What is the best way for a gigging band to get local exposure?
If you're in a band and you play out right now, it's most likely true you try but ultimately fail to sell anything at shows.
You should treat each gig as a way to further your local exposure. And the best way to do that is to make your fans walking advertisements by giving away free t-shirts. Yes, I know this sounds "corporate", but the fact of the matter is this:
- Everyone loves free t-shirts.
- Fans will not mind advertising your band because at least you're not some huge faceless corporation.
- Free t-shirts always work. ALWAYS.
Things you MUST have ready before doing this
1. A web site
...as in the-band's-name.com. This has to be up and running. This web site is going to be on every t-shirt, so it has to be working.
2. A blog on the web site (or linked out from it)
The web site must have a blog or at least a link to a blog where you post updates regularly, and you must post updates AT LEAST twice a week.
It is strongly suggested that the blog be something not on Facebook. Use something like Tumblr or Blogger instead.
3. Links to your music that's ready-to-buy
Use Bandcamp. No further explanation needed.
Now that you know the basics, here we go.
How to make your giveaway t-shirts cheap
Step 1. Buy a crapload of the cheapest bulk blank XL unisex t-shirts you can find.
Step 2. Buy 4 cans of spray paint. I suggest using Krylon brand.
Step 3. Print a black-and-white photo of something (your band logo maybe?)
Create a stencil, then spray-paint on the shirts.
Step 4. Have a stamp made at your local stationary shop.
The stamp you have made will have your WEB SITE on it in plain text and only that. After spray-painting the stencil, stamp your web site on the shirt. If you have the stencil in black and the stamp ink in another color like red or blue, this helps make it stick out. The best place to stamp your site is on the back right under the collar.
Step 5. Give these shirts away at every show.
DO NOT sell these things. Just give them away.
Other ways to get creative, cost considerations and the benefits to your band
These shirts are so easy to make that you could customize them for every gig you play.
If you were playing a gig in Tampa Florida, you could create a separate stencil of "TAMPA ROCKS!" and put that alongside your band-logo stencil. That's just one idea, as I'm sure you could come up with others.
The places you play really like it if you actually put their establishment logo on your shirts, because you're advertising them for free at that point and may even give you special treatment when you go to play there again.
For a lot of 100 cotton t-shirts (cotton does soak up paint best and lasts longest), you're going to spend about $125. Yes, that sounds expensive, but it's a worthwhile investment. Remember, 100 shirts for $125 means you only paid $1.25 per shirt.
The ultimate benefit to your band is when your fans start wearing the shirts you gave away in public. At that point they're advertising your band for free, and that's why you gave away the shirts for free in the first place. This kind of advertising is something companies pay BIG money for, and it's ridiculously easy to have people do it for you for NOTHING just by giving away shirts.
Now of course, the drawback is that this only works on a local-only level. Giving away free t-shirts is unlikely to make you world-famous, but it will make it much much easier to get local gigs once you start giving them out. Remember that thing I just said above about putting an establishment logo on the shirt for certain gigs you play? You save that establishment hundreds of dollars in free advertising every time you do that, and they will really love you for it. They'll love you so much that they'll keep asking you back, which means more money for more gigs...
...assuming your band doesn't suck. :)
How did I learn to play Paranoid the right way? From a magazine
I bought the August 1992 issue of Guitar World back when new for one reason and one reason only - Tony Iommi was on the cover.
I never actually subscribed to any guitar magazines but rather picked up one whenever I was in a guitar store (as they were the only places that carried them). Because I bought it right off the stand, I always paid more for it compared to a subscription. Something like 3 or 4 dollars. Maybe a little less.
Anyway, yeah there was an interview between Hetfield of Metallica fame and Iommi, obviously of Black Sabbath fame. It was a weird read. Metal guys aren't exactly known for giving good interviews. And seriously, how "heavy" can an interview get? Like I said, it was a weird read.
