#The Lowry Agency

21 Sep 2011
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How To Not Get Noticed

I am posting a list of 20 things to do to not get noticed by entertainment pros or endorsement companies. It’s a sad thing that I am having to post this because it’s common sense but this what we get hit with all day everyday and it is the quickest way to make sure you get no attention from us even if you do it correctly later because you have already put a bad taste in our mouth. There are of course many more things that could be listed but this should open your eyes enough to “get it” and start thinking about what you are doing or how you are damaging your career by not being professional.

  1. Spamming our Facebook or Twitter private message boxes with out having ever talked with us before and developing a relationship.
  2. Spamming our Facebook or Twitter feeds telling us to check you out.
  3. Visibly spamming contact after contact in your feed so everyone can see it.
  4. Chasing down every endorsement your friends’ band just got.
  5. Not properly following submission policies posted on their websites.
  6. Asking for free product when you haven’t proven your effectiveness as an artist in getting a brand out there.
  7. Following your friends’ contacts on social media hoping to get “in” with them instead of asking for a proper introduction.
  8. Sending sub-par material for your photos, press kits, songs or websites.
  9. Expecting anything with less than 80 gigs a year.
  10. A visible social media base of very low numbers and then saying how big your fan base is.
  11. Not knowing the correct info about your bands statistics.
  12. Posting constantly negative stuff on your Twitter or Facebook accounts whether it’s personal or business but especially about the business.
  13. Trashing other bands, promoter, agents, managers or venues etc…
  14. Writing very poor lazy introductions with properly submitting a cover letter/email and electronic press kit. Sending a one or two line email with a website is nowhere near enough, that’s just plain lazy.
  15. Sending generic emails that haven’t been addressed or written specifically for the contact intended.
  16. Trying to go through the back door so to speak. Don’t contact anyone except whom you are supposed to unless a friend has an “in” and offers to help you.
  17. Wasting a professional’s time with stupid questions i.e. “Are you taking new clients?” when their site specifically say’s “Not accepting new clients at this time.”
  18. Contacting a professional about services they don’t offer because you didn’t do your research.
  19. Showing up to gigs in no shape to play due to being drunk or stoned.
  20. Being unprofessional at gigs by being late, rude, poor performance, not setting up your merchandise properly, not working the crowd etc…
If you avoid these very simple and common sense things then you can greatly improve your chances of getting noticed or hopefully even more than that.
Good Luck!
31 Aug 2011
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Guitarist Damon Johnson joins Thin Lizzy on their upcoming tour.

Thin Lizzy has recruited guitarist Damon Johnson (Alice Cooper, Brother Cane) to replace Richard Fortus on their forthcoming US tour with Judas Priest. Fortus will be on the road with Guns n Roses for the remainder of the year.
http://www.prlog.org/11640642-guitarist-damon-johnson-joins-thin-lizzy-on-their-upcoming-tour.html

29 Aug 2011
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Where Do You Find The Strength?

This is for all of the entertainers and business people out there who feel like they are doing this all alone. When you believe in yourself but you feel overwhelmed or life is trying to beat you down, how do you find the strength to keep chasing the dream? When you have no real support system or someone to drive you or believe in you, how do you keep going? These are things that many of us have to struggle with everyday, even if we aren’t alone, but for those that are, it can seem insurmountable.  For many their religion may be a big support here but I don’t want to get into that debate for this blog although a persons faith should play a big part.

I am a firm believer that activity breeds’ activity and it’s that activity that can really give you the boost you need when things seem hard. Activity keeps things happening and popping up on your radar, which helps to keep the excitement and productivity there. But what happens when you hit a slow patch or the money just isn’t coming in? How do you cope when you feel like you are doing this all alone, month after month or year after year? When you can’t pay your bills or even afford to take the next step in your career?

