Let's jump into some of Chris Neals' Basic Music Theory.
First there are only 12 notes in music. They are:
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B and then repeats forever...
The # means 'sharp'. I do not use it, but that position would also be called 'flat' for the next note. For example...
C sharp is the same as D flat, G sharp is the same as A flat and so on.
Now, there is a step pattern you need to know....
W W H W W W H
This means whole, whole, half, whole,whole,whole,half
A whole step is 2 notes, and of course, a half step is 1
So if I start this step pattern with the A note, and write down each note I land on, I will get...
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# BA B C# D E F# G#
These are all the notes in the key of A.
Everything in the key of A is done with combinations or manipulations of these notes. To make it easier to understand let's number them...
A B C# D E F# G#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
One very popular chord progression is referred to as 1 4 5. Sometimes it is written as... I IV V.
For the key of A, that chord progression will be ...A D E
Try to divide the other keys as well. I suggest you begin with C.
Which will look like... C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and then the next key you should do will be the one numbered '5'.
Which will be ... G A B C D E F#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and next would start with D... and so on. Play with this, and we will add to this in future posts. Go through all 12 keys until you get back to C. You will notice a really cool couple of patterns.
If you are a beginner at this whole music thing, you could certainly use some helpful tricks of the trade.
The greatest 'trick' a guitar player has in his arsenal is the lowly capo.
The capo changes the pitch of the guitar. It acts the same way the "nut" does, in that it is the point where the string stops.
If you have a guitar in standard tuning, and you play an E minor chord you will be playing some thing commonly drawn like this....
O 2 2 OOO The O means 'open'.
If you place the capo on the first fret, you will effectively be changing the pitch of the guitar. Play an E minor RELATIVE TO THE CAPO it will look like this...
1 3 3 1 1 1
You'll notice that it is similar to a 'barre chord'; But, you don't have to 'barre'. The capo does that for you. And you are playing an ' Fminor' without having to learn a new chord.
What makes the capo such a wonderful trick? With a capo you can play one chord progression in many different keys without having to learn new chords! This makes some songs easier to sing, or it may make a song sound a little different. The capo has the ability to inspire creativity, or encourage growth in your set list.
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Promo Packs and Press Kits
A lot of venues are requiring musicians to provide Promo Packs and Press Kits with their request for a gig. The two terms are generally used interchangeably, so let's just refer to them all as Press Packs. They can be done electronically or through the old-fashioned paer and CD.A Press Pack is a way for the musician to introduce himself to the booking agent of a venue. It's important to stand out, but you need to look professional, too.
Outside Cover Art
When you introduce yourself to a booking agent in person, you try to present the appearance that the particular venue caters to, right? You don't go into a country and western bar dressed as Lady GaGa and expect to get a gig, do you? People profile. They make snap decisions. It's just a fact of life. So use that to your advantage. Dress like the other musicians that play there, and you'll get the gig. With that in mind, you should dress your Press Pack appropriately also.
Your Press Pack is that introduction, so you want it to have all the hallmarks of the genre you cater to. If you play alot of Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic, you would probably go with earthtone colors and a bohemian theme. A punk rock band would use a lot of anarchy inspired art and dark colors.Think of your Press Pack as an extension of your style to your target audience.
Biography
Your Press Pack should include a BRIEF bio of your band and also a BRIEF bio of each member of the band. This should be kept informative but short. Only include the info you need to show that your life fits the style of music you play. This gives the impression that your performance will be "real".
Promo Pictures
Have you ever noticed that most "promo pics" are done the same way? If its a Southern Rock band, there's a brick wall or railroad tracks behind them. If its an individual, they are usually posing like a high school yearbook photographer took their picture.Oh, and it's almost ALWAYS in black and white.
The reason? Black and white gives better results. Everyone looks better in black and white. The scene behind the band is important in selling the image, too. As well as the clothes the band wears in the photo. All of these things come together to give the viewer a literal 'snapshot' of the band. From that one picture, people usually determine if this band plays the music that they want to hear. Yours should present the appropriate image too.
