With all the talk about being successful, have you ever stopped and thought about what “success” really is?

Some people think of success as genius, magic or something they don’t possess.
Most would consider of athletic ability of Michael Jordan, the body of Tyra Banks, the intelligence of Albert Einstein, the business ability of Donald Trump, the money of Bill Gates, the social graces of Jackie Kennedy and the soul of Mother Theresa as success.
But, no one has all those things.

Success is not money. John Rockefeller was making a million dollars a day when there was no IRS. When asked what it would take to satisfy him he said: “Just a little bit more”. King Solomon said and it is recorded in Proverbs: “Whoever loves money never has enough money and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income.”
So, success is not money.

Success is not power; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Alexander the Great conquered the world and had great power. He also died at the age of 33 from syphilis. He had power but did not have success.
Adolph Hitler was a demonized monster. He had power but was not successful.
Success is not money and success is not power.

Success is not reaching a goal.
Most people have destination disease. They believe if they can arrive at a certain place, get a record deal, become the president of their company, if they can make a certain amount of money, if they can have the right relationship with the right man or woman, or be salesman of the year they will be successful. Reaching a goal does not guarantee success or contentment
Michael Jordan reached every goal: world championship, wealth, fame-and then retired.
But you can’t retire from life.
So, success is not money, power or a destination; success is a journey.

So, if success is a journey, how do we measure it?
I choose the measurement of Booker T. Washington: “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life but by the obstacle by which one has overcome while trying to succeed.” In order to be successful you will learn to do the things you hate to achieve the things you love. Athletes hate to run wind sprints until their legs feel like rubber, their lungs are burning and are gasping for air. But they love winning and hate losing so they do it anyway.

What is success? I suggest it is the progressive achievement of worthwhile goals that fulfill your purpose in life. What’s your purpose in life? Start there and see how far it takes you.

As Henry Ford once said: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right” If your mind can conceive it, you can achieve it.

I was talking on the phone today with a friend of mine who was catching me up on all the run around she had recently been getting in her music career and past business dealings. People taking credit for other peoples work, making themselves out to be someone or something they’re not, people with a good track record who had fallen on hard times and done stuff they shouldn’t have-you know, the usual runaround type stories. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of this in the music business-always has been and always will be. So, how do you avoid it? I don’t think there is a formula per say, but here’s some things I have learned along the way.

Don’t do business with assholes. Blunt, isn’t it? Every time I think back on a situation that makes me red, it revolves around a personality that was never a team player, always focused on themselves, wasn’t honest and in general and really not pleasant to be around. Stay away from people whose ego is bigger then they are.

Pioneers die with arrows in their backs. I attribute this one to Mike Krohn. He said this in passing one day probably ten years ago and it always stuck with me. When you’re in any type of competitive environment, practice the art of listening. Don’t always throw your ideas out there first. Listen, take mental notes, observe the people your dealing with. If you’re like me and have 1000 ideas a minute (thank you ADD, OCD or whatever they call it these days) keep them to yourself. Rationalize, plan, weed some of them out-maybe even decide to keep some of them for a later date. Then bring your ideas to the table. Otherwise you might turn on the TV one day and go “Hey! That was my idea!”.

Lastly, trust your gut. We all have dreams. Sometimes it’s hard to keep our desire to succeed in check when a break comes along that looks to good to be true but might not be in our best interest. The never ending dangled carrot. Take a step back. Sleep on it. Talk it over with someone you trust. Then decide how to move forward. There will always be other opportunities. Just because there’s one staring you in the face doesn’t mean it’s always right for you.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Hunter S. Thompson. It’s been adapted over the years to fit different parts of the entertainment industry but it always holds it’s own. Here’s an abridged version: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” Touché Dr. Thompson.

I recently finished Nick D’Virgilio’s new EP Pieces. If you haven’t heard it, check it out on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify,etc. Also, musicplayers.com just did a great interview with Nick on the the new EP and a variety of all the other crazy things he’s into lately. Check it out here:

MusicPlayers.com: Features > Drums > Nick D’Virgilio

I recently was interviewed by Aaron at Play It Loud Music on a variety of topics including my background, recording, acoustics, the music business, offshore drilling and comic books. You can check it out here:

The World’s Most Amazing Interview

Thanks Aaron!

Wow, things have been busy! But, I’m back to the blog for awhile. So, here we go: On the surface, the title of this blog would imply that I’m talking about putting your band together or finding players to work with you live or in the studio. Actually, today I’m talking about you!

People send me e-mails all the time wanting to know how to be successful in the music business, how to get ahead in the game, how to find a job, how to get noticed, how to get a record deal, etc and so on. Networking (who you know) is important, but how can you be successful working with others if you’re personal skills aren’t in order? Doing what you say you’re going to do, prioritizing, being honest with other people, not making excuses and being proactive-these principles are the core of success.

Start with your goals, then compare them to your priorities. Eliminate things in your life that aren’t in line with what you’re trying to do. Maybe it’s as simple as deciding not to go out every night of the week? Instead, put that time into your craft: practice, research, networking, etc. It might take some time, but you’ll find that by putting more time into the areas that matter most yield a more positive result in your life.

