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Making a Living as a Cover Band – 4 Important Elements

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 6 Comments

There’s no shame in being part of a cover band or a tribute act. I’ve worked with some. The thing is, if you do that, do it well and make no apologies! I must admit, most cover bands I’ve seen are forgettable, or painful, or worse – cheesy. This doesn’t have to be the case. […]

Bootcamp Meets Rock Band

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Recently, we were in Virginia Beach in front of a theatre full of Army personnel from all over the country. Tom and I put one of the US Army’s rock bands, USA Express, onstage and worked with them, taking a song and creating moments to connect with the audience. And we heard and saw it […]

Extreme Makeover: Tom Jackson Edition

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Whether it’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Pimp My Ride, or What Not to Wear, we all enjoy seeing a transformation. We like to see the dramatic “before” and “after” that gives a great look to whatever is being made over. Not long ago, I was asked about my “live music makeovers.” Whether I’m working with […]

American Idols – Do We Know Who You Are?

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 9 Comments

I think I may have figured it out…that underlying factor that pegs me every time I watch American Idol. It’s the age factor, or more importantly, the maturity factor. It hit me when Kara commented for the umpteenth time, “we don’t know who you are!” Of course we don’t know who they are…they are TOO […]

The Group Dynamic on American Idol

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Being in a band or group of any kind requires teamwork. No question about it. That was very evident as I watched American Idol contestants divide up and perform in group competitions. It was rough! Many of them weren’t used to the give and take singing in a group calls for. Typically someone will name […]

All Gigs Are Not Created Equal

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 15 Comments

It’s true. All gigs are not created equal! Sometimes you’re on a huge stage, sometimes it’s an intimate coffee shop. So how do you apply Tom’s Live Music Methods to both places? Amy WolterAs a trained Live Music Producer for Tom Jackson Productions, Amy Wolter brings her years onstage as a lead singer & keyboardist […]

Make an Emotional Connection Instead of a Pitch

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 2 Comments

You’ve heard me talk again and again about the importance of making an emotional connection with your audience. Well, my friend Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby and Host Baby, recently posted an interesting article about another way to make that connection. Derek heard about a band that decided to make sure everyone in their […]

Does This Stuff Really Work?

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 1 Comment

Ask Reilly. They decided to make an investment in their career. They decided to invite me to work with them to find out how to make a better emotional connection with their audience. They already had good songs, and are good players, but they recognized that there was something missing. So I helped them find […]

Bluegrass – Directing the Audience’s Attention

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 2 Comments

A bluegrass musician asked me how his group could create something unique. He really wanted to create some moments for the audience; but, as he said, “it’s a bluegrass group, and tradition says we stand in the same place for the whole song!” But subtle things make a difference. We need to Tom JacksonTom is […]

Push the Envelope

by Backstage: Making it Your Own Greenroom: 5 Comments

Many of the artists I’ve worked with have two distinct sides to their psyche. One side is creative genius, the other is a person riddled with insecurities. One side dreams of life on stage, and one side is stuck in ‘what-if’ land. What if I take chances and people don’t like it? What if something […]