Live music adds so much to any event (my humble opinion).

Onward!!!

Already have several gigs booked and have been getting more calls and inquiries than this same time the previous year. Things are looking up. I finally feel that the economy is now turning the corner and things are going to be getting a ton better for everyone.

I’m going to be recording at least one new Steel Drum Music CD this year comprised of all original Caribbean style tunes. I love recording cover tunes but creating/recording my own songs is so rewarding to me.

Oh well, onward 2012!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dRJNdf7Hcs

A beautiful winter day.  You can see Catalina Island off in the distance.

Steel Drums in Huntington Beach, CA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L03khiaXsEY

Steel Drum Music on Youtube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvonCnuTYPY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gmuP2BRKxQ

Steel Tropics Steel Drum Music Channel on Youtube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6uYh2qsk_M

Click here! for Steel Drums on Youtube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L03khiaXsEY

Steel Drum Music on Youtube!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dG8nm1zeM8

Our Youtube Steel Drum Band Channel

Here is a picture of me on the steel drums during the event. Was a ton of fun

Steel Drums at Albertsons

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_zhlHUXqg

We performed outside on their 2nd story patio which overlooked most of Newport Bay. It was a very memorable occasion indeed

Memorial Service

So about 5 days ago I was playing in a local poker tournament(one of my other passions in life) and about 3 hours into the thing my name was chosen at random and I won a brand new Ipad2. Sweeeeeeeet! I was on the fence about getting one because I wasn’t really sure what I might use it for. Still not exactly sure but I know I will definitely find some musical uses that I can use the device for.

I played the steel drums at a wedding shower yesterday afternoon and the hosts did a fantastic job providing a lot of the food and decor. There were a few things that they still needed some outside help with such as some table and chair rentals but aside from that they did the rest all by themselves.

They made their own appetizers, drink bar and a self serve taco bar. It all worked out really well. It goes to show you that sometimes you can pull off a great event without spending a ton of money, a little extra hard work and some creativity.

So know your limits as to what you can take on but also don’t be afraid to do some of the event on your own or with some help from close friends.

My wife Susan and I just took our 11 year old daughter to see the new movie out called Soul Surfer. The movie is based on Bethany Hamilton a girl who was attacked by a shark while surfing off of Kauai some years ago when she was a young teen. Bethany survived the attack but in so doing she lost one of her arms. It is a very inspirational story of how Bethany kept on working really hard and was able to keep on surfing and compete in surfing championships. But most of all the story tells of just how Bethany is a very inspirational young woman and she shows what can be done with perseverance, hard work, faith and the support of family and friends. She has overcome a lot and should be very proud of herself.

We all loved the entire movie. We found ourselves being all choked up through much of the movie. Very emotional story but a very good picture.

We go to Kauai about once a year and really enjoy vacationing on the island.  It is one of our favorite travel spots. Much of the movie was shot in Kauai which was nice to see for us all to see.

So I highly recommend that anyone go and see Soul Surfer. You will really love the movie and Bethany’s story. Click Here to check out Bethany’s website.

Aloha!

A few things to start; I highly recommend for any composers to not only copyright your works but to also join a performance rights organization such as ASCAP or BMI and register all of your original compositions. This is very important as you will want to get full credit and any monetary compensation that is due for the use of your works in the various types of performances that the organizations cover. And this not only pertains to performances here domestically but also in many foreign countries that the organizations may partner with.

What do I do now????

After I found out that my original song was going to be used in a movie I got going quickly and did a ton of research(mainly online)about what next steps I should take etc.

Well after taking care of the copyrighting, I decided to join a performance rights organization. I chose ASCAP.  That was easy. No problems at all. I then formed my own music publishing company. This took a bit of work as one needs to come up with an original/unique name that is not already taken. Finally took care of that after trying out several different names. In forming your own publishing company you also need to set up a new bank account in that name as you will want to be able to deposit, cash or do whatever with any checks that you may receive. Also, you can set your account up at ascap so that you have direct deposit to your bank account so you won’t have to deal with any paper statements if you so choose.