The better part however was that in this mag Iommi actually describes how to play Paranoid the right way. Remember, this is 1992 we're talking about here, meaning no internet. It was in that magazine that I read for the first time that the main riff is supposed to be played on the 12th fret and not the 7th like I had been doing. To me this was like finding the keys that unlocked that "secret Iommi tone" I was looking for. If I recall correctly, he also explained other things, such as the fact uses super-light strings, how he really doesn't pick that hard at all, some explanation on the "thimbles" he uses on his severed fingers and so on. It's all great info.
My point in mentioning all this is that it really takes information - written information mind you - to sometimes get a sound right.
Internet video is great and all that, but there are times you have to actually read things to learn how to play better. I'm not talking about just tabs and things like that but rather interviews, write-ups and things of that sort. Old guitar magazines contain a treasure trove of this information, much of which you'll never learn just by watching videos.
If you know of anyone that has old guitar magazines, read them - especially the interviews explaining how songs are done and where the inspiration for them came from. You'll learn a lot.
Guitar buyer's remorse
Every guitar player at some point experiences guitar buyer's remorse. It's when you put a bunch of money into a specific guitar only to discover it's not the magical axe you thought it was going to be, and then the sinking feeling sets in of, "Oh, crap.. I spent way too much money on that guitar."
Have I ever experienced guitar buyer's remorse? Yes. But I learned from the experience and know not to do it again.
Guys suffering from guitar buyer's remorse get really, really ticked off at anyone who states the truth about their "prized possession" guitars on the internet and will openly attack anyone in a pathetic attempt to justify their overpriced purchase.
Here's a few things remorse sufferers do.
"You're just a kid"
The sufferer is admitting here he's a clueless old fart that literally bought into the idea that expensive guitars are actually worth it just for a logo on the headstock.
I have some fans that are well over 55 years old. Many listened to what I had to say. Many realized that their expensive guitars are in fact nothing but collectors pieces. So what did they do? They cleaned up their ritzy expensive guitars as best they could, put them away in a case, and then bought a Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster.
Eventually one day they'll sell off the ritzy guitars for a nice retirement fund of sorts, and that's fine. In the meantime, they're happily playing their Squiers (or Epiphones or other brand of "low-end" guitar which really isn't "low" at all) and actually enjoying playing guitar for a change.
Quoting the résumé
One thing remorse sufferers love to do is what I "quoting the résumé". This is when some idiot starts blabbing about how long he's been playing and/or how long he's been building and/or how long he's been buying guitars.
I've been playing for over 20 years. Impressed? Don't be, because it doesn't mean anything. I've known guys that have been playing for 30 years and still suck at the guitar, so any time someone blabs about their "experience", I seriously don't care, and neither should you.
Summed up: Just because you've been doing something a long time doesn't mean you're any good at it or know anything about anything. You can quote me on that.
"Quality"
Yes, just the one word, quality.
Remorse sufferers spew this word out a lot, and I sincerely believe they don't even know what it means.
Let's say Guitar A is an Asian-made Epiphone G-400, and Guitar B is a USA-made Gibson SG '61 Reissue.
Now let's say both guitars have bodies that were well cut, finishes that are proper with no obvious mistakes, necks that were properly set, frets that were finished properly, all electronics work like they should, tuners that tune like they're supposed to and everything checks out 100% A-OK on both guitars.
Which guitar has better quality at that point?
The answer is neither. If both guitars were constructed properly and everything checks out, the quality is the same.
And no, "tone" (mentioned next) has absolutely nothing to do with the build quality of a guitar. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
"Tone"
You'll notice I don't use the word tone too often. There's a reason for that. When it comes to guitars, tone, much like quality, can't be measured.
I'll put it another way that's really easy to understand: Nobody can define in words what a guitar tone sounds like.
Example: Define a Stratocaster's tone. You can't, other than saying "sounds like a Strat". You can throw whatever other words you want in there, but it won't matter because the only way to define a Strat's tone is to say it is Strat tone.
In addition, using temperature words like "cool" or "warm" doesn't define a sound either. Remorse sufferers do a lot of that "warm sound" nonsense.
If I said, "Yeah, this Strat has a warm tone on the neck position of about 22 degrees C", does that make any sense? Of course not.
