A lot of what you have been told about creating your image is false. This article is meant to be a simple list of things that might surprise you as a musician. Some of you have had ?managers? misguide you. You know the drill. Your guitar player?s girlfriend has a connection at some local club so now she thinks she is fit to orchestrate your entire career. Maybe you have a know-it-all singer who spent 5 minutes glossing over some music industry website and now he is writing your bio chalk full of transparent lies and over-exagerated descriptions of your rock fury. No matter what the case may be, I can guarantee you that you have at least a few misconceptions about how to properly present your image. This article will briefly outline some of the major issues on writing better bios, press kits, and press releases.

YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL THAN YOU THINK

The most important thing I can tell you is you have more control than you think. If you really get the hang of image presentation and playing this game we call the music biz you can virtually create any image you want of yourself or your band. First and foremost I want to talk about the press. Ever surf the net doing some research of some new band your friend told you about? Ever notice how multiple music sites will have the exact same description of the band? Of course, you aren?t an idiot, you realize these sites simply rip what the band wrote in their bio on the band homepage. But do you realize the POWER of this? Basically, you have the power to syndicate your image in a way. These websites simply don?t have the time, nor intimate knowledge of your band, to create some pseudo-bio for you. They rely on you, and what you have to say about yourself. This is power. Use it wisely.

But you already knew that. What I?m about to tell you is something you may not know, but could drastically affect your bands promotional campaign. PRINT MAGAZINES DO THIS TOO. Yep, a lot of those long write-ups you see in your favorite magazines about your favorite band, have content ripped straight from the bands? bio. The trick is that this only applies to well written bios. If you do in fact have such a bio, this can be the most powerful weapon in your promotional arsenal.

THE SECRET BIO SAUCE RECIPE

Ok. So let?s recap real quickly. You know that your bio can help control your image on the net. And now you know you can even control how the print media presents you. But how do you write such a bio? First, let?s go over what NOT to do.

INFLATE: Do not inflate your image beyond the reality of your band. Don?t be all flash and no smash. In other words, don?t talk about what you can?t back up. This is the most common mistake in bio writing. I call it ?inflation?. This is pretty much adjective abuse. Avoid phrases like ?intense live show? or ?super sonic blast from the future?. This is stock. This is not creative. If you aren?t the biggest drawing band in your own market, don?t say ?this band is taking the nation by storm?. The press and online community have been reading bios with such inflations since the beginning, they see past this very well.

QUOTE FANS: If you can?t get someone credible to say something nice about your band DO NOT resort to using a fan comment. Ever?for any reason.

LIST SONG DESCRIPTIONS: If you are already an ?inflator? then talking about your own songs will only cause pain and tragedy.

SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON PREVIOUS BANDS: If your last band didn?t have a record deal or tour, don?t bother. If you have some leverage with your ?former member of?? status use it tastefully and only in brief.

Now that we have got those cardinal sins out of the way you are probably thinking ?jeeze, what else is there to write about?. This is where we start digging. Time to put on your thinking cap. You have to think like a reporter looking for a refreshing angle. You have to find the one thing that can create an image that will stick. You have to find THE STORY.

By this time I have lost some of you. You either don?t know what I mean by ?the story? or you have a bio that breaks every rule I just outlined and you can?t admit it. The best bios read like a good music rag write-up. If your bio is written correctly it should make a staff writer?s job easy. It should be easy for him to ?rip? or ?cop?. It?s no co-incidence that many pro bands use these kinds of writers to pen their own bios!

Perhaps you have an interesting story about how you came together. Perhaps you have some gimmick, like Siamese twins or 3 bearded lady bassists. But hopefully you have something that connects your band to something going on in the world of music. You need something that will get people?s attention. Maybe your band is the only Death Metal band for 100 miles in the Bible belt. You get the picture.

I am going to list some things that can make great stories (and double as press releases).

-Being produced by someone reputable

-Being managed by someone reputable

-Breaking some mark in online CD sales or downloads

-Getting a supporting slot on a festival or tour

-Having a reputable person as a quoted fan

A PHOTO SPEAKS 1,000 FLAWS

I want to get one thing out of the way: I?m not going to tell you how to dress. But I am going to tell you that it may be your biggest problem. I am not a stylist. I can not solve this problem. I can tell you this though: The camera will expose every flaw you have in your style. With that said, let?s get on with at least getting a quality photo.

I am not a professional photographer. I am not going to tell you how to take a photo of yourself. I am going to tell you where to get one. Your best bet is to find a local photographer that you see at local shows. More often than not, they are either legitimate press, legitimate artist, or a legitimate student. Browse their catalog of band photography and if you think it stands up, there ya go. This may all seem like common sense, but I want to stress that this is abandoned and somehow your guitar player?s girlfriend is your ?photographer? because her mom has a camera. Do not let this happen to you. Find people with pro gear. Get a professional or at least a digital arts student. These are always your best bets.

