House shows, and all sorts of DIY shows, are a great way to create an alternative, personalized space to hear live music in your community. If you aren’t near any good venues, need a place to host all-ages shows, or simply want to invite some people over to your house, apartment, backyard, roof, basement (you get…
By Jhoni Jackson Putting together a multi-day event in your city requires a little knowledge of booking and who’s who in your local music scene, but it’s not the impossible feat some might imagine. Organizing a festival is within the reach of nearly anyone who’s willing to commit time to planning, researching, and learning. It’s…
One of the worst things about being an independent musician is the feeling of stasis: when you have no shows coming up, or you just put out an album, but you still feel like you’re going nowhere. You feel powerless against the forces of the music industry and the insane number of other people just…
If you’ve ever wondered how to cross the line from being a good to a great guitarist, you’ve probably already identified some key factors to focus on — mastery of technique, the quality of your gear, and learning to adopt different performative styles. But I wouldn’t start with any of those — I would start with organization. I have studied the…
Here’s a situation many musicians experience on an all-too-regular basis: You get out of your day job, sit in traffic all the way home, load your gear, eat, maybe review some material, inch through more traffic and arrive at practice only to find the band “leader” isn’t ready or, worse, isn’t even there yet?!?! They…
Musicians often get stereotyped as being “flaky.” Unreliable musicians not only drive other musicians crazy, they hurt the relationships with venues, booking agents, and everyone else musicians rely on to get their music heard. But despite what stereotypes say, you CAN be a “creative type” and also know your way around a spreadsheet. So rather than hold yourself back, embrace…