For those of you like me that don’t have a family or loved ones to support you or your best friends aren’t anywhere near you, let me suggest trying to really stay focused on your goals. When life’s problems creep up on us, if we do nothing it will just get worse so we have to do something. Setting your goals and meditating on them daily can really help you stay motivated through the hard times.  Keep taking those little steps everyday to make something happen and be diligent. Don’t let things fall through the cracks and let the momentum grow to carry you through.

Many times you can’t rely on anyone else and you have to be able and willing to push yourself hard enough to get through anything. Making lists of tasks to get done no matter how small can really help boost your mood and help develop good working habits and discipline. It’s usually a lack or break down of this discipline that gets us into trouble or never allows us to really get the footing we need to make things happen.

Ultimately it’s only you that can make the necessary change. In this business you have to want it more than anything sometimes to force yourself through the dire straits of life. Develop good working habits and also develop an accountability partner you can call on if you are at all able to. Other than that, focus on your goals daily, performs your tasks and do all the things your career needs to have done, not just the easy things or the ones you are good at. Part of not dropping the ball is doing the tasks that you hate doing. It’s here you will find the most success usually. Once you get things moving again, the weight lifts and your productivity increases. Now it’s just a matter of not falling in a rut again so keep the discipline up. Some times even finding another artist going through what you are going through and encouraging them will do the same for you. Give it a try!

Good luck!

25 Aug 2011
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Social Media Common Sense

I Lie In the Bed I Make

I have written quite a few blogs on social media and they seem to be the most popular ones when I look at the total view counts so it amazes me when I have to write a blog like this. It would seem by the numbers that people have an interest in learning social media and being professional at it so you would think this kind of blog is unnecessary, but alas to my surprise here I am writing one. I apologize if this seems preachy but I just don’t know how else to say it.

To have common sense is expected of all of us yet it seems there are many who don’t exhibit the usage of it or even care to when it comes to social networks and professionalism. Musicians especially those in the rock/metal genre who like to “go against the grain” so to speak forget that they are running a business and they usually don’t have a PR team to “spin” their quotes and save their butts every time they say something stupid or supremely un-profound. So here are a couple pieces of advice that you shouldn’t need a “professional” to tell you.

Don’t get on Facebook or twitter and complain about how much you are not getting paid for playing your gigs. Most of you have sent friend requests to or followed those you are trying to get in touch with to get your gigs and further your music careers. If you complain about what you did or didn’t get paid then do you really think they are going to book you back? Don’t you think that those that haven’t booked you yet are going to notice and take a pass on you? The local professionals, talent buyers, promoters and booking agents know what you bring in and how effective an entertainer you are, they already know what you are worth if you have been around any length of time. People see what you post especially if you and all your friends are making comments on the same post and it gets more popular and keeps popping in everyones news feed and of course they will react to it. You aren’t doing yourself any favors by posting negative things about the people or venues giving you a shot at performing and it just makes you look unprofessional and like you have no idea what you are talking about.

Just yesterday on Facebook, someone complained about how it’s unfair how they didn’t get paid for a gig and that cover bands are getting paid more to play then original bands. The person in this band has a total of 349 fans on their Facebook page, 93 followers on twitter and 39 fans on Myspace. This juggernaut of a band is complaining because they packed out a venue and didn’t get paid for it but a cover band would have. They said they rocked this place and they packed out two shows in a row. Please tell me how they rocked a place out, packed it out or even brought enough fans with such a poor showing of fan numbers on their social media sites? Unless everyone of those fans lived in Nashville and everyone came to the shows they couldn’t have possible packed any place out. I confronted him on it because I was there for one of them and knew the truth. There were four bands that night. At least a third of the people in the room were from other bands and their crew. Another third may have been fans of all the bands and the rest were over flow from the two other bars connected that kept walking in and out. Many in disbelief at what they saw.

