In the Mind of Nate

Hello once again, Yea Yea,its been awhile since the last post. Anyone keeping count of how many times I've opened with that? In all seriousness things got a little busy with working on the new album and sending promotional material along with our first album out to stores in several different parts of the Country(soon to be nationwide). I felt that with today being Record Store Day I had to make a post and thank all of the stores that are now carrying our music. And we have just started taking pre orders for the new album on Pledge Music along with some other specials deals for our fans. Also, I wantedmy last article on Dean to be a focal point to both my regular readers as well as new visitors. It was a truly groundbreaking entry for both me as a writer and for the Artist. I had taken lots of time acquiring the right information about his projects as well as his new project, and asked him all of the questions I felt that people would like to know the answers to and of cour

Hello everyone, I know that I have been absent for awhile now. But in the midst of this incredibly long winter(that is officially over and refuses to die) It has been hard to go out and enjoy life, write or perform. Although I did manage to perform recently with my Bass player, Lynn Haze at the Dorian Gray party here in NYC(see pic below). I have been busy finishing up two releases, and a long work project so that I can fund the things I love doing. Not to mention the Indie Gogo campaign we created has been keeping me occupied. Like anything else it has been an uphill battle and in hindsight I wish I had done more research before beginning the campaign. However, We are still struggling to make our goal and those who donate will receive perks such as downloads, keychains that our bass player Lynn Haze is making custom, and the most popular perk : pre-ordered copies of albums from Imbolg and Of Beauty and Madness . You can find out more about our campaign and how you can contribute

If you have read the past few posts I have made you may start to realize that being a musical artist isn't always about writing and performing music. Especially if you are a DIY or an independent artist. You have to be your own booking agent, manager, tour manager, publicist and sometimes even your own record label. These dual roles or "wearing many hats" is not easy and sometimes your performance can suffer as a result of it. Many managers also have law degrees, but do not practice. However their education in law helps them read and write contracts for their clients in order to be more effective as representation to their clients. If you would like more information on this topic, I suggest reading this book on Music Law . Here is a musical fact you may not know: Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis & the News actually managed the band he created. Dual roles in music are so common that nobody even gives them a second thought. How bands do you know engineer their own

Hello again everybody, this entry I will be focusing on running a smarter campaign to avoid the backlash overdoing your promotions or (worse case scenario) being labeled a "Spammer". Yes, people do throw that and many other terms around too loosely, we all do. And I admit I have been guilty of overdoing posts in the past. But instead of defending myself and starting arguments I decided to evaluate how I was going about spreading the word about my music and this blog while sharing what I learned with you. Your goal when being on social media is not just to get people into your music music but also, entertaining them or engaging them with an interesting post, like a picture you took or asking them a question about a music related topic. Make it interactive and not just about you, people will respond more and, to quote Bill Cosby but you may even learn thing or two (Hey Hey Hey). Yes it can be nerve racking to think that so many bands are out their posting their music an

Hello again, I'm sure most of you that live in places the have seasons are already braving the cold or may have come down with one already. This time of year just sneaks up on us. Not to mention having the Holidays and the pressure to spend being forced on you. And of course all those Christmas songs, which I'm sure you have heard so many times that you may have created your own parodies of. After all " its the most annoying time of the year " lol. It is nice to spend time with family and friends during this time and celebrate after working all year. But the cold weather does make us more run down, unmotivated and more prone to over eat. A few things that are poison to anybody that is trying to focus on being successful in any field, especially in music. I decided to post this entry since this time of year is an easy one for us to lose focus on working towards our goals. Many work overtime if they are stuck in retail, and not to mention the music industry does

After that last entry and all I put into it and the previous entries that include tips on the music Business, I needed to take a breather(which is needed from time to time). Well that and I have been having computer issues. Anyway, I really hope my last few entries gave you some serious insight into what is put into a career as a professional musician. What I really mean is an original band that plays professionally. All the Orchestras you may have heard(think Star Wars ) in movies, Tv, or in plays or operas are all classically trained musicians, some of which have been playing since early in their childhood that have spent some much time learning their instrument that can not only play many complex pieces of music, but can also play them as soon as a piece is given them. Which is also known as "Sight Reading". That is in itself is something many artists(including myself)can barely do if at all.Luckily these musicians usually are well compensated and receive medical an

In my last entry this was one the things I didn't mention about promoting an album, well this and the importance of making a video (mainly because I assumed most bands have videos on you tube of performance and regular MTV style music videos). Touring is a very necessary and effective way for bands to build a more solid fan base and insure that album sales will increase, if done correctly and effectively. Many bands have an unenthusiastic opinion about touring or unrealistic expectations. First off the word "Tour" doesn't necessarily mean 3 months out on the road packed in a van, but it can mean that. You can actually take trips to separate cities and come home each time and consider that a tour too. Either way the goal is to play in as many different cities as you can in order to strengthen your fan base and album sales. But of course it is wise to KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS in this case it pertains to how many places you can afford to travel to with your budget and

Ok, I have been speaking about this for some time now. A few years back I put together a list of books and webpages I suggest for all independent artists. They will help you learn about the music business and make it easier for you further all your musical endeavors. I have read most of these books(really, I did. I'm not lying) and they can be found at the library and on sites like Ebay or Amazon. If anyone has any other books or webpages that you think are useful please let me know. I will start with the Books and include some webpages for the end. REFERENCE BOOKS The Indie Bible a book that is released yearly that has a list of contact information for record companies, radio stations, magazines, distributors and more that will work with independent bands. It is divided up Geographically and by Genre. The Music Atlas Another Yearly reference book. Not specifically geared towards independent artists. But does have many resources such as record labels and other informatio

Earlier on in the week, I found myself commenting on a Facebook post by a slightly discouraged musician from a new younger band out of NYC called Candy Brain that feels that the music industry is ruining music for him. I think he was speaking more about the local "seen" which is basically just a staging area and not the be all end of all the music business(Thank God). Luckily, there were a few people like myself to shed some light on this. Years ago, the Record companies decided your fate and very few bands could control their own destinies. Simply because the resources available to us now where not there 20, 25 or even 30 years ago.Remember there was no Itunes or Cdbaby , so no record deal meant no distribution. Yes you could go into a studio on your own and record(if you were lucky enough to even afford that let alone getting your finished product duplicated), hoping a record label would take notice of your valiant effort and offer you some sort of deal which would in