Start Local And Start BIG

Although this entry is aimed at newly-formed bands, there are several aspects that can be utilised by more established bands.


Prior to any bands first gig, there are several things that can be done prior to that all-important first booking. Your band should have more than enough material to see you through an entire performance. This is a 'given.'


Being 2010, it is now possible to have your own CD recorded. This process is outlined in my book, "Online Music Traps." Your album should obviously consist of original material. At this stage, bare in mind that this album is not primarily focussed on directly making money. Indirectly, however, your CD can lead to countless financial opportunities later.


Dependent on your finances, give a copy to local record stores, live venues, radio stations and anyone that you can think of who has influence within the local music industry. Ask for their opinion once they have had sufficient time to listen to your CD. Giving a CD to a 'known' music lover at a local live venue works well. Back in my band days we used tapes and would 'accidentally' leave them in prominent places where music-minded people may equally 'accidentally' find them.

In the case of your first CD, make sure that your bands name is prominent. Go bold! People are more likely to be drawn to an obvious visual 'tag.'


Once your band secures its first gig, your imagination and dedication should be "turned up to 11."


Visit the venue and check-out the layout and acoustics. Speak to the manager if you're able to finalise terms. Ideally, a contract should be signed by the two parties. Have business cards and posters at the ready. If finances don't allow for professional glossy cards and posters, photocopies of well-presented items will do just fine.



Give as many posters to the venue as they wish. Posters can be further distributed to record stores and any other local retailer willing to help. Don't overdo things and have your band being questioned by the police due to inappropriate 'posting.' Having said this, it's quite an innocent mistake for one of your photocopied business cards be left in a phone booth,local bar, etc. Accidents happen.


Once all of your 'physical' advertising has been done, all that is left to do is your word-of-mouth advertising. I remains the best form of advertising. Fellow band members and I would, when in a different town or city, locate a poster of ours and stand in front of it, talking the band. No-one knew we were in the band back then. It  worked a treat until we became 'known.'


You may find yourself employing these strategies for some time but if you stay true to yourselves, they will hold you in good stead for your future music career.


35% Discount Code for "Redemption" is: raunchy

Get Your Music Discovered On The Internet

In this entry will briefly address what is out there for the independent musician to connect with their fans, namely the internet.


As you may know, my book "Online Music Traps" deals with this in great detail. The difference between the book and this blog entry is that I intend to give a brief overview of the means by which the independent musician can utilise the internet. If you wish to delve deeper and get the full story then I highly recommend grabbing "Online Music Traps."

First things first; Blogs. There are many such sites. This is an internet name for a diary. You can even add your own on your web page. They are how you give your fans a piece of your soul. The daily/weekly ramblings of an suffering artist or crazy superstar. In addition, since these are likely to be one of the most regularly places you write, they can get you noticed by Google if you do a little bit of research regarding layout, keywords, their positioning and so forth.

Facebook is an opportunity that simply can't be overlooked. Since mid-2009 until May2010, it's popularity in the global 'sharing' stakes has risen by 10% to 35%.This is an immense shift.At the moment (2010) this is the king of the internet social sites. It has an almost arrogant disregard for musicians and their wishes. It is said that people go here to meet friends and get news. Not to search for new people. It is not to be ignored simply because it is the largest. Have a presence there. Most importantly, have a fan page there. A fan page is where people can join the club without having to wait for your approval. Thus you can just push out info to anyone who wants to listen.

Hubpages is a place for you to place articles about what you think is useful. It is probably more likely that your fans, management, P.R, team (more likely to be your best friend under the cool title of P.R. manager) would write these. They take some writing ability. These should be knowledgeable and mention you in subtle ways. This can get you noticed by the industry and industry followers.
 This is the one place you could get people to listen to your music for free without sending them to your webpage. At the time of writing, Myspace is having discussions on what it is going to do with this particular service. Meaning, they have no idea if they can find a way to make money out of it. 

Skype, Msn and Yahoo are just messenger platforms. The thing with these is that they have webcam ability. I have a feeling that this webcam phenomenon, though it was one of the earliest developments on the web, is not even close to being really developed. 

Squidoo has been nicknamed the great "Lens". I think this is supposed to indicate a thing through which people will view you. It is not dissimilar to Hub pages. You can post many things to this. You can put things from across the various social networks into this as well as post articles. It You can put things from across the various social networks into this as well as post articles. It is an overall look at everything you think your fans should know, see, read and hear.

Twitter takes some getting used to. What is important about this? Well it is such an individual item that there is no real competition. For this reason almost everyone works with it and not against it. You can use it to post across the board. You can connect your other social sites to it. Post once on Twitter and it is instantly beamed magically to all of the other sites. And you can try to gain those all important followers.

