?>
Lost Password?
You are here: Home / Archives for Making it Your Own

A Trip to the Woodshed!

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: Leave a Comment

Ever hear the term “woodshedding” when a musician talks about needing some intense practice? (You jazzers may have heard it as ‘sheddin!) According to some urban dictionaries, the phrase comes from a woodshed being the place where you “sharpen your axe.” I just spent time in Toronto at Canadian Music Week and heard plenty of […]

Too Much, Too Soon – Instrumentally Speaking

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 12 Comments

Don’t sing? Wondering how to best kick off your show? If you’re a talented player, I know the temptation you have is to come out and really wow the crowd. After all, you’ve got to ‘show ‘em what you can do’ right? Wrong. Well, if you’re doing a set of 15 minutes or longer, that […]

Differentiation – New Music Seminar Video

by Backstage: Making it Your Own, Workshop & Panel Videos Greenroom: 1 Comment

A few years ago, I had the privilege of being on a panel at the New Music Seminar in Los Angeles with musician/songwriter Little Steven Van Zandt (Bruce Springsteen), Just Blaze (Eminem, Jay-Z), Kelly Cutrone (Lady Gaga), and moderator Bill Werde (Billboard). The panel topic was Differentiation – in other words, how do you make […]

Developing Themes & Characters: Characters

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 1 Comment
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Developing Themes & Characters

Part of what a Live Music Producer does is visual. If you’ve watched one of my Live Music Makeover DVDs, seen us work with an artist onstage at a workshop, or looked at Backstage videos to see a 1-on-1 rehearsal clip, then you’ve no doubt noticed the visual changes we suggest. But if you’ve only […]

Developing Themes & Characters: Themes

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 1 Comment
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Developing Themes & Characters

I’ve said it over and over… the rehearsal hall is my world! Sometimes that means working (like I did last week) with a young artist who is just beginning to think about a music career. And sometimes it means working (like I’m doing this week) with a Grammy-nominated, Dove award-winning, #1 hit-making group that’s been around […]

That Was MY Idea

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 3 Comments

Oftentimes I hear one member of a band say “that was MY idea,” and the guitar player says “no, that was MY idea,” and someone else says “hey, I’M the one who thought of it”…and I’m thinking “who cares?” One of the most maddening and counter-productive posturing that can happen when I’m working with an […]

But I Play Country Covers

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 5 Comments

Admit it. You’ve done it. We’ve all done it. And sometimes just 10 minutes before you go onstage! Someone gets out a piece of paper, turns to the band and asks, ‘What songs should we do?’ That’s the kind of thing that makes us here at Tom Jackson Productions shudder and scream. Needless to say, […]

All Because I Wanted Their Picture

by Backstage: Making it Your Own, The Foundation Greenroom: Leave a Comment

I remember the feeling. Too amazing for words really. Our band was invited to play in Sao Paulo, Brazil at a huge festival. The driver threaded his way from our hotel past scores of buses that lined the streets for miles leading up to and around the soccer stadium. People had come from all across […]

My Graph for the 3-Set Dance Band

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 5 Comments

As a Live Music Producer you’d think I’d be used to it. But I am always amazed at how many kinds of music there are and how many ways musicians and performers make a living in the live music industry. For instance, did you know that in the Grammy awards last month they gave awards […]

The ‘In-the-Moment’ Moments

by Backstage: Making it Your Own, Materials, Tools & Skills Greenroom: Leave a Comment

Ok. You’ve worked on your set. You’ve worked on your show, your moments, your transitions, and all manner of details. You are now standing onstage, keeping an eye on the audience. To one side of the stage you see some people doing a really cool dance move to the chorus of your song and you […]