In the Mind of Nate

Hello all, Well, I can say for sure that if there’s one thing consistent about this is blog is inconsistency. Or the consistency of not being consistent. Or perhaps being consistently sporadic. No matter which way you look at it, I should try to give you more to read more often. There’s the word I was looking for. I really don’t know what to make of this latest absence. We always find readily used excuses that seem to be given effortlessly such as “I was so busy”, or “I just can’t”. These are so overused and accessible that they make us feel no guilt of wasting energy better spent finding a solution than coming up with reasons why we can’t do something. A tool I often find readily available once I smell the unfortunately familiar scent of bullshit being served to me by someone incapable of getting passed their own thoughts. Ok, enough of that (for now). This is an indirect admission of guilt on my part. Bes...

Hello everyone, at this point it wouldn't even be redundant to say I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. It's nearly downright embarrassing that I haven't. Especially since this is the longest I have gone without making a new post. Ironically enough, I was planning on doing this post almost a year ago. So obviously a lot has gone on between now and then. We recently released a new album called "the Sorrows" and we've already done three out of town trips to perform. In the interim, we have parted ways with some bandmembers and gain new ones. One of which literally risked life and limb on one of the tours. The actions of our new drummer, Kenn Holley who came in literally one week before we were going to go out on the road are the complete opposite of the title of this post. I'm sure many of you recognize the title as a line from a song by The late great Tom Petty . He was certainly onto something, and that's not the only re...

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...

Some of you that are linked up with me on Facebook probably know why I chose this title. I have been posting a video for a song with the same named from a band called the 69 Eyes around lately for various reasons. I felt the message of the song is good and I have been listening to this group a lot recently. Also, I just felt this was a fitting message to send people into 2014 with. A few weeks ago I warned everyone about the dangers of being sidetracked during the Holidays. Which I'm sure may have gone wayside, and justifiably so. I have found myself practically in panic mode not being able to get even the simple of tasks done(actually I'm lying I did come up with a few new riffs and lyrics) forgetting that this is a well earned break from all the pressure and stress that comes along with being a D.I.Y. musician/owner of a soon to be launched independent record label. I found myself very anxious too when thinking about spending time with the people that will accept ...

I took the name of a Facebook group that I joined for the title of this post. I believe the group deals with ranting, but I realized that ranting takes away from the time needed to become successful. However, we all do it from time to time so here is the link to that group if you feel the need to do so. The one good thing about a rant is that many people can relate to do it. For those of you that are linked to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, you may noticed that I created my catchphrase for the most dreaded day of the week, Monday. I figured, we have "Feel good Friday" and "Throwback Thursday" why not "Bitch and Moan Monday"? Come on you know we all do it, so feel free to post it but make sure you include these hashtags: #BMM #ihatemondays #mondayssuck. The Vicious Circle I am referring to is that which as artists we must be a part of. My last few posts focused on learning how the music business operates,putting out and promoting a professiona...

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...

I trust that most of you read my last post, so I decided to keep going with this format so that those who brains didn't melt yet could read on. Believe me, I know there is a lot to know and go over beyond songwriting and performance and even if you are the guy in the band that says "they just tell me when to show up and I do" you should inform yourself about the business side. It is not easy even with the advances in technology allowing for the informed to be their own manager/booking agent/record label. Obviously when you are releasing your own album you want to make that you make it sound and look as professional as possible. However this goes beyond the quality of the actual recording and artwork. I thought that this would be best in a Question and Answer format: How do we get our cds made professionally? Your cds need to be replicated and not duplicated The difference is a duplicated cd is like a cdr burned on your computer. These work well and can be sold, h...