Set list
Yes, you should definitely include a set list. Alot of bands see their set list as proprietary, somehow. Face it, If you play in bars and you do covers it is going to be difficult for 2 bands to play something different if your catering to the same genre. The booking agent wants to know that your set list reflects the tastes of his regulars.
Here is an example of someone not paying attention...
I went with a friend once, to a reggae club expecting to hear, ahem, reggae. We were shooting pool when the lights on the stage went low and we could hear what sounded like 3 guitars feeding back at once. There was the loud rumbling of kick drums and distorted guitars. After what seemed like an eternity, GWAR walked out. To this day, I cannot get the image from my mind. They were only allowed to play 2 songs before they were shutdown. I doubt that anyone in the place knew who they were, but it was the most memorable thing I've ever experienced. I laughed so hard, I could not breathe, and I was afraid I was having a heart attack. I've been a fan ever since. GWAR onstage
Cover songs
If you include a recording of 3-5 cover songs, the venue will have a chance to hear your band. The more professional the recording the bettter. The quality of the music you send in is an indicator of the quality of sound that you are satisfied with.
Contact info and fee
Always list your contact info and NEVER list your fee. Your fee is always a point of negotiation. If you list an amount of any sort you lose. The bar is looking for the band that can give the best results with the least amount of investment. When the booking agent calls you, make him sell you on his budget. Always know the going rate ahead of time. If he presses for your fee, be prepared to tell him an amount a little bit higher than the going rate. He'll talk you down, no matter what number you started with, but if you start too high, he'll abandon the conversation right away.
If the booking agent calls you...
He likes what he sees and he wants to book you; don't screw it up. This is a professional conversation, but your job is to be personable. He doesn't have to like you, but it's better if he does. Be friendly, listen intently, and show concern for his bottom line. He uses live entertainment to cause traffic in his bar and he wants to know that you know that too.
If the booking agent DOESN"T call you...
In this case, you'll want to wait about 3 weeks and then give him a call, "just to see if he got it." He may not want to talk much, which means your call is keeping him from doing something he actually needs to be doing. repond with "ok, call us when you can use us." or something to that effect, and then GET OFF THE PHONE.
Afterwards, give him about a month and try again. This time press a little harder. Ask to know if you gave him all of the information he needed, and tell him that you are really looking forward to playing there. Ask him for the best time to discuss booking with him., and be sure to call him then. You should probably continue this part of the process about twice a month for as long as you can stand each other.
If you get a gig, you need to promote it in the most efficient way possible, but that is for next time.....
Outside Cover Art
When you introduce yourself to a booking agent in person, you try to present the appearance that the particular venue caters to, right? You don't go into a country and western bar dressed as Lady GaGa and expect to get a gig, do you? People profile. They make snap decisions. It's just a fact of life. So use that to your advantage. Dress like the other musicians that play there, and you'll get the gig. With that in mind, you should dress your Press Pack appropriately also.
Your Press Pack is that introduction, so you want it to have all the hallmarks of the genre you cater to. If you play alot of Grateful Dead and Widespread Panic, you would probably go with earthtone colors and a bohemian theme. A punk rock band would use a lot of anarchy inspired art and dark colors.Think of your Press Pack as an extension of your style to your target audience.
Biography
Your Press Pack should include a BRIEF bio of your band and also a BRIEF bio of each member of the band. This should be kept informative but short. Only include the info you need to show that your life fits the style of music you play. This gives the impression that your performance will be "real".
Promo Pictures
Have you ever noticed that most "promo pics" are done the same way? If its a Southern Rock band, there's a brick wall or railroad tracks behind them. If its an individual, they are usually posing like a high school yearbook photographer took their picture.Oh, and it's almost ALWAYS in black and white.
The reason? Black and white gives better results. Everyone looks better in black and white. The scene behind the band is important in selling the image, too. As well as the clothes the band wears in the photo. All of these things come together to give the viewer a literal 'snapshot' of the band. From that one picture, people usually determine if this band plays the music that they want to hear. Yours should present the appropriate image too.
