This month’s lyric is from a new favorite song called “Hymn to the Here & Now” written and performed by Jefferson Ross, a Georgia based songwriter whose inspiring and spiritual lyrics have taken my heart and brain by storm. Since hearing it for the first time less than 4 days ago (at the time of this writing). I find myself singing this beautiful, uplifting a Capella hymn honoring the only moment we can ever really experience; the right now. Which also just happens to the subject of this months column.

Before I start this month’s column, I feel the need to make a confession: Everything I write and have written in this column is as much for me as it is for you, the reader. Truth is, that I need what is contained in every single column I write to make me better artistically. I have to write and then read my own thoughts to fully integrate them into my life and art. So if I seem to be beating a dead horse, please forgive me, you may have already gotten the message but sometimes I am a little slow. This month’s column is a specific and very focused example of that fact: Living and creating in the NOW!

I am a child of the past and future. I spend countess hours analyzing what has gone before and planning what is to come. In the meantime, many moments have been lost as I worried over something already past. Then in response, I wasted even more moments thinking about the ones I have lost while even more drain away. This whole topic starts to make my head hurt. So, a little philosophy first; all we have, in fact all we’ve ever had is right now, this moment, this ever present instant. I like to think of it as the eternal moment of now. Now is the only time that has ever been or for that matter will ever be. So, I suppose you are asking “What is with all the pseudo-intellectual, faux philosophical mumbo jumbo, this IS an arts column right? “. But please bear with me here. I do have a point to make.

That point is, that for me at least, not being in the now is detrimental to my creative process. When I am fully present in the moment; writing, playing, singing, living or whatever, during that time is when I stop asking the why, where and how questions and instead become my creation. Everything else disappears and becomes but background noise while I dance ecstatically with the muse, when I can no longer tell the creation from the creator, when the ego is gone and all that is left is total clarity of the moment. One stray thought, action or slip and I am back outside in the watcher mode, as I call it. Watching time pass rather than participating fully. The miracle of now, for me at least, is the real miracle of art. That blissful, moment so full of promise and creation. I believe that is what each artist lives for. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere, like a bolt of lightning and other times it comes after /hours/minutes/days/weeks/ of trying to call it too me. That, “calling to me” part almost never works. What really works for me is to become aware that it is me, who stands in the way of that magical lightning bolt of creation, real creation, anyway. As opposed the analytical, editing, critical creation which for me anyway, characterizes what I think of as the mop-up phase of creation. One of my favorite, singer/songwriters, Dana Cooper calls it “standing in my own way”. Another way to put it,. Comes from the now defunct comic strip, Pogo, who famously exclaimed;“we have met the enemy and they is us”. I know in my own case that I work far too hard in order to do that which really comes naturally if I will simply, let it be.

The “now” stuff not only works for creating art but also on the performance side too. Performance at it best is a creative process which demands being in the moment fully. For many this comes very naturally or at least seems to. For me personally, it is very difficult. I have to wrestle with myself in order to turn off this infernal self-analyzing, super critical dialog engine that is my brain. Now, I am sure you don’t ever have that problem but hey, this is my therapy, so let me talk. My biggest performance related shortcoming is that I am often going through the rehearsed motions of performance rather than actually feeling the words and music. Your audience may be sitting there appearing to accept your performance, but trust me, they know the truth. They know if you are going through the motions or are totally absorbed in the moment. That is the difference between a good performance and a GREAT performance. A great performance is not judged by it’s technical attributes but by it’s emotional immediacy. Notice the word, immediacy, it means being there now.

The grim truth is; when it comes to the creative process, I know nothing. Oh, I can imagine, assume, suppose and deduct, but as far as actual knowledge about how this whole creative process thing works, I got nothing, nada. But the one thing I do know for sure is that you must be present to win. If you ain’t there the prize will go to he who is. That is just the way this creation stuff works. So, make yourself available to the moment, the here and the now, stop judging and let the the creation unfold and happen. You will find that the results are amazing. Also, if you get a chance, I urge you to check out Jefferson Ross at www.jeffersonross.com, I think you will enjoy what you hear.