This person went on to say it was harder to be an original band than a cover band. I disagree, it’s easier to play your own music in your own style than to try and cop someone else’s style, feel and solo’s. Cover bands play four or five hours a night and in Nashville many play eight hours a night for just tips. Original bands play 45 minutes. Also, cover bands play what people want to hear so people hang out and drink and so the bar makes a profit. Most original bands don’t get people to hang out and drink enough beer for the venue to make a profit and most of the time the original bands music really isn’t very good, so again, why should you get paid?

If you want to play the argument that because you are working so hard to put out original music so you should get paid more, then well true master musicians like Allan Holdsworth, Chick Corea, Jean Luc Ponty or Andrew York should be making all the money, not Lady Gaga and certainly not the one complaining. We should be sitting playing with our finger paints compared to people like that. Mozart died penniless and he puts everyone to shame. We certainly don’t deserve to get paid more or equal to those who are doing what needs to be done to entertain the crowd just because we play original music and hell I went to music school to learn a lot of this. Most of the people complaining don’t know the difference between a major scale or a minor scale, what a 13th chord is or even a tri-tone substitution, but hey you are working just as hard as all the other original musicians who study their instruments to complete proficiency in all genres and write their own original music right? Working hard is completely relative and I know a lot of cover bands that work a hell of a lot harder then the original ones that I see complaining.

This is nothing new obviously. I see this all the time on social networks. I will say this, I really only see it coming from the metal scene. I don’t see it as much from artists from another genres. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, I just haven’t seen it as much. First clue, you play metal in Nashville! Hello? Really? You think you are going to make money in a country/Christian music town when even they don’t get paid here and it’s what’s popular? You need to draw more than 5 – 30 people a show before you complain about getting paid. Come on people a serious reality check is needed.

It’s also funny that most of the people I see doing it or abusing social networks and spamming music professionals are people who went to school for music business. If you are going to pay that much money for college, I’d think you’d want to learn something from it and actually apply it instead of doing everything ass backwards and ruining it for everyone else.

Social networks are a great place for you to grow your fan base and maybe even make some good connections. Not a place for you to complain, spam or tear apart other bands, promoters and especially not venues you play at. Please don’t act like that and expect to be taken seriously. Be professional even on your personal pages or don’t invite “music professionals” of any kind to be your friends because if you can’t control yourselves and act like an adult then you are probably alienating those that can help you.

Use common sense people. You were given it for a reason.

Good Luck!

16 Aug 2011
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Jani Lane – A Tribute

Granted, I come from the 80’s hair metal world. I grew up playing all the songs in cover bands and wanting to be the next guitar hero like Steve Vai, Richie Kotzen, Nuno Bettencourt or Paul Gilbert, so I have an affinity for some of the music of that era. The 80’s bands were known for their excess and being over the top with their image. While this is true, it’s exactly what being a “rock star” is all about, being larger than life and attaining the seemingly unobtainable “superstardom.” You can say what you want about the 80’s music scene, but all I can tell you is there has never been a more fun time in music and the entertainment factor then was much bigger and stronger than it has ever been. I will never be embarrassed by the 80’s as many of today’s musicians miss everything when it comes to knowing how to entertain. Big hair, make-up, spandex it’s all good with me as long as you can entertain. Jani Lane knew this about the music business and pursued his dream with everything he had.

Jani was one of the most prolific songwriter’s of this era. His song “Cherry Pie” is still famous and used in commercials to this day and he didn’t even like it. It took him 15 minutes to write as a last minute single at the request of his label. Jani had the ability to take everyday common phrases and turn it into a hit song, which is the sign of a true hit songwriter. Jani was able to say what we were all feeling and wanted to say to the ones we love in his songs in the most simple way that we could all relate to with out being to wordy. The hit song “Heaven” is a perfect example of this; as we all played this for our sweet hearts back in High School or for me barely out of high school. Songwriting genius comes in many forms and Jani had it in spades but thankfully in a way that us everyday people could access and relate to emotionally, deeply and personally which is exactly why Warrant’s songs did so well on the charts.