So I had my songs copy-written, became a member of ASCAP, formed my own music publishing company and started a separate bank account pertaining to the publishing company. I was ready.

Publishing

One of the great things about having your own music publishing company is that you get to keep 100% of any royalties that may arise. In this day and age of most people doing their own music marketing etc, to me right now it made much more sense to keep 100% of my own music publishing rights. That could change at some point but for now it seems to be working out fine. Typically most music publishers like to have 50% or so of the publishing rights to a song. That is great if they are able to exploit your songs and get placements in movies, TV or even recorded by a bigger name pop artist. That can be good for a composer and can be very much worth it monetarily speaking if that occasion ever arises.

A Surprise!

So what prompted me to write all of this you ask? I had a pleasant surprise in the mail today from ASCAP. At first I thought that is was just a paper type of a statement or some sort of a notification/info thing. I opened up the envelope that came and I was pleasantly surprised. My very first check! This was just from having one short original song placed in a movie. Now I don’t play music just for the money but $ is part of being in the biz. It is right and fair that music composers get all of the credit that is due to them. This doesn’t always happen as you will find that a lot of peeps that write music just do so and may forget about their songs or in lot of cases they just get lazy and don’t take care of a little business. My first royalty check was by no means life changing money but in the music biz every little income stream can add up to a decent living.

Final Notes

So my advice………copyright your songs, join a performance rights organization such as ASCAP or BMI and form your own music publishing company. And to add, I highly recommend that any composers do all of this before they get a song placed in a movie or elsewhere. It is much better to be prepared when they come knocking than to have to rush and learn it all really fast like I had to. Taking care of a little business beforehand will have you ready for your opportunities that are coming your way.

I often reply by asking a few of my own questions such as the date/time of the event, location, what the actual event is, how many guests and several others. I then can get a feel as to what they are looking for and can steer them in the right direction without having my client pay for something that they really don’t need.

Okay then…….so what size band should I have?

Sometimes my client thinks that he or she may want a really large band for a very small event or the opposite. I would rather let them know my opinion on what size band I think will work well for their event than just given them a band that I personally think is not quite the right size. I would much rather have an appropriate size group for their event then having way too large or too small a band to perform and my client end up being unhappy. This to me is very important.

For example, if a client is having a really small party with 12 friends and they think that they want to have a 5 or 6 piece steel drum group play for just background music for 2 hours and they are on somewhat of a budget I will tell them right off that I think this is way too large of a group for their party and their budget. Why not have a steel drum soloist or duo come and play! A steel drum soloist or duo is plenty large enough and costs way less. Conversely, if someone is having a really large party in a big venue and thinks that a duo is all they need to perform on a stage then I will tell them right off that I don’t think that size band is going to work as well as say a 4 piece or larger band.

Steel Tropics offers Bands in Many Sizes

Solo Steel Drums

Steel Drum Duo

Calypso Steel Drum Trio

4 Piece Steel Band

1. Planning:  Cara and all her family & friends that helped her out were very organized with everything at this party. Theme, decorations, food, entertainment. Planning is super important for any event. Have a course of action and stick to it. You need to be a bit flexible at times but having a game plan is key for a successful event.

2. Timing:  Cara knew exactly when she wanted the steel drum music to start(as guests start arriving as I almost always suggest to clients), when she wanted the drinks to be served as well as what time the food was to be served etc. Timing!

The entire party went super smooth. The guests of honor had a fabulous time and their guests did as well. It goes to show that a lot of extra pre-party planning ultimately leads to a great event. Some extra hard work in the beggining stages of planning your party pays off huge in the end result!

Steel Drums at Engagement Party

Here are a couple of pics from the event this year

Steel Drummin' it up the Long Beach Gran Prix

Long Beach Gran Prix 2011

This shot was taken at night after my gig was over. Saw this interesting looking spot, put my steel pan down on the grass and took some shots of it. Pretty wild looking!

