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Posts Tagged ‘Gigging’
Gigging During a “Songwriting Phase”?
Advice needed…
I have been struggling for months now to find the best approach to holding and completing a successful “Songwriting Phase” with the goal of pulling together a new album. The albums I have put out to date have been pieced together, not written together and I want this one to be different.
I need advice. So, if you have an idea, philosophy, story or strategy that you think might help, please leave a comment below.
What is the best approach? Do I disappear from the gigging scene entirely and focus solely on writing new songs? Do I compromise and do one show per month to keep visible? I have a hard time saying no to shows when they are offered to me.
If I do shows, what songs do I play -old, new, or a blend? I want the new album to be a complete surprise when it comes out, but I don’t want to play the old songs anymore… at least not exclusively. Do I start playing cover songs? Won’t that take away from the time I could be spending working on the new songs? Maybe learning and studying covers will give me ideas for writing even better new songs…
Do I give myself a deadline? Or let it happen as it happens? Do I start touring and reaching other markets, building my fanbase with the old songs while writing new songs on the road? If I want to be a full time musician, I need to perform in order to have income.
Do I work on fleshing out older ideas that never were finished? Or do I start completely fresh and focus on where I am now as a person and songwriter? Can I accomplish both and still have a cohesive album? Am I thinking about this too much instead of just making it happen? Why am I so worried? Is this more important to me than it should be?
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Meghan Morrison
www.meghanmorrison.com
@MegsMorrison
Tweet Hashtag #aiimm to share your own Adventures In Independent Music Making
Planning The CD Release (and Year in General)
Tweet Hashtag #aiimm to share your own Adventures In Independent Music Making
As I mentioned last week in “Who The H*ll Am I? Where Am I Going?“, one main focus for the past 7 days was to create a 12 month plan and map out exactly what I want to accomplish and where I want to go over the next year. Unlike previous goal setting sessions/exercises, where I simply categorized and listed the challenges, this time I actually put them into a calendar. Knowing that it can take months of preparation (and waiting) to do things like write/record/publish and distribute a new album, the process and goals felt more realistic (and the goals more achievable) by writing it all into the calendar, which visually represents how much time I actually have to work with.
The overarching plan? – Release 2 eight to ten-song albums in 2011. One in late spring (for summer touring) and one around Christmas time (have both albums available as a gift bundle for the holidays). Start gigging outside of Toronto again, including at least one international performance and college frosh week gig in the fall.
The first half of the year can be broken down into 5 stages (some overlap): Pre-Production, Production, Manufacturing & Distribution, Press & Promotion, Touring.
Stage 1: Pre-Production : January 1 – March 1 ( ~8 Weeks)
-Creating a vision for the year (business and art)
-Writing and composing
-Upgrading the website and EPK
-Planning for a music video
-Booking for the summer
Stage 2: Production: March 1 – March 21 ( ~3 Weeks)
-Recording, Mixing and Mastering the album
-Designing the album art work and packaging
-Working on the live show production
-Booking for the fall (September – December)
Stage 3: Manufacturing & Distribution : March 22 – April 6 (2.5 Weeks)
-Send finished files for duplication and printing
Stage 4: Press & Promotions : April 7 – July 7 (~12 Weeks)
(I have to take most of June off for family commitments, so this stage is extended longer than I would have planned)
-Sending press releases
-Contacting publications for reviews, interviews, advertising
-Contacting TV and Radio shows for promotional opportunities
-Double CD Release party with You Left Saving The Planet on May 7th
-Webcast Season 2 Finale on June 21st (Summer Solstice)
-Local gigging & working on the live show production
Stage 5: Weekend Touring: from July 8 – August 27 (~8 Weeks)
- Fridays: Gigging around the GTA
- Saturdays: Gigging further away (the travel to the Friday night gig gets us a little closer to a further destination on Saturday)
- Focus on College Frosh gigs in September
- Travel to perform in New York on October 22nd
That is plan so far. Dates may fluctuate, but that is to be expected.
I also started working on band cohesion last week by having an official band meeting as part of our first rehearsal of the new year. Next week I’ll be talking more about the approach and accomplishments of said band meeting, as well as the other actions I am taking to improve recognition of my band mates and how we are approaching the music as a whole.
Meghan Morrison (aka “Lady Giggle” according to @Ampmods)