Songs like “Blind Faith” is the kind of song I have always wanted to be able to say to the woman I love. In its simplicity are the strongest words and emotions that are evoked when I think about what I desire with someone I love. Jani had songs like “I Saw Red”, “Stronger Now” and “Bitter Pill” that all reached us where it hurt most often. Whether it is the pain of losing we love, being cheated on or thankful that someone stuck with us when we were at our worst. Jani had a way of relating that in song and we loved it, we felt it and it stuck in our hearts and has never gone away.

Jani wrote other incredible songs like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “Down Boys” and “Machine Gun” which were just great rock songs and made you want to pump your fist in the air.  His talent was far reaching and unfortunately ended way to early. To write one hit song in your career is an outstanding feat and most are very lucky to do it once let alone mutltiple times. Jani Lane wrote “Heaven” which peaked at #2 and “Cherry Pie” which topped out at #5. Jani had 9 songs that placed in the Billboard Top 100, a pretty hefty accomplishment for any songwriter and most would kill to have that kind of success. To not recognize his talent and ability is a crime and honestly no matter what his personal problems were, his talent was undeniable.

I remember reading interviews and being at concerts where Jani said he was embarrassed about some of the slow songs he wrote. Jani was trying to be heavier and cool with the new music regime. I was also at shows where he was beaming with pride and so thankful to his audience for making his songs so huge. Jani fought demons many of us will never know or understand, but in the end Jani was proud of his music as should we all be.

Any songwriter, musician or entertainer can learn a lot from Jani Lane. He was a true entertainer and was given a gift most of us spend years chasing down. Take the time to get to know his music and talent. Forget the genre or big hair and just listen to what he had to say and how he did it. You will be a better musician and songwriter for it.

Jani Lane struggled with many of the trappings of a “rock star” lifestyle as most in the business do and especially what seems to be the loneliness that truly follows you when you are alone in your hotel room but don’t let that cloud your judgment of his talent. Don’t let the back and forth with the band Warrant affect your opinion of his music. No matter what Jani’s personal issues were, in the end Jani was one very talented musician and songwriter and his songs defined a generation. There is no bigger statement or compliment than that.

Jani, from us to you, thank you for what you have given us. We will miss you and we love you. Rest in peace my friend.

09 Aug 2011
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Social Media Boundaries for the Artist and Fan

Because Our Love’s That Strong

With the use of social media networks, artists have a whole new world to tap into and a means of developing their business by launching an online fan base. This is a very cool world that generates potential success for artists but it also hosts many possible dangers. I have run into many issues with social media in the music business and it also has affected my life personally because of it I have noticed that some of the social interactions found on these networks can cause real harm in the lives of artists, affecting their personal relationships.  Although my job is to help artists achieve their dreams, it is now appropriate to protect their personal lives –and even defend those they love–from poor networking decisions and the occasional disruptive fan(s).

When an artist develops a fan page, the concept is to get people to interact with them on Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms of their choice. If the artist is an attractive one, they are obviously going to stir a lot of attention. Some of the feedback can be positive, encouraging, and innocent; on other occasions it can be rude, unwelcome, improper — even childish at times.  These situations create not only a conflict between the artist and the fan, but also potential issues affecting the spouse or significant other of the artist.

Not everyone will agree with me on this blog and that is ok, but I feel I have a considerable amount of experience in this subject.  I want to correct the misconception as follows: Many people believe an artist has to keep his personal life private if married or involved with another person, in order to keep the mystery out there.  Some think that when you are a “rock star” you get to live by different standards when it comes to flirting, online interactions, or live performance behavior. The idea is that it is always important to have an air of availability to keep people attracted and interested in you. You feel you should not offend anybody because you cannot afford to lose fans, or ticket and merchandise sales. These are the circumstances in which an artist allows inappropriate conduct via social media. The things that would not be tolerated in every day, real life.

