Bands: If You Only Read One Of My Blogs

Bands usually hire team members out of fear and/or desperation.  Fear that their one option is going to be their only option, fear of missing out, fear of getting old.  Desperate because there wasn’t any planning and organization, the album is coming out next week and you need to quick get a publicist. 

I’m sure you have your version of this.

If I only ever get one idea through your head that you will actually adopt it is this:

TAKE MORE TIME WHEN HIRING.

Yes, the capitalization means I’m yelling. And I’m not a yeller.

Did you hire your booking agent after he came to a show and you had some drinks after? Did you hire your PR three months before releasing your album? Did you hire your manager because he/she was your “only option”?

Take more time.

I know it’s hard, but you know that feeling six months into working with your radio company when you realize “it’s just not a good fit”? You need to come to that realization before you hire them.

Isn’t this a crazy thought: Artists are afraid of taking the hiring process more seriously because they want to come off as easy going and fun, and then get upset when the person they hired doesn’t take the job seriously. Ummmm. 

You’re the leader. You reap what you sow. 

If you’re reading this and want to dig deeper on the subject, send me an email and come to an Artist Leadership Meeting. It’s really worth diving into.

But in the meantime I want to throw out something very practical that I hope you’ll try.  And you should try it because your hiring methods are probably either non-existant or not very good. (Don’t worry, I’m guilty too)

-Have at least 4 interviews with anyone you’re thinking of adding to your team.

-Make the first one 30 minutes. Not 31 minutes.  And drinks in the back hall after your show doesn’t count for anything.  A 30 minute meeting where you do most of the listening and they do most of the talking.

-Make the last interview an informal dinner…with spouses. It sounds crazy, but it works.  It’s a different dynamic that will draw new things out of everyone, and you’ll be able to solidify if this person is the right one to hire.

I know all this sounds weird and difficult, but just try it. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to what you’ve always done.

Again, there’s so much more on this topic, and I think this is an area that once it’s done properly could revolutionize the music business, cause fear and desperation just don’t seem to be working.

The Moment Of Confusion

I watched a little bit of the Screen Actors Guild awards tonight. Pretty good show. Not a lot of blabber, no music performances, they just kinda get down to business.

But here’s one thing I’ve never understood about pretty much all the awards shows.  Grammys, Emmys, Oscars, all of them.

As you’re looking at the tv, the winner of the award is in the center of the stage giving the acceptance speech, while the celebrity introducers along with a Vanna White type person are standing off to the left politely listening.

Why do Vanna and the celebs stand off to the left when the exit for the stage is to the right?

There’s always a confused moment when the winner of the award is finished with their speech, they walk toward the gang on stage only to be turned around awkwardly to exit the proper side. It’s weird. It doesn’t flow.

Now, every once and a while the winner knows the exit is to the right and when they finish their speech, they walk that way.  

They thought they could avoid the confusion.

Well, they may have escaped the confusion but they didn’t escape the slight awkwardness.

Since the winner knew where to walk and he/she just headed that way, it looks like they’re abandoning the rest of the gang on stage because Vanna and everyone are chasing the winner from behind.

It’s a lose/lose.  

And it’s such an easy fix if someone would pay attention.  Put Vanna on whatever side you want the winner to walk toward.  That’s the most natural thing for everyone.

There’s a natural flow for the stage. There’s a set of norms and expectations that performers and the audience are used to seeing and experiencing.  

Pay close attention and investigate what easy little tweaks you can make. These things make a big difference and are sitting right under your nose. They don’t take any skill at all, just a realization.

Are You A Bowling Ball Or A Disco Ball

No matter what, when you walk on stage the spotlights are on you. That’s the deal. That’s what you’ve signed up for.

Now you have a decision.

When you walk on stage, your head can turn into a bowling ball.  Hard, dark, non reflective material that absorbs all the light it can and keeps it all for itself.  So the very best case scenario is that a bunch of people comment on the bowling ball.  But more often, the bowling ball head is just uninviting, boring, and unmemorable.

On the other hand, when you step on stage your head can turn into a disco ball.  Where all the light and attention given to it gets reflected back to the entire room, for the enjoyment and community of everyone.  

Sure everyone loves a disco ball, but what they really love is what the disco ball provides them…connection to the moment and the people around them because it’s casting beautiful light and vibe around the room making them dance and FEEL something.

The spotlights and attention are inevitable.  Do you want to be a bowling ball or a disco ball?

The Leading Deficit pt. 2

I want to step back and widen the lens from the post yesterday about the leaders in the band needing to step up and lead.  

Why do we need those band guys to be leaders in the first place?