Tenor Bass Pans                        Triple Cellos                     Lead or Tenor Pan

Low "E" Double Seconds

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfIWatCSTGI

I have just come upon a great old movie that was shot in 1956 right in Trinidad. It really explains well how the steel pans were first made. The man who is narrating and describing everything is the legendary folk musician Pete Seeger. The movie is titled Music From Oil Drums and is about 15 minutes in length but it is truly extraordinary and really worth watching. I’ve already watched it many times. Enjoy!

Music From Oil Drums

Here in Southern California there are some great steelpan builder/tuners sprinkled throughout the region. In some upcoming blog entries I will be doing some interviews with some of them including master tuner Chris Wabich and also master builder-tuner David Beery of Smartypansmusic.

As far as where the Steel Drum originated, they hail from the country of Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean. Check out the following 2 websites for great information regarding just how and when the steelpan was created and who some of the early and current steel drum pioneers are.

Trinbagopan is a Trinidad website that has great information on the origins of the steel pan.

Loads of information on Steelpan here on Wikipedia

The mix of the steel drums and ukeleles together came out sounding pretty good. I plan on using more ukelele on some of my next recordings. Ukes have such a great earthy sound to them.

The Tommy Bahama company ended up using our version of Mele Kalikimaka on one of their Holiday Time compilation cds titled Happy Huladays. This was really cool for us as there were some pretty big names in music on the cd such as Poncho Sanchez, Bob Marley and The Caribbean Jazz Project. The Happy Huladays cd had a really nice mixture of tropical style Holiday tunes.

You can check out our Christmas Steel Drum cd at the online vendors listed below:

Amazon.com

I have eaten many different Caribbean style food items on gigs and at a few restaurants but have never tried making any of them all on my own. I decided to start with one of the most popular Caribbean dishes, Jerk Chicken. I looked around online a bit and came across this Oven Jerk Chicken Recipe that looked awesome and seemed fairly easy to make. We had most of the spices that were needed here at the house such as Allspice, Nutmeg, Thyme, Cinnamon and a few others so that was good.

It ended up being really easy to make. I made it on the milder side as we don’t like our food too spicy. To me when food gets way too spicy I lose the flavor as I am now trying to quench the fire! I simply followed the recipe and it came out amazing. I highly recommend that anyone try it out for themselves as it is very easy to make and it looks and tastes really impressive.

Well……..back at it. Been working hard writing some new steel drum music that I hope to record in the not too distant future.

At times the economy did show some signs of life and of really rebounding only to have it slow back down a bit. I have to remind myself that the recovery is more likely going to be slow and steady and not likely to be immediate like so many think it is. I would rather have the slow and consistent as opposed to the big highs and lows. Same applies to a lot in my life.

Movie music-Early in 2010 I received a call from a major entertainment company. They told me that they wanted to use my original steel drum song from my CD Island Dreamin called “Sweet Calypso Woman” in a new movie in production titled The Back Up Plan. The movie was going to be starring Jennifer Lopez. I was thrilled. This was a first for me. I have had some of my songs placed on compilation cds such as the Happy Huladays Holiday cd that was put out by the Tommy Bahama company a few years ago, but this was my first shot at getting an original Caribbean steel drum song into a movie. So I am talking to this entertainment company on the phone, doing fist-pumps, giving my self knuckle-bumps and trying to give myself high fives in the air while all the while retaining a sense of calm in my speaking voice. Not an easy task I assure you.

So we took care of most everything(fee negotiations, licensing etc)via emails after I chatted with a person working in the music supervision department. I have to say that it went really smoothly. I already had my cd recorded and all I had to do was send them a copy of my steel drum music and that was pretty much it. Talk about low overhead! It truly is nice when it works out this way. Also really nice when the music that is being used is one of your originals.

So the Back Up Plan finally came out in the Spring of of 2010. My wife & I went to see it during the day so we could get a good seat. The scene finally came up in the movie where I immediately heard my song. We were sitting there watching and listening and all of a sudden you could hear my steel drums being played. Pretty exciting I have to tell you. A few people in the theater gave us odd looks when we lightly cheered during the scene.

