CULT HERO??? COULD BE!!




You've written a few good songs, and maybe made a dollar or two jamming with a few bands. Now, you're no longer satisfied. Your dreaming of stardom, you're hungry for the big time. The worst thing to do is to hold out for the big break that never happens. Better to play for the love of music. With no false hopes and no illusions, start from zero. Somewhere, there's an audience for you. Let someone hear you...your mother, friend, or sibling, and listen to what they have to say. Drink in the encouragement and consider their criticism. It's all good!! Just get someone, anyone, anywhere, anytime to listen to you. Play for friends, for strangers, for young and for old.

All you need is a song and a crowd, the rest comes easy, one step at a time. The day will come when you'll earn a place of respect. People will notice when you walk into a room. You won't hear a pin drop when you begin to play at a local coffee house or other venue. The whole room will "rock" when you plug in and play at your local neighborhood venue.

But, if that's not good enough and you still want to get singed to a major record label, pet your dog, kiss your wife or significant other goodbye, cause you'll be away for a long, long time playing for people you don't know in places you have never been before. Your chances of becoming a rock star are about as good as winning the lottery. Call it a glass ceiling. Call it a brick wall, mainstream success is rare.

They say the Beatles started their career playing in strip joints in Hamburg, Germany. Forty yours ago, Hamburg's infamous red-light district was where some of the world's most popular rock musicians paid their dues. One day Brian Epstein discovered the Beatles when they packed the Star Club with whores, pimps, tranvestites, sailors, and fans of "beat music" swilling alcohol and dancing until dawn. Epstein saw something in them that no one else could see. Somehow he knew one day their raw sound would thrill audiences with a magic that will never return again.

Maybe someone will notice you one day. All you've got to do is get the right people interested long enough for them to "buy" what you're doing, the more interested they are, the longer they stick around, the more ideas they'll get for selling what you have to offer.

The cream always rises to the top doesn't mean the best rise to the top. Without at least some marketing savvy, the average musician won't make it very far alone no matter how good he is. Which brings me to my next thought. A performing career isn't for most people. Most so-called pro musicians live below the poverty line spending their daylight hours watching TV in a dingy apartment waiting for the phone to ring with a booking for your next paying gig. While some peoples idea of a seventeen year old dropout, playing bar songs for a crowd of rowdy drunks might be a good time, there are better ways to make a living.

If you want a life, think again. With a strong regional presence, it's possible to make a name for yourself as an artist. If you travel a circuit, and stay around long enough your audience will grow and your CD sales will climb. If you're good, you might become a cult hero or even a regional icon. One never knows!


Deb's Top 5 Songs Of The Day:

Black Eyed Peas, My Humps
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Brown Eyed Girl
Rolling Stones, Under My Thumb
Bob Seger, Chances Are
John Mellencamp, Authority Song

Local Artist Of The Day:

Neil Turk & The Potato Bugs