I recognize most guitar players have to suffer from guitar buyer's remorse before they wise up
Unfortunately for most players, they have to take the plunge and spend too much money at least once before they realize they made a mistake. That is just the way of things.
There are plenty of idiots out there spending thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on guitars, and that they'll go on the internet and spew garbage left and right about their toys that they do everything BUT make music with. Fine, whatever. Let 'em talk. Let 'em spew their garbage.
I'll be busy making music instead.
How to record multitrack audio without a computer
(QUICK SOLUTION before starting this: If you were looking for a right-now solution to multitrack recording without a computer that is digital, you want a ZOOM R8 or a Tascam DP-008. No computer is required and the unit is completely self-contained. If you were looking for the old-school analog method, keep reading.)
The first question on your mind when it comes to recording with no computer is, "Why?"
There are many answers to this question, however the most common answer is, "Because the computer ticks me off and I don't want to record with that stupid thing."
Now before continuing, when you dive into the world of no-computer analog recording, there are a few things you have to know right up front.
1. White noise happens
White noise is a hissing sound. When you record to tape, the hissing will happen. Always. But don't let it get you down because you can take care of it on the digital side later with some noise filters using the free Audacity software.
2. Digital at some point is always involved later in the process
The easiest way to share out your music is via the internet, and for that to happen, a digital copy of your music must be made.
If you've ever looked at an old CD jacket from the 1990s, you may see AAD, DAD or DDD somewhere on the back. A is Analog and D is digital. AAD means "Analog Recording, Analog Mixdown, Digital Mastering", DAD is "Digital Recording, Analog Mixdown, Digital Mastering" and DDD is "Digital Recording, Digital Mixdown, Digital Mastering". In some rare instances you may see ADD, but that doesn't happen often because to this day studios prefer analog mixing boards over digital because it offers more finite control. And you will also never see an A on the end, because if you record and mix digitally, mastering with analog doesn't do any good at that point.
Trivia: Megadeth was one of the first big metal acts to record DDD in the 1990s. A ton of money went into their studio recording processes back in the day.
The one you'll be doing here in the method I'll show below is AAD. You will first record with analog, mix down with analog, and then after sending the audio to the computer you'll do basic digital mastering (sounds complicated but it's not) so you can share out your music on the internet.
3. Recording with analog always costs more than digital
The cost involved is the recording unit itself, and the tapes. When you run out of tapes, your only option is to record over what you recorded before, or buy new tapes. And the tapes you use must be high-quality or your recordings will be awful.
Multitrack audiocassette
The cheapest way to record with analog is with multitrack audiocassette machines from the 1990s. The machines are cheap (somewhat) as are the tapes for them.
For the example machine, I'll be talking about the Tascam PortaStudio 424. Specifically, the first-generation model which was a light gray color.
There are several generations of the 424. Later models (like the MKII and MKIII) had XLR inputs for microphones. The first-gen model has no XLR and only 1/4-inch inputs. I personally prefer the first-gen 424 because it's compact and doesn't have problems like the later models had.
The 424 is a 4-track recorder with six 1/4-inch inputs. Four of those inputs are mono and two are stereo. The output is RCA jacks only (the black 1/4-inch seen is for "effects send" and does not serve to output audio anywhere).
On the front panel you have four sliders for volume control, and a fifth slider for your master volume. To the right of that are your tape controls and a simple LED panel with colored lights showing the input level of each input whenever sound is coming through it.
The best tapes to use in the 424 are 60-minute hi-bias "Type II" cassettes, which you can still buy new. These have thicker slack that makes for better editing and recorded sound. You will most likely find 90-minute versions of these, but the best to use are 60-minute because the tape slack is thicker.
How does this thing squeeze four tracks of audio on tape?
By using both sides of the tape at once.
On the 424, when you're finished using one side of the tape, you can't just flip it over and start using the other side because it has already been used. The 424 uses almost the entire width of the slack to do what it does.
Do you get a full 60 minutes of recording out of a 60-minute tape?
