Someone gave us the idea to see what advice bands had for aspiring musicians. So here are members from various bands (some you may know, some you may not) telling those of you who are in bands of your own or want to start one exactly what you need to remember.
Better Than Toast
www.myspace.com/bttmusic
1.Steve Como and i play lead guitar and sing back up vocals.
2. my advice for aspiring musicians is to practice alot, work hard, and get your name out there as much as you can. play shows, myspace,.. etc
Lunatic High
www.myspace.com/lunatichigh
1. What is your name and what do you do in the band? Hey im Ben, and i play guitar
2. What is your advice for aspiring musicians?
Dont get caught up with making it big, just try and have as much fun as you can and make great music.
Armor For Sleep
www.myspace.com/armorforsleep
1. Name and what you do in the band?
My name is ben jorgensen and i play some guitar and sing for armor for sleep.
2. What is your advice for aspiring musicians? Anything you’ve experienced that you want to pass along advice for?
I could probably write a book answering this question, but i’ll try and cut some chapters out…i have learned so much over the years about what qualities are needed in a person to develop their own “succesful” band. the first thing you have to decide upon when starting your band is what your goals are for your particular band. anyone in the world can start a band. if you want to play shows locally, or just have fun and jam out in your basement, thats a pretty universally easy thing to do. getting on local shows can sometimes be different according to where in the world you reside, but through minimal effort i’m sure anyone can talk to local promoters or kids who put on local show to get on a bill. i know plenty of people who exist happily in bands this way. if your dreams are for rock-stardom and wealth, things are much different. there is such a slim chance of YOUR band breaking through and becoming a national and perhaps international success story. there are so many decisions and that have to be made the right way, so much luck that has to find its way into your life, and so many planets to align in order for this to happen. there is no real advice for how to achieve this, and at the end of day if you are starting a band with these kinds of hopes it really is equivilant to playing the lottery and EXPECTING to win the multi-million dollar jackpot. and take it from me. ive seen more failure in the music industry than m.c. hammer has. its not pretty. many of my friends counted on becoming famous and didn’t really understand that you cant predict who that’s going to happen to. and why would you want to be famous?? i imagine its annoying anyways. so. start your band with your friends. work your asses off. write songs that make you feel something. be geniune. make genuine friends with other bands and people associated with the music scene for the sake of making friends and having fun. if you keep your heads down and you have faith in your music, you will succeed. don’t get caught up in our mtv cribs obsessed culture. its all fake. hollywood is fake. the idea of a rockstar is fake. there never was a rockstar…there was only an asshole. and anyone can be an asshole. so if thats what you want, you got it, but chances are, if youre reading this, you want something real. so go make it.
You, Me, and Everyone we Know
www.myspace.com/youmeandeveryoneweknow
1. Will you state your name and what you do in the band?
My name is Benjamin Francis Liebsch, and i write and sing the words.
2. What is your advice for aspiring musicians? Anything you experienced that people should be aware of?
Take it seriously, like a job if you really want to go for it. It’s both the easiest and hardest thing to do. Make sure you get along with everyone in your band. If you don’t, fix it. Someone’s talent isn’t worth sacrificing a band’s morale over. Have fun. Wait, wait…scratch all of that. Quit your band and stay in school, we don’t want anymore competition. joke?
Vampire for Hire
www.myspace.com/vfh
hey whats up this is mitch from vampire for hire, my best advice i can give is do what you love and forget about what everyone else thinks. you gotta do it for you, because you need it to live, any other reason isn’t worth it.
This Providence
www.myspace.com/thisprovidence
1. I’m Dan, and I sing
2. My advice would be, figure out why you want to be a part of a band. What’s the motive?
Minutes too Far
www.myspace.com/minutestoofar
1. Who is this and what do you do in the band?
This is Kris, I play the drums and write some of the songs.
2. What is your advice for aspiring musicians?
Practice, practice, practice. Also, keep writing, keep talking to anyone you can, always listen. Be nice to everyone, you never know who’s gonna own a record company someday.
Houston Calls
www.myspace.com/houstoncalls
1. What is your name and what do you do in the band?
I’m Okie. I play keyboards and do some background singing in Houston Calls.
2.What is your advice for aspiring musicians?
The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone is to stick with it.Every song you write is better than the last. Every practice, morecohesive. Experience is such a huge help to becoming a better band. Somany people just quit after the first six months because they haven’t”made it.” But the bands that HAVE done so in that time frame are theexception, not the rule. And our former guitarist Kenny would kill meif I didn’t also add the following: “Please tune your guitars inbetween songs. You have no idea just how much better you’ll sound at a show.”
The Remorse Code
www.myspace.com/theremcode
1. For the record, who is this and what do you do in the band?
I’m Josh, I play guitar and write most of the music. I also title most of the songs and design things when necessary.
2. What would your advice be for aspiring musicians?
The most important thing for aspiring musicians is finding other people who relate to you on a musical level. I can’t talk about going solo, but as a band you must have a real connection or else you won’t have the desire to go on. Friendship is great, but a real musical connection is key. You must be able to know what sounds good and what doesn’t, and be honest about it! Using this formula, you will make music you are proud of regardless of if you get your big break or not.
Some of these bands also told us the meaning behind their names’ so read that in the September section under What’s in a Name? Also, we have an interview with You, Me, and Everyone we Know. It’s up on our myspace:
www.myspace.com/shootingstarsmagazine
By: Lauren
It won't truly have success, I suppose this way.