I feel we should never act any different online than we do in public with our spouses or significant others there. If you made a decision to be in a relationship, honor that decision. There is no job in the world that allows you to treat others without consideration for their feelings.  If you are in an entertainment career, these  situations need to be discussed with each other and decisions need to be made on how to handle it. Hopefully both people can get on the same page and work it out.

We can interact with, and respond to people who are maybe a little too flirtatious in a professional manner and let them know we appreciate their interest in our music or careers rather than resort to flirting with them in return or getting ourselves into trouble. If you have a more open relationship with your partner and they don’t mind innocent flirting that is up to you, but just remember that this type of relationship doesn’t usually last forever. As an artist you should always protect yourself from the people with no moral boundaries in order to protect your personal relationships. It is completely amazing how many people send sexual or flirtatious advances to attached artists and this from both male and female fans, equally. Many of the people sending these inappropriate messages are married or involved themselves. This is wrong on so many levels I can’t even begin to explain. If you are an artist who receives these types of messages and that would probably be most of us, then politely thank them for their comments but also tell them to be respectful of your relationship and you would be more than happy to interact with them appropriately. Trust me you will earn more respect this way, not only from your fans but also from your partner.

I have been in relationships with artists that let people flirt with them. It is never easy to watch people hit on the ones you love. I watched my partner let the conversation continue even after they confronted the person about their behavior. Instead of simply blocking the person who wouldn’t stop, that one fan or CD sale was more important than my feelings. This person was even spreading lies about me to my partner and many others and my partner still kept interacting with him because the fan was nice to them and bought her CD and she didn’t want to hurt their feelings.  No matter how I felt about the constant flirting with her and her not dealing with it appropriately, it wasn’t worth it to her to deal with it in the right way and put me first. You as the artist need to decide which is more important, your career (which for most of the artists reading this really doesn’t exist yet), the fan who will never be there for you, or the one who loves you and gives everything they have to you.

When dealing with your “fans” just let me say that unless they are buying your merchandise, tickets and so forth, they are not keeping you in a career. Even if they purchase your $15.00 CD, you don’t have to put up with inappropriate behavior. You can’t be afraid to lose a fan over inappropriate conduct. For every fan you lose you will gain 100 more.

For the fans who read this, if you know the artist is married or in a relationship and you cross those boundaries, shame on you. I am pretty sure I would know how you would feel if your partner was doing the same thing to you. Grow up and act appropriately. As a fan of the artist, I would hope you would only want the best for them and to truly support them. Don’t risk someone else’s relationship for your need to flirt with someone else’s partner. That is completely disrespectful and pathetic.

Artists: use social media for its strengths but don’t get caught up in the games or risk your relationships for someone you don’t even know. Make smart decisions, be respectful to your partners and let your music do the talking. It should be more than enough to win over your fans without the need for inappropriate behavior.

Good Luck!

20 Jul 2011
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“Rubicon Cross” EP Review

R U Angry

I get the opportunity to listen to all kinds of new music, and to be honest when it comes to rock/metal over the last few years I am usually very disappointed. It seems that the art of good songwriting and melodic lines have completely gone out the window. I rarely even get to hear good playing, let alone amazing guitar solos or great vocal harmonies. So when CJ Snare, the lead singer of the Grammy award-winning rock band “Firehouse” asked me to listen to his new four song self-titled EP “Rubicon Cross” that he cowrote with “Furyon” guitarist Chris Green, I was very excited. CJ has proven in the past he knows how to write a hit song and has always excelled in the vocal department, so I had fairly high expectations when I first decided to listen to and review this EP.

I have had CJ on my radio show “Live From Music City” a number of times, he even guest hosted with me for its one year anniversary, so I wanted to make sure I was giving this a fair listen and review and not letting my personal feelings cloud my judgment. Therefore, I have taken my time and listened to this EP many, many times. With that being said, please know, I have written this review from as honest and straightforward a point of view as I can with no bias whatsoever.

