, a promoter, a contract negotiator, a distributor. Even if you hire someone else to do all those things for you — you’ll probably want to know what’s going on so you get your appropriate cut.

You want your band to make it big? GREAT! But then what? What does “making it big” mean to you? Your band?

Helping you make smart decisions for you and your band is what “Off Stage” is going to be about. Band Management 101. No matter what musical trip you want to take, you gotta start somewhere. Might as well start with the basics and work your way up the scale.