"Through My Father's Eyes" (Official Music Video) - Christian Singer, Holly Starr
Holly Starr - "Through My Father's Eyes" is the official New Christian music video for the radio single "Through My Father's Eyes" from the Christian singer'...
How to "make it" in Nashville
Ok, so I admit the title is a little cliche, however, as I write this my mailbox is full of messages that have caused me some concern of late.
First of all, I want to qualify all that I am about to say by saying:
1) I'm certainly no expert.
2) I make my living as a player and arranger. I rarely, if ever, produce records, and when I do, they are certainly not big chart hits. (yet!)
3) I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY mean all of this with ALL humility, and my intent here is to advise younger players who are just jumping on the music biz "ladder".
So.....having said all that, like I mentioned, my inbox is full of messages from guys looking for work. A couple of these guys I know, but MOST of them I've never heard of.
I remember being fresh out of Belmont, hungry for work (geez, hungry for FOOD!!) and trying every trick in the book to get gigs. I sent out demo cassettes (yeah, it was that far back), I point blank asked anyone I knew who hired players, produced records, whatever. It never worked. Ever.
Being on the other side of it, I feel like I should just offer this piece of wisdom: (and here's where you need to remember that part about me meaning this with all humility) I"m just telling you the truth. No producer in town is EVER going to hire you because of some email he got letting him know you're looking for work. The stakes are just too high. The only way it happens is keeping your head down, doing a good job, playing whatEVER gigs you can find, and IF YOU'VE GOT THE GOODS, trust me.....people WILL find out about it. Players will talk. They always do.
I know I'll probably get some responses along the line of "hey, I wasn't expecting to be on the next Rascal Flatts record, I'm just trying to let people know I'm available." Well....I do understand that, but I gotta tell ya, I think (in my humble opinion) you end up shooting yourself in the foot. The problem is just the sheer volume of emails everyone gets. It becomes more of a nuisance than anything, and ultimately, I'm sure there are some PHENOMENAL players out there who end up being associated with a negative impression.
Listen, Nashville is poised to explode in the near future, and I think there is gonna be a LOT of work for everyone, and I truly wanna see the younger, newer faces in town succeed. I'm not sure I even have a good answer for an alternative. I was speaking with a friend about this (who is suffering from the same flood of emails) and he suggested maybe instead of mass emails, perhaps just doing a personal blog talking about who you are, what you do, etc. That sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
One thing I have learned in my 27 years in this business: It is virtually impossible to rush the process. In my experience, EVERY good thing that has happened to me career-wise, has just fallen into my lap with very little effort from me. (You know what I mean....I worked my tail off on the musical side, practicing, etc., but no effort on the PROMOTIONAL side).
Ultimately, I think it's just what I said before. Keep your head down. Play whenever and wherever you can. Don't offer your opinion. Keep your mind and your eyes and ears open and be willing to learn. If you truly have the goods, people WILL find out about it.
In the meantime, PLEASE give my inbox a minute to take a breath! ;-)
Love and kisses....
Tim Akers
First of all, I want to qualify all that I am about to say by saying:
1) I'm certainly no expert.
2) I make my living as a player and arranger. I rarely, if ever, produce records, and when I do, they are certainly not big chart hits. (yet!)
3) I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY mean all of this with ALL humility, and my intent here is to advise younger players who are just jumping on the music biz "ladder".
So.....having said all that, like I mentioned, my inbox is full of messages from guys looking for work. A couple of these guys I know, but MOST of them I've never heard of.
I remember being fresh out of Belmont, hungry for work (geez, hungry for FOOD!!) and trying every trick in the book to get gigs. I sent out demo cassettes (yeah, it was that far back), I point blank asked anyone I knew who hired players, produced records, whatever. It never worked. Ever.
Being on the other side of it, I feel like I should just offer this piece of wisdom: (and here's where you need to remember that part about me meaning this with all humility) I"m just telling you the truth. No producer in town is EVER going to hire you because of some email he got letting him know you're looking for work. The stakes are just too high. The only way it happens is keeping your head down, doing a good job, playing whatEVER gigs you can find, and IF YOU'VE GOT THE GOODS, trust me.....people WILL find out about it. Players will talk. They always do.