As always, thanks for reading and if you have comments, suggestions or criticisms about this or any my columns feel free to send them to me: randy@brownrandy.com

If you are ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does then go to www.brownrandy.com/music. Listen to a few songs and let me know what you think.

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and singer/songwriter in living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He is still looking backward and forward entirely too much. But he is working on that.

April 22nd I will be playing at April In Edom, Sunday April 22, 2012 from 3 until 4. Many other artists will also be performing as well as other activities. http://aprilinedom.net .

Additionally, I have scheduled a CD release concert for my upcoming CD “But Wait… There’s More!” on September 29, 2012 at the Old Firehouse in Edom.  More details to follow.

This month’s lyric is from a song called “She Belongs to Me” written and performed by the incomparable, Bob Dylan on his second album, Bringing it all Back Home. A song which works hard with every line to prove the title wrong. Certainly a Dylan-esque thing to do. As the lyrics will plainly reveal, in reality, it is “she” who owns the singer. A Dylan anti-love song at it’s best and the subject of this month ‘s column.

Each of us has a history, some of it good and some, at least for me, that could just as well be forgotten. Now, I do not and don’t ever intend to live in the past. But the deeds of our past often follow us, like it or not. For example, when I was in high school, I had the nickname of Possum. Yep, you heard me right, Possum. I am not even sure how I got it but many folks I went to school with only knew me by that name. To be honest, I had almost forgotten that name existed until just recently a old high school classmate found me on Facebook and messaged me “Is that you Possum?”. Suddenly I was transported 40 years into the past and all my teenage inadequacies came screaming back. All the years disappeared and there I was 17 years old again; a scrawny, pimply faced nerd, with kinky hair and a penchant for writing lots of songs about how things could be if only everyone would just love each other. For me, at least, looking back down that long hall into the mirror was not a pleasant experience.

Well, art is kinda like that too. Sometimes things we created long ago rear up their heads out of nowhere and we are suddenly sent back to the time/place/situation that caused us to create that particular piece of art. Or if you like me tend to be super, no hyper-critical of past works, you might refer to it as a piece of something, shall we say scatological. If this has ever happened to you too, rest assured, you are not alone.

OK, I am about to get very controversial here so if you disagree with me, I will apologize in advance. Here goes; “for the the artist, art is like a newspaper, yesterday’s may hold a little historical interest but doesn’t hold much excitement”. There, I said it; the ugly truth about art. All that really matters to the artist is what has cooking now, what they are working on, what they are thinking about. Everything else is so, yesterday. In fact, some of it, just like my nickname of Possum is downright embarrassing. I think it is true because art is really about the moment, the magic and the act & feeling of creation. There is nothing better than that in my opinion. Taking empty paper, canvas or air and filling it with your creation. To quote the great songwriter Bill Dannoff from his song, Potter’s Wheel, “Take a little clay, put it on the wheel, get a little taste how God must feel”. So there you have it: the REAL truth about art. Art to the artist is all about the act of creation, the making something out of nothing. Artists get to experience themselves as little mini-gods, creating meaning out of meaninglessness. Once experienced, that act of creation is almost like a drug, driving you forward, to keep creating. Just like a junkie, we are always looking for that next creation high and never fully satisfied. So there you have it folks, art’s dirty little secret. It really isn’t done for the audience, in reality it’s all about the artist. Egotistical and self-serving little devils ain’t we?

So, if creation is the focus of art then what went before is actually of very little consequence. Sure, I know that everything we have created in the past, informs and influences what is to come. But the same can be said of anything we experience. Our art is informed by the sum total of everything we have ever known, thought or imagined. That means that whatever went before is only history, which can’t be changed. While history is a great tool for learning about what worked and what didn’t, it really isn’t a necessary seed for future creation. In fact, for me it is really is a distraction. I can and do dwell too much on the should have, would have and could haves of my past work. Almost to the point of embarrassment. For me, at least, looking back is artistically counter productive.

Well, that’s it for this month. To sum it up I will use a lyric from a song which I have never finished but it rattles around in my head a lot lately. The lyric is an imaginary conversation between Don Juan Mateus and Carlos Castaneda (yes. I read all of Castaneda’s books at one time). Though the same words could be given by any teacher to any student. I give them to myself regularly and it helps me stay focused.

