On a shoestring project part 48

Part 48

  I had an idea to write about royalty payments in music, and how they work this week, but I've been on the road with Sliotar and just didn't have time for the research, but we'll come back to that at later date. The response to our Punk Rock Mayhem show has been unbelievable so far :-) More bands have contacted me than I could ever put on the bill. But this just makes me think we might just run this more often, but we'll see how the first one goes first ;-)

  I am writing this week’s blog in a very nice hotel in Prostejov, in Czech Republic. For the past few days I have been at a wonderful Celtic music festival called the Keltska Noc. When you get to play at festivals, you do end up spending lot of time outside, and very often the festivals can be away from towns. At this festival we stayed in a cabin, on the camping grounds of the festival, so the hotel is a nice change. This got me thinking about some practical tips for touring. I have read blogs about this subject in the past, and thought I would have my own say in this subject. By touring here I talk about tours longer than few days, for example Sliotar Summer 2011 tour is 7 concerts in 15 days. In Sliotar terms that is a short tour. We have done anything up to 6 weeks. On tour there is always constant battle between being comfortable and making money. You see, it might sound romantic sleeping on people floors, but if musicians are not well rested, I would not expect a brilliant gig... And comfort costs money. You end up digging in to your gig fees, which is the money you should be holding on too. Websites like booking.com are great, and more in advance you book, the better deals you will get, if you can afford it, I would recommend to book separate rooms. The long drives and waiting for gigs is lot of time to spend with your band mates, and you will need your own space as well. But do work with in your budget, there is no point spending €100 per person, if the gig only pays around the same...

  Water, this is your only friend! Drink lots of water, several litters a day. Being on the road dehydrates you, long drives, spending time outside, or in air-conditioned rooms. Also alcohol... I am not going to tell you not to drink. I do understand the importance of socializing and connecting with your audience even after a concert, and that’s when lot of networking is done as well. But just be careful, if you are drinking a lot on the road, your body gets used to the alcohol and you end up drinking more and more... I've had some wild times on the road in the past, but now I try not to drink before a concert, I find my vocals suffer from even a small amount of alcohol. But this is just me, and every one to their own. Food wise I’ve seen lots of advice on how to eat cheap on the road and the world famous burger fast food chain comes up all the time. OK, you don't always have time, or money for a nice meal, but for the love of your own body I would highly recommend against the “Golden arches”. If you only have time for fast food, kebab is much better option. And when you do have a chance, eat a proper meal. If you are staying at hotels, do use the breakfast. I know it sounds like nice option just to sleep to the last minute, but your body will thank you for setting alarm for breakfast and even going back to bed for few more hours. Some people are great at sleeping during travel; I'm bad unless I am completely shattered. But yeah, you do need sleep; coffee can only get you so far... Bananas are good source of potassium and energy, and it is always a good idea to have some multivitamins with you. It is surprising how fast your immune system goes down, and being sick on the road is no fun at all. That’s all the tips this week, I shall continue more on the subject later.

  Also I thought to share with you another video from our concert in the Pint few weeks back. Here is a song called Misery. The bass is bit low in the beginning, but you'll get the idea :-) I'll leave you with this and back for more next week.

J.P.

On a shoestring project part 17

  By God I don't believe Christmas is almost here! Oh how time flies. Anyway, here is a little Christmas video for you guys. Hope you like it, I had fun making it:-) It's also another way to come up with an video, without big budget. Obviously this kind of cartoon won't suit every song, but I think it works here pretty nice.
GoAnimate.com: Glory to the world by jpkallio

GoAnimate.com!
  The site of all this snow in Dublin makes me think of winters back home. Actually you know, I partly financed my first valve amp by shoveling snow for a whole winter. It was a Laney Pro-Tube Lead AOR Series 50 watt 1x12 combo. Loud, heavy (I could just about carry it my self) and built like a tank. I had to part from it when I moved over to Ireland. Still miss it...
  I'm going to go back to basics here for a little while. Lets talk about band practice. I never had a big budget to hire professional full time musicians for this project. And I can tell you, that in my mind this has been a good thing. Don't get me wrong, these guys are very professional in their manner of working and playing. What I mean is they have full time jobs, and I need to allow for this in the schedule of the project. So we have been rehearsing on average once a week for almost three months. I find it is great thing to give the band members creative freedom. It just makes the whole project more ours than just mine. And it is a great motivational tool as well. I know my self, if I was to step in to project, where I was just to play what I was told to, I might do it, but there better be a nice paycheck at the end of the day. But when I have creative investment in any project, it becomes partly mine, and I know you will get better performance out of me. This has been very much the case with the guys. And it all comes down to the same thing again, you need to have great team around you! And I could not be happier at the moment:-)
  I try to make demo recordings of the songs before I bring them to the rehearsal, so the guys can get familiar with them. Then we break the songs down to parts and work out each part individually. Then we glue it all together and make sure all the parts ease smoothly to next one. Then we let the song to brew until the next rehearsal. Usually by then all of us have some new arrangement ideas to try out. And usually after couple of rehearsals the song gets its final shape. Then it's all down to playing it through enough times that it is committed to muscle memory (meaning your fingers know what to do and where to go with out thinking, meaning some one drags you up in the middle of the night and puts an instrument in your hand and you can play it without thinking twice).
  In the past working with Sliotar I found playing songs live in front of audience for few weeks does add extra depth to them, and tightens them up nicely. But then again when you have played a piece of music about hundred time, it is little more difficult to change something in the recording stage. So now I try to find the nice balance in rehearsing enough to get the recording done smoothly, but with out the tracks going stale from over playing. This also is something, that I think every band have their own way and I know even in the past, when I worked in different bands (and there has been many...) every one of them had unique way of practising. But still having some structure instead of just playing through songs is what separates weekend players from pros.
  It's also good tip for guitar practise as well, break things down. For me the guitar is a never ending learning curve. And I still try to practice or play every day. What I do is take something I want to work on, weather it is a difficult chord change, a solo lick, rhythmic pattern or a scale, I practice it through with metronome for a five minute set. Then move on to something else, and I might come back to it later. So if one of your new years resolutions is to learn to play guitar, try this. Also I am more than happy to give any tips on this as well, just Email me at: jpkallio@hotmail.com
  Speaking of new years resolutions, do you have any? Unfortunately for me, part of being a guitar player is a constant search for tone. I know there are musicians who buy an high quality instrument, amp and maybe some pedals, and they are happy with this. All I can say to that is: good for you. Even when I am happy with my tone, there's always room for improvement. So once again part of my new years resolution is a shopping list... But hey, that's part of the game. As long as you find a good balance between the technology and a skill.
  Now I must head out to do some last minute Christmas shopping, and try to avoid the guitar shops;-) As always, would love to hear your comments and feedback. Have a great holiday every one:-) And more to come straight after Christmas.