If you are going for sheer impact with your 8 x 10 one good tip is to at least look like you are in the same band. I?m not saying get a gimmick or wear make-up. I?m saying that even if you think your personal look is ?plain?, your band as a whole can benefit from at least being on the same page.

LOGO

The miracle of Adobe Photoshop has given birth to some of the most breathtaking digital art we have seen. It has also, to the misfortune of bands mostly, created total rubbish. If your logo sucks it says many things about you.

It shows you have high tolerance for bad art.

It shows you yourself might be a bad artist and were not smart enough to hire a professional.

It shows you have a very distorted view about the genre of your band.

It shows some of you are totally unprofessional and don?t care about your image.

You might be surprised how many ways there are to find good digital artists to create your logo. In my personal opinion, even paying up to $100 is worth it for a good logo. Bottom line, the sites below are the best place to find killer artists.

DeviantArt.com
Mylkhead.com
AngryBlue.com
PlayWithKnives.com
EyeSuckInk.com

PRESS KIT SECRETS

One very strong tip I can offer is to try to think of your image as ?dynamic?. It has to be all things to all people. You might have to add something extra to that envelope before you send it off.

If you are sending your kit out to an artist rep at a prospective endorsee you ALWAYS want it to contain tour dates. This is the most important thing in your attempt to get gear for cheap and say those lovely words to all your loser musician friends playing crappy guitars? ?I got an endorsement deal?.

A great add-in is a DVD. There are a lot of affordable ways to make a DVD these days. Again, this is one of those things that will expose your flaws. You don?t want to put your life story on there. Live footage is great if its done right. Fake smoke and that cheesy ?page turn effect? are not. Don?t make a wedding video. This will be valuable in your arsenal when try to book gigs.

Ask First. Send. Follow Up. This is your best way to make some impact and get a solid contact in the biz. Your press kit will always have more impact if the person is expecting it (send it promptly).

Make sure you are to the point when calling someone you?d like to send a press kit to. You are Jon Doe from The Doetones. You are going to be in town around this time. You want to send a press kit for a possible gig. If you are sending an email and have an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) NEVER send the press kit in first. Always try to get a response before sending the press kit. If you are sending to a possible endorsee put your upcoming dates in the initial email.

Following up is crucial. Many of the people you will be dealing with in this business are either busy or forgetful?mostly both. You must initiate contact. Be tactful and patient. Do not hound people, but make sure you give yourself a chance to make some opportunities and pick up the phone yourself.

Remember, you are in essence, trying to self yourself to a company or consumer. You have to be a salesman. Try to connect to people and have them want to talk to you. If you can do this they will always want to help you or get you involved in something that will. Or best of all, spend money on you and your product.

Bruce Prokopets, aka Bishop Dolarhyde, is co-founder and editor of music news blog http://www.scenejumper.com Bruce had his first live gig at 15 and has had various jobs in the industry since. He spent years as a guitar tech, tour manager, endorsement liaison, bassist in a national act, and promoter in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.

1)Why Are You Recording Your Album?

There are a number of reasons that a person would want to record an album. Some musicians have had songs laying around for years and would just like to slap them down onto some kind of repeatable device such as a cd. Others are looking to capture their latest batch of songs and hopefully intend to sell it. Others are simply looking for a demo. You need to look at your situation and see what you intend to do with it. This will effect many other aspects of the recording process.

2)What Are Your Goals for Your Album?

Are you hoping to get signed based on the songs on this album? Are you looking to make money off of the album without the help of a label? Are you just wanting to record the record for yourself?

3)Do you really need to record an entire album?

I get a lot of bands who want to record a $200 album and they want it to sound just like their favorite band who spent $200,000 recording their last record. Frankly, it’s impossible to get the same sound at 1/ 1000 of the budget. It’s just not going to happen. It takes time to make a great record that will compete with major label big boy bands. Even great musicians take a week to do drums or a week to do vocals (Sometimes much longer) in the major label setting. Are you sure you want to cram vocals in the last 3 hours on Sunday night?

I always recommend that bands on a very tight budget cut their song quantity down. Chances are that not all of these songs are great anyway. For most bands, you are better off recording your best material and giving yourself plenty of time to work on it. Think about it. If you really want to come out with a perfect record (which many people do) how is this possible without perfect songs? Your perfectionism (if you believe in perfect) should start before you walk through the studio door.

4)What are you expectations for the record in terms of quality and perfection?

