Everybody
dreams of being a RockStar when they
grow up, out of a million, you would be
lucky if one of those people become a
real RockStar, why? Because they had the
determination to make it, unlike all the
others they left behind. If you want to
be a RockStar, you need determination,
flexibility, common sense and of course
an amazing musical ability.
People
often think of ‘RockStars’ as drunken
drugged up idiots with a whole lot of
STI’s. This description of a RockStar is
correct, but the life style of ‘Sex,
Drugs and Rock N’ Roll’ has really just
withered down over the years to ‘Rock N’
Roll’. The reason for this because drugs
are now stronger and kill many people
before they can be a RockStar, and the
STI’s are now a lot worse than they were
twenty years ago and can kill you now.
So if being a RockStar still sounds
relevant to you, you need to follow
these steps.
-
Practice
Practice
as much as you can, practice as often as
you can, because every second you spend
practicing will put you one second above
your competition. Whatever you play,
Drums, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
or anything else, just learn every thing
you can, no matter what style you like,
learn every style, Blues, Flamenco,
Rock, Jazz, Metal etc. It is not
abnormal for someone to practice upwards
of ten hours a day, if you are not
committed to this, stop now and decide
on something else for a living because
being a RockStar is not for you. For
those willing to put in the work, read
on.
-
Make
Your Music
No matter
what style you play, there has to be an
audience or else you will never make it,
if that means playing a style you don’t
really like then that is too bad. If you
are lucky enough to be able to play the
music you like then that is great. The
easiest way to make a sound that a lot
of people will like (including record
labels) is to look at the charts, make a
similar sound with a unique flavor and
you should have a sound people want to
hear.
-
Get
Your Band Together
If you are
just playing an Acoustic Guitar and
singing this isn’t so important, but for
anything else you need to assemble your
band. Post ads in local newspapers, on
online message boards and go to your
local Music store and ask if they have a
notice board for you to place an ad on.
Ask around and eventually you will find
people wanting to play the same style
music as yourself.
-
Promote Yourself
No matter
how good you actually sound, you need to
promote yourself so people can actually
hear you. Start by playing a few free
gigs and work your way up to paying
gigs. Play covers plus your originals so
people have a reason to go see you other
than taking a chance listening to an all
original band. Get a demo CD done,
doesn’t matter how, just get it
recorded, then send it out to Record
Labels and sell it at your gigs to help
you get your name out. You may also want
to send your demo CD out to small radio
stations, the biggies won’t take a
chance with a demo but small stations
often do.
-
Get a
Manager
Once you
can afford it, get a manager, put an ad
in the Newspaper and you will find one
very fast. They will do a lot of work
for you so you can concentrate on your
music. Get them to promote you and
hopefully you can get picked up on a
record label.
If these
steps don’t work for you, don’t give up,
just keep going, you may want to
professionally record a CD and get your
manager to get it sold throughout the
country. You can also have your own
tour, by hiring out venues and doing a
lot of organizing, this can be the best
way to get your name out there.
Remember
that people will only listen to music
they want to listen to, don’t try to
change the people, change your music. If
it takes you through a few styles of
music that is ok, if your ultimate goal
is to be a RockStar, you will do
whatever it takes to get to that goal,
so if that means practicing 10+ hours a
day for 10 years, you will do it.
