are you waiting for your big break?

[visa]

Somewhere out there, some day, if you make the right connections or happen to be lucky, you'll have a big break which will transform you into national heroes!

Maybe you'll get to play for Baybeats, or open for your favourite international superstars.

Ding dong!

The harsh reality is that "big breaks" don't do much for you. There have been bands playing in large events like Baybeats and LIME Sonic Bang that simply aren't selling the CDs or having the massive crowd one might expect them to have.

Face it, most people, us included, look out for prominent bands in festivals, and use the other bands to visit the loo or get a drink. At the end of the day, you can play Baybeats and open for *insert your favourite band here*, but 99% of the crowd will only be interested in the other bands, because those bands put in the effort to promote themselves.

Put some thought into it. And observe and learn from the successful. =)

 

[Jugman]

hmm the scene here's too small. the crowd go for those who aren't local and have their songs played over and over again on the radio. i doubt that we can compete, but it doesn't hurt to try.

every band needs to have effort and i'm sad to say that most of the time, there will be one joker who doesn't give his all. this, i believe may be the downfall of many bands. we need focus from our fellow band mates. we need to find those who want to be big, like you. scratch that. we need to find those who TRULY understands what it takes to make it big and is willing to give in 100% effort.

these people are hard to find cos there will be, one time or another, where most people find that they can't cope with their life. they wish to be out of the band but is too scared to say anything.
interestingly, i find that this attitude is possesed by the bassists of my bands. before you say anything, i wanna say that i have nothing against bassists. they are the most important players in the band. to me, that is.

yes maybe we CAN learn from the foreign bands. learn from the successful. who knows, maybe you can be as famous as electrico. or maybe even more, like metallica and such.

i wish you guys all the best in this race to freedom

cheers.

 

[visa]

1) My main point here is that it takes consistent effort in developing good music, songs and a strong relationship with your supporters to be successful. I'm not discussing the size of the scene, so that's irrelevant.

2) Finding like-minded and hardworking bandmates is a basic pre-requisite. If you don't have a mutual understanding and communication between your bandmates, there's no point! This goes for all team efforts, whether at work, school, sports, whatever. You can never get successful in the long run without a healthy relationship within the team.

 

[Jugman]

hmm hehe yea you're right. i'm just speaking my mind. again.

those successful bands out there make it look easy. sigh..

 

[visa]

it's always easier to work hard at something that you're genuinely passionate about and have a real interest in, when working with people with like-minded interests.

 

[Jugman]

well yes. but its difficult to find someone with exact same interests to make the effort lighter. well i guess no two people are the same. you have to deal with what you have.

 

[shinobi]

jugman: sad to say but alot of 'bassists' are not true bassists lah. alot of cockup people like to pick up the bass. it has nothing to do with bassists; i myself am a bassist; it has to do with these people, who are a minority of bad apples

 

[visa]

That's the fun of it. It would be boring if we were all the same. There are conflicts even in the biggest of bands. I think conflicts, handled well, push us to be better people.

 

[Jugman]

hmm yea. fortunately, that one of my bands changed the bassist. a little better now. at least he has the passion for the sort of music that we play

 

[visa]

keep at it

 

[Jugman]

That's the fun of it. It would be boring if we were all the same. There are conflicts even in the biggest of bands. I think conflicts, handled well, push us to be better people.

hmm good point.

 

[swiftfeet]

I think it's true the Jugman said that scene in Singapore is too small. But as you might realize, more and more music competitions are happening on television format so a larger audience would know local bands, musicians, singers, and song writers more. I think that Channel U is doing a great job in promoting music in Singapore.

It's always gotta start somewhere. If Singapore's music scene IS small, then let's make it big=). And i think this applies to all forms of ART in singapore.

 

[RazrAsh]

i think its not about waiting for a big break. its about creating your own big break thats gonna get you somewhere, thats gonna get you noticed.

you cna wait forever for a break. but if u create your own, you oprchestrate your own break, to make it wherever and however u want it.

 

[ac]

To put things into perspective, let's say you went for the recent gig by tortoise, opening act by the observatory, you'd notice that the place would be less than half filled for what is usually considered as a band that has made it in the singaporean sense. What then is a big break considered making it?

 

[epicbreakfast]

it's winner takes all. just like business or any other areas.

the main crowd will listