Featured Stories
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Scott Weiland @ the Galaxy
20 December 2011 11:04 PM | No CommentsWeiland is notorious for his ever-changing looks and persona, but when he finally came out on stage at 10:40, he revealed an alter ego that no one was expecting.
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Dan Vickrey & Tender Mercies: The First Fresh Batch
20 December 2011 10:49 PM | No CommentsYou might remember a little band called Tender Mercies we folks at OCMM fell in love with last month, thanks to the band’s stellar debut album.
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Headshine @ House of Blues, Anaheim
17 December 2011 11:33 PM | No CommentsWhen you hear about a local band opening for legendary Bob Marley’s The Wailers, presumably you have high expectations for that band’s talent.
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Musician’s Advice Archive
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Do What It Takes To Take Your Band to the Next Level
Posted on October 1, 2010 | No CommentsIf you want to generate buzz that will pack the house and multiply your fan base, check out these 7 helpful hints. -
How Important is Pre-Production?
Posted on July 30, 2010 | No CommentsHow important is pre production to a successful recording? What a funny question. I had someone ask me that at a client meeting the other day. It made me laugh out loud. -
The ASCAP I Create Music EXPO
Posted on April 28, 2010 | No CommentsThe fifth annual ASCAP I Create Music EXPO was a star-studded weekend, attracting over 2,700 aspiring songwriters, sponsors and panel members. The Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles was strained under the sheer number of attendees, utilizing every conference room and over-flow room to accommodate the crowd. -
[Datamusicata] Putting a Tour Together
Posted on April 21, 2010 | No CommentsHow do you put a tour together? That’s a question that I hear over and over again. It’s tricky because of all the variables. Let’s look at some dates I have coming up in September in North Carolina. I have a wonderful house concert series date at Betty’s Place in Asheville, NC. -
[Music Marketing] Your Music Career
Posted on April 21, 2010 | No CommentsI don't want to be one to rain on a parade, even if the parade is a fantasy one, but it amazes me how many musicians and songwriters I meet who aren't actually doing anything related to music. I'm not going to sit here and judge what music business"success" is, because that is relative, but I will make this judgment when it comes to the music itself... -
More EQ Tips
Posted on April 21, 2010 | No CommentsThe other day I was talking about using parametric EQ and I realized that there were a couple of simple techniques I should have included. -
More EQ Tips
Posted on April 15, 2010 | No CommentsThe other day I was talking about using parametric EQ and I realized that there were a couple of simple techniques I should have included. -
Parametric EQ – Simplified Use Of…
Posted on April 15, 2010 | No CommentsMy sister Pamala (www.pamalastanley.com) and I were talking about mastering and premastering and she was telling me how she had to go thru an entire stereo master track and take down the kick drum every place in over modulated. I asked her why she didn’t just use a parametric eq and dial in the offending frequency and then diminish that by a db or two. -
Music Promotion on CNN
Posted on April 15, 2010 | No CommentsA band called Handsome Furs partnered with Sub Pop and CNN to do a Web series about its tour of Asia. Band members filmed it themselves using Flip cameras. -
What is an Anchor Gig?
Posted on April 15, 2010 | No CommentsI just did something that I don’t believe I have ever done before. I saved the Saturday night of the tour because I knew I was going to do it at a club where I always do extremely well. -
Serve the Song, Part II
Posted on April 15, 2010 | No CommentsToday I am finishing up my taxes and can get back to my new solo recording, Backstage At The Resurrection. And one of my goals when I return to it, after not hearing it for almost a week, is to see what I can take out; what I can do to simplify the recording and still leave it happening. -
The Perfect Recording – A Quest
Posted on April 11, 2010 | No CommentsWhen I was growing up, most popular artists recorded a single and then, if they got lucky, the cut went on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand (www.dickclark.com) and the kids voted on it. If it got a respectable score, then they started playing it. If they played it enough, then it became a hit, and the artist would get to come on the show and be interviewed by Dick himself. -
Bass – Developing A Compelling Bass Part
Posted on April 11, 2010 | No CommentsI want to talk about developing a bass part for a track today. One thing you have to remember is that for every rule that exists for these kinds of things there is an example of breaking that rule succeeding. So consider this and then do what you feel. -
Your CD – Who did you record it for?
Posted on April 11, 2010 | No CommentsI have been working all day on my new CD (with a break for the gym and a break for my ears). And as I worked, I started fooling around with some synthesizers again. Haven’t used any on my recordings for years, but I felt like hearing something different and it made me realize what I have been doing as a recording artist these past seven years or so. -
The Audience Boos You. What Do You Do?
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsSo you walk out on stage as your name is announced and the crowd goes into wild rejection. Boos, "we hate you!" "F%#k you" and you haven't played a not yet. What do you do? -
Repetition and Practice – Necessary Hurdles
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsI had mysecond guitar lesson last Wednesday. It was my intention to talk abouthow I took advantage of the lesson and came right home and went overthe very things that I had learned. -
Criticism – How Do I Handle It and How Do I Use It?
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsI received an interesting phone call this morning from a friend and veteran artist of dozens of recordings. He wanted to send me his new CD before it goes to manufacturing because he had been getting different feedback from everyone he’d played it for. -
Arranging for Solo Guitar
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsToday I want to talk about arranging for one guitar.I actually studied orchestration and arrangement at Los Angeles CityCollege (during it’s musical hay day) and at Cal State at Northridge,so I can actually arrange for full orchestras, but given the economicsof touring during the Bush Debacle, I travel alone and consequentlyarrange for one guitar and one voice. -
Media Lists and Maintaining Contacts With Them
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsI just finished ten days in themidwest. My schedule was to fly into Chicago on Friday, May 8th; pickup a rental car and be out of the airport by 2:30 pm for a ninety miledrive to Three Oaks, Michigan, where I was doing a concert at the AcornTheater (www.acorntheater.com). They had arranged a live radioappearance on the local radio station to promote the concert onSaturday, May 9th. -
What Do I Wear On Television?
Posted on April 9, 2010 | No CommentsJames Lee Stanley Today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I was onthe FOX-TV Morning Show with Mark Concannon. I had to be singing belcanto by 8:30 am. As I have only been...