Set list
Yes, you should definitely include a set list. Alot of bands see their set list as proprietary, somehow. Face it, If you play in bars and you do covers it is going to be difficult for 2 bands to play something different if your catering to the same genre. The booking agent wants to know that your set list reflects the tastes of his regulars.
Here is an example of someone not paying attention...
I went with a friend once, to a reggae club expecting to hear, ahem, reggae. We were shooting pool when the lights on the stage went low and we could hear what sounded like 3 guitars feeding back at once. There was the loud rumbling of kick drums and distorted guitars. After what seemed like an eternity, GWAR walked out. To this day, I cannot get the image from my mind. They were only allowed to play 2 songs before they were shutdown. I doubt that anyone in the place knew who they were, but it was the most memorable thing I've ever experienced. I laughed so hard, I could not breathe, and I was afraid I was having a heart attack. I've been a fan ever since. GWAR onstage
Cover songs
If you include a recording of 3-5 cover songs, the venue will have a chance to hear your band. The more professional the recording the bettter. The quality of the music you send in is an indicator of the quality of sound that you are satisfied with.
Contact info and fee
Always list your contact info and NEVER list your fee. Your fee is always a point of negotiation. If you list an amount of any sort you lose. The bar is looking for the band that can give the best results with the least amount of investment. When the booking agent calls you, make him sell you on his budget. Always know the going rate ahead of time. If he presses for your fee, be prepared to tell him an amount a little bit higher than the going rate. He'll talk you down, no matter what number you started with, but if you start too high, he'll abandon the conversation right away.
If the booking agent calls you...
He likes what he sees and he wants to book you; don't screw it up. This is a professional conversation, but your job is to be personable. He doesn't have to like you, but it's better if he does. Be friendly, listen intently, and show concern for his bottom line. He uses live entertainment to cause traffic in his bar and he wants to know that you know that too.
If the booking agent DOESN"T call you...
In this case, you'll want to wait about 3 weeks and then give him a call, "just to see if he got it." He may not want to talk much, which means your call is keeping him from doing something he actually needs to be doing. repond with "ok, call us when you can use us." or something to that effect, and then GET OFF THE PHONE.
Afterwards, give him about a month and try again. This time press a little harder. Ask to know if you gave him all of the information he needed, and tell him that you are really looking forward to playing there. Ask him for the best time to discuss booking with him., and be sure to call him then. You should probably continue this part of the process about twice a month for as long as you can stand each other.
If you get a gig, you need to promote it in the most efficient way possible, but that is for next time.....
Deciding to make money playing music for a living?
The music industry is full of very talented people, with amazing songs, who are completely unknown. The sad truth is, that the odds are against you finding success here.
Oh, you're still reading? OK you've been warned. Since you are the stubborn , hard-working kind; I'll use this post to give you some tips on getting started.
You will start off playing small bars, clubs and restaurants. Go to the venue of choice and ask for the person who does the booking. Introduce yourself and ask him what he needs to book you. Give it to him. Be friendly. Not that hard is it? Wait, there's more.
Most smaller clubs don't ask for Electronic Press Kits. Most don't ask for Demo's. I'll discuss these in detail later. They will take you at your word and allow you to get up there and prove or disprove yourself.
Many of the ones that do ask for these things, are probably not interested in booking you anyway, so put something good together, send it in, and move on.
Keep in mind that if a club books you, they are doing it for one reason and one reason only. They believe that you might bring people to buy their products. If your presence at the club does not bring people in, why should they book YOU over their best friends' cousin, or that chick with the big tits?
Most musicians will get support from family and hopefully, a few friends, when they first start out. This is an encouraging start, but many times new performers rely too heavily on it.
Here is how to build your crowd:
Make contacts and MAKE CONTACT.
You have to make friends, and lots of them. Ask questions. Keep your opinions to yourself until you find out what their's is, and then preach their gospel to them. Train yourself to remember names.This business is about relationships, and the more relationships you have, the more people you will draw to your show, and that is how you get more shows. If alot of people like you, you are ahead of the game.