The first song, “Moving On” starts with an acoustic guitar instrumental and CJ’s vocal lines setting the tone or so we think until about 50 seconds into the song when it picks up into an energetic rock song with a great guitar riff. This song does what so many of them don’t anymore; it uses dynamics very successfully and adds so much more depth and dimension to the feel and mood of the song. Chris Green’s use of space, acoustic playing remind you that there is so much more you can do with a guitar than is being done with most rock music today. The guitar tone here is perfect. It is heavy with plenty of “aunch” but also crystal clear. You can hear everything perfectly which speaks highly of Chris’s ear and the production of this song. CJ has written another lyrically solid song with a good hook and his ability to create great vocal melodies to keep the listener tuned in doesn’t fail here. The guitar solo never strays from its purpose of telling a story within a story. Chris uses octaves and melodic runs very effectively without taking away from the song or feel. Nothing about this song feels out-of-place and the overall arrangement is very strong. “Moving On” sets the tone for the rest of the EP very effectively and is a very strong effort for CJ and Chris.

Song number two, “Next Worst Enemy” starts off strong right out the gate. A heavy, fun guitar riff with a different guitar tone, and to be honest Chris’ use of varying the use of rhythmic patterns and riffs keeps the song fresh at all times. This song has “hit” written all over it, as the hook is strong! CJ brings a great growl to the song but yet keeps the vocal melodies in place and has really excelled here at bringing back the something that is missing in rock music today, fun, while not messing with the integrity of the song. It still rocks your face off and makes you want to pump your fist in the air along with it. Again Chris Green proves he belongs in the big leagues with his guitar solo. Another very melodic song within a song. He never overplays and yet shows that he has the chops to hang with anybody. That is a sign of a mature songwriter and guitar player. There is a lot to be said in that and kudos to Chris for doing exactly what the song needs and nothing else. “Next Worst Enemy” provides a great example in rhythmic syncopation, which just keeps the song punching through without ever plodding or getting lost or boring.

“R U Angry” is the third song on the EP. Starting off mellow but immediately bursting into a great rock riff then settling into a chord arpeggiation for the verse. Chris then picks it up in the pre-chorus with a faster arpeggiation before big chords, single lines and variations in the chorus. Another huge hook for the chorus with a big CJ scream sets the stage for another “I told you so” it’s all in the songwriting moment from CJ. Chris lets it all hang out in this solo. I truly wish that more guitar players would listen to Chris and learn what it means to write a great solo. Chris has brought back something sorely lacking in today’s rock music. Solos with a purpose, statement, melody and just enough flash to make you go wow! The songs are so good that sometimes you forget that they were written out of their experiences and the message shouldn’t be lost on prowess of the individuals and that is another area where CJ tops most vocalists. He keeps you engaged and emotionally tied to the songs so that you experience the meaning behind the lyrics.

“Shine” is the fourth and last song on the EP. It starts off as an acoustic ballad and harkens back to a time when songwriting was about saying something not how outrageous you can be to get attention. As good as CJ is at writing a hook, he never lets the message get lost for the sake of a hit. The song builds a bit in the second verse with addition of clean electric guitars, bass and drums. Chris plays a sweet melodic solo with the use of wah-wah pedal that thankfully sounds like someone who knows how to use it correctly. “Shine” is another solid effort from CJ and Chris that sits perfectly in their wheelhouse of good contemporary songwriting.

In summary, “Rubicon Cross” is a very good EP that should remind people of what good songwriting, talent, production and creativity should bring to the table. Every song works here, there are no filler songs taking up space. CJ and Chris have shown that they have what it takes to make great music that never goes out of style and also the chops to take their songwriting to a different level then most. That is what good song writing is, songs that paint a musical picture in one’s mind and that is exactly what “Rubicon Cross” pulls off.

You can purchase the EP here: http://ht.ly/5JTa9 

Note: At the time of this writing, The Lowry Agency has no affiliation with “Rubicon Cross”, CJ Snare, Chris Green or “Furyon.”