Lastly I got full listing in the ending credits of the movie which is really cool to see. My name, the song title and my band’s name all there. Okay okay…..I was excited and still am as you can tell but it was pretty cool to have happen. It’s not everyday that one gets an original steel drum music song in a movie.

At your typical wedding there is almost always some down time between the time when the wedding ceremony ends and the time the actual wedding reception begins. They call this particular time period the cocktail hour but sometimes it can be anywhere from 45 minutes up to 2 hours, depending on the circumstances of the wedding. Normally the cocktail portion is just over an hour or so in length. At a lot of weddings one will hear some sort of music during the cocktail portion. It is a wonderful idea to have some live entertainment during that time period. It keeps a good flow to the wedding. Steel drum music works really well in this situation as it is pleasant sounding, has a relaxing but uplifting quality and people just really love hearing Calypso music.

Picture the lovely wedding ceremony: the newly married couple walks back down the aisle all in a great mood, the guests are happy, they now get up and wander over to the spot where they are serving drinks and some appetizers while the photographer takes several pictures of the couple and wedding party. This is a perfect opportunity to have some steel pan music playing for the guests. It keeps a party atmosphere but a relaxed and happy mood at the same time. For me personally, I like to keep the volume of the steel drums on the lower end as people like to talk to one another at receptions. Lots of people appreciate both being able to hear the steel drum music but also being able to chat a bit and not be overpowered by the music.

I have been to a few weddings where there was a cocktail portion of about 1.5 hours with no music at all. In each of these occasions some live music would have been a great idea to have as the guests have already been at the wedding for some time and not everyone likes to just sit and wait for the actual reception to start. Sure there is usually a bar and maybe some appetizers but if one were to throw in some live music they would keep everyone from possibly getting bored, keep them much happier and it adds to the overall joyous occasion.

Steel drums are also a great way to lead into the wedding reception part of the event. The steel drum music is playing, they announce the reception/dinner and the guests enter into the reception all happy and feeling good which is what one wants at any wedding. At the same time the guests are entering the reception area they are still hearing the tropical songs playing. It truly does keep a wonderful flow to the wedding.

So, if you are on the fence and not sure what to have at your wedding for your cocktail hour try adding in some Caribbean steel drums to the mix. Calypso Music sounds great and everyone at your wedding will love it!

Typically what happens is that my client wants my steel drum band to play as the guests are arriving for their wedding. Usually about half an hour or so prior to the ceremony we normally play some mellow Caribbean steel drum music. This works really well to set the mood or vibe of the important event. The guests hear and see the steel drums being played as they are arriving and being seated and it immediately creates a great atmosphere. Then what normally happens is that we play some various steel drum music as the actual wedding ceremony begins. For the ceremony part of the wedding we usually have a few requests that the bride and groom want to hear as they and their wedding party walk down the aisle. This can be anything from Bob Marley’s One Love, Over the Rainbow or more traditional wedding music such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D and of course the traditional Wedding March by Mendelssohn.

Then sometimes the “married couple to be” may have a very specific request for the steel drum song that they want to be played as the recessional(they are pronounced as the newly married couple and walk back down the aisle). This can be anything but normally the couple wants some upbeat and lively Calypso music to celebrate their grand occasion.

My steel drum band Steel Tropics has performed at many different types of wedding venues. Anywhere from right on the sand at the beach, onboard yachts, backyards, wedding halls and a whole host of other sites. We always enjoy performing at wedding ceremonies because it is such a great occasion and it is so wonderful to see two people getting married and starting out on their life journey.

Having steel drum music for your wedding ceremony in my opinion works fantastic. You and your guests will all love it as it is sounds great, looks great, is different and frankly just flat out works really well for any type of a wedding ceremony. So try having some steel drum music for your wedding ceremony!

