The Sound Guy

Making the “Sound Guy” Happy. (Please note that “Sound Guy” encompasses both male and female professionals who run live sound for bands.-I’m looking at YOU awesome sound lady from Howler’s in Pittsburgh!)

Reporting to you from Charlottesville Virginia, your rock ‘n roll ambassador from Maine, Ms. Sasha Alcott is ready to tell you how to make your Sound Guy happy. We’re on tour which means that there are some gigs along our journey during which we might not be able to pull in a big crowd. I’ve never been to Charlottesville, and neither has Chris. So there’s no one on our list of friends or fans that we can call upon to come out tonight and enjoy a set of When Particles Collide songs.  This particular circumstance of the “gig without a crowd” is often the status quo for the unsigned touring band. Point being, tonight we might very well be playing to the other bands, the bartender and of course, the sound guy.  During this scenario it is of the utmost importance that we create the best possible live music experience for those in attendance. Even more so than the other bands and the bartender, it is of the utmost importance that we make a good impression on the person running sound. And honestly, even if we were playing to a sold-out crowd at the State Theater in Portland the next night, the same principles of “how to make your sound guy happy” would apply.

One of the reasons why I want to write this column is because, on Saturday night, we had the pleasure to share a bill with a band possessing that rare combination of inexperience, humility, talent and sincere creativity. At a club in Staten Island NY we watched three young women run through a set of original tunes during which they sang heartbreaking harmonies, combined creative drums/bass and guitar lines in simple but new ways and charmed the audience with their heartwarming interpersonal interactions. They also provided many challenges for the sound guy, and at the end of the night, I just couldn’t help but tell this promising young band how to make their transition from living room song-writers to indie-rock darlings smoother for everyone involved.

Among the nuggets of wisdom I shared with these young ladies, are the following:

• Get your face right up on the microphone. The ability of a microphone to amplify sound is (in most cases) related to the inverse square of the distance between your mouth and the mic. Too much math? Simple interpretation: The closer your are to the mic, the better. If you’re far away from the mic, then the sound guy has to turn up the gain on his or her end making feedback and the amplification of unwanted sounds much more likely.  As a general rule of thumb for myself: If I don’t put pink lipstick all over the mic, I’m simply not doing my job.
• Practice in a “live” configuration. In other words, place your singers with their backs to the drummer and make sure your instrumentalists can play facing the audience and can let go of the need to look at the drummer and each other.
• You can ask for more or less of whatever you need in your monitor, but after the third song, just deal with what you’ve got and play your best. No audience member and no sound guy wants to fiddle knobs throughout your set.
• Keep your amplifier stage volume as low as you can. Playing a show is not like rehearsing. When Chris and I practice I like to literally feel the push of air molecules from my guitar amplifier. I like to feel surrounded by sound. But this is not the best recipe for live sound. Giving the sound guy the cleanest palette with which to work means that the sound in the room will be the best sound possible. If I can hear my vocals nice and loud, catch the pitch of the guitar and hear the smack of the snare and the kick of bass drum, then I can deliver the best possible vocals and rhythm guitar performance possible without muddling my own vocal and guitar performance. The sound guy can blend all the well delivered sounds from the stage at his or her console and finally give the audience that sense of being enveloped by the sound. If my stage volume is too loud, then the audience will struggle to hear the vocals and feel like they are surrounded, not buy the sonic blanket of rock ‘n roll but by the oppressive and relentless mire thick and distorted mud.
• When the sound guy is putting mics on your amp/drums etc. DO NOT play your instrument. His or her ear, while setting up is usually very close to the origin of these sounds and they need to protect their ears. Good ears are how they make their living.
• Let the sound guy know, up front, how much reverb you would like on your vocals.
• When you run a song as part of a line or sound check make sure you include your loudest and softest volumes. Even if you need to play a bit of one song and then a bit of another, let the sound person know what your upper and lower decibel levels are going to be.
• Take the time to get the tones/monitor levels that you need, but be as quick as possible. Be a professional, don’t be a prima donna. If you’re an indie musician, the sound person is getting paid, you may or may not be getting paid. Treat the true professional with the respect he or she deserves.
• Get off the stage as quickly as possible.