You'll notice that I haven't made any mention regarding the music you play. That is because it DOES NOT MATTER. People are social creatures and they just want to surround themselves with friends. Do what you do, and enjoy yourself. Being an amazing guitar player is a great skill to have. Unfortunately, there are thousands of amazing guitar players in the area where you live.
Do not try to compete head to head!
Music is very subjective, so you will need to set yourself apart with your format, if you can. Put a Hip hop beat on country songs. Play heavy metal songs as ballads. You have got to stand out.You could try any number of gimmicks; hot girls surrounding the stage, buy drinks for the crowd, give away t shirts, whatever works, but the number one rule is:
Do NOT compete with your fee!
When you cut the fee below your competition to get the gig, you will get the gig almost every time! You will also piss off every musician in the area because you are driving the price down, and soon, you will have someone undercut you, and they will have someone undercut them... until everyone is playing for free. This brings the quality of the entertainment down. I thought you wanted to make a living doing this!?
Become familiar with the music stores and the people working there.
Some music stores seem to treat the musician as a friend more so than others. You'll want to encourage relationship building like that, so if they work for your business give it to them. Some music stores, believe it or not, treat you like the next hustle.They will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to spend your money. One thing you do not need is a bunch of extra crap lying around. Which leads me to:
Save all the money you can. Don't get duped into buying things you don't need.
The trick to surviving anything is by keeping multiple use items on hand. In a pinch, you have something very portable that can satisfy your immediate need. There is nothing that can take care of problems as well as cold, hard, cash. Emergencies happen, of course, but 99 % of the time, you will be just fine if you can pay your way. It sucks to buy 3 full cases of strings, and then find you have no money for gas or to eat, because your gig was cancelled. Trust me I know. On a related note...
Take every freebie you can find.
Fast food joints allow you to get your own napkins. Wink wink. They are useful for so many things. All freebies are good. I used to live on the free condiment packets that came with the hot dog special at a certain truck stop. "3 hot dogs for a dollar" and they had a rack of packets of ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. They also had little packets of onions and relish! When I bought 3 hotdogs, I also walked out the door with 2 bags full of condiments.
Money cannot buy happiness, but being broke will make you sad.
Ok, get to work. Start figuring out your format and set list. Book gigs. Make friends. Save your money. Be aggressive. "It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock and roll."
Oh, you're still reading? OK you've been warned. Since you are the stubborn , hard-working kind; I'll use this post to give you some tips on getting started.
You will start off playing small bars, clubs and restaurants. Go to the venue of choice and ask for the person who does the booking. Introduce yourself and ask him what he needs to book you. Give it to him. Be friendly. Not that hard is it? Wait, there's more.
Most smaller clubs don't ask for Electronic Press Kits. Most don't ask for Demo's. I'll discuss these in detail later. They will take you at your word and allow you to get up there and prove or disprove yourself.
Many of the ones that do ask for these things, are probably not interested in booking you anyway, so put something good together, send it in, and move on.
Keep in mind that if a club books you, they are doing it for one reason and one reason only. They believe that you might bring people to buy their products. If your presence at the club does not bring people in, why should they book YOU over their best friends' cousin, or that chick with the big tits?
Most musicians will get support from family and hopefully, a few friends, when they first start out. This is an encouraging start, but many times new performers rely too heavily on it.
Here is how to build your crowd:
Make contacts and MAKE CONTACT.
You have to make friends, and lots of them. Ask questions. Keep your opinions to yourself until you find out what their's is, and then preach their gospel to them. Train yourself to remember names.This business is about relationships, and the more relationships you have, the more people you will draw to your show, and that is how you get more shows. If alot of people like you, you are ahead of the game.
You'll notice that I haven't made any mention regarding the music you play. That is because it DOES NOT MATTER. People are social creatures and they just want to surround themselves with friends. Do what you do, and enjoy yourself. Being an amazing guitar player is a great skill to have. Unfortunately, there are thousands of amazing guitar players in the area where you live.