Because this is where the change is born.  All the things that feel broken or are broken about the industry will be revolutionized by artists willing to be leaders.

Gone are the days where the band gets to be the dumb lazy band guys and everyone else makes them valuable and successful.

What if by being a great artist and also a great leader, you gained leverage, attention, respect, success?  This is possible. But you need both ingredients. An artist leader.

When we have great leaders in bands we have band guys willing to ask questions, willing to properly interview possible team members (agents, PR, labels, etc), willing to take responsibility for their entire team.  Successes and failures.

And in turn, leading the entire music business.

For years now I’ve heard people talk about “there’s gotta be a better way” or “why does it have to be like this” or insert your generalized yearning here.

I’ve discovered that the revolutionary response to those questions is hiding in the mirror.  Cause if you’re the type of person to really ask those questions, you’re already on the path.

There’s something to be said for the fact that if artists stopped doing their thing, the whole industry would literally cease to exist. So there’s where the change needs to start.  

Leadership is in dire need. You are part of the solution. No no…in your sliver of the universe, you are THE solution.

p.s. Don’t misunderstand any of this by thinking I mean you need to be an island, to do it all yourself, to close others off, or to simply work harder.  Working harder and leading better are two different things.  And if you don’t have anyone (team members) following you…you are, by definition, not leading.  So you need to be working with other humans!! Serve and lead your team better.

The Leading Deficit

We have an identity deficiency in bands.  If you’ve been in a band for more than a few weeks, a leader has at least somewhat emerged.  Maybe he (I’m going to use “he” in this post a lot, but it could be “she” too) is the lead singer, maybe it’s the drummer. Doesn’t matter. Someone has stepped up to the plate to at least schedule when you’re going to rehearse next.

Band leaders: In your mind you at least have an inclination that you are in fact a leader. Own it. Step into it. You were wired that way and will always be that way.  It’s time to lead your band better.

That doesn’t mean be bossy, while secretly wanting to do the work yourself cause no one else can do it right.  It doesn’t mean spreading yourself so thin that you don’t get to sleep, while everyone else sleeps in. It doesn’t mean not getting to be a part of the creative side because you’re THAT GUY in the band.

Being a leader actually means a lot of great things, which I want to get into in future posts.

But it’s hard to look at yourself as a leader in a band when everyone is suppose to have equal value.  There’s probably part of you that doesn’t want to even admit you’re a leader because you just want to be a dude in a band. Band of brothers. Everyone’s the same. 

You really need to get over this. The sooner the better.  It’s time to learn how to lead rather than dodging your innate qualities.

Everyone in the band can have the same value, but it’s just different values. Maybe I can even appropriately throw out the term separate but equal in this case.

Guy, from That Thing You Do, was just as important as Jimmy.  

You have the burden and blessing of leading your band and your team.

A leader understanding that he is a leader and pouring lots of time and energy into doing that well in his given situation (a band), will add value to every person, meeting, rehearsal, show, interview, bus ride that happens in the life of the band.

And that’s what you’re looking for: life in the band.

If you’re the type of person who has read this entire post, my 8-ball is saying you’re probably a leader. Get to it.

p.s. In my experience and observing a million bands, the lead singer is usually involved in the leadership of the band. This isn’t always the case, but usually the case. Off the top of my head I can’t say exactly why this is (let me think on that), but it’s a general truth that you might want to embrace.

State Of The Union

I watched the State of the Union address last night.  It’s crazy after watching House of Cards how your view changes of all the possibly (but most definitely) sleazy politicians in the room.

There are two things I’d like to point out.

The first is that Obama seemed to be good at delivering his speech.  But you know what he wasn’t? He wasn’t A LOT better (than I remember) at delivering his speech.  He seemed comfortable and confident, this being his 6th SOTU address and probably his thousandth speech since taking office.

But when you get to be president, your skills don’t dramatically improve just because you live in the white house.  There’s not some instant, fast track to speaking to the American people.  Obama was a good speaker to start with, and now he seems a little better, from a lot of practice.

I know this is a bit of a rehash of a point I made last week, but this was a great illustration of it.  Getting better at something takes time and practice, and can be expedited if you’re willing to pay very close attention. Phycological, sociological attention.

The second thing I want to point out is this.  During his speech, Obama used the phrase “young and in love in America”.  I wrote this down right away and googled it thinking I’m sure there’s a massive hit song with this title and I just can’t remember it.

Turns out there isn’t. Not at all.

At least not on the entire first page when you search it. So if you don’t have anything to write about today, there you go. Cause a title like that should be a giant hit this summer.  

And you can use my story of hearing the president say it in his speech as your inspiration for writing it. In fact, say you wrote it last night right after the speech. People would love that.