If I think of some other tidbit of advice I have thus far neglected in the “Sound Guy” category, I will update this post after we complete our February tour. Until that time, please support your local musicians, work graciously with your local sound people and enjoy all the glory and humbling experiences of being an independent musician. We’ll see you soon Maine.

XO,

-Sasha

Elykksor

So here is the deal this week.  Elykksor might not be a band,but they do some pretty cool things for Maine music.  Last year was the first year of the Maine Music Hoodie featuring Maine artists Dave Gutter (Rustic Overtones, Paranoid Social Club), Spose, and Will Mallett (The Mallett Brothers Band).  Last year was a limited edition run of 50 hoodies with the three artists signatures on the arm.  With all the hype last years hoodie got Elykksor decided to make the Maine Music Hoodie 2.0 in 2013.  This year would be different, it would involve all the fans, more artists, and voting.  There was a list composed of suggested bands and artists, and then a poll for fans to go vote for their favorite.  At the end of voting the top three artists would have their signatures featured on the hoodie.  Their was so much outpouring of love this year and such a tight race that the artists finishing 4-10 also had their names printed on the hoodie.  So who is featured on this years Maine Music Hoodie you ask?  Sasha Alcott (When Particles Collide), Loretta Allen (The Other Bones), The Ghost (The Ghost of Paul Revere).  We all met in Portland last week for a photo shoot for the three featured artists and I got to tag along.  It was great to see how much Elykksor cares about Maine music and musicians.  They want to bring attention to the music scene and this is how they know how to do it!  Last year they had a rocking party in Portland with Joe Gallant, The Other Bones, The Mallet Brothers and Spose.  I am sure they will be having another one this year so keep your eyes and ears open for a date and lineup!  Thank you to Elykksor for believing in Maine musicians, it means a lot to all of us!  Check out their store, buy the Maine Music Hoodie 2.0 (it looks cool and you can show your support for Maine music while looking cool!) it is only on sale for a week!!!!!  Go get it now!

Sasha Alcott

Loretta Allen

The Ghost- Sean McCarthy

Photo Credit- Dylan Verner

Chris and I are “a band”,  “romantically involved” and we live together. As we like to tell people who ask, no, actually, we don’t fight. We can’t. There is no room in our schedule for fighting.  Not to say that we don’t disagree or have conflicting feelings about what we should have for dinner, who leaves their clothes on the floor more often or who messed up the intro to the new song at the last gig. We’ve got plenty of normal band/couple/roommate friction in this duo, but there’s just too much to get done making it nearly impossible hold tightly to any negative feelings. All of our disagreements and hurt feelings must be quickly dispatched to the land of forgotten grievances so that the gigs get booked, the house gets cleaned and we have time to record an album, make dinner and laugh at just how much the main character from Bones resembles myself. But every once and again, a disagreement just won’t let go and we spend a significant amount of time in conflict. The most recent such occurrence was, not surprisingly. about whether or not to play a particular gig.

My Argument: All gigs are important and, barring a scheduling conflict, we should never say no.

My Justification: We are a relatively new band (two years) and, eventually, we want to tour full time. In order to accomplish this goal we have to build both our audience as well as our road chops. We have to be able to play in any scenario, on any stage and do so with professionalism and enthusiasm. And hey, you never know who you’re going to meet at a show no matter how remote the location, sparsely attended the show or measly the pay-out. Fans come in individual packaging, and I believe that (almost)every opportunity to play is worth the effort.

Chris’ Argument: The gig is a waste of our time, energy and money.

Chris’ Justification: We’re trying to save money and there’s no point in driving six hours to play a short set in a potentially crappy location with other bands that we will probably not have any occasion or reason to network with. And we’re tired. And we haven’t eaten a non-convenience store meal in days. And many of our friends have really fun gigs that night, so shouldn’t we stay and support them?  And finally, don’t you want to take a nap? (This last one truly is a killer argument.)

