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Three Things Keyboard Players Can Do

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek, Teaching Video Blogs Greenroom: 2 Comments

As you know, the visual aspects of a performance are important, and we work on making songs look different from each other.  This is easy for guitar players and singers, but I get approached all the time, by keyboard players asking, ‘What do I do?  I’m stuck behind a piano or a keyboard set-up!’  It’s […]

How Soon Should You Work on Your Show?

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 8 Comments

I’ve gotten both kinds of calls — the kind where I’m asked to help an artist with their show 1-2 months in advance of a tour or showcase, and the kind where I’m supposed to be the “fix-it” guy working with someone a few days before a big, important show. So when is the best […]

When 30 Minutes Is Too Much and 2 Hours Isn’t Enough

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 1 Comment

I went to a show at the arena here in town to see someone I’d worked with – a #1 artist with lots of #1 hit songs. It was totally sold out…lots of excitement in the room. The first opening act had some great songs, lots of energy, and did a decent job onstage.  Unfortunately, […]

First Things First – The Best Way to Plan & Rehearse Your Show

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 4 Comments

We all know by this time in our lives, the importance of doing things in the right order…whether we DO that or not is another issue! Skipping a step or jumping ahead while baking a cake or putting together a piece of furniture will have a sad outcome, and won’t end up looking like the […]

Built for the System or Not

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 10 Comments

I was recently inspired by a Seth Godin blog, “Is a famous thinker better than a great one?” Seth’s concept applies to artists and musicians, I think. Only the question for us becomes, “is a famous artist’s music, creativity, & show better than yours?” Because someone is famous, are they more creative, is their show […]

Upping Your on Screen Show

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: Leave a Comment

I was just watching a replay of MTV’s inaugural show on its 40th anniversary, and chuckling at their choice for first video out of the shoot being the song ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’.  I immediately thought about today’s music world, where at one point I wondered if we’d be singing, ‘Video Killed the Live […]

Your Audience – at Ease or on Edge?

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 18 Comments

Recently, I was part of a private audience at a magic show in a relative’s home. You know…card tricks, disappearing doves, guy-in-a-tux. Fun, right?  Should have been, but turns out it was basically a front-row seat to a train wreck. The magician – whom I’ll re-name ‘Hocus’ –  got off to a rough start by […]

Winning the Crowd – What YOU can learn from Nashville’s Honky Tonks

by Backstage: Materials, Tools & Skills, Sneak Peek Greenroom: 8 Comments

Nashville is unique in many ways and is home to many types of venues, artists and genres. We have larger concert venues for international touring artists, smaller rooms showcasing both signed and indie artists, smaller ‘listening’ rooms that cater to songwriters, and everything in-between.  Then, there’s a six block area – downtown on Broadway and up […]

You Can Go from Good to Great!

by Backstage: Sneak Peek Greenroom: 1 Comment

One of the “7 Deadly Sins of an Artist” I talk about is “being good.” Doesn’t sound like a bad thing, does it? But trust me, being good…is bad! There are a lot of artists out there that are good. Often, they don’t know they need help – they know they’re good. And when I […]

Unleashing Your Lead Player (Help, I’m Strapped Part II)

by Backstage: Sneak Peek Greenroom: 6 Comments

In my previous blog geared toward guitar players, I wrote about what you can do to be more interesting on stage.  I covered some excuses you may have for not moving, then gave you some solutions for that, plus gave you some basics in regards to movement.  Check out the article here. Here in Part […]