You can if you wish. The 424 can record at "SLOW", "NORM" or "HIGH". Slow is roughly half-speed. Norm is normal speed, and high is roughly double-speed. High is the best because the more slack used, the better the recording.
On SLOW, you get about 75 to 90 minutes on a 60-minute tape. On NORM, you get 60 minutes. On HIGH, you get 25 to 35 minutes. It varies depending on slack thickness of the tape.
Known problems when recording this way
No real-time counter
The first-gen 424 has no real-time counter, as in one that counts in literal seconds or minutes. Instead you have a mechanical counter that's 000 through 999, and it's right above the tape door.
The stalk is a reset button when you want to reset the counter. Remember, NOTHING about the 424 is digital. This is all mechanical and analog.
Very difficult to splice in edits
There's no cut/paste or "jump" cutting on the 424. When you try to splice in an edit, there's a noticable momentary "blank" in the audio. What this basically means is that if you don't get your recorded audio right on the first take, you'll have to do that take over again until you do.
No permanent volume settings
When you finish a recording and get your levels (both for volume and panning) just right, you have to write those down so you don't forget them, because when you go to the next tape and start recording on that, you have to reset your slider levels and pans.
It is very easy to record over stuff accidentally
The 424 does have "safe" switch settings for each track. However, you have to remember to set those to prevent accidental track record-over. If you don't, you will record over a track accidentally, and when that happens, there's no "undo".
Everything is explained in the manual, but it's not easy to use
Fortunately, the entire manual for the 424 is online, but said honestly, if you buy one, get the printed manual because it's just convenient to have.
You will have to read through the whole thing and it will take you a while before you learn how to do things "the 424 way". Tascam did their best to make the 424 as easy as possible to use, but the fact is that there really is no way to make analog multitracking easy as it's just difficult to master by nature.
Once you get to know the 424, it's fairly easy to get along with. But it will take time to learn it, and you will mess up some recordings in the process. It will happen. Expect it.
Cool things you can do with the 424
Pitch wheel
This is one of the best features of the 424. Let's say you have two guitars. One is tuned to standard tuning, and the other tuned to D#. You can record to track 1 with your first guitar, finish, unplug, plug in your second guitar, then just pitch the entire recording down a half-step with the pitch wheel, and record with your second guitar without having to retune it. When done, pitch up the 424 back to normal speed. It's a beautiful thing. To this day, digital recording has never been able to do this easily, but it's a breeze on the 424.
Record backwards
This is a very advanced technique with the 424, so don't try this until you become very familiar with the unit. When you read this you'll be confused and I can guarantee that. But if you ever get a 424, this will make complete sense to you.
Recording guitars and vocals backwards is just a cool thing, and the 424 makes this really easy to do. When you get to the point in the song you want to start recording backwards, you stop the tape and flip it over. Tracks 1 and 2 will now be 3 and 4, so you record to track 2 which will be 3 when you flip the tape back over after you're done.
It's pretty much mandatory that if you intend to record stuff backwards, the drums have to be laid down first so you have some idea of what you're listening to, because everything sounds weird in reverse.
"Ping pong" up to 7 tracks of audio
This is another advanced recording technique of the 424. And again, this will make no sense to you until you get a 424 for yourself.
You've got 4 tracks. That's it. When you fill up the first 3 for a song, you combine those three and then record them all at once to track 4. Now instead of 3 tracks used, you're only using 1. Then you record stuff to tracks 1 and 2, and then re-record those to track 3. Then you have 1 and 2 left to record with.
The 7 tracks is that track 4 is three tracks combined, track 3 is two tracks combined, then track 1 and 2 in single-track mode. 1 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 7. Confused? You probably are. But it's explained in the manual.
The only drawback to ping-ponging tracks is that they all have to be mono. No stereo.
Is it any fun to record with the 424?
Of course it is. Recording with no computer may be a bit of the pain in the ass at first, but once you get used to it, it's pretty cool.
The only thing you really have to worry about with the 424 is the tape drive mechanism, as that is always the first thing to break on these things.