Final Decision: We go. I am willing to admit to owning a closet full of bossy pants. I even have them in multiple sizes depending on my waxing and waning female figure.
On the way to the gig: It’s cold. Very cold. And where is this basement anyway? Who will be there? What will the “house kit” be like and will Chris get so frustrated by playing someone else’s kit that he will sit and sulk in the corner all night? We still haven’t eaten a proper meal and although it turns out that there was a lot of pizza at this house party, Ms. Gluten-Free and Mr. Low Carb are wary of being hungry, which as we all know is the precursor to the appearance of Mr. and Mrs. MEGA CRANKY.

Final Assessment: We had so much fun!!!! Everyone was absolutely delightful, friendly, hilarious, smart, and generous. The music flowed seamlessly from act to act, the basement was rigged up with great lighting, a nice array of amplifiers for people to use and absolutely zero dingy basement smell. The host and hostess were super psyched for our set and we met bands from VT, Maine and NYC. The variety of musical performances was engaging and we reveled in the thrill of having a packed basement full of people bobbing their heads, cheering loudly and dancing, yes, you read correctly, DANCING! We played a full set, and even got to play an encore. This was one of those shows that makes you happy to be part of a larger community of people who are willing to open their homes, share their talents and let loose on a Saturday night. Whether Chris and I actually reach our ultimate goal of being a full time touring band was not even a remote worry on this winter’s night in northern Vermont. All that mattered was that we were playing the music we wrote to a great crowd of people. Sheer rock ‘n roll bliss.

So where’s the advice? I suppose the kernel of wisdom is this: You often don’t know exactly when and how the delight of being a musician and performer will come into your life. My advice is to make as many opportunities for yourself as possible and then be open to the possibility that things can, and often are really great. It’s true, sometimes gigs are downright horrible, and that’s also to be expected, but hey, all those gigs will make for a great memoir one day. People will want to know what it was like to have every single dapper steam punk hippie walk out of a small coffee house in that New England college town when you started to play and you wound up performing for the bartender and a drunk pedestrian who was there only to use the bathroom and then you left at the end of the night with $0.50 in tips, bought an overpriced bag of stale tortilla chips and cheap salsa at the gas station and in the morning shelled out the dough for your $125 hotel bill. These stories are way more interesting than “Tales from my couch whilst on my ass.” Get out there and enjoy, there will be plenty of home cooked meals and nap time when you retire.
Rock On!

-Sasha

Green Day aka Sweet Children aka Foxboro Hottub

This is a band a lot of you have heard of before.  On the radio, on MTV when they used to play music videos, had their cd or cassette tape in your discman or walkman for the bus rides to and from school (or even work).  Green Day was and is still one of my favorite bands from when I was a youngster to my almost 30 self now.

The band started as Sweet Children waaaaaaay back in 1987 when the only two people you knew were Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (this is not his real last name).  They did what every band does at a young age (15).  Practice in mom and dad’s living room.  Eventually they had a drummer with a little bit of cred and they got themselves a show at the famed punk hot spot 924 Gilman Street.  This is where it really started to begin.  They were seen by Larry Livermore, the owner of Lookout Records, and he wanted to record them.  The first EP was then made, 1,000 hours, and set to be released.  Just before releasing it Sweet Children decided to change their name to Green Day.  The rest is history.

39 Smooth was then recorded, they went on tour, their drummer left the band.  Tre Cool was a drummer for the band The Lookouts (yes the owner of Lookout Records had a band with Tre in it) and he started filling in while they looked for  a new drummer.  They never got one.  Kerplunk was made and they toured relentlessly on it.

Lookout became to small for Green Day and unable to keep up with the rising demand for their music.  In stepped Reprise Records.  Off to the studio to record Dookie.  One of their most popular albums to date.  This is the album that helped to slingshot them into fame.  It also closed the doors to many punk minded hearts calling Green Day sell outs for signing with a major label.  Still it doesn’t matter to people like me.  Dookie is the album that I grew up on. I listened to it when I was 11, 21, and I am sure I will when I am 31.

