#Band Management

20 Mar 2011
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Stryper Concert Review With Black Water James The Wildhorse Saloon Nashville, TN March 18th, 2011

Stryper Concert Review With Black Water James The Wildhorse Saloon Nashville, TN March 18th, 2011

By David Lowry

I was anticipating a good show on this night, as I have never seen a “bad” Stryper concert, so I was excited to be there from the beginning. What I left the show feeling was a shock even to me. I came as a fan; I left as an even bigger one. Let’s start with the opening act Black Water James.

I have seen Black Water James once previously about six weeks ago, so I knew what I was in for when they came on. I was looking forward to seeing them again as I was hoping to see improvement because they were in a much better venue.

Black Water James has a lot of energy and a lot of potential as a rock band. They were pretty good for about the first four songs but then I noticed that all the songs started to sound the same. Both times I have seen them now, about three quarters of the way through their set, everything does sound a bit the same.

Greater dynamics are needed and catchier hooks to keep the audience in it the whole time. The band brings a decent image and are decent musicians, but the song writing is still a little weak for such a long set. I also question the order of the songs. It seems their best material is all in the front of the set closing it out with weaker, less “hooky” songs.

They attempt dual guitar solos, which is great, but would be better if they were in harmony, not just an octave apart or in unison. Also the guitar solos themselves are a bit weak in stating anything. They aren’t a story within the song. It comes off as mainly pentatonic noodling. Both players are capable and have great potential for doing more with this.

For a band of only 2 1/2 years, they are still one of the top five rock bands in Nashville and do portray a great energy on stage. The drummer is worth watching alone. He’s got great groove, stays in the pocket very well and puts on a great show. This band will do great things if they keep improving and don’t lose focus. They were certainly up to the challenge of opening for Stryper and aren’t afraid to let it all hang out.

When Stryper took the stage, the bar was raised tenfold. Not only do they look great, but also everything looks pristine. The stage is clean and uncluttered, the guitars are polished, the clothes are clean and pressed and they look like they belong in a band together. Their image is always good and their show is impeccable.

The songs were flawlessly played and crystal clear and they burst with energy. The band met the crowd with respect and humor. They really know how to connect with their audience and bring them in. During the whole show, the crowd was singing along word for word with every song. The band threw out many Bibles and picks to the fans who were all to eager to get one.

Michael Sweet’s voice was as amazing as ever. He hasn’t lost a thing vocally and in many ways is probably stronger. His guitar playing is on par with most of the great guitarists we think of. How often do you get to see a performer who is a world class vocalist and guitar player? Oz Fox has always been a top tier guitar player as well and successfully backs up Michael vocally on a few parts, giving Michael the rest his voice needed, showing again how incredibly talented this band truly is. Timothy Gaines, who is an amazing bass player in any style of music, drove the bus with Robert Sweet, keeping the rhythm section tight and thundering. His bass tone was perfect and really filled out the sound. Whether using his finger or a pick, the bass cut through and gave a serious foundation to the heavy guitars. Robert “The Visual Time Keeper” Sweet was as solid as he has ever been and always puts on an amazing drum workshop each concert. Easily one of the most underrated rock drummers of all time and he proves it every time I see him.

The one thing Stryper does better than anyone else I have ever seen is sing in harmony. Their harmonies were awesome! This band should be teaching younger bands what it takes to put on an incredible live show. They are so well rehearsed and professional that they are able to put it all on the line for a show that puts most bands I have ever seen to shame.

Stryper did three cover songs as well as the usual classics. They did “Over The Mountain” by Ozzy Osbourne, “Heaven and Hell” by Black Sabbath and “Shout It Out Loud” by Kiss. Their performance was flawless and on par with any of the performances I have seen of the original artists.

On a scale of 1 to 10 this concert gets a 9.5. The only deduction being it wasn’t long enough. The fans are having so much fun singing along at the show, the times flies by and it’s over in an instant. After doing the encore, Michael Sweet closed out in prayer, praying for everyone in the building and in Japan — again showing the heart this band has for its fans and the world.

