photo by Mike Machian
[Editor’s note: Mark Powers is a percussionist, educator and Omaha newcomer. He will be documenting his move to Nebraska, a new musical marketplace, and in the process, hopes to offer advice on how other musicians can work hard to break into their scene. See past stories here.]
by Mark Powers
A good friend recently suggested, since I’ve officially only resided in Omaha for a few weeks now, it might be a tad too early to evaluate how this whole “breaking into the local music scene” thing is going. “Chill out, Mark, and just settle into the area a bit first, before busting your own chops about all of that.”
That would be a reasonable way of thinking, but what I’m hoping to do here is outside the usual realm of “reasonable.” I’m hoping to get things rockin’ in the area (be they gigs, lessons, and/or what-have-you) far more quickly than a musician typically does in a new scene. I’ve been guilty of allowing myself to “settle into” a new city in past moves, and know all too well how quickly those few weeks can turn into a few months … and then it’s suddenly closing in on a year later and I’m nearly gigless and studentless.
Hundreds of kids over the years have heard me preach in private lessons that, “If you do now what others won’t do, you’ll eventually be doing what others can’t do.” To reach the goals laid out in the first installment of this series in the shortest amount of time possible, I have got to heed my own advice here and snap to it.
Speaking of those goals, let me give you a brief breakdown of where things are here at the two-week mark, and then cover the first of the four goals we’d previously set and what’s being done to accomplish it.
UPDATE: AT 4 WEEKS
Paid gigs performed = 3
Drum students = 2
School percussion programs booked = 1
Recording projects contributed to = 0
At first glance, these numbers might indeed look sad. But three paid gigs (a classic rock gig snagged last-minute via Craigslist on Day 7 of being in town; an MLK tribute show with some rockin’ DJs at House of Loom; and a cajun/zydeco party), two [weekly] private drum students, and a school program (which is actually a six-week after-school series) already? I’m proud of the fact that those numbers aren’t all zeros, as they could just as easily be.
In addition to what’s listed above, you can catch me smacking a snare drum with a pair of brushes at Venue 51 this Saturday with the Dirty River Ramblers, a few more students might be starting private lessons with me very soon, and I’ve got a handful of additional school programs that will likely be scheduled in the near future.
GOAL NO. 1 & TACTICS
There are many, many ways that a musician can go about getting gigs and building a student roster. As you follow along on my little adventure here over the next several months, you’ll see me implementing a number of ideas that you would probably expect to see … and likely a few that you might not have expected. Let’s jump in!
But first, a word from our sponsor, Google Drive (no, not really our sponsor).
You are going to get sick of me talking about spreadsheets.
“Spreadsheets?! You mean those nerdy computer forms, with all those rows and columns, where you input all that info … er, data … to organize it and stuff?”
Yep, precisely what I’m talking about.
“But musicians don’t use those.”
We most certainly can, especially if we want to step outside the common musician stereotype and get organized. Taking a short amount of time to learn how to gather, organize, store and manage tidbits of information related to your music career will save you time and energy down the road, help you make strides forward much more quickly and put you miles ahead of your peers.
I never used to use them myself, either, but over time, I’ve become a spreadsheet freak. Utilizing spreadsheets on Google Drive, you can not only have valuable information at your fingertips everywhere (laptop, smartphone, etc.), but that information can also be sharable (and editable) by others that you allow access. My primary “Omaha” spreadsheet — filled with thousands of cells of information largely compiled by a virtual assistant — consists of a number of music-related “tabs”: Bands/Music … Recording Studios … Jam Sessions … Schools (elementary, middle and high) … Places To Teach Lessons … Arts Councils … Busking Opportunities … etc.
Last month, we briefly touched on the idea of getting the help of a virtual assistant (yes, musicians can do this). We’ll go more in-depth into the how-to of that topic at a later date but you’ll probably notice a few different ways that I benefit from a VA’s services as we along here.
The following is the first goal of those spelled out in the first article of the Guerrilla Gig-Getter series, and how I’m currently going about tackling it.
Goal No. 1: Get hired to perform live with bands in the area.
As mentioned above, I have landed a few gigs, which is awesome. But what to do to get on more musicians’ radars and start getting more calls? In absolutely no particular order…
CRAIGSLIST
This is a site that many people have come to discount and, therefore, pass on, and for good reason. Between full-on scams, bogus posts, people simple there to rant, and ads that are just plain on the verge of sketchy, there’s a ton of junk on there. But, you know what? That’s not much different than offline, out here in the real world. There IS also some valuable stuff on there, and there IS musical work to be found; it’s simply a matter of putting in some work, sifting through the noise, and finding it.
Running my own posts, one for gigs and another for private lessons, beginning a couple of months before my move to town, gave me the opportunity to start up all sorts of conversations with musicians in the area way in advance of my arrival. Many of those fell apart immediately, a couple have turned into things I’m getting involved with now that I’m here, and others are still in the works.