You need to have clear goals of what you would like to achieve with your record in terms of how professional it sounds and looks. Again, your budget will play a huge part into the quality and perfection factor of the record. To sound great, you need great musicians, playing great performances of great songs on great gear. That’s basically it. If any of these things are present, you are compromising. Be realistic. Odds are strong that if you are a 16 year old in a rock band, your record simply won’t sound as good as the band that has 10 years of experience over you.

5)In any less than mega pro setting, compromises will I have to make?

I’m talking about on a recording quality level. For example, I’m limited to 20 inputs on my recording system. (Two Delta 1010 soundcards and two Mytek ADC 96s). When a drummer want to use 4 toms and 2 kick drums (and expects them to be close mic’d) I’m already using up 6 mics on the kicks and toms. By the time I put 2 mics on the snare and two overheads, I’m up to 10 mics. I always like to try putting a mic in front of the drum kit and also farther back as a room mic. However, when I know I’m going to need to a couple tracks for bass (DI and mic’d amp) and a couple mics on each guitar cabinet, I have to start rationing my microphones. In other words, I’ve had to compromise what I’m doing because a drummer decided to use an extra tom or two and extra kick drum. Those two tracks could have went to tracks that would have seriously improved the entire drum sound immensely, but instead went to a tom that will be hit 3 times on the album.

Be aware of this and go easy on the recording guy. The more junk you add on your kit, the harder it is to get right. Since most drummers do not balance their kit properly, most things have to be close mic’d. This is unfortunate because it usually reduces sound quality to make up for the drummers lack of playing.

6)How does your drummer sound?

Sit and listen to your favorite records. Then listen to your drummer play. In almost every rock record ever made the snare and kick drum cut through the mix easily. You can hear them clear as day and there are not a ton of washing cymbals drowning everything else out. How does your drummer sound? Does he smash his snare or is it lost in a wash of hihats, rides, and crash cymbals?

If your ears don’t pick up the snare and kick as they should be, no microphone will either. It’s up to your drummer to play his kit in a way that sounds good. About 20% of the drummers that I’ve seen naturally do this. Most have to learn to do it.

7)What is your plan for after the record is complete?

If you don’t have a marketing plan made out before the record is even started, you’ve already messed up. Guess what. No one has every cared about an album that they never heard of…ever! If you don’t have a plan to make sure that everyone in your county has heard your album, how do you expect to sell any to the people that will actually like it? Marketing an album is beyond the scope of this article, but if you don’t have a clear cut plan for getting this album to the people, you will probably fail. Note: Playing a few shows and putting the cd in local music stores is not nearly good enough.

8)Have you thought about graphics?

Graphics are usually not cheap unless you have a talented buddy. You need at least 300 dpi graphics ready for the printer’s specs. While the instructions to do this are not difficult, most people are clueless. If you are doing the graphics yourself, make sure you understand exactly what your cd replicator needs from you.

If you are hiring a professional to take care of the graphics, good. Make sure you save your money!

9)How many cds do you expect to sell with your newsletter?

In my opinion, if you don’t have a large quantity of people on the newsletter, you aren’t ready for an album. The newsletter is the most powerful way to promote your band without spending a dime or much time. All you have to do is send out one email every 2-4 weeks.

So if you don’t have a large newsletter already going, don’t waste your time on an expensive record. Go and record quick demos of each song and save them for a rainy day. The newsletter thing is so powerful and so easy to setup. If you don’t have one, you probably have done a poor job of promoting your band. You are simply not ready to record a serious record.

10)What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Let’s say you go into debt recording the perfect record. You then go into more debt creating the graphics and shelling out the cash to pay for the cd replication. You throw your cd release party and you sell 7 copies. 7 COPIES???? You haven’t even paid for the shipping on the cds yet? If you plan to make a great record, you had better have a plan or you’ll end up with 993 copies of the cd in your basement and a huge credit card debt.

11)Should I use my money to impress a label?

Many bands are hoping to get signed. Great! If that’s the case, you need to realistically look at your situation. If you have the budget to make a recording that sounds so good that the label doesn’t have to do re-record it, you will save money. Of course, most bands can’t afford the bucks it takes to do this. Hiring pro engineers is not cheap in most instances. Pro mixing is even more expensive. So you’ll probably record with a studio that will give you results less than that of a major label recording. If that’s the case, you’ve already compromised. You’ve already weakened a link in your chain. No matter how perfect the vocal take was or how amazingly you played the drums, the quality will be sub par.

In other words, if you are recording at a demo studio or project studio, you are wasting your time if you go for monster perfection. Labels are looking for great looking people to play extremely catchy songs. Most producers are paid to shape you into a real musician when the big bucks come. No matter how perfect of a record you think you’ll make on your own, a real producer will find flaws…lots of them.

Brandon Drury has recorded too many albums for too many bands that didn’t take band promotion into consideration.

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