I leave you with that lyric for this month. Don’t spend your life reading yesterday’s newspapers, go out an create your own news. Just like the lady in this month’s Dylan song. You are an artist so don’t look back.

As always, thanks for reading and if you have comments, suggestions or criticisms about this or any my columns feel free to send them to me: randy@brownrandy.com .If you are ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does then go to www.brownrandy.com/music. Listen to a few songs and let me know what you think.

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and singer/songwriter in living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He alternately thinks he looks back too much, one minute and not enough in the next. Imagine that.

Randy Bachman had sung what would later become “Takin’ Care of Business” while still a member of The Guess Who. At that time it was called “White Collar Worker”. But The Guess Who never recorded it because they thought the guitar intro was too reminiscent of The Beatles, “Paperback Writer”. When Bachman-Turner Overdrive was formed in Vancouver, BC a local DJ there had a catch phrase “We’re taking care of business”. Well, Randy heard his show and rewrote the chorus to utilize that phrase instead of “white collar worker” for the chorus. It was released on BTO’s 2^nd record and the rest is history. In 2011, it was the most licensed song in Sony Music’s catalog. So guess what, this month we are going to talk about taking care of business.

I am going to back up a little in the conversation we have been having in this column and refocus it. The B Side of Music is really about the business of music and there are a lot of sides to that business but this time I want to talk about the nuts and bolts of your business; your brand. You aren’t only putting your art out there. No, you are building a brand and that brand is you. How that brand (you) is viewed by others directly determines how successful you will be. Scary to think about, huh?

Everything you do, say, write, sing, paint or sculpt is either adding to or taking away from your image and reputation as an artist. That image and reputation is your brand and your brand is what sells product, puts folks in seats, gets you bookings and has folks paying attention to your art. Think of building your brand as it’s own art form. Now you may be chuckling a little right now when I talk about brand building, saying to yourself, now he isn’t talking about me, I am an artist not some kind of marketing person. Well, I hate to break this to you but unless you take your brand very seriously you are losing money and selling yourself short. 

Think about it from the perspective of a venue owner or promoter.  A promoter is trying to bring as many people as possible into their venue to eat, buy drinks or consume whatever they sell. When they look out there for potential artists to hire they are looking for someone who will show up on time, take the job seriously, not get drunk and fall off the stage (unless that is your brand), provide a professional quality performance and most of all pull in a crowd by their name (brand) recognition.

So I guess you might have gleaned from the last paragraph that sometimes bad behavior is desirable. Well yes, sometimes it is an artists brand. Jim Morrison of the Doors and many others built a reputation of pushing the envelope of entertainment into areas of not normally accepted behavior. If your brand is to be the bad boy or girl of your genre then get to it. But remember, it is difficult to change horse in the middle of a stream. Once you go one direction, it is very difficult to change that direction without at least temporary damage to your brand.

Now I am not telling you this to get you to change what you do as an artist. Nope, I am simply telling you this in order to make you aware that you are a brand and that like everything in the universe, every action has a reaction. If your goal, (OK so wait just a cotton picking second here, did he just ask if my art had a goal? I’m an artist not some kind of business person.) is to be a well known children’s artist, then making more bawdy work public might not push your career towards where you want it to go. So while a specific goal might not be your cup of tea, it is certainly beneficial to keep a general direction of travel (goal) in mind. Though, hey it’s your art.

Some artists work hard to be hated, because that is the reputation (brand) that they have developed. Others, strive to be loved and others still want to walk that fine line between love and hate. It makes no difference, but you should be aware, you are making a choice every time you perform, write a press release, make a booking, email a fan, sign a autograph, post to a social network, have promo photos shot, make a video, create your art or yes, even write a column. So I think it is a good idea, to ask yourself a few questions about your art – Who am I? What is my brand and how do I want to build upon what I already have to get closer to my artistic and yes, even my financial goals as an artist? You really don’t have to decide but if you don’t then be aware that without a plan you are wandering in the wilderness and unless your goal is to do just that, then as I have heard it said “it you don’t care where you are going, you could wind up anywhere”. If that really isn’t where you want to go then maybe you need to start takin’ care of business. Who knows you may find out things about yourself as a person and an artist you never knew. After all isn’t that what art is really all about?