I once had an intern tell me “Sorry I’m late man, I overslept-I just can’t get up before noon.” He didn’t call to let me know he was running late and didn’t seem to understand why I would have a problem with this. Guess what? He was fired. To this day he has been unsuccessful in finding a job in the music business. I just had a friend/studio owner tell me about an employee that just stopped showing up for work. Didn’t call, didn’t e-mail, didn’t return calls. Apparently it was discovered after the fact that there were some things that she just “didn’t enjoy doing” at the studio. (and no, she wasn’t cleaning the bathrooms) So, instead of talking with her boss and working it out, she just decided to not show up anymore. Do you think she can now use that one year (at a pretty big studio) as a reference on her resume?

A lot of this can be summed up in one word: communication. People aren’t jerks. If you have a problem, an issue-or whatever it is-bring it up, talk about it and move on. More importantly: Be honest! It’s a small world and people talk. If you make a deal with someone-stick to it. Also-be careful what you say about others. A lot of times you might not have the whole story and it just makes you look bad.

None of this is rocket science nor do you have to go to school to learn it. Treat other people how you would like to be treated and set higher standards for yourself than anyone else. It will take you a lot further than you think.

Last month I headed back to Abbey Road Studio One to record a 48-piece orchestra on a couple projects I’ve been working on. One of them is Kevin Gilbert’s “A Long Day’s Life” – that will appear this spring as one of several bonus tracks for the re-release and re-mastered “Shaming of the True” – a rock opera written and performed by Gilbert. Kevin (for those of you that don’t know) was a principle figure in “Giraffe”, “Toy Matinee” and one of the original “Tuesday Night Music Club” musicians/co-writers from the 1993 Sheryl Crow album of the same name. “Shaming” was originally left unfinished following his untimely demise in 1996. For those of you that are familiar with “Shaming”, to say that it sounds amazing to hear a full orchestra on Kevin’s masterpiece would be understatement.

I also recorded orchestra, piano and vocals for Kat Bowser’s new “Hollywood and Broad” album. Designed to be a review of popular songs from Hollywood films and Broadway musicals, this album is due out in the fall and will tour several theaters and performing arts centers in 2012. One of the really cool things about this project (aside from Kat being an amazing vocalist) is that the production style runs the gauntlet of musical generations. While one song will sound like a piece from a 1920s speakeasy, the next will bring you right back to modern day. To say Kat is diverse is an understatement, and this album will showcase that.

After Nick D’Virgilio and I re-did the Genesis album “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” a couple years ago, I just couldn’t resist the temptation to put the full orchestra on “In The Cage”-the biggest song on the record (yes, I used the word “record’). Both Nick and John Hinchey were on hand for the experience-and what a cool experience it was! The bottom end in Studio One is just amazing, and this new version of the song certainly showcases that. Rewiring Genesis: “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” will also be re-released this year with the new version of “In The Cage” and some live cuts from the show in Whittier, CA back in 2009. Nick, as some of you may know, was also instrumental in finishing Kevin Gilbert’s “Shaming of the True”. So to have him there for that part of the sessions was really cool for both of us.

Check out the photo gallery on my links page and on Facebook. As always, Erick Anderson is the man for capturing such great photos!

In an earlier post: “Plan Your Work/Work Your Plan”, I mentioned “Critical Success Factors”. Well, let’s dig a little deeper on these and and establish their importance in prioritizing.

When making long range plans, you need to know your Critical Success Factors and their associated measures. Measures should tell you priorities. If a measure is not where it is suppose to be, then it is a priority. Let’s say a CSF is to have 1000 meaningful contacts in your online social network (see “Maximizing Relationships” on what defines a meaningful online contact) and a measure may be the number of people you interact with on a somewhat regular basis. If the number of people you are currently in contact with is 200, but the Goal is 1000, then obviously this is a priority. As you can see, the whole process directly relates to priorities and organization.

According to Stephen Covey, you make a what’s called a quadrant out of two factors. One is Important and the other is Urgent. Something is truly important if it relates directly to your Mission. Urgent means you just believe it needs to be done right away. So, quadrant one are those things that are both Important and Urgent. Quadrant two are those things that are Important but Not Urgent. Quadrant three are those things that are not Important but Urgent. Finally, in Quadrant four are those things which are Not Important and Not Urgent. Unfortunately people spend a lot of time in all four quadrants. The true secret to time management is to spend most of the time in Quadrant two or those things that are Important but Not Urgent. This relates to things such as personal development, empowerment and effectiveness within your creative team.

For more on Covey, check out “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. It’s sold millions of copies for a reason. As we approach the New Year, this can be one of many resources to help you think and plan outside of the box you’re currently in.

Hope you have a good one and a Happy New Year!

I’m sure some of us are familiar with the movie Jerry Maguire. Throughout the film, Tom Cruise’s character has a mentor named Dicky Fox, who periodically shows up with some appropriate words of wisdom. One of those is: “The key to this business is personal relationships.” And it couldn’t be truer-especially in the music business. But how do we cultivate business relationships on a personal level?