I know I'll probably get some responses along the line of "hey, I wasn't expecting to be on the next Rascal Flatts record, I'm just trying to let people know I'm available." Well....I do understand that, but I gotta tell ya, I think (in my humble opinion) you end up shooting yourself in the foot. The problem is just the sheer volume of emails everyone gets. It becomes more of a nuisance than anything, and ultimately, I'm sure there are some PHENOMENAL players out there who end up being associated with a negative impression.
Listen, Nashville is poised to explode in the near future, and I think there is gonna be a LOT of work for everyone, and I truly wanna see the younger, newer faces in town succeed. I'm not sure I even have a good answer for an alternative. I was speaking with a friend about this (who is suffering from the same flood of emails) and he suggested maybe instead of mass emails, perhaps just doing a personal blog talking about who you are, what you do, etc. That sounds like a pretty good idea to me.
One thing I have learned in my 27 years in this business: It is virtually impossible to rush the process. In my experience, EVERY good thing that has happened to me career-wise, has just fallen into my lap with very little effort from me. (You know what I mean....I worked my tail off on the musical side, practicing, etc., but no effort on the PROMOTIONAL side).
Ultimately, I think it's just what I said before. Keep your head down. Play whenever and wherever you can. Don't offer your opinion. Keep your mind and your eyes and ears open and be willing to learn. If you truly have the goods, people WILL find out about it.
In the meantime, PLEASE give my inbox a minute to take a breath! ;-)
Love and kisses....
Tim Akers
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Hicks on -
thanks for that bit of advice...
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Permalink Reply by Judy Whiting on -
TIM;
Some great stuff here, In my 28 years here and a few in LA, I am sorry I missed this chat, some of us are working,YEA!
is any of the chats available via transcripts, might be nice to read.
I am learning all the time, and also learned alot here in Nashville and other music venues. Some call me a Networking
Fool and some of the musicians I work with, but sometimes THIS WORKS TOO! and as you said never by an email.
I and alot of my musician friends attend functions, as NMP meetings, showcases and even drop into studios and
yep we do pass out a biz card. We also network amongst other musicians,engineers, etc. Once the door is open
and a new musician and/or singer gets in the door. Never go in with an attitude, just give the producer what they want,
be humble and friendly and just maybe you will get called back for another session. I think you will agree it is called
doing your HOMEWORK.
some of the A team players if overbooked and they know you might also recommend, and here we go with word
of mouth which is the best form of advertising anyone can do. I even know a few musicians working still even with
the rough economy EVERY DAY!
I love this town, I love all of my friends here and thanks for this email,keep up the great work.
I too also believe Nashville is going to break wide open again, but then hey my friend Nashville and the pros here
never really went away! It is real nice to go to another known music venue town, and finally here some great stuff
about NASHVILLE being now consider one of the best recording capitals of the world. AMen to that one, didn't
here that in the early 80's when I first came here.
when I do a session I have my fav's that I use as does alot of the others who are recording, if I meet a new picker
might give him a chance to play, but I also observe alot of the nuiances too! Alot of us here have built reputations
on QUALITY work and that is what we should all stand on. Some I have run into think it is a breeze recording, and
have no clue as to what really takes place in the studio.
ending now and just wanted to say thanks for this and sorry I missed the chat. Hope to catch one soon!
have a great week
Judy Whiting
www.lilacmoonproductions.com
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Permalink Reply by Joe Russ on -
Tim,
Well said. You said everything I've been thinking over the last few years. I'm getting ready to move back to Nashville and start playing again. You wanna know what I'm doing on preparation for my move. Practicing my ass off. I lived there earlier for a long time. I know all I have to do when I get back is start sitting in wherever I can. If I've done my homework, the gigs will come. It's as simple as that. Seasoned players know w/in the first few bars of the first song when you sit in if you can cut it.
I'm going to make sure I make a great impression. Great article. Thanks
Joe Russ
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Permalink Reply by MArc-Alan Barnette on
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Tim
AMEN MY BRUTHA FROM ANOTHA MUTHA!!!!
Said about as well as I have heard it. From a very knowledgeable gentleman.Knows his stuff.
MAB
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Permalink Reply by Nick Brown on -
Really enjoyed reading this thread guys!
Great post Tim, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Permalink Reply by Pete Warren on -
How'd they get your email address in the first place?
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