This week I finished reading Never Eat Alone, Keith Ferazzi’s book on professional networking. There are some people who seem to be naturally adept at making connections with others; I’m not one of them. However, I personally feel that networking…
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What is Square One?
I’ve been reading Kathy Sierra’s blog forever now and recommend her to almost every musician I know. Funny, because she writes about software development and learning, not music. But her ideas and observations are completely applicable to just about any…
Audacity: free recording software
Cash-strapped musicians who want to do computer-based home recording might want to look into Audacity, a totally free multitrack recording program that runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. I haven’t used it myself, but after looking at the…
Global gigging via the Internet
If you’re weary of hauling equipment from gig to gig and pouring your money into repairs for your tour van, you can always try what Scottish singer Sandi Thom did: set up a webcam in her basement. In a packed…
5 Questions with Ronan Chris Murphy, producer/engineer
To say Ronan Chris Murphy has had a varied and interesting career would be classic understatement. As a musician, he’s shared stages with The Flaming Lips and the Henry Rollins Band; as a producer and engineer he’s worked with King…
…or, make your own t-shirts
If you’re a hardcore DIY-er you can always use this handy screen printing tutorial to make your own shirts in your basement. Hit up the local thrift and resale shops for vintage-looking tees and have at it. Nothing says “limited-edition”…
T-shirts first, then everything else
If I could start my music career over, I’d do t-shirts first, before I even had a CD. I’m not kidding. If you’re anything like me, you probably started playing shows long before you had a CD to sell. You…
Working The Tip Jar
A friend and I did a show last week at a coffeeshop and forgot to put out a tip jar. I mean, we completely forgot. I was pretty upset because I’d violated one of my own personal Rules Of Performing:…
Hummer? Humbug.
Apparently there are some lines even the most strapped-for-cash indie bands won’t cross. Case in point: the ad agency for GM’s Hummer SUV is happy to offer upwards of $50,000 in exchange for using songs in Hummer ads, if only…
How people really use the Web
A little something for your webmaster… Even if you don’t care to read through the entire text of Steve Krug’s excellent book on website usability Don’t Make Me Think!, you should at the very least read this one free sample…
Indie band survival guide
I love this stuff: Beatnik Turtle’s indie band survival guide: We found, when we started out years ago, that there weren’t enough bands that shared what they’d learned. The information that we found useful was scattered in different magazines, books,…
Getting Airplay
John Richards of KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle, a bellwether of the indie music movement, shares his thoughts on how to get radio airplay. ‘Nuff said.