JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum A little advice is needed. . .

Hi Naomi,

Welcome to JPF.

Well, I understand your predicament. Our family was literally poor. I was raised by a single mom, back before such a thing was cool. So I've never had anyone to fall back on. Even during a period of homelessness, my solution was to work my way out of it.

Here are some of the things I've learned.

There is no magic button. If you want to succeed in the music business, you have to outwork and out perform everyone else. You need talent, of course, but more than that you need to be able to objectively assess your talent and develop it in a way that enhances it.

If I were you, first off, I'd spend some time examining my motives. Why do I want to be a recording artist? Is it for the money? Is it for the fame? Is it so I can have revenge on those snobby kids from high school by becoming a star? Then I'd quit right now. If I'm not in it for the love of music, then my art will not be authentic. One good question I'd ask myself: if I knew for certain that I'd never become a star...would I still do this? If the answer is truly yes, then I'm on the right path.

Then I would work on my delivery. It doesn't matter how good I am already, I know I can always get better. If I stop growing, then I become a "tribute band" to my old self. I would continually work at improving my music, my singing, my writing. A lot of practice would be in order. A lot of listening to other music, learning about different genres, exploring. I haven't heard your songs on myspace, but it doesn't matter. No matter how good I am, I can always get better.

If I wanted to "get noticed." First, I'd ask myself by whom I want to be noticed. Do I have a target label? Do I have a target producer? A little homework would show me that the best way to attract a label is to have a lot of local success. The way to do that is to build a fan base. I'd be putting together a mailing list as well as a myspace site and every other internet site I could think of. I'd work on building and servicing my fans a whole lot more than trying to hunt down a record company or a producer or a manager. And, I'd be singing anywhere there is a good crowd. I now checked out your myspace. The Alabama Pecan Festival is a great venue, I've played it a few times with Razzy Bailey and again with Freddie Hart (those are names from the Jurassic Period of country music ). I'd set up a table there, even if I only had a sign-in book on it, I'd invite people over to say hi and ask them to sign the fan list. Their email addresses, their mailing addresses, even their phone numbers are all valuable. Then, I would follow up and send out an email thanking folks, if they don't have email addresses, send post cards, or even call them and thank them. I would do that until there were so many people on the list that it became impossible. Of course, I would want to protect myself when calling or writing people. I would want to have a post office box and maybe a blocked number or a cell phone to protect my address. Especially if I was a good looking young girl. (I am none of the above. )

For gigs, the most expensive thing is travel. By moving out from my home in concentric circles, I would try to build fan areas. I'd play the Shriner's Fish Fry in the next county, sing the National anthem at the local high school football game, do a town summerfest, and then a VFW two counties over. At each place (and at the Pecan Festival) I would get the promoter or the person who hired me to write a short letter, or just sign a quick quote about how they liked me and would hire me back. Eventually, I'd want to get paid for some of these things.

The camera is a good tool. I would stop in the middle of a show, take out a camera and point it at the audience and tell them to smile. Pictures of smiling audiences look good on websites, facebook pages, and myspace pages. When fans can see themselves they feel like they are part of your adventure. At my table, I'd ask people if I could take my pictures with them, and try to get their names right when I upload them.

Of course, publicity is always good. I would learn to write a press release and send one to local papers when I was playing a gig. I'd keep a file of news folks' names, and I'd sure send a thank you card when they wrote about me. (Same for promoters and folks who hired me...thank you cards are great tools to keep people considering me.) I would call the local radio station two weeks before performing and ask it they have an events calender. Also, I'd send them any promo I might have.

Well, you're probably getting the idea. Work. Lots of it. Thought, research, attention to detail...that's what it takes. If you develop a good sized fan base and are doing a lot of appearances, then you're on track to catching peoples' attention.

Of course, I always recommend having a team. You'll find a lot on this website if you do a search for "team" and "teams."

So, God bless you. Good luck. Work hard. Also, very importantly, have a LOT of fun. Write if you need a bass player.

All the Best,
Mike