They recorded Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning over the next  6 years, took a break in the studio, reinvented their sound and released the concept album American Idiot in 2004.  Green Day was popular again!  21st Century Breakdown was recorded and released and became their highest selling album ever.  Uno, Dos, and Tre were just released in succession in 2012.  Cuatro is a documentary about the band that will be debuting at the X-Games later this week.

So if you are in Portland Friday night, Green Day will not be playing, BUT  if you go to The Big Easy you will see When Particles Collide playing all of Dookie!  If there were a way for us to get them to play it instead we might let them, or at least play with us.  Come relive the year of 1994 with us.  We will turn it up loud and get you rocking and dancing the night away.  Thank you Green Day for making this possible!

• Yes, you need to know people. You need to know other bands, fans, party-goers, music writers, bookers, promoters, DJs, festival organizers etc. etc. etc. These are the people who make things happen in the music scene and the more of these folks you know, the better.
• Knowing a famous person in a band, however, does not necessarily help you. Most band members have little say over who opens for them, or who else is signed to their label, their management company, booking agency or promotions company. This is a business, and band members are basically employees. Just because I know the person whose hands squeezes the Nuva Ring in all the print and video ads for this birth control does not mean that I have an “in” and might be able to act in their next ad campaign. Knowing a major label artists does not help your band become more popular than you are able to make it on your own. (I do, incidentally know the hand model in those ads)
• Of course there are exceptions. M.I.A. heard Sleigh Bells and in a stratospheric ride to the top of the festival scene in 2012, this band “knew someone” and it catapulted them to success. But the likelihood of something like this happening is slim, and the only way to ensure that it might happen, is to get yourself out there and get heard.
• True Story: I went with the previously mentioned Mr. Valensi to a Guided by Voices show at Irving Plaza in NYC one spring night in 1999. He went right up to Mr. Pollard at the end of their set and shoved a demo CD into his hands. Did this pushy, “get my music in the hands of a famous rockstar” help the Strokes in their quest for stardom? I don’t think so, but the attitude that Nick’s band was the best band in the city and that he would stop at nothing to succeed was undoubtedly an important ingredient in his recipe for success.

So my best advice is this: There is no magic key and there is no guarantee to being successful in the music business. But I can tell you that confidence, networking, relentless self-promotion, kindness and determination will all help. Along the way you might meet “famous” people, but you’ve got to put in the work in order to put yourself in the situations wherein you have the opportunity to talk shop with your idols. But even if you do meet Joan Jett (oh wait, that’s my dream there)  these folks are weary of every person they meet wanting something from them. Thom Yorke doesn’t sit around lamenting the fact that some band from the middle of Iowa doesn’t send him their Demo so he can whisk them under his wing, give his life new meaning and answer the dreams of four farm boys from the mid-west.  Of course once Henry Rollins hears our second full length album he will want to do a talking/rocking/grey-haired/muscle-bound aging rocker tour with me. I just know it!
In the meantime, just like you, I’m going to keep practicing, playing as much as I can, asking for favors, providing as much help for others as I can, and enjoying every opportunity I can create for myself. See you on the road Henry, I’ll be working on my biceps and hardened sneer.

-Sasha

Birthday Party at The Bangor Opera House

Miniboone has got to be one of my favorite bands that we have had the pleasure of playing with.  We have shared the stage with them in Biddeford at The Oak and the Ax, and more recently at Fort Useless in New York City!  Miniboone has also played a private birthday party for a fellow BDN Rock N Roll blogger/columnist, a set on the waterfront during the Kahbang Festival, and a WPC Presents Showcase also during the Kahbang festival.  Hopefully that makes it a little obvious how much we enjoy this band.  We even went to see them at The Rock Shop in NYC just for fun while we were passing through!