Your website is your own personal web real estate. The one place that you can, if you know how, do what you want. It is your calling card, your living room, your own magazine. It is as much part of your image as your clothes. If you can't dress it well, then do not show it. It is also one of the places you can make money. Not the only place but possibly the best for you and easiest to control.

Xing is a business oriented site. Although a friend of mine said he had to leave because of all the others trying to 'chat up.' I find it is great place to interact with the business community. The People with the real money. Your manager should definitely be part of this. It is the internet Golf course.


YouTube is the all Seeing Eye. Here you can post your videos. It is the other place you can get your music heard and even better, get yourself seen. If you want to perform, this is where you can show your possible fans what you look and perform like. But be careful. It may be where they see your downfall. It has a great ability to attract people. It reaches two senses, sight and hearing. So double whammy. Don't forget to post your website address all over this. 

This is a small list, dear reader but is nowhere near 'the' list. That list will appear as a fullyy-fledged book....which at present has a name smd s few scribbles here and there.

"Redemption." The Album and More.

The album “Redemption,” release date May 1st, 2010 is perhaps my most cohesive album to date in most respects. The 10-track album is comprised of consistently heavier and rougher numbers than my previous releases. Like all of my material, some of it is factual and some is fictional. Attempting to differentiate the two is a needless exercise. The songs message is still the same.

When I commenced writing and recording (almost simultaneously) in late October, 2009, the initial overall feel of the album was along the lines of 'communication.' In this early phase the working title for the album was “Message.” A close friend, artist and photographer Stuart Reeman, threw countless photographic options my way. I'm particularly grateful to Stu as he was/is amidst getting his own site completed and working on a second site that I am sworn to secrecy on.


As the album progressed, however, the 'message' angle on the entire album wained. By the time the festive season was over the only theme that was still standing from the outset was 'communication.' With it came an overwhelming sense of misplaced redemption on my part.


Over the festive season one tends to hear from people that haven't been heard from for quite some time, hence my dislike of the festive. Xmas 2009 will be remembered by me as one of hearing from an awful lot of people who, at several stages of my life, made me feel, in no uncertain terms, that I owed them some sort of favour due to my lack of reciprocity of 'their' way of seeing things.

After three years with a relatively clear head, I was able to objectify the former goings-on of both myself and of these people from the past. To cut a long story short, I think I've done all the redeeming that has to be done. Anyone who thinks otherwise could probably do with a vacation.


The entire album is in no way 'doom and gloom' and hopefully this blog entry combined with the frighteningly similar album liner notes will put people in the picture before actually hearing “Redemption.”


The album is (deliberately) my most 'live' sounding album. The guitar tracks have a more raw sound, making it easier to hear the 'meshing' that I like to create. All three guitars can be blazing away full-tilt, chasing each other around the place, then suddenly almost vanish, to the point where even I was wondering if it was meant to happen. Believe me, it is.


In a nutshell, musically, I think I've made my own version of organised chaos dominate the album more than any of my other releases to date. What does this have to do with 'redemption'? In order for redemption to take place, there has to be some sort of chaos preceding it.


The album will be released via Nimbit and also Bandcamp. I have only recently discovered Bandcamp, courtesy of Tommie Brewster, so I don't feel adequately qualified to comment on the site. I guess all that I can say at this point is that I consider it, at this stage, to be well worth looking further into. I shall be keeping a close eye on how things progress between Nimbit and Bandcamp sales over the next few weeks and keep you up to speed.

I'm not so sure that bombarding people with options is such a good thing. I'm also not so sure if peoples preferences of distribution sites weigh heavier than ease of use or price. People are still downloading singles from “Catharsis” from Amazon.com for 99c when they can get the exact same thing via Nimbit for 88c. (!)


My first attempt as an author has taken me somewhat by surprise. A big thank you to all concerned on my first book, “Online Music Traps,” which was initially made available on Lulu.com as a PDF download and as a paperback. A special thanks to Grace Peffers of Girlirox, down here in Melbourne for her fantastic review.


Shortly after releasing the book on Lulu.com I made “Online Music Traps” available at Myebook where it received 1,000 preview reads (first 6 pages) in just under its first month! Suffice it to say I have commenced another book, the subject matter and release date remain undisclosed for the moment.


As is the case with all of my 'major' activities on the 'computer-net,' members of www.scotsbob.com are notified of these goings-on 12-24 prior to anywhere else online.


Whilst on the subject of my website, I'm currently investigating the possibility of making available discount coupons for “Redemption” to website members. The service costs me nothing and allows me to further discount the album for the folks who have provided untold support. If you want a chance to get a hefty discount on “Redemption,” feel free to sign up....because it is free. Discount vouchers are limited, so it's first in, best dressed.