Do not try to compete head to head!
Music is very subjective, so you will need to set yourself apart with your format, if you can. Put a Hip hop beat on country songs. Play heavy metal songs as ballads. You have got to stand out.You could try any number of gimmicks; hot girls surrounding the stage, buy drinks for the crowd, give away t shirts, whatever works, but the number one rule is:
Do NOT compete with your fee!
When you cut the fee below your competition to get the gig, you will get the gig almost every time! You will also piss off every musician in the area because you are driving the price down, and soon, you will have someone undercut you, and they will have someone undercut them... until everyone is playing for free. This brings the quality of the entertainment down. I thought you wanted to make a living doing this!?
Become familiar with the music stores and the people working there.
Some music stores seem to treat the musician as a friend more so than others. You'll want to encourage relationship building like that, so if they work for your business give it to them. Some music stores, believe it or not, treat you like the next hustle.They will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to spend your money. One thing you do not need is a bunch of extra crap lying around. Which leads me to:
Save all the money you can. Don't get duped into buying things you don't need.
The trick to surviving anything is by keeping multiple use items on hand. In a pinch, you have something very portable that can satisfy your immediate need. There is nothing that can take care of problems as well as cold, hard, cash. Emergencies happen, of course, but 99 % of the time, you will be just fine if you can pay your way. It sucks to buy 3 full cases of strings, and then find you have no money for gas or to eat, because your gig was cancelled. Trust me I know. On a related note...
Take every freebie you can find.
Fast food joints allow you to get your own napkins. Wink wink. They are useful for so many things. All freebies are good. I used to live on the free condiment packets that came with the hot dog special at a certain truck stop. "3 hot dogs for a dollar" and they had a rack of packets of ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. They also had little packets of onions and relish! When I bought 3 hotdogs, I also walked out the door with 2 bags full of condiments.
Money cannot buy happiness, but being broke will make you sad.
Ok, get to work. Start figuring out your format and set list. Book gigs. Make friends. Save your money. Be aggressive. "It's a long way to the top, if you wanna rock and roll."
guitar construction 101
So, surviving the music scene is alot like wilderness survival, isn't it? You've got to be experienced with the tools of the trade. You've got to find ways to eliminate waste, and to work as efficiently as possible.To survive at anything you must cut out the luxuries as much as possible to make room for the necessities.
You cannot waste your time dealing with things that do not immediately increase your odds of survival in the long term.
At one point, I determined that I NEEDED a personalized, handcrafted guitar. I thought that it was the only thing holding me back from all the gigs I wasn't booking. It seemed to me that I was one bad-ass guitar away from success.
So I went to one of those builders' supply places and found some nice squares of medium density fibreboard. It was all I could afford because I wasn't gigging; my focus was on my 'image'.
I bought a dremel tool set and went to work. I cut the body from two pieces and sandwiched them together. At this point, all it needed was a nice finish.
I spray-painted the body a deep blue. It was pretty, but I wanted beautiful. A deep clear coat, it seemed, was in order.
When I was young, I had seen these countertops or tables with a thick, plastic-like coating that had been poured over the wood and allowed to dry. I figured it could only be polyurethane and they had that at the hardware store nearby.
I carefully poured the polyurethane to give the thick shine I wanted. Suddenly, an epiphany: on serious paint jobs, don't they apply heat to 'cure' the finish?
My oven was the perfect size for this. I laid my hand crafted guitar body on an old pizza box (in case the polyurethane dripped, duh) and placed it in the oven. The heat should cure the finish nicely and I would be the proud owner of one bad ass guitar!
I turned the oven to broil because it didn't make sense to me to heat it from the bottom. I also decided to leave the door open because baking polyurethane in a CLOSED oven at 500 degrees seemed unsafe, somehow.
Things were looking good. The polyurethane was hot and it had leveled out nicely.