By the way, if you have comments, suggestions or criticisms about this or any my columns feel free to send them to me: randy@brownrandy.com

If you ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does then go to www.brownrandy.com. Listen to a few songs and let me know what you think.

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and singer/songwriter in living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He is building his own brand but is afraid to think about what it’s value might be.

First of all, Happy New Year everyone!! I can’t believe it is 2012, well tempus fugit is what that say and it certainly does fly. Speaking of time flying, it is really flying with creation of my new CD, “But Wait, There’s More”. There will 13 songs as of this moment and we have completed guitar, bass and scratch vocals on everything. This week we will have the wonderful Austin based drummer, Brian Ferguson in the studio to put down the 10 drum tracks I am needing for the project. With drums, bass and acoustic guitar complete my good friend, co-producer, studio owner and extraordinary bassist, Rhandy Simmons and I will be listening to each song to see what other musical elements it tells us is required. Our motto for this project is; “the song will tell us what to do”. With a little luck and considering current schedule conflicts, I expect a completed CD by June. We are moving along quite well, but there is still much work and many decisions to make. I am really excited for you all to hear what we have created. I believe the wait will be worth it.

This month’s lyric is once again from one of my songs. This song took me 7 years to write from start to finish. Sometimes in art it takes a long time for a concept to gel into a cohesive whole. You have to hold the line and be patient and trust your artistic process. This song was originally inspired by a passage from a Neil Donald Walsh book and I simply took it to it’s natural end. It will appear on my upcoming CD “But Wait, There’s More”, which should be available next spring.

Wikipedia says: “Snowflakes are conglomerations of frozen ice crystals which fall through the Earth’s atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through differing temperature and humidity regimes. Individual snowflakes are nearly unique in structure.” That may be the facts, but what I know is that snowflakes are amazing. It is so hard for me to believe that these tiny crystals made of pure water, each symmetrical and similar yet different from all others can even exist. This idea of unique/sameness heads straight into the heart of what art is and how as artists you can stand out from the crowd, even when it is a big crowd.

We all want to stand out from the crowd with our art. We want to make our statement and have it accepted by our peers and by our audience. Plus we want success, both critical and financial. That is a lot to want and while difficult is not impossible.

We are each totally unique, just like a snowflake. The where, when, specific circumstances of our birth, where we have lived and every other single experience makes each of us a totally unique individual. You are even different from your twin if you have one. Unfortunately, so many who take the artistic journey think that in order to be good, be cool, be accepted, be successful or whatever, is a matter of doing like others. Well, my goal in this article is to convince you that it ain’t necessarily so. The only thing you have to do with your art is to be yourself and create from a place of truth (see past B-Side – The Truth). Sounds easy but in the judgmental world of art, the sound of that “still small voice” that guides you in your art is often drowned out by all the hype and noise of what’s cool or happening now.

Whatever you do in art don’t be a follower. Now, I am not naive, I know that every artist stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before. That is not what I mean by “don’t be a follower”. What I meant was, because you are unique, use that uniqueness to create art that could have only come from your brain, your situation, your soul. I will use my own work as an example. First realize, I am not a wildly popular or highly successful songwriter. I am simply a person who has the need and the burning desire to produce the best art I possibly can. In my own case, I have no financial or chart goals except to tell my “truth” in the most compelling way possible. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want my songs to be accepted and liked. In fact, more than anything I want to be accepted and respected for my art. But, it must be for MY art and not some over-sanitized for your protection copy of what someone else already did. That was a difficult hurdle for me to get over. I, like most other artists, took years to recognize my own voice. Before that I tended to use the voice of others or at least one that closely resembled others. I simply did not believe that I had anything unique to say. After a long while it finally occurred to me that instead of restating what others were saying, I should try to capture all these weird thoughts that were circling around inside my head. All the things that I had avoided letting others know about. You might say I learned to turn off or rather turned down the editor.

