Band of the week #1

Final Offense

Final offense is a 4 piece, Punk band from McMinnville  Oregon.
I highly recommend them to anyone that likes fast, high energy music
I know this review is kinda short but check them out, they're really REALLY GOOD!
You can check them out on Facebook, or comment on this and Ill send you some tunes!

10 different ways to get your band a show

I know of at least a few bands Ive seen on Facebook or MySpace that have a bunch of recorded music, but don't play any shows. Getting a show doesn't require much. You need:

1. A reasonable set length. I know it seems obvious but to play a show when your band only has one song ready is not only ridiculous, but allot of work for eeverybody (unless your song is 15 minutes long or something.)
2.  Your own gear. At the least have gear borrowed before you show up. You don't want to show up and be running around asking other bands for gear. Trust me, it sucks.
3. Some recorded music that you can give to anybody your trying to get a show with. Even having something recorded on a program like audacity helps.
4. A reliable form of transportation. There is nothing worse than breaking down on the way to a gig. Again trust me, it sucks.

Once you have these it should be relatively easy. One thing that I didn't know how to put on that list is that its easier to get shows if you know some people. Getting out there and going to shows greatly increases your chances of meeting someone who can get you a show.

10 ways to get a show:

1.  Possibly the easiest way on this list is to talk to another band and ask if you can open for them. often times they can get you a show relatively easy.
2. Often times in smaller venues you can get a show by just talking to the venue owner and making a good impression.
3. You can do this face to face but its more likely that email will work better. Ask the booking agent if there are any open dates in your genre that need a opener (telling them you don't need to get paid increases these odds).
4. Find a few other bands that are looking for shows and ask a promoter if you can put one together with him. Remember though, allot of promoters are slime balls and will cheat the bands out of what they deserve. Just be careful.
5. If your starting to get some shows you can ask bands if you can get on there shows in exchange for putting them on yours.
6. You can just post on Facebook that your looking for a show to play on a certain date and someone will likely have a show they need a band for.
7. Set up a acoustic set, play on the street, and give out demos. its a good way to meet new people and make a little money.
8. Throw a party!
9. Anytime someone else throws a party its pretty easy to get a show. If you hear about a birthday party, Halloween party etc; then ask to get on. Generally they will be totally down. 
10. This last one is a whole lot of work but will give you allot of publicity. Put on a benefit show and get two or three other bands to play. Make the door cost a can of food or a donation and give whatever you make at the door to a charity organization. These shows are the best type because it gives you publicity, and helps out people who need it.

There are many other ways to get shows but these are some easy ways to get your music out there. 

Why start a home studio?

In spring my band Skatter Bomb decided to start recording our first full length album. At first we thought going into the studio was the way to go because it would save a lot of time and patience. While its true that it would have saved us a lot of time and work, we didn't have the insane amounts of money most studios are asking. A pretty standard rate right now is between $30 and $50 a hour and we just couldn't afford that. So we decided to weigh the pro's and cons of starting a home studio, check it out:
Pros:

1. Its cheaper to buy your own equipment once and have the ability to record many albums, side projects, and other bands.
2. Its something that you can do to make money, as long as you can match the quality and charge a lower price. In fact you don't even have to sound as professional as the other studios. If you charge a cheap price people will record with you (as long as you know people who need to record.).
3. It gives a satisfaction unlike any other to release a cd your proud of, that you created from start to finish.
4. You get all the credit. It wont say recorded by blah blah blah it will say recorded by you.
5. Once you start recording you can spend as much time as you like, no time constraints because of the studio time. This also enables you to say "You know what? I think we need to go back and re-record the drums on this track." which you can also do in the studio its just another 10 hours of work (300-500 bucks).

Cons:

1. It's still a big investment to make. Our studio cost us around $2000 bucks.( we mostly bought used gear but It still sounds great.
2. You've got to have a place to record. Your living room might work but if you want a room to sound good you have to make it sound good most the time. Its also hard to keep any room in your house full of recording gear for 3-4 weeks at a time. 
3. It takes a while to learn. While some recording programs come with tutorials and other training aids, there is no substitute for experience. You have to grow a new set of ears so to speak.
4. Mixing is tough when you get to close to the songs. If you don't have someone else help mix your songs, it may be hard to tell what needs to change. As your recording you get used to the way things sound and they begin to sound good no matter what. Having someone else there who hasn't been around for the whole recording process will greatly increase your chances of mixing it well.

How to get new people to come to shows

As I was on my way home from a gig today, my band mates and I were talking about getting new people to come to our shows. We all argued about which methods are best and which methods are obsolete. We had a really long discussion and decided that a lot of methods being used by most underground bands are being over used and usually wont get new people come to shows. Of course these techniques can yield some results, but generally they don't do what they could. Here's a list of things you can do to increase the amount of people at your shows:

Do not rely on Facebook events
Facebook events are still a good way of letting your fan base know you are having a show, they just aren't a good way of getting a new fan to come. I think the best way to get someone on Facebook to come is to send a message to them and talk about the show. Send them some tunes and use the next tip...

Offer another incentive
Whether your in the streets handing out fliers or online sending out messages, offering something that they cant get anywhere else will get more people to come. You could tell people that they can have a free shirt if they show up and prove its them. All you have to do then is keep a list of names and when they show up they get a free shirt which kills two birds with one stone; they came to the show, and they will where your t-shirt which is totally cool.

Give them more than just a flier
When I go out and hand out fliers to people I like to hand out demo cd's with them. this works especially well with handbills. With the demos you've got to be selective though because you probably cant hand out 1000 demo cd's with handbills. I choose the people to give demos to by the amount of interest they show when I talk to them. if someone is walking by and says thanks when I hand them a flier, I usually don't give them a demo (Although sometimes I will because it catches there attention and gives them something more than a flier to remember us by.), but if they ask about the show Ill usually give them a demo. Make sure to include some of your contact info on the demo cd.

Start a zine
This will take a lot of work and you'll need to find a way to get it into other people hands but once people start reading it you should see new people coming to your shows. Remember to include all of your shows in the zine and have any contact info you want your audience to see really close to the front of the zine.

Tip: a really good way to get new people to come to your shows is to put out a issue with something in big letters like "Got nothing to do? come out to a show!" or something on the front and put them at various places throughout the local colleges. this is a perfect audience because they are often trying to find something cheap to do.

There are many other ways to promote your band in a successful manner these are just a few that we came up with. It all comes down to how much time and money your willing to put on the line. If we just gave away a bunch of merch with every flier I'm sure it would be easy to pack a house but we don't have $20 for every person we hand a flier to. I think there are still ways to promote that haven't been thought up yet also. The key is to keep getting the word out, keep trying new methods until you find the ones that work in your area, with your band.

My first post!

This is my first post! Yay! I'm new to all this but hope to blog at least one article a day.
I hope to write about local music and review at least one band a week. I also want to talk about cheap recording gear, recording techniques for beginners, and why it doesnt take a crazy amount of money to record a good sounding album. If any of you have bands you think I should listen to and review just write me at info@skatterbomb.com and Ill check it out and write a review!