One of the most common questions I am asked is, how to we get a record deal?

I have worked for the past 15 years with Sony BMG and EMI but the ‘rules’ apply to pretty much all labels. To be honest, there is a lot of luck involved, fitting into the box of current trend helps a lot. What I find frustrating (from a musician point of view) is that ability to play well is pretty low in the list (studio engineers and session musicians fill in the gaps), being what will sell is number 1. So, if you need to change style to fit the trend, that’s something to think about (sadly). Surprisingly getting the deal isn’t the hardest part, keeping it is, so many bands are signed and dropped because they just don’t sell enough. Or, the label will work you to death for a year or so, flood the market with you, make their money and drop you like a ton of bricks when they want to move onto the next money making machine. Which is when true passion and ability comes in because if you’re able enough you can work as a session muso and not be tied to a particular band and will work a lot more.

But, my main tip would be, get a decent demo. You can often find recording studios which you can hire at a fairly cheap rate. Only book studio time for actual recording, all rehearsal should be done somewhere cheap like rehearsal rooms or even at home. before you book for recording, hire some mics and monitors, learn how to mic up the instruments yourself, get an idea of what sounds best for you and your band. use monitors, discover what you want to hear, most musicians have their own needs and it’s so important to find that out before recording because you will waste so much time if you get into the studio only to find that you can’t hear what you need to.

Decide if you will be playing the track live or much more commonly playing each track individually. Usually drums first then bass, guitars, keys, vocals, bvs. I would certainly invest the money into getting a professional engineer to mix the track. It’s false economy to pay the bloke up the road who has a bit of a studio in his bedroom unless he has a good record of getting demos sounding tip top. remember the engineer is a key part of the band. he is the guy who makes you sound good or truly awful, mixing is an artform and it takes experience and a great set of ears to be able to do it well. So, shop around, listen to what he has produced and never use someone because they are cheaper.

Another thought on the above article, is that if you want to put an instant stop to your musical aspirations, put a crap demo on your myspace. No one will take your band seriously again.

The video below is Arch Stanton’s “Final Curse”. The vocals on this track were recorded with a handheld mic, with no headphones, and the track blasted through a big P.A.

Many singers don’t like using headphones. They are so used to gigging or rehearsing with a handheld mic, that they feel uncomfortable standing away from a big studio mic & wearing headphones.

More info on Arch Stanton here.

My old band “Energy” played our 1st gig for 3 years the other night and I would just like to thank the amazing crowd that turned out and apologize to those that couldn’t get in due to being full up! We had such a good time we may well be back a bit sooner than 3 years

UPDATE:

Energy Gig…..After the mega night we had at xmas, my band, Energy will be playing on Sunday 23rd March at The Raven. Top Corby band, “The Above” will also be playing. Doors open 7pm-see you there!

The Living Daylights are on Radio 1, Monday 28th Jan in The Lock Up show. Check them out if you get a chance! (see review of their EP below.)

“Promo EP, The Living Daylights

The Living Daylights are a pretty interesting prospect. With a distinctive English vocal twang, they remind me a little bit more of a straight-up Failsafe – they certainly have that kind of energy anyway. This five-track EP was recorded with Iain Wetherall so from the bio you know it’s going to sound good and this record is very slick and well produced. ‘Catastrophe’ has some very good vocal harmonies, while the Short Warning-esque ‘Hanging On’ is another decent track. It’s very much no-frills, solid pop-punk with a bit of an edge and I think if these guys hit the road hard this year they could well attract some interest and make a name for themselves.”

Review courtesy of “Punktastic”.

Buy a Xmas song and support the kids of Corby. Simply go to itunes and dowload “What A Wonderful time” by Kimberley Mclean. If Kimberley gets 4000 downloads she will enter the UK Top 40! The song was recorded at Premier and features about 20 kids from Corby schools. Its only 79p!

Have a great Xmas!!

Went to see “The Police” at Twickenham – never again! The place is a massive reverb chamber which any band would struggle to get a good sound in. The sound was terrible – couldn’t hear Stewart Copelands Bass drum at all!! 50% of his kit was missing!! These live sound engineers are unbelievably bad, or is it that they don’t give a *hit. How do they get the job?

What saved the gig was Stings voice, which was amazing, plus, the great songs. Andy Summers also played half a solo in “The World Is Running Down”, in the wrong key! It did all smack a bit of a jam session-a well paid jam session (my ticket was £113). I’m glad I went, but it does go against the grain when you’ve paid so much for a gig and simple things like a basic good balance within the band, are so bad. Anyway! A tip for you guys out there is when you are gigging – get your soundman to listen to you from the worst part of the room (often round the corner in an L shaped room)- and try a still get a good balance within the band. If its pretty good in the worst part of the room, it should be excellent everywhere else.

1.Dont play your Hi-Hats too loud!

2. Dont have your Hi-Hats so close to the snare drum that too much Hat goes into the Snare Mic.

3. Dont use large Hi-Hats which again, are too loud, (13″ Hats are a good starting point, I have a set of 12″ Hats for bands I record, but these could be a bit quiet for gigs)

Checkout www.drumtips.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk

The guys recently recorded at Premier & can be heard at:

http://www.myspace.com/graveltrap