I strongly suggest that if you're thinking about getting one, make sure you know someone local to you that knows how to repair cassette decks. Even if the 424 you get is in pristine mint condition, the belts are probably dried out and the drive motor a bit "wobbly" in operation. If you have a guy take apart the 424 and recondition the unit before using it yourself, you will get years or recording enjoyment out of one.
As for the tapes you buy, all you have to do is make certain that any you buy are sealed and never-opened. These are easy to find on eBay. And don't worry, hi-bias tapes are going to be around for at least another decade before the start to become hard to find. Tapes may not be in wide production anymore, but there are literally tens of thousands of them out there that are still sealed, unused and ready-to-record with.
How do you send audio to the PC for digital mastering?
With an RCA-male to stereo 1/8th-inch male cord. On the RCA are a red and white to go into the Tascam 424, and the other side is a male stereo connector to go into your PC's "LINE IN" port on your sound card. From there you play back your audio from the 424 and record to the PC using your audio software of choice like Audacity, mentioned above. Once the audio is fed in, you can digitally master it with some noise filters to take out the white noise.
Guitar shredding sucks
Guitar shredding is one of those things that only metalhead kids and stuck-in-the-80s guitar shredders think is awesome, but in fact never was.
I can prove shredding *isn't* awesome quite easily by posing this simple challenge: Name any 10 famous guitar shredders right now off the top of your head without looking it up on the internet first.
You'll most likely come up with at least 3 or possibly 5, but definitely not 10 without looking it up on the internet first. That's because there really aren't that many famous guitar shredders.
Ever heard of The Great Kat? I didn't think so. She's arguably the "best" female guitar shredder that ever existed. If you did not know of her, that proves I know more about guitar shredding than you do since I'm aware of her "famous" shredding, and I'm not even a shredder.
Why does guitar shredding suck?
1. Shredding is about showmanship and not musicianship
The only point to shredding is to show off how fast you can play complicated scales with technical precision. That's it. And technical music sucks because you can't clap your hands, stomp your feet or bang your head to it.
A shredder would reply to this with, "I don't care about any of those things." Well, if you ever expect to "make it" as a guitar player, you should, because a song with no hook will get you nowhere.
2. People get unimpressed by shredding after about 10 seconds
Guitar shredders are under the impression that since they are concentrating so much on their playing, other people will be too.
Nope.
You'll command attention for ten seconds. That's your window. After that, if there's no song, nobody cares.
3. Shredding is boring noise
This really ticks off shredder players when I say this. In their minds, the speed, "intricacy" and impossibly difficult scales they're playing is the most awesome thing in the universe.
Wrong.
It's the most boring thing in the universe.
A song which is mostly if not all soloing to most non-musician's ears is not a song at all. They hear it as filler, as in noise.
4. Most shredders can't write riffs at all
A shredder knows every single note on the fretboard and can "play the impossible", so to speak, but yet can't write a single good riff.
Ask any shredder if he's written any songs. He will say "Yes! Of course I have!", but they're all unfinished.
Want to know why?
It's for one of two reasons (or both).
Reason #1: A guitar shredder is his own worst critic.
He can't write riffs because he gets disinterested with the process quickly, gives up, and just keeps shredding instead. The end result is that sure, he probably has a million songs written, but none of them will ever be completed. Notes are so micromanaged that he ends up making things way too complicated and - surprise, surprise - BORING, even for himself. So songs go unfinished and stay unfinished.
Reason #2: A guitar shredder never learned how to write riffs at all.
I've known guitar players like this. The shredder gets his first guitar, and all he does is concentrate on soloing, just soloing, and nothing else. That was the first and only thing he learned. Now he's a great soloist, but a crappy riff writer because he never learned how.
Here's another fun fact about shredders: A ton of them can play Far Beyond the Sun by Yngwie Malmsteen from start to finish easily, but can't play All Right Now by Free. The reason? They'll say it's "too slow", but the fact is that they can't play standard rock riffs. The shredder is completely out of his element and will have big problems playing that stupidly simple song. You'll see his hands tighten up, see lots of jerky motions, his timing will be way off and he'll get really, really embarrassed (and ticked off) by the fact he just can't do it - because he never learned how.