Now don’t get me wrong, the editor which for me is that part of my artistic process that asks if what I am saying “is at least minimally acceptable and in the art ball park as I define it”. The editor is different for every artist and is based on experience, risk tolerance (how weird are you willing to be) and what I will call the X-factor. Now for me the X-factor is that part I can’t explain logically or otherwise but I simply KNOW. I sometimes use a biblical term; “still, small voice”, to define it. That is the part of me that somehow knows at a instinctual level what I have no logical or rational reason to know. In my opinion, that voice is the very core of the mystery of art. Learning to hear that voice is a lifetime of work but worth every hour spent in it’s pursuit.

The interesting thing about finding your own voice is that I have discovered the more I let out my most secret thoughts and my most private musings then the more folks tend to identify and connect with my work. I can’t tell you how many songs I have not sung immediately in public because I thought; “nobody will ever identify with this”. However, when I finally got the nerve to sing them in public they became the things that folks most commonly told me they liked or identified with. You and I are so similar and unique at the same time and I believe that is the ultimate purpose of art; to expose ourselves to others as distinct and unique individuals yet still very much the same as all the rest of mankind. Just like snowflakes.

Pick a subject, any subject… OK, now write a sentence about the first thing that pops into your brain about that subject. I guarantee you that whatever you write will be different from everything anyone else writes. Why? Because YOU my friend are a snowflake. You are a totally unique mixture of genetics, spirit, experience and thought. That uniqueness is the source of your art. Whatever you do don’t push it down and try to ignore it simply because it isn’t cool or isn’t what you think sells. You ARE a snowflake. Enjoy it, revel in it and use it as the seed of your creations. You won’t regret it.

By the way, if you have comments, suggestions or criticisms about this or any my columns feel free to send them to me: randy@brownrandy.com . If you ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does then go to www.brownrandy.com. Please, leave me comments and let me know what you think.

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and singer/songwriter in living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He sometimes wishes he were a little less unique, at least in thought.

This month’s lyric is from a song that has been sung by literally everyone in the western world and even by quite a few folks in the rest of the world. It was written in 1934 by John Coots and Haven Gillespie and was first publicly performed on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. It became an instant hit with orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music the next day and more than 400,000 copies sold by Christmas. It has been recorded literally thousands of times by artists as diverse as Alice Cooper and Gene Autry. Since I am writing this in early December with Christmas on my mind it seems very appropriate because it includes within it’s lyrics something every artist who ventures out into the world to share their art should remember; to make a list and check it twice. So let me share a little experience from 2 days ago to tell you why it is so important.

I want to start this month’s column with a bit of a confession; “I AM AN IDIOT”. OK, so I feel better now that I have gotten that off my chest. Here I sit every month pretending to share “wisdom” about how to get by gracefully in the music business and just this week I broke one of my most often repeated rules; “check the list, make to sure you have everything you need for your gig”. Well, the truth is that I went to play a show and wasn’t prepared. I knew the songs, I had my guitar, mandolin, strings, thumb-picks, capos, tuner, cords of every description, mixer, microphone & stand, set list, tip jar and speaker stands. Oh, did you notice, I forgot one small thing; speakers!! Can’t make much noise without those and in a room full of people you can’t scream to be heard for more than about 1 minute before you have shredded your vocal chords and broken every string on you guitar. I had even gotten to the gig an hour early, which is my norm for shows. However, my one miscalculation was not welcome at all. My speakers lay 25 miles away tucking neatly under an ice chest in my barn. Dang it!! How could I be so stupid? So, what started as a leisurely setup before a show turned into a high speed adrenalin fueled chase of 50 miles in an hour, cursing at semi trucks loaded with bales of hay who were only doing 70 in a 70mph speed zone, only to show up at the gig five minutes late with setup still to do. How mortifying is that? Especially for a “professional” as I profess to be.

