The Joy Of Promo

I've been working recently on getting The Shelter Dogs, our lovely and talented band, out in front of crowds that can appreciate them...and I tell you, I don't think I was born for this side of the business! Most of my life as a musician I've been a sideman, which has its positives and negatives...the negatives include having little or no say on creative input or song selection, being at the mercy of the bandleader's (sometimes questionable) instincts, and having no control over when and where you'll play. The positives are that you don't have to do promo, or to deal with bar owners, festival promoters and booking agents...stuff I'm now learning to do. In some respects its a very good thing, and when everything works out it's great, but it's a lot of hassle too mostly and a LOT of time on the phone, on the web, and designing and producing the material you need.

There are a lot of useful tools these days that we didn't have till just recently...Facebook, Reverbnation, Twitter (still have to work on that one), Electronic Press Kits, and just getting around on the web makes things a lot easier. But each of the social networks, promo sites, etc. all have a learning curve to them...which takes more time...and also, seeing just how MANY bands and performers there are out there is kind of intimidating. Not that I'm really too worried...I actually think The Shelter Dogs are an amazing band that has a great future...but just getting people to see 'em is the challenge. And hopefully not just at some sports bar where the big screen TV behind the stage is broadcasting the game! I did a sub gig with my pals The Blues Owls last month where we were doing that very thing...crazy.

So I've got some challenges ahead, trying to make ends meet while doing all this promo stuff (hey, and I still have to work on my playing and to rehearse with the band!), while dealing with family, friends and my lovely fiance. Oh yeah, and the seven cats...maybe I should talk about them in a different post though. That's a WHOLE other subject. Anybody want a cat?