How I Paid My Rent with my Rock

It pleases me to share that over the last 6 months I've consistantly Paid the Rent with money exclusively generated by my Rock. Most months I barely made it, by as little as $1, but the Rent was paid and I didn't get evicted. Here's how:

Do What You Say, and Say What You Do
          I accomplished most of the goals set in the first installment of this blog. going back to October 2010, I did indeed:

• Earn enough leverage at Branagan's to negotiate double the pay
• Focus on my original band, Post Trauma. This seemed like one of the least lucritive avenues at the begining of this adventure, but time and effort have now made it the most profitable. So  much to the point that I actually had to give up the Branagan's gig to play better paying gigs with the band.
• "And finally, I just need more fucking paying gigs." I logged in more hours doing The Boring Stuff, (booking, promotion, ect) and what do you know? More paying gigs.

Jagermeister: In May, my band got sponsored by Jagermeister. The Jager Stamp of Legitimacy has made it easier to book Friday and Saturday nights, at places you want, to play. Additionally, its been a Hell of a lot of fun, and people are attracted to fun.  (drink Jager responsibly.)

Humilty: I asked for advice when I needed it, and my Grandpapi never fails to lead me in the rite direction (as seen in the January post)

Do the Rite Thing: Many business owners and entertainment types in 2011 would disagree with this policy, but up to this point it has worked in my advantage. Everytime that I've helped out a friend in music, regardless of the immeadiate pay off, its always paid off.

Know Your Value and Stick to It: This is one of the trickiest parts, but also the most important. You can't demand $1000 from a club owner unless he knows he's going to add a zero to the end of that figure on his revenue. On the other hand, once you know that you can deliver profitable results for the bar, you need to make that known and get your fair cut also. When youre starting out, 'Oat Meal is Better than No-Meal." But at some point, you have to take it to the next level and establish your value.

Be Unique: My band achieved these goals by playing songs that other bands either don't think to play, or are unable to play. This has attracted enough attention to pack the house multiple times per week, which in return gives us the leverage we need to get paid. 

Diversify: I've spent a lot of time playing as a 'hired gun' or just a 'volunteer gun' in 2011.  Some these projects proved to be an absolute waste of my time and gas on a Paying the Rent level, others went over better but just didn't have the long term potential that I saw in my own group. Unintentially, each group I've played with has lead to meeting interesting people, making more friends, and having a larger pool of connections that inadvertantly helped to progress Post Trauma.  On months we're my band had only 1 gig, being a Hired Gun paid the Rent.

Time: I found that when I really buckled down and gave Post Trauma my full and undivided attention, things really started coming together and the Rent was getting Paid. Time dedicated to The Boring Stuff (booking, promotion, ect) pays off a lot more than being good. (See my post on Rebecca Black)

Serve the Audience, Not Yourself: Even on nights were there were only 10 people, I played like they were the 10 most important people in the world.  Don't crank it to 11, Mr. Spinal Tap, because that makes your audience deaf, if they bother to stick around. Save the face melting guitar solos for later in the night, once you've already won them over. Your original songs are like green beans to a toddler, you have to trick them into liking it, otherwise they'll just puke it up all over your nice jeans.

Get off the Couch: Did you see the last episode of Family Guy? Do you know who got voted off the island? How about that epic game winning play on Monday Night Football? If you answered yes to any of these, you are in the wrong business. Rocking takes a lot of time, the time that most Americans spend in front of the television, and then some more beyond that.

Now that I've Paid the Rent with my Rock, and will continue to do so, its time for the dawning of a new era...The Rest of the Bills

P.S.- If you have suggestions or connections to help me pay the Bills with my Rock, please, don't hesitate. I thank you all for your support.

Is Rebecca Black's 'Friday' good music?

So here I am, working my ass off, writting songs, performing 2 and 3 times a week, hustling new fans and Facebook followers, slanging T shirts, trying to Pay the Rent with my Rock. Then one night I get a request from the audience to play 'Friday' by Rebecca Black. At this point I'd never heard it before. When I saw the video on Youtube later that night, I was horrified. What a shitty voice. Then when I noticed she had 58 MILLION views, I was furious! It seemed that everyone was laughing at this poor 13 year old, yet she had suprapssed even Lady Gaga, and she did it by SUCKING. No, not like that.  Obviously I was going about this Rock Star thing all wrong by trying to play and sing to the best of my abilities. Being good at what you do just isn't rewarded in the iPhone generation. As a week passed and I learned the song just to be an asshole, I started to wonder, 'is this song actually good?' Here's why it is.