When I noticed the polyurethane smoking, I took a piece of cardboard leftover from the box to determine if it had hardened. Nope. Still liquid. It was at this point I decided that this was a bad idea and I should remove the guitar body before....
Too late.
The guitar body burst into flames, and being a batchelor I had no pot holders or gloves. I got a beach towel and grabbed the cardboard box. The box collapsed and suddenly, I had a flaming guitar body in the middle of my kitchen floor. I tried kicking it toward the back door and found that it had already melted the linoleum. It was stuck.
I kicked harder and broke it free. All the while spraying the cabinets with flaming polyurethane with each kick. Some of this ignited the can of polyurethane sitting on the floor.
I opened the back door and kicked the blazing guitar body out into the yard. The misty rain that prevented me from doing this work outside, hopefully would put out the fire. I threw the beach towel over the fire on the kitchen floor and poured a whole box of salt into the polyurethane can now on fire. Nothing. I tried baking soda from the fridge. Again, nothing. Finally, I realized that I would have to smother it. I saw an old plastic gym bag and threw it on top of the can. I thought it might smother out the flames before it melted. I was wrong. The gym bag just give it more fuel and by this time I was able to use the beach towel to get ahold of the can and smother the flames. I took it outside.
The flaming guitar body from hell was still burning and melting the underpinning of the mobile home (could you have guessed?). I kicked it around a bit and the flames went out. Exhausted, frustrated and feeling a little stupid, I made sure all the fires were out and laid on the couch. I fell asleep.
The next morning I surveyed the damage. A small rug would cover the huge burnt linoleum in front of the oven. A little sanding would eliminate the burns in the cabinets from the flaming spray. I could wipe down the ceiling to get the soot off.
I went outside and found the guitar body. I had kicked it through all the leaves and rain and pine straw in order to put the fire out.
Some of the leaves and pine needles had stuck to the body and were encased under the polyurethane. The blue paint had blisters from the heat and the whole guitar was rock hard. Small water spots were under the dried polyurethane, too. It looked REALLY cool.
And THAT is how you build one bad-ass guitar.
You cannot waste your time dealing with things that do not immediately increase your odds of survival in the long term.
At one point, I determined that I NEEDED a personalized, handcrafted guitar. I thought that it was the only thing holding me back from all the gigs I wasn't booking. It seemed to me that I was one bad-ass guitar away from success.
So I went to one of those builders' supply places and found some nice squares of medium density fibreboard. It was all I could afford because I wasn't gigging; my focus was on my 'image'.
I bought a dremel tool set and went to work. I cut the body from two pieces and sandwiched them together. At this point, all it needed was a nice finish.
I spray-painted the body a deep blue. It was pretty, but I wanted beautiful. A deep clear coat, it seemed, was in order.
When I was young, I had seen these countertops or tables with a thick, plastic-like coating that had been poured over the wood and allowed to dry. I figured it could only be polyurethane and they had that at the hardware store nearby.
I carefully poured the polyurethane to give the thick shine I wanted. Suddenly, an epiphany: on serious paint jobs, don't they apply heat to 'cure' the finish?
My oven was the perfect size for this. I laid my hand crafted guitar body on an old pizza box (in case the polyurethane dripped, duh) and placed it in the oven. The heat should cure the finish nicely and I would be the proud owner of one bad ass guitar!
I turned the oven to broil because it didn't make sense to me to heat it from the bottom. I also decided to leave the door open because baking polyurethane in a CLOSED oven at 500 degrees seemed unsafe, somehow.
Things were looking good. The polyurethane was hot and it had leveled out nicely.
When I noticed the polyurethane smoking, I took a piece of cardboard leftover from the box to determine if it had hardened. Nope. Still liquid. It was at this point I decided that this was a bad idea and I should remove the guitar body before....
Too late.
The guitar body burst into flames, and being a batchelor I had no pot holders or gloves. I got a beach towel and grabbed the cardboard box. The box collapsed and suddenly, I had a flaming guitar body in the middle of my kitchen floor. I tried kicking it toward the back door and found that it had already melted the linoleum. It was stuck.
