My top 11 takeaways from #NAMM 2018
Here are my top 11 takeaways from #NAMM 2018: #1 There’s a lot of money in the music business. But finding it, like hunting Pokemon, can be hazardous. Just know that it’s there, and don’t be desperate. #2 The Bay Area is a hotbed of talent, but LA has skillz. #3 Synth and electronic music...
Watch this recording session where Manny Moka plays a Yamaha hybrid piano that sounds grand
I was noodling on the gleaming grand pianos at Piedmont Piano in downtown Oakland on a recent Sunday afternoon when Manny Moka (aka Norman Landsberg, general manager at Piedmont Piano) approached and we started talking about our respective music projects. He showed me a video of a recent recording he did. It sounded great, but I was surprised...
The Singer’s Survival Guide: 12 Ways to Save Your Voice
After the gig, you never see a sax player toss his $5000 instrument on the ground and let it get kicked around by the sound man a few times before throwing it into a garbage bag and dragging it to the car. Gigging singers often treat their instrument like it’s a $5 kazoo. Broadway singers...
NAMM Wrap-up: Booth Babe Blues
It’s hard to sing in a trade show booth — that is, without all the trappings. At NAMM, everywhere you walked there was a musician playing in a booth, showing off the wares of his or her corporate sponsor. Some had a better set-up than others: A small wooden circle stage, just 8 inches off...
NAMM: Steve Vai on Not Struggling in the Music Business
“I never struggled a day in this business,” said Steve Vai. “I’ve been so blessed. It was always, how can I do this thing on guitar, and you work until you can do that.” Vai was honored at the 27th annual TEC awards, receiving the 2011 Les Paul award for the creative application of music...
Day One at NAMM
Today was actually our day two, as we started yesterday for the press preview. Some of the press we previewed for were legit, some probably formed a publishing concern in order to get a pass to NAMM. But today it started to become clear just how much of an onslaught of music business insiders and...
See you at NAMM! My first (appropriately geeky) endorsement deal!
So I’ve had a really interesting gig these past few months, where I get to mix my three main skills as a professional musician & bandleader, a technology journalist/pundit and a copywriter. I’m actually working with Exadel, the makers of Tiggzi, to shape the perfect tool to help musicians build their own mobile apps to...
