I'm Back Baby!! Summary...

Well, it has certainly been a while... what... a whole 6 months since I have updated this blog!! Those readers that remain - thank you for your patience ;) I have since been inspired to continue. Thank you to one reader, Austin, for his lovely emails.

Ok, there's not a lot to summarise over the last 6 months. Suffice to say we have since moved to the capital city, Wellington - which has one of the most vibrant music scenes in New Zealand. We moved here a couple of months ago as I knew it was going to go nowhere if we stayed in Hamilton. It's way too small for starters and a lot of negative vibes, if you've read this blog since I started it, then you'll know exactly what I mean. If not, have a gander over the previous posts - I'm sure you'll find it interesting.

Now as for the last post - regarding funding - we put in that song as advised, and what do you know! Declined! Interesting... to say the least. "Charlie" seemed to think funding wouldn't be a problem now.

Well I guess I have come to realise that there is the 'music scene' and then there's the 'music industry'. The music scene is playing live, making fans, getting your music out there and meeting other musicians. The music industry is more getting to those 'in the know', catching the eye of the movers and shakers in the industry, coming across as serious about what you are doing and where you are going.

So, since moving down to Wellington, I have decided that it's imperative to get into the music industry. I have taken some time to meet with a few key people to help us on our path, and been given some great help and advice.

At one of these meetings, I was told that people think it's hard to break into the New Zealand music industry, but in fact, it really is quite simple. So I will be using the contacts I was given at that meeting as soon as I can.

Unfortunately, it's too late to get into the summer festivals this time round. Summer in NZ runs from December to March - so it's usually all organised prior to December. However, our plan is to get the band playing some gigs live (there are some wicked venues here in Wellington for live bands) build up the following - and in 6 months time, the organisers of festivals will be coming to us! :)

At the end of the day, it's all about having a damn good product. If you have the product, and it's that good, you will get noticed. It's inevitable. Oh sure, you can get by and 'make it' on other quirks (be it the look you have, the show you put on, or simply an amazingly charismatic stage presence), but if you want a surefire way - make sure you have damn good songs!

Oh, and suffice to say: practice, practice, practice.
No good having damn good songs but your drummer misses a beat, your bass player gets it wrong, or your vocalist forgets a line.

More on that tomorrow ;)

This band has the product. It has a great vocalist and lead guitarist, but alas, I don't see the level of commitment needed from the other musicians. But I'll talk about that shortly :)

Where To Now?

So... the showcase that we had been looking forward to for the past two months has been and gone. Over the past few days, I have felt very disappointed and frustrated with how I felt it all went. I have felt let down and was almost ready to throw in the towel, give it all up, and seek a 9 to 5 job that my family would consider 'normal'.

But then... I read the rave reviews the album has received... I see the emails STILL coming in asking when the boys are touring their country... and I hear the potential songs for the next album they are currently working on....! All of that keeps me going - I know that I have a rock band here that needs to be heard. A band that people are going to love - and that people do already love! I just need to get it out there. I always knew it was never going to be an easy ride...!

First thing I had to do was adjust my attitude. So I had some expectations that weren't met?! That's life. That's the nature of the industry - get over it! Move onwards and upwards. Half the reason I felt so down was because the showcase had been our latest goal - now we had achieved that, but I had set no other goal to work to towards achieving. Yes, we all know "goals" are important - if you don't have a goal in mind then that's something you need to sort out. Let's face it - goals motivate you, they challenge you, they keep you moving forward - always have one (or two!).

So, at this stage, I'm currently putting together a marketing plan. With everything that has happened, I figure that concentrating on their local fanbase here in New Zealand is one of the most important stages of that plan. Hence, that is my focus right now.