So, let’s do a little postmortem on my little fiasco. What did I do wrong? Let us set the stage. It is Friday morning and I have a show starting at 7pm tonight. I expect to get there at 6, so I will have a leisurely hour to setup, relax, have a beer and visit with the crowd before the show. I know I need to leave about 5:30 to make the 25 mile drive so I plan my day to accommodate those facts. So far, so good. Well, my wife and I head out that morning to run errands and do some Christmas shopping. We get back home about 2pm with plenty of time to spare. I gather up my inside stuff like guitars and put them in the car. Then, I go out to the barn to get the big stuff like mixer, stands, cord bag and speakers. I am putting that stuff in the car and notice that a brush pile I plan to burn after the next rain needs to be finished. So now totally distracted, I stop my hauling and loading of equipment to the car and jump on my tractor and spend the next 45 minutes tidying up around the brush pile. While working outside I remember for an important email so I stop before I am finished with my brush pile put my tractor up and wander back into the house to check my email. I turn on my computer while I am waiting for it to come up, I wander into the kitchen for a glass of water. Standing in the kitchen with a glass in my hand, I realize I am hungry so I put down the still empty glass and open the fridge for a snack. Standing there I hear my phone chime and walk over to pick it up and read a message from Allen, my drummer, to say he would be at the show about 6 too. Then I notice my computer is open and on though I can’t remember why. So, I sit down , trying to remember why I had opened it and get sucked into a little Facebook discussion with friends on some minutia related to the real reason for the recession or something like that. I never did check my email, get a glass of water or get a snank. Then I remembered that the car needed gas so I decided I needed to leave about 15 minutes early at 5:15 to have time to do that. Then I check my watch and noticed it was 5:15, I run out to get in the car to leave and notice part of my stuff is still sitting next to the car. I whack myself in the forehead for being so scatterbrained load up the stuff sitting there jump in the car and head out to the show. You know the rest.

Do you see a pattern emerging here? I didn’t go over my mental list of what to take, I didn’t make sure one task was finished before I started another, in fact I don’t think I finished anything that afternoon. Instead I wandered from unfinished task to unfinished task to end the day unfinished. I will admit I tend to have a problem with getting distracted but I outdid myself on this particular occasion. Who knows with some luck this little confession may even save you some grief and if not I can at least say “do as I say, not as I do”.

To be honest, the management at the show was understanding, they did notice me load-in my stuff a hour or so before and weren’t upset at all. But that doesn’t make it easy to start setup late with a room full of folks waiting for you to start. So take my advice because as you have heard, it is based on real experience and in this case. a very recent, real experience. So please, do yourself a favor. Make a list and check it twice or maybe just for fun, you might even try three times. Though often less fun, it is certainly less stressful to be nice rather than naughty. Happy Holidays!!

By the way, if you have comments, suggestions or criticisms about this or any my columns feel free to send them to me: randy@brownrandy.com

If you ever simply get curious about what the heck this rambling old man does then go to www.brownrandy.com. Listen to a few songs and let me know what you think.

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and singer/songwriter in living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He wishes he could learn to take his own advice. The good advice anyway.

 

“So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star” by Jim McQuinn & Chris Hillman – Recorded by the Byrds on “Younger Than Yesterday” in 1967

This month’s lyric is from the song “So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star”, which was released as a single on January 9, 1967 and reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is said that the song was inspired by the hype surrounding the creation of faux band, The Monkees, whose television series had recently debuted, launching the prefabricated band to international fame. The manufactured nature of the group caused Hillman and McGuinn to look upon the state of the pop world with more than a little cynicism. Now, I doubt that many of you reading this really want to be a rock and roll star but more that a few have plans or intend someday to record and document your musical creations. That is what this column is about; heading to the studio.

I picked this topic because, I am in the studio right now, recording a new CD called “But Wait, There’s More”. I have a home studio as I suspect many of you do. However, recording myself for a entire CD while keeping the real creative juices flowing is not something I am capable of. Why, you might ask? The honest answer is; that act of performance is a right brain (creative) function and the technical aspects, the recording, are left brain (logical) functions. For me, I can do either one separately pretty well but jumping between the two sides of my brain is a difficult transition. If I can find someone who I can share my musical vision with, that will help me achieve it while taking care of all the left brain stuff so I can relax and do my best at the right brain performance side, then, I am willing to pay them for their time and knowledge to give me the best results I am capable of producing.