A shredder will even go so far as to say, "That's the rhythm player's job!" concerning basic rhythm playing. Oh, screw you, Mr. Shredder. Learn how to riff, jackass.
The shredder might even fire back with, "Hey! I play acoustic too and can riff that way!" I seriously doubt it, because all you're doing on acoustic is that super-intricate nonsense instead of SONG-STYLE strumming.
Speaking of strumming, that's another foreign concept to a shredder because they simply don't do it. All they know are short, jerky motions for super-precise picking and nothing about full 6-string up/down strumming with a proper fluid motion to produce even tone.
What does the shredder need to do to suck less?
By this point you're thinking, "Screw you. You don't know anything about guitar shredding. I love to shred. It's what I do, and I do it well."
It might be true you shred well, but you're "skilled" at all the things on guitar that absolutely nobody cares about. And you know I'm right.
Put your angst-ridden "metal attitude" aside for a moment, and do the following below to suck less.
1. Stop playing for other guitar players
Shredder's mentality:
"If I can play a million notes a second, I can really impress people when I'm at Guitar Center!"
Reality:
WHY would you care about impressing ANYONE at the GUITAR STORE? Who cares? Are you hoping to impress other players with your "mad skills"? What possible benefit do you get out of that? I'll answer that question for you: NONE!
Do not play to impress other guitar players. Do not do that. Ever. They will not go to your shows, and certainly won't buy your music on iTunes. You need to target your music to NON-MUSICIANS, as in regular people. And guess what? They hate guitar shredding. Surprise, surprise...
2. Knowing more chords and scales doesn't make you any better of a player
Shredder's mentality:
"People will be really impressed with all the notes and chords I know!"
Reality:
These 'people' you're referring to are other guitar players. Again, STOP DOING THAT. STOP PLAYING FOR OTHER PLAYERS. Nobody cares. Write good riffs instead.
3. Write an actual song
Yes, Mr. or Ms. Shredder, I know, this will not be easy for you. But I'm sure you're up to the challenge. If you can master every note on the fretboard, this should be seriously easy stuff for you.
Your challenge is this:
Write a song between 3:00 to 3:30 long, and use one of the two standard rock song structures. These formulas are very simple to follow.
Formula 1:
- Verse (Intro)
- Verse
- Chorus
- Verse
- Chorus
- Bridge
- Chorus
- Chorus (End)
Formula 2:
- Verse (Intro)
- Verse
- Chorus
- Verse
- Chorus
- Bridge
- Verse
- Chorus
- Chorus (End)
Verse is "Riff 1".
Chorus is "Riff 2" and the hook of the song.
Bridge is "Riff 3" and the portion where you would solo.
One song, three riffs. I'm sure you could do that.
When writing the song, DO NOT SOLO until your riffs are completed FIRST. Concentrate on FINISHING THE SONG. When your riffs are done and structured using one of the two simple formulas above, guess what? You've got a song. Isn't that great?
When you have actual songs, you've got something you can actually work with, and you also have music other musicians can work with as well. Isn't that cool? Darned right it is.
Remember: It's a hell of a lot easier to get a band together when there's a song list ready to go.
4. Riff more
You've got the soloing thing down. Now it's time to work on riffs and structure those into songs. Simple, straightforward, headbanging riffs. This is what made Metallica sell millions of records with their self-titled album, what made Megadeth sell millions of copies when they released Symphony of Destruction and the album Countdown to Extinction, what made Persistence of Time from Anthrax sound so amazing, and the list goes on and on.
Those three albums I cited as examples are all about RIFFS. Good, solid, headbanger kick-you-in-the-face riffs. Sure, there are complicated solos on all of them, but the point is that the riffs are there, structured right, and they're good.
Cut back your shredding and riff it up more.
And if you happen to make a few songs that sell a bunch of copies, send a few bucks my way, because you know where to find me. Remember, before today you probably never realized how important metal riffs really were. Now you do.