You’ve written a few good songs, made a dollar or two jamming with a few bands or busking on the corner. Now, you’re no longer satisfied: dreaming of stardom, you’re hungry for the big time.
The worst thing to do is to hold out for the big break that never happens: Better to play for the love of music. With no false hopes and no illusions, start from zero. Somewhere, there’s an audience for you. Let someone hear you – mother, daughter, friend, lover – and listen to what they have to say. Drink in the encouragement and consider their criticism. It’s all good. Just get someone, anyone, anywhere, anytime to listen to you. Sing in the dark, sing in the park. Play for friends, for strangers, for young and for old.
All you need is a song and a crowd; the rest comes easy, one step at a time. The day will come when you’ll earn a place of respect. People will notice when you walk into a room. You won’t hear a pin drop when you begin to play at a local coffee house. The whole room will “rock” when you plug in and play at your neighborhood blues cafe.
But, if that’s not enough and you still want to get signed to a major record. Pet your dog. Kiss your wife or girlfriend goodbye. You’ll be away for a long, long time playing for people you don’t know in places you’ve never been before. Your chances of becoming a rock star are about as good as winning a lottery. Call it a glass ceiling. Call it a brick wall, mainstream success is rare.
They say the Beatles started their career playing in strip joints in Hamburg, Germany. Forty years ago, Hamburg’s infamous red-light district was where some of the world’s most popular rock musicians paid their dues. One day Brian Epstein discovered the Beatles when they packed the Star Club with whores, pimps, transvestites, sailors and fans of “beat music” swilling alcohol and dancing until dawn. Epstein saw something in them that no one else could see. Somehow he knew one day their raw sound would thrill audiences with a magic that will never return again.
Maybe someone will notice you one day. All you’ve got to is get the right people interested in what you’re doing and hold that interest long enough for them to “buy” what you’re doing. The more interested they are, the longer they stick around, the more ideas they’ll get for selling what you have to offer.
‘The cream always rises to the top’ doesn’t mean the best rise to the top. Without at least some marketing savvy, the average musician won’t make it very far alone no matter how good he is. Which brings me to my next thought. A performing career isn’t for most people. Most so-called pro musicians live below the poverty line spending their daylight hours watching TV in a dingey downtown apartment waiting for the phone to ring with a booking for your next paying gig. When you’re a seventeen year-old drop out, playing bar songs for a crowd of rowdy drunks might be someone’s idea of a good time but there are better ways to make a living.
If you want a life, think again. With a strong regional presence, it’s possible to make a name for yourself as an artist. If you travel a circuit, and stay around long enough your audience will grow and your CD sales will climb. If you’re good, you might become a cult hero or even a regional icon
