An Interview with Allison Weiss
The first time I came across Allison Weiss’ myspace page, I knew she was a musician after my own heart. Grassrootsy first covered her back in July in a feature on Kickstarter. And after reading more about Weiss, it was apparent that she is one of the hardest working independent artists you will ever come [...]
What Exactly Does a Full-Time Artist Do All Day? An Interview with Nelly’s Echo.
Nelson Emokpae of Nelly’s Echo has a reputation for being one of the few singer-songwriters, along with Micah, who “cleans up real good” at the NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) conferences. In fact, almost all of his gigs through the year are at colleges. And when he talks about hitting the road (below), he’s [...]
Pursuing Music as a College Student
We’re only a few weeks away from the start of Fall Semester, so its about time to start thinking college booking. I was hanging with a friend of mine, Ife Kehinde, a few months back and we were talking about how to score college gigs while living as a student. The following thoughts will apply [...]
Getting Into The College Market PART 2
Read the first post in this series: “Getting into the College Market PART 1” STUDENT ACTIVITES OFFICES Other than NACA and student-led organizatons, most colleges have a student activities office that is responsible for planning most of the major events on campus. For example, University of Pennsylvania calls it SPEC: Social Planning & Events Committee. In their recent [...]
Getting into the College Market – PART 1
Nelly’s Echo I was recently asked by someone how to get into the college market so I thought I’d address this. If you have other suggestions, please post them in the comments section. I’ve only recently learned about the whole college scene so I’m just passing on what i know. STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS The great thing [...]
Making the Best of a Good Situation
Promoting yourself is like adding links to a chain. When one opportunity is over, make sure it has the potential to lead to another. Today’s post is all about capitalizing on a good thing. As I mentioned in the Just Do It post, when something good (or big) happens, you can’t just stop there. You have [...]
Jumping the Gun – Booking for the Spring and Summer
It’s the end of February…the perfect time to begin booking for the Spring. February has always been a busy month for me as this is the time I start planning my April shows. And April has always been the busiest performance month for me b/c bookers are finally taking advantage of the good weather and trying [...]
Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners #1
Let me preface this post by saying…If you have any better or additional suggestions, please comment below. Who doesn’t need ideas on saving $$$? Recording Finding cheap recording rates is a very difficult thing. Studios can charge anywhere from $25 to $100 an hour (or even more). When you’re looking to record a project, make [...]
Be Good to Them and They Will be Good to You
Obviously, its common sense to treat people with respect. Common sense aside, consider going the extra mile in your communication with the people who ultimately hold your career in their hands. Ask Questions: The #1 way you can show you care about a gig is by regularly communicating with the booker. Don’t be one of [...]