So, you have decided, as I have to go into the studio and record your masterpiece. How hard can it be to walk in do your songs and wait for the delivery of your completed masterpiece? Sorry to burst your bubble but that ain’t the way it happens. Almost every recording project is a project abandoned. What I mean by that is you will either run out of willpower, patience or money before you are REALLY satisfied with your results. I can almost guarantee you will experience this. Suddenly these songs you have labored over to write and learn will seem to be so full of flaws. Your instrumental and vocal skills which have always seemed sufficient will mysteriously seem incapable of producing the results you want. Your word choices, melody choices, tempo choices and key choices will all seem wrong. Welcome the the hyper-aware world of recording. The sudden awareness, that you are creating something that could survive past your own existence becomes quite daunting. That is why I have made the following list of what you should know and do before and during your studio visits. I guarantee that if you do these things it will make your studio experience more productive, less stressful and less hyper-aware. I am going to break it down into two sections; things to do before your studio session and then during. I will begin with the before.

BEFORE YOU GO TO RECORD

• Visit the studio when you aren’t going to be recording, get a tour, talk to the folks there. Ask all the questions you have and listen, listen, listen to what they tell you.
• Know your songs, their tempo, time signature and key. Practice them daily until you know them backwards and forwards.
• Care for your instruments, change the strings, drum heads, etc. Make sure to have them in great working order. In the studio is not a good place to do this.
• Think about the things you might need in the studio. Bring things like guitar chords, strings, batteries, drumsticks and tuners. Though most studios have some of these things, they won’t be the ones you favor or are used to.
• Know how to play and tune your instruments, practice, practice, practice
• Create chord charts and word charts for every song. Bring a copy for each performer and the producer/engineer. If you don’t know how ask during your visit and they will help you do this.
• Be able to play each song without singing and to sing each song without playing
• Practice each song a metronome at your chosen tempo, practice, practice and practice some more.
• Work out firm arrangements or get someone to help you.
• Practice until you can do the songs in their arrangements backwards/forwards and in your sleep.
• Did I say practice?

WHEN YOU ARE IN THE STUDIO

•  Be humble, the guys in the studio know more and have seen more than you. If you are smarter and know more than the studio guys, you are in the wrong studio.
• Know what you want. Have a mission statement. Be able to tell others your goals for the sessions
• Listen to your producer/engineer and never be afraid to ask, this ain’t their first rodeo. That doesn’t necessarily mean do everything they say it only means listen and consider.
• Drink water, not coffee, not soft drinks and NOT alcohol in the studio. Your vocal chords will thank you and your performance will be much better. Save the drink for celebrating a great session.
• Have fun!!! It isn’t rocket science, it is art so be an artist!

One final note before I sign off. I have spoken about a studio like it was already chosen. If yours isn’t you need to find someone who can help you realize your vision. While there are quite a few in the area I would like to mention two in particular that I have personal experience with and can highly recommend. In the Longview/Gilmer, TX area, Rhandy Simmons’s Siesta Ranch Studio – (903)-725-3883 -has a great funky vibe, top end gear and years of experience in recording all kinds of music. In the Tyler, TX area, Bob Gentry’s studio, The Living Room – (903) 593-7596 – is filled to the brim with great gear, vibe and Bob’s encyclopedic musical knowledge and experience. As I said there are many other studios in the area, large and small. Visit a few, ask questions and decide which one you are most comfortable with. The most important thing to remember is that the studio should be your partner in creating your vision. You are hiring them to help you reach that goal. I guarantee the most important thing about choosing a studio is the owner and/or staff not the latest cool equipment. If you don’t feel a chemistry move on. Trust your gut. After all isn’t that what art is all about. So you still want to be a rock and roll star? Well you better get to it because time is a wasting!

See you next issue.

Randy Brown is a small business owner and award winning singer/songwriter living in East Texas and has been involved with many sides of the music business over the years, from being a sideman, a sound man, touring performing songwriter, operating a venue, and a recording studio owner/engineer. He is almost 60 years old and still wants to be a rock and roll star.

I have quite a few new shows up on my schedule between now and Christmas. I will be competing at the Texas Independent Musicians Expo (TIME) songwriter’s contest on Nov 5 and then several shows including a songwriters in the round with Randy Hopper and Jim Bush. Also for many of the close to home shows, a great percussionist, Allen Prazak will be playing with me. Hope to see you at one of more of em’. Upcoming Shows Link

Just booked a new show at Canton’s wonderful, Texas Roads Winery on December 17. Music starts at 7pm  and goes until 10pm. There is a $5 cover. Put it on your calendars and come on down we’ll have a great time.