For the life of us we cannot figure out why she wants to get a pet Tarantula! I mean she has a goldfish named Carly and a Golden Retriever named Leo. Oh well I will say this: it is truly different. I kiddingly told her that if she ends up getting this tarantula that she would have to be the one to take the arachnid to obedience classes. She chuckled.  I can still make her laugh which I love. She has always loved spiders. Maybe she sees the spiders in the bathroom controlling the flow of ants to and fro and appreciates what they do. Funny but it seems like whenever there is some new weather thing going on like rain or it gets really hot the ants come in and magically spiders appear! Our dog Leo will attack a few ants here and there but gets bored with them pretty fast. He’d much rather try for larger targets like our socks.

We do have plenty of crickets in our garage scattered amongst my steel drum cases so the new pet would fit nicely onto our family’s food budget. I don’t think they require a ton of attention. So we are starting to get onboard with her wanting to get a pet spider.

So how does one go about naming a pet tarantula? There are the obvious ones: Harry, Tara, Tula. Not sure…..I guess Izzy will spin a cute name up all on her own. (I just hope the new family member likes Calypso music)

By the way…..anyone know of a good “Web” Designer????

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vz7qnaiMkU

Awesome party. Food was killa, people were super nice and they loved the steel band music.

People just love listening to Caribbean steel drums. One gent even said it reminded him of some steel pan music that he heard while he was in Aruba!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ96WKPMoL8

Serving up some Calypso music at the party. A little Yellow Bird for ya.

One little girl came up and said to me, “Mister I like your drums music” Gotta love it

More of our steel drums to follow very soon!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtPcBIpZASM

A full steel pan band performing at Panorama in Trinidad.

This steel drum band flat out rocks!

1. Having live music playing right when your event starts. Real honest to goodness live music playing right when your guests start to arrive to your soiree can set the tone and vibe for the entire evening.  There have been countless times that I have performed for a client at the very beginning of their party and you can see the smiles on the faces of the guests as they hear the music, see me performing and then smile and say hello. It really does start the event off perfectly. They will even say something like, “We could hear the Caribbean drums all the way out in the street as we were getting out of our car. They sound great”.

2.Your guests will love it! You are having a birthday party for your best friend. Why not show her how much of a good friend she is by having a real steel drum band perform the party you are throwing for her.  Being a full time musician I guess I am a little biased towards having live music over having friends play cds or similar at an event but I truly feel that live music is a lot nicer to have at your event than a friend playing their own song mixes over the house speakers.  It sounds better, looks better, is more professional and well frankly it is better all around to have live music.

3. It can be done! You can afford it. This is an issue that comes up here and there when talking with a potential client about the budget/price of their party and how much they think they can spend for music for their event.  Lets face it……..at most of the parties and events that I play at my client is spending a lot of money on catered food. It is usually one of the bigger if not the biggest costs of the entire event.  Is it really that much more to have some live steel band music at the party?  Why not have great food and great music as well!

4.  Inspiring others to play a musical instrument. This usually pertains to the younger ones at an event but can apply to any age really.  I love it when a guest comes up to me at my gig and starts asking questions about the steel drums such as:  what are those things called? are they easy to play? how do you play Calypso music? can I try them?…… the list goes on.  I feel that it is really important to try and share and educate when possible about music, especially to the younger ones cause they are just starting out, need some guidance and have an immense thirst for knowledge.  I have picked up many students or referred people to other music teacher friends throughout the years by just talking with people on my gigs.  I love letting people try out my steel drums. They absolutely love it cause most have never ever seen or heard steel drum music up close and personal

5. Helping to create a very memorable experience. Those extra little touches at your event can add a lifetime of memories.  The bride and groom will never forget their wedding day and how “the steel pan man played great island Calypso music as we walked down the aisle” or your 8 year old son will remember the time that he and his friends did the limbo at his birthday party to “that drum music guy”!  So go ahead and have live steel pan music at your next event and you will have a very unforgettable time. Both you and your guests will be so pleased that you did!

Tom Liston