1. Content is everything

Some musicologists claim that part of the Beatles success was that they had a massive catologue of songs that all people can relate too. Although Rebecca doesn't have a massive catalogue of anything, it's fair to say that all people can indeed relate to the lyrics of 'Friday.' Who isn't looking forward to the weekend? Who doesn't wake in the morning and get their bowl, for cerial? Even if that isnt your current routine, it was when you were 13. Rebecca Black touches upon the Basic Fundamental Human Conflicts of Generation Y. Years ago, the BFHC would have been tied to food and survival. Such things aren't even an afterthought of watching "City of God" to the modern American teenager or working stiff. Even as few as 10 years ago, the BFHC would have been political. Bush or Gore??? Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dumb??? Again, such choices are completely irrelevant, as the vast majority of Americans are obliviouos to world politics. These days, the front seat or the back seat, 'which seat should I take?' captures the escense of the Youtube generation and the vital decisions they must make on a daily basis.

2) You've heard these chords before, and you love them.

The chord structure used in this song is a classic 4 chord 'Doo Wop.'  The key or the tempo may change from one group to the next, but the mathematical theory behind them are exactly the same. 'Friday' is 'Earth Angel.'  'Earth Angel' is 'Teenager in Love.' These chords, in this order, can be heard in 'Amazing' by Bruno Mars.  The critically acclaimed Ben Harper used them in 'Another Lonely Day.' Before Green Day became Pop mega stars, they davelend in these chords on 'Christie Road' on the Kerplunk album.  There are hundreds of hits from all genres that use this classic 'Doo Wop' chord progression. If you have ears, you love one of these songs, and whichever that one may be, it is 'Friday' too.

3) Sing Along, you know you want to
One of the most important aspects of any Top 40 song is its Sing-along-ability.  The prominent 'Friday' note that Rebecca sings on the chorus is a D. This note is at the high end of a Baritone, the low end of a Soprano, and rite in the sweet spot for a Tenor.  The only point here is that 'Friday'  isn't out of the range of ANYBODY.

4) Singing well and being attractive are irrelevant.
The following is a list of performers from different genres that have shitty voices and are not very attractive by traditional standards.  I have paid good money for Cd's and concert tickets for most of the cited artists here, furthing proving the point that singing well and being good looking have little to do with success in the music industry.

Tom Petty
Bob Dylan
Billy Corigan
Marilyn Manson
Lad Gaga (seriously dudes, look up some pics of her face out of costume. Buh-buh-buh-butterface)
Dave Mustain
Slayer
Johnny Cash
Mic Jager
Iggy Pop
Rancid


5) The only reason you listened to this song is because you wanted to
I used to play in band with a brilliant bassist. He has since continued his studies and become a prfessor of music at Cal State San Marcos. One evening at his house, I asked him the most cliche question you could possibly ask a music professor..."Bob, since you know what you are talking about now, what is good music?" His response was something akin to this...." My students ask this all the time. There are a million books on the subject, half a million of which I had to read in graduate school. But the fact is that all of them miss the point. Is good music something that displays virtuosity? No. Yngvew Malmstien is not good music. Is it something with feeling? No. Annie DeFranco is not good music. Is it something that rocks? Again, no! Warrant is not good music. All the these answers fail because they are all subjective to the individual listener. So whats the one factor that is not subjective to genre, style, age or taste? This is theone true answer: Good music is something that you want to hear again."

Now ask youself this: how many times have you heard 'Friday?'

Now think about this: Rebecca Black is on YOUTUBE!!! This song is NOT on the radio, it is NOT playing at Starbucks in the background, it is NOT on a movie sound track and it is NOT being broadcast over the Homeland Security loudspeakers.  Its on fucking Youtube. So I'll give you the first view for curiosity's sake. But the only reason you heard this song more than once is because you phsyically and pursposefullly sought it out. The only reason you heard "Friday' more than one time is because you wanted to. Following the professor's logic, 'Friday' is good music.