From the first note, to the last note, this rocking 5 piece has you on your toes at every moment.  The room becomes packed with musical energy (not to mention the physical energy that they put into their show) that begins to resonate in your body.  Soon your feet are doing this little step thing, your arms are getting a little loose, your head starts bobbing, maybe even shakes a little bit, you see someone else doing the same thing right next to you, and before you know it, you are dancing!  If you want a sweaty good time, then this is what you want to do.

Lead vocals are mainly sung by Craig Barnes (also on Keys, and sometimes Guitar), but every once in a while you will see Doug Schrashun (Guitar), or even James Keary (Guitar) take the mic.  Drew St. Aubin (Drummer extraordinaire) keeps the whole thing together with catchy rhythms and tight fills.  Not to mention they all sing harmonies.  This band is a must see!  You might see someone jumping off of drums, running into the crowd, having sword fights with guitars.  You have to see for yourself!

Wonder what it feels like?

People love rock ‘n roll. Not only do people love the music but they are often captivated the mystique, the intrigue, and the desire to be part of something reckless and wild. As any fan of music can tell you, we are drawn to our rock ‘n rollers not only because of the sounds that they make but because we want to be part of, or at least hover very close to the world they seem to inhabit. So what world do you, the artist, inhabit and how can you portray yourself in order to entice people into your universe? How you present yourself in photos, posters, web sites etc. all tell the story of your artistry and your own take on the rock ‘n roll aesthetic. The best rock ‘n roll images, the ones that stick with us the longest, are the most genuine. The fabricated, glossy boy-band, air-brushed images fade like so many pages of a 1985 tiger beat magazine. So how do you capture a good image that begins to tell the story of your particular, genuine and impassioned take on the rock ‘n roll genre? Today in my “Advice from Sasha” column we’ll talk about how to get a good “promo shot.”

Over the years I have been involved in a number of photo shoots including simple jaunts along the East River with a friend to professional studio shots with fancy lights, outfit changes, and a  make-up artist on staff. The band portraits on the back panel of the first full length record I made were taken in the photo booth at the Lakeside Lounge on avenue B in the East Village (if anyone remembers that spot). There are as many approaches to capturing an image as there are bands in the biz. This weekend, When Particles Collide will be back in New York and working with Ashly Covington Photography on some new images for the band. Not surprisingly we’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how to present ourselves and how to tell the story, with photos, of who we are and what the band is all about.

Here are some general guidelines for being part of a band photo-shoot:

• First and foremost, any good photo shoot will involve the taking of a large number of photos. The more images you have to choose from, the more likely it is that your photographer will have captured that moment when everyone’s personality comes through and you feel like you can almost hear the music the band makes.
• Thoroughly check your photographer’s portfolio and let him or her know what shots you really like and what shots of theirs don’t speak to what you’re looking for.
• Listening to music while shooting can help alleviate some of the anxiety of a photoshoot. You can listen to your own music, or music that you all love. Either way will work well.
• Some photos will be spontaneous and some will be very posed. Listen carefully to your photographer when it comes to the more posed shots, small changes in the angle and tilt of your face or placement of hands can make a big difference. I also think it is very important to be aware of your own body and face. You should know how to look your best. You need to know if the way you’re holding your face gives you a double chin, or what happens if you hold your arm a certain way and what that will look like on film. I don’t mean to imply that you should be vain, but I think self-awareness is very important in the process of taking photos. Also, a healthy dose of vanity certainly doesn’t hurt and makes the photographer’s job easier!
• Check your make-up, hair and clothing frequently. Your photographer might not notice all the little details, and you don’t want a tag sticking out or an unruly cowlick ruining a perfectly good shot.
• One thing we were asked to do for this most recent photo shoot is gather inspirational images. These are images, whether other photographs, fine art, or color schematics etc. that seem to jive with our own aesthetic. I chose a lof of fashion photography from the late eighties and band photos from the late 70’s. I like photos that look like they are windows to the behind the scenes events and highly biographic. I like shots where the action that is about to happen is implied in the scene. Knowing what kind of images you want will be incredibly helpful.
• Finding inspirational images is both fun and rewarding. The more you think about the images that resonate most with you, the more expertly you can create the kind of images that will best represent your band.
• I think it is important to update your photos frequently. We just finished working with Dylan Verner from Portland, we’re working with Ahsly C. this weekend and this coming spring we’ll be working with J. Renshaw of Studio 36. In the past we’ve worked with BEL Portraits and Michael Weston. Working with a variety of photographers as well as continually creating new images means that your content is fresh and you have multiple images at your disposal.
• Try to be genuine. Wear clothing that you would wear to a show. Act like yourself during the shoot. Have fun, or get worked up about something, whatever puts you in touch with your creative self. Let go of what you think you should do.
• One thing that’s difficult is the need to rely on the cultural associations people have
  