In a nutshell, Stryper put on a better live show then 95% of any bands I have ever seen and they do it consistently. They are a text book band for younger generations to follow to learn from and understand why practice, talent, songwriting, vocal harmonies, solos, set preparation, stage presence and connecting with their audience are so critically important to the success of their career.

If you are on the fence about seeing Stryper on tour this year or have never seen them, go! Spend the money; it is so well worth it. You’ll get so much more than just a good show or performance. You’ll get a band that cares about its fans, the world and doing something greater than themselves. To find out more about Stryper and their tour dates, check out their website www.stryper.com.

Note: The Lowry Agency has no affiliation with anyone mentioned in this review.

 

 

07 Mar 2011
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When Does an Artist or Band Need a Manager? Part II

When Does an Artist or Band Need a Manager? Part II

In the first blog I wrote on this subject http://wp.me/pu8Se-E, I commented on some of the basic requirements that bands should have before approaching management for help with their career. So that the artist or band knows what to have in place before approaching a manager, let’s dig a little deeper into what a manager is looking for in a band before he is willing to take them on.

First and foremost, an artist or band does not ever really need a manager if they are not gigging consistently for pay. The manager has to have something to work with and if the artist or band isn’t running a business, there is nothing to manage. An artist has to put in the work, sweat, blood and tears sometimes for years before approaching management. That probably means doing all the work first by yourself or hopefully with some help if you can find it.. A manager doesn’t want to manage an artist or band that isn’t willing to bust their butt as hard as the artist or band is expecting the manager to bust it for them.

The role of an Artist Manager is a more than full time job and it requires the same ability to deal with rejection, frustration and being overwhelmed as the artist or band deals with but on a much bigger level. A manager should add structure and stability to the current situation, but doing management takes a lot of work and the artist or band needs to have proven ahead of time that they have what it takes to make it in the business at least with work ethic.

An artist or band doesn’t get the excuse about how overwhelmed they are with personal life, health, work or anything else because the manager they chose doesn’t either. Everyone expects the world from their manager and very rarely has the money or wants to pay for the help and the unbelievable amount of work it takes to launch a career and keep it going. If the artist can’t put the appropriate amount of time and hard work into their career in the beginning — such as booking their own shows, researching appropriately who they need to contact, what are the proper steps of submissions, having a consistent image that is original, a good sized fan base and this does not mean less that 25,000 fans at least, a branding campaign and a good understanding of social media — then the manager has nothing to work with to get them to the next level. This also shows the manager that this particular artist or band isn’t willing to do what it takes in most cases.

There is so much information out there for an artist or band to read and learn about the business that there really is no excuse to not know the basics anymore. Assuming that a person really wants to make a career of this, then they will do all the research it takes just like any other business owner has to do to be successful.

The manager has to take this artist or band and sell it the labels, booking agents, publicists and anyone else that is needed to make their career happen. The manager should have something to start with that might need to be refined, smoothed over and sometimes even rebranded, but at least the manager gets a good feel for what the artist is capable of and how hard they worked to get there. Often this will require a good amount of time and money that the artist has to be willing to put in to launch their career, but there is really no other way around it. The artist should expect to work as hard as they need to, to make this happen for themselves especially since they expect their manager too.

In the beginning an artist or band might need to pay for hourly consultation instead of full-time management. This is something they can do with a manager who offers these consultation services and it can greatly help an artist or band develop a road map or direction for their career. They can work on it at their pace and have more consultations when the goals laid out have been reached. It is highly recommended that a band do this to help avoid a lot of the pitfalls of the music business and it can put them on a “fast track” to launch their career.

Another important thing to remember is that the manager has to do the very same thing for their own business. While they are managing everyone elses careers and businesses, they also have to do the exact same for themselves. It takes just as much planning, branding, design, phone calls, etc., for a manager to build his own business in order to be effective for his clients. If he can juggle all these responsibilities, it is fair that he expects any new prospective clients to have been actively working their careers with the same amount of work ethic.

Take the time to time to really look at your careers and work towards your goals. When you have achieved those, then approach management appropriate with the proper cover letter and press kit.

 

Good Luck!