Networking is and always will be an important thing. If you’re not out there shaking hands and kissing babies, how do you ever expect to move ahead in your career? However, since the advent of social media, there has been an assumption that if you have a lot of friends, fans or contacts on your favorite networking site, then you’re “networking”. I hate to break it to you, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Hold that thought…

Okay, forget the Internet for a minute and look around you. Who do you already know? I know some of you are thinking: “I don’t know anybody that can really help my career.” Okay-you have goals right? Is there a studio you want to record at but don’t have the money? Is there a club you want to play at that won’t give you the time of day? Then my question is: What have you done for them lately? If you’re in a working band (and by working I mean working the scene, playing out, etc.) then chances are good you know a lot of musicians. Ever think about cutting a deal with the local studio or club that if you bring them “XYZ” in business then they will give you some of their time and/or facilities? If you’re going to build relationships, put the best foot forward and help someone else with their goals or needs. I guarantee you’ll see results. Now, those results could be a mutually beneficial relationship or they could be that you realize you really don’t want to work with that person or company. But it’s all results and you’re moving forward.

Now back to social networking. The movie Jerry Maguire likes to focus on quality over quantity, which is not a bad thing. If you have several thousand friends in your online social network, how many of them do you actually know? How many of them are you taking the time to get to know? Just having them as a “friend” means nothing. Reach out, connect, strike up a conversation, find out what they have going on. Sure it takes time! But guess what, if you can’t commit to doing at least a little bit of this on a regular basis, they might as well not even be there.

Take the time to focus on the relationships you already have in your life and then build from there. Otherwise, how will you ever get in the habit of doing this?

Here’s some footage from tracking vocals with Leticia Wolf for her upcoming EP. The song is “Love in LA”. One of my favs. Enjoy!

Working as a producer/engineer in the music business, I see (and hear) a lot of things when it comes to indie music and recording. One of those things, more often than not, is a conversation that goes something like this:

Band: “Hey, my band would like to book some studio time and record our next album.”
Me: “Great, what are you looking to do?”
Band: “Well, we have about 5 songs written and are working on some more. We’re looking at getting into the studio in about a month or so and we should have the other songs worked out by then.”
Me: “Okay…how much studio time are you looking to book?”
Band: “We’re not sure yet. We’re all chipping in and the drummer is borrowing some money from his uncle.”
Me: “Do you have a budget you’re working with?”
Band: “No, we’re just going to see how much money we can scrape together and go from there.”

While everyone is not guilty of this exact conversation, there are certain underlying elements that we’ve all been guilty of at one time or another. On the surface it seems pretty innocent. But let’s break it down and you decide whether or not this makes sense.

First of all, if you only have ten songs, what are the chances that each of those songs are individually great? Most successful artists write 20 or 30 songs before going into the studio. Then, they start demoing the songs, performing the songs live, interacting with the producer, and establishing an idea of what’s working and what’s not. Then the song list gets whittled down from there.

Next, studio time = money. So many artists walk into a studio, record a project, and then sit back and decide what to do next. This is highly ineffective. This is also where I suggest saving everyone time and money by doing what I call “Working Backwards.”

Start by asking these questions:
- How many fans do you have?
- How many shows did you play last year?
- If you’ve a released a CD in the past, how many CDs (or downloads) did you sell?
- How many shows do you play a month?
- How many CDs do you think you can sell at each show?

Let’s examine why these questions are important. Let’s say that based on your answers to the above questions, you forecast that your act can realistically sell 1,000 physical CDs at your shows in a year, and another 500 in digital download sales. Assuming you’re netting $10 a CD and clearing the usual 60% (average) on the digital, that leaves you with a gross profit of $13,000.

Now, let’s also assume that you want the time and money that you put into recording the CD to turn a profit. Again, by way of an example, let’s call that profit a 50% return on your investment. In other words, you want to make back 150% of what you put into making the CD. This means that if you have forecasted an gross profit of $13,000 and you want to make 50% return on your investment, then you can’t spend more than $9,750 recording and manufacturing the album. This means that has to cover CD replication, graphic design, mastering, promotion, etc. Roughly, those things could eat up $2,500, leaving you roughly $7,000 to burn on studio time. Now you have a budget.

Don’t let the card rate on recording studios scare you. Hook up with a producer or engineer you’d like to work with and go from there. I get calls all the time from artists and bands that are working from a budget and most of the time we come up with a win/win relationship that gets the project done within their budget and meets their needs. A seasoned producer knows the rooms, the studio managers and everyone else you’ll need to get the project done. That’s part of their job!

So, why is all of this important? If you’re like most artists and are scraping together money from multiple sources and borrowing money from your friends and family, then it’s important to be able to show a formula, a process, or a business plan for what you’re doing with the money – not only for them, but for yourselves.

Does everyone plan this way? No. Do successful bands/artists plan this way? Someone on their team most certainly does. Should everyone plan exactly like this? Not necessarily because every situation is different. The above example simply illustrates that by starting with the end goal and working backwards from there can be a lot more effective than just spending money with no real end in sight.