The classic rock gig I played on my seventh day on town came about because of Craigslist, as did a couple of freebie church performances I’m currently in the middle of, which, after the first date, brought the possibility of my first recording session in the area (assisting with Goal #4).
JAM SESSIONS & OPEN MICS
Omaha’s got a lot of ‘em! In the past two weeks, I’ve hit up five, and have at least another dozen or so on the spreadsheet to check out.
The labels of these types of events are something that I’ve found that many people mess up and use interchangeably. It is not at all uncommon for an “open mic” (where singer/songwriters — in solo, duo or small-group configurations — sign up for 15 to 20-minute timeslots) to incorrectly be advertised as a “jam session” (during which musicians — who may or may not have ever met before — “jam” out on songs previously unrehearsed as a group), and vice versa. I point that out not as a complaint, but to encourage you to check both out, regardless of which you might be hoping to find.
When you do decide to attend either a jam or open mic, there are three rules that you should follow. First, try to become quickly aware of the apparent etiquette of that location and event, and respect it. You’re the new guy (or girl), you don’t know who knows who, and certainly don’t want to offend anyone. That’s no way to make a good first impression.
Second, go prepared to play. You have no clue what might happen, or if you’ll get another chance anytime soon to meet that badass player who just invited you to join him/her onstage. Either bring an instrument with you, keep one in the car, or, at the very least, have the necessary accessory tool of choice (guitar picks, drumsticks, etc.) in tow. Third, carry business cards. Be professional: enough said.
SOCIAL MEDIA
A quick search for the phrase “Omaha music” on Twitter brings up a huge stream of people currently about, gasp, music in Omaha! [note: tweet me at @MarkPowers] What an awesome way to step into a variety of ongoing conversations about precisely the topic you’re interested in.
It’s called a “social” network (as are Facebook, MySpace, and others), which means that they’re a great place to be social with other people. Find those interested in the things you’re interested in — in this case, the music scene in the city you’re targeting — and strike up conversations with them. Be genuine. Offer your insights and/or help if an appropriate opportunity pops up. Ask for opinions and/or advice about the local scene (bands, clubs, etc.).
I did a number of similar searches (or, had them done for me, actually … more on this in a moment) and amassed a hefty list of links to social media profiles for Omaha area music types whom I found to be very interesting. Keeping those links in an Evernote file, I chose three or four new ones every couple of days, checked in on what conversations they were having, contributed when/where I could, began some fun dialogs back-and-forth and gradually made a number of new friends.
Once you’ve established something of an online relationship and rapport, it’s time to move things offline and, as suggested in last month’s article, make actual face-to-face personal contact. Email, tweet or PM your most awesome new music acquaintances (be they musicians, music critics, educators, well-connected über-fans, etc.) and, one-by-one, invite them out to …
COFFEE
Or lunch. Or beers. Your call.
The point is to get to meet for reals, have the chance to really get to know each other beyond what 140-characters-at-a-pop allows, and let him/her see how freaking awesome you are in-person. That’s it. No pitch. No begging for a gig. No asking for introductions to the local rock star. By all means, inquire about his/her thoughts and advice for a newbie in town. And enormous bonus points if you can offer a way(s) that you can be of genuine help to them on something that they’re working on … without a sales-y pushiness, of course.
You have to eat meals throughout the day anyway, right?! So why do it alone? Much better use of your time and energy to share that meal or adult beverage with someone else, building a new friendship and gaining insights into your new music scene!
I’ve done coffee, lunch and beers countless times in the last two weeks, meeting some incredible people and learning far more than I would have otherwise. And it’s really cost me only the price of an occasional cup of joe.
GET YOURSELF SOME HELP
No time for all of this? That’s where outsourcing comes in super handy. Many of the tasks listed above — searching through Craigslist ads, posting others, creating a spreadsheet of open mics and jam sessions, initial social media searches, etc. — were not things that I spent time doing. I prefer to let someone else do the groundwork that I don’t enjoy allotting many hours of my day to. I can jump in later to check that work and go through the pre-qualified lists to select the info that I find most useful, both saving myself the time (so that I can focus on things that do require my personal involvement) and avoiding tedious little tasks that I hate doing.
Although we’ll be chatting here soon about lining up — and working with — a virtual assistant, there are a couple of resources you might dig checking out in the interim. Tim Ferriss’ book The 4-Hour Workweek first sent me down the path of exploring the concept of outsourcing. Also, surf on over to oDesk.com, search the term “virtual assistant,” peruse the list of services that the list of VAs offer, and ask yourself, “How could a musician use that?” I assure you, the possibilities are endless!
See you next time! In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you.
Have other stellar ideas that a musician can use to find gigs in a new area? Want to chat Omaha music? Need a drummer? Email me or drop a comment below — I look forward to chatting and meeting!
Mark Powers is a Hear Nebraska contributor, drummer, percussion educator and Omaha newcomer. Reach him at PowersPercussion.com and powersdrums@gmail.com.