  Leather jackets, camera angle, METAL!!!!!

  with certain kinds of images and certain genres of music and at the time time be original and unique in your presentation. A soft focused, outdoor scene with a girl and an acoustic guitar, maybe with an old fashioned bicycle somewhere in the shot is going to immediately tell you something about the artist. You want to use this kind of shot to let people know what you’re about, but you also want to somehow make it unique.  Four of five guys dressed in black with waist length leather jackets, at least one of them with a shaved head and goatee, all standing together looking mean with a camera perspective from below literally screams METAL. Three guys and one girl

  

  Hi…. We play smart Indie-Rock

  dressed in subdued colors, at least two of whom are wearing sweaters all sitting on a couch means you’re getting some very intelligent indie-rock. My advice would be to start with these cultural associations and then play with them. Figure out how to make it yours.

• You’re also going to want to have a discussion with your photographer about how much and what kind of processing and “touching up” you want done. I have neglected to do this in the past and it can get a little awkward…..
• Bring multiple outfits. Seriously. You might spill something on your outfit, you might decide it doesn’t look so good after all. It’s also great to have multiple “looks” during a photo shoot. Remember the more images you have to choose from the more likely you’ll wind up with something you like!
• Most importantly try to be yourself and try to both engage with the other members of your band as well as with the photographer.

Have fun and rock on!
-Sasha

The Blackboard Nails at Irving Plaza-NYC

Here is the deal.  You may have gotten a chance to see The Blackboard Nails this summer at KahBang, but if you did not, then come to Paddy Murphy’s on Saturday.  It will be intimate, fun, sexy, and rocking!

Bring your dancing shoes, your party pants, and your thirsty selves out on Saturday.  The Blackboard Nails blend their rocking and sometimes gorgeous haunting melody lines with great harmonies from their Bass player Rosie.  This is one of Sasha’s favorite things about this band.  Another lady who frickin rocks!  Their song Becoming/Unbecoming is a perfect example.  Until someone points it out, you don’t even notice that there are no drums in the song (Sasha just realized the there are no drums in Bush’s Glycerine), the melody and harmony pulls you in that much.  If you want to dance, She Wants is the perfect track to listen to.  It has the catchy guitar riff in the beginning, followed by the simplified disco beat that everyone loves right now.  Switch it up a little as the verse hits, another little change for the beginning of the chorus, back to some sweet disco shuffle (that’s my name for it).

Now that I have told you about them, check them out here on Facebook.  Like them!  Again, it’s the holiday season, go to their merch store and buy some things for your little niece and nephews, your rock n roll friends, office mates, or anyone else on your list.  If you don’t want to do that, come hang out with us on Saturday night at Paddy Murphy’s and buy some cool stuff there!  See you Saturday.

-Chris

So let’s look at the type of criticism we often receive and either how it influences our decisions or how we ignore it with grace and only occasional fits of angry tirades.

• Criticism: People walk out while we’re playing and are often covering their ears.
• WPC Response: Assume that said folks were never angry teenagers, prefer country music and desperately need to get home for some hot and steamy love-making.

• Criticism: Family member asks why we can’t do something differently.
• WPC Response: Sometimes family members are the only ones who will give you honest criticism. They have nothing to lose and they don’t need you to come to their show the next week or to help them book a show somewhere down the line. Other people in bands often hold back criticism because we all need each other to keep performing and promoting. So listen to your family I say, but understand that they might not understand your “style.” For example my dad pretty much only listens to the blues. Needless to say he likes it when I play “riffs” which is a pretty infrequent thing. He’s not a power-chord-chugging, hey remember 1977 in NYC, kind of guy. But he has a point. People like to hear melody lines. It’s not bad criticism and I have been trying to write more guitar lines.  My mother on the other hand, wants to hear me sing with my growly, guttural, ballsy vocals all the time. She doesn’t like “the pretty stuff.”  My mom doesn’t like weakness, and I love her for that. I am often most comfortable in my more aggressive vocal moments and I think what she senses is that I’m not as comfortable in the quieter vocal deliveries. It doesn’t mean I’m going to sing the way she wants all the time, but I am going to work on my confidence in my softer voice. Chris’s mom wants him to record a vocal record of him covering classic crooner tunes. Keep tuned to see if he takes this advice or not!

• Criticism: Instead of criticising songwriting or performance, other musicians will often offer you lots of advice about gear. People don’t take their gear choices as personally as their songwriting or performance choices, so this kind of criticism tends to flow a little more freely between musicians (And now that I have a decently sized pedal board, most guitarists can’t wait to talk gear with me.) Several of our musician friends have, in the past, specifically criticised my guitar tone and were concerned that it wasn’t “thick” enough.
• WPC Response: I’ve been working on my tone for almost six months and I’m really thankful to my fellow musicians for helping to point me in the right direction. It took a good while for me to break down and let go of my D.I.Y.-all I need is a tuner and an overdrive pedal attitude, but I am most thankful that I’ve spent some time (and money!) getting a guitar sound that better suits our band. Listen to your fellow musicians and then listen to yourself playing and see if what they’re saying holds up. Also listen carefully to the artists you most want to emulate and figure out what’s going on with their “sound.”

• Criticism: Someone will say something along the lines of: “You should write more songs like that third one you played.”
• WPC Response: First and foremost, it’s really awesome to know that a particular song resonates with someone and that they would like to hear more songs like it.  But if you play enough shows, different people will like different songs. And for us, this variance in song preference is most definitely true. As a response to this phenomenon I like to think about why a particular person likes a particular song. Is it because it makes them feel a certain way? Because it reminds them of something they already like? Because it allows them to let go of self-consciousness and dance around like a crazy person? Because they can relate to the emotions of a song? This kind of analysis can then lead to more purposeful songwriting.

• Criticism: Print Media. Here’s the doosey and the actual impetus for this post. Print media critics can write anything they want, for any reason they want. They can compare you to bands that you’ve never heard of, point out weak fashion choices, a lack of production quality on an album and of course they can criticise your songwriting and performance. And all reviews can’t be positive because that is not interesting to readers. Readers like controversy and some ruthlessness. With print media there’s no back and forth between you and the critic, there’s no conversation and they don’t owe you anything. They also did not sell their own car to make the album they just critiqued, take voice lessons for months in preparation for recording vocals or pour over lyrical choices and harmonies. Oh wait, I think this just got personal.
• WPC Response: I do think it’s important to think about how your music is being perceived by an outside observer. Once the defensive talons retract, and you realize that this is only one other person’s opinion, you might want to ask yourself what the important kernel of truth within the criticism actually is. Once you uncover this truth, then you can use it to move forward and influence your future decisions. It’s very difficult to have a finished product, for which you are very proud, and know that you can’t use anyone’s advice to retroactively change something. You can however, move forward. And keep moving forward. Because, chances are, most bands and musicians will not move forward and you can improve and aspire to greatness both because of and in spite of criticism. And keep in mind that the folks who most often receive criticism are the ones putting themselves out there the most. You know the old adage, all press, good or bad is good press. It’s your name out there and it’s never a bad thing if people decide you’re worth talking about. So kids: chin up, guitar ready, hard work and self-confidence in abundance and keep on rockin’!

Affectionately and Relentlessly yours,
-Sasha