I kicked harder and broke it free. All the while spraying the cabinets with flaming polyurethane with each kick. Some of this ignited the can of polyurethane sitting on the floor.
I opened the back door and kicked the blazing guitar body out into the yard. The misty rain that prevented me from doing this work outside, hopefully would put out the fire. I threw the beach towel over the fire on the kitchen floor and poured a whole box of salt into the polyurethane can now on fire. Nothing. I tried baking soda from the fridge. Again, nothing. Finally, I realized that I would have to smother it. I saw an old plastic gym bag and threw it on top of the can. I thought it might smother out the flames before it melted. I was wrong. The gym bag just give it more fuel and by this time I was able to use the beach towel to get ahold of the can and smother the flames. I took it outside.
The flaming guitar body from hell was still burning and melting the underpinning of the mobile home (could you have guessed?). I kicked it around a bit and the flames went out. Exhausted, frustrated and feeling a little stupid, I made sure all the fires were out and laid on the couch. I fell asleep.
The next morning I surveyed the damage. A small rug would cover the huge burnt linoleum in front of the oven. A little sanding would eliminate the burns in the cabinets from the flaming spray. I could wipe down the ceiling to get the soot off.
I went outside and found the guitar body. I had kicked it through all the leaves and rain and pine straw in order to put the fire out.
Some of the leaves and pine needles had stuck to the body and were encased under the polyurethane. The blue paint had blisters from the heat and the whole guitar was rock hard. Small water spots were under the dried polyurethane, too. It looked REALLY cool.
And THAT is how you build one bad-ass guitar.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Let me introduce myself....
I am Chris Neal. I have 8 years of experience as a touring musician. (That sounds better than it actually is, doesn't it?) Let me put it this way...
For 8 years I booked myself at every crab-infested dump from Athens to Valdosta to Columbus (I live in Georgia by the way) and every place within that triangle. I've played sidewalks, parking lots, greasy spoon diners, and truck stops.
I did my traveling in a Geo Metro. I spent far too many nights sleeping under bridges, and eating food cooked by the heat of that 3-cylinder engine.
When I did take a break from the road, my home was a 8 x 8 space behind the cricket cage of a bait and tackle store (just imagine Steve Martin's first apartment in 'The Jerk').
In my wanderings, I've met some really cool struggling musicians, and I befriended some seasoned professionals. Better yet, they befriended me.
Things were better for a while; I got married, got a real job, and became a productive member of society.
Now I'm unemployed, with 3 kids and a 672 sq ft garage I have to finish building so we have a place to live when they finally come and take our house.
I have learned a great deal, and I would like to share my experiences with you. I have made some mistakes (Some really dumb ones!), but, I have happened across some very clever tricks to help me get by. In the current economy, you need all the help you can get!
I hope you find a way to learn from my misfortune, and even if you don't, I'm certain you will be entertained.
For 8 years I booked myself at every crab-infested dump from Athens to Valdosta to Columbus (I live in Georgia by the way) and every place within that triangle. I've played sidewalks, parking lots, greasy spoon diners, and truck stops.
I did my traveling in a Geo Metro. I spent far too many nights sleeping under bridges, and eating food cooked by the heat of that 3-cylinder engine.
When I did take a break from the road, my home was a 8 x 8 space behind the cricket cage of a bait and tackle store (just imagine Steve Martin's first apartment in 'The Jerk').
In my wanderings, I've met some really cool struggling musicians, and I befriended some seasoned professionals. Better yet, they befriended me.
Things were better for a while; I got married, got a real job, and became a productive member of society.
Now I'm unemployed, with 3 kids and a 672 sq ft garage I have to finish building so we have a place to live when they finally come and take our house.
I have learned a great deal, and I would like to share my experiences with you. I have made some mistakes (Some really dumb ones!), but, I have happened across some very clever tricks to help me get by. In the current economy, you need all the help you can get!
I hope you find a way to learn from my misfortune, and even if you don't, I'm certain you will be entertained.
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