Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control -- that's life.
But it doesn't have to bring you down. You're the only one who gets to decide how you're going to handle bad news. You've got choices: you can sit around and sulk about it; you can get angry with other people because of it; or, you can let it go and worry about more important things.
Our Baily's gig on Super Bowl Sunday got rescheduled for April 21st. Of course we didn't like it when we heard about it, but it was beyond our control. It's still going to be a great gig! It'll probably be even better than we originally thought! That's a really cool club, a cool stage, the food and atmosphere are great, and our original date wasn't the best date. On Super Bowl Sunday, people are going to be at sports bars or at parties with their friends. So looking back, it's probably a good thing we got rescheduled to a date in the spring.

Swag. Always swag. You need to get your band's name out there; generate some hype; make people curious. Whether it's t-shirts, stickers, refrigerator magnets, or whatever -- you need to advertise!
There are a few unwritten rules about swag that we've learned over the years:
1. It's got to be decent-quality stuff. Like vinyl stickers (not paper ones). Paper stickers are really just labels, and they don't last. If you stick that on your car window, it'll completely disintegrate in a month or less. You can do better! And get some decent t-shirts that people will actually wear; if you get cheap and thin shirts, nobody will buy them. Because they're garbage, that's why.
2. Expect to take a little financial hit, at least at first. You're going to be giving this stuff away, or at least selling it dirt cheap. Think of it as your advertising budget -- the more buzz you create, the more people will come see your band. That's going to create (or build) a following and get you more gigs. More paying gigs makes it worth the money you spent getting there. Once you have a following, you might be able to sell shirts, bags, or whatever you've got and make a little bit of your money back.
3. Give it away, give it away, give it away now! That's right -- give away free stickers. Sell your t-shirts for cheaper than you bought them. People love free stuff! If you can combine that love of free stuff with your need to advertise your band, everybody wins!
So, today's lesson: giving away good swag might cost you a little up front, but it's well worth it if it gets you some gigs. If you're ever given the choice of doing swag or not doing swag, you should always do swag!

So we want to tell about a great musician living around here. Our pal Andy is creating some amazing dance music. His music has been released by several labels. Check him out at amphetagrooves.com.

How many times have you gone to see a band in a bar and they blow your ears out? So many musicians are big vain babies who don't want to play at a reasonable volume level. "That's not rock and roll," right? Guitarists can't get their perfect tone if their amp's not on at least 9! Drummers want to hit hard because it's more 'dynamic!' Blah, blah, blah... There's always an excuse. So the band has a blast and the bar and the customers DON'T!!! We've all been there and it's not always a great night.

Okay, we get it. It's fun to play loud, but it's not always the best thing for your venue. Musicians & bands need to realize -- you're not there for your own artistic endeavor. You're working. You're working for the bar owner. You're working for the folks who came out to see you. You. Are. Working!

So we've been working on this for a while now: the idea of being able to give a fun, energetic performance at a volume where folks can still order their drinks and carry on conversations without their ears bleeding. And we've got it worked out and dialed in. We can now rehearse in a house with our amps and an acoustic drum kit in one room while people read in another room. Really, we can. This is so exciting to us; we hope it's also exciting to anyone who wants us to play for them. Let's go gigging!

Sometimes you'll knock on a door and nobody will answer. Sometimes you'll do it again and nobody will answer. Sometimes it takes a few times until somebody opens the door. It's a lot like that when it comes to looking for gigs -- sometimes you get ignored for a while before you get an answer, whether it's yes or no. Remember, a club will get along just fine regardless of whether or not they book your band; you're not even on their radar, so don't think that they're in any kind of rush to have you play their club.
But you have to keep knocking -- keep following up until you either get hired or they tell you to stop bothering them. And no matter if it's the first time or the forty-seventh time, you have to do it with a smile -- or at least keep it polite and professional.
And if you ever, at any time, act like an ass while you're doing this, club owners and managers will always remember that you're an ass. 

You’ve been rehearsing forever, and you’ve got a solid four sets’ worth of music. The band is feeling good and sounding tight; you’ve got a bunch of demo videos posted online, and you’re completely confident that now you’re finally ‘ready’ to play anywhere. There’s just one problem; where are you gonna play?
This is probably the most difficult part of playing in a band — selling your services to a potential employer (aka finding a gig). In a very real sense, it’s a job interview, where you make your pitch to the manager or club owner and hope they’ll give you a chance to play at their club. It makes a lot of people nervous (myself included), but it’s absolutely necessary in order to get out of the rehearsal studio and into the real world of being a practicing musician!
So how do you do this…? First, research what clubs are out there, and which ones might be interested in your particular niche (your 80’s dance band might not go over too well at a country bar). Visit these places and find out who’s in charge of booking the entertainment — it’s that person, or the club owner, you want to focus on. Don’t rush things; if they’re busy, wait until they have a few minutes to speak with you. Smile! Tell them who you are, tell them a little about your band and what makes you unique, give them a business card, and tell them where to find your demo material! If they’re interested, they’ll tell you. Or maybe they’ll call you sometime. If not, oh well.
If I could offer one piece of advice to anyone in this situation, it’s this: don’t wait until you’re ‘ready’ before you start looking for gigs. When you’re ‘almost ready’ (like 75 - 80%) is the best time to start looking. It might be months before a club can book you, which gives you tons of time to finish getting ‘ready.’ If you can get a gig sooner, it’ll give your band a little push (or pressure, however you want to look at it) to get going! Of course, make sure you’ve got good demo material and some nice-looking business cards.

It's cold and rainy today so here's some new gear to brighten everything up. We love Sweetwater and their demos! We aren't sponsored by them (wish we were). It's just a great guitar that's going to be gigged. No one could find the dent on it and we saved money. What musician doesn't want to save money?!?

Picture this in your mind — you haven’t picked up your instrument in days, and you know you need to practice because band rehearsal is like, tomorrow. But there’s so much that needs to get done behind the scenes: you need to put fresh material on the website; you need to change your strings; you need to reach out to club owners and get new gigs; you need to take care of stuff around the house… before you know it, it’s become pretty clear that it’s gonna be a late night if you’re going to get any practice time at all.

I can tell you from experience — you should never blow off your practice time. Here’s why:
    1. You’ll out yourself as a complete idiot in front of your band mates. You’ll end up wasting everyone’s time because you’ll have to learn your part at rehearsal (on the band’s time) instead of being prepared before you get there. I’ve been there.
    2. If you’ve ever expected anyone else to know their stuff before they show up to rehearsal, you’re now a proven hypocrite for not living up to your own rules. I’ve been that guy.
    3. It could get you fired. Look, musicians are a dime a dozen; there are plenty of other musicians who are better than you, or just different than you. You are replaceable, remember that. The band — the team — is what’s special. If you won’t pull your own weight, you might find yourself looking for a new band. I’ve been there once, and I never want to go back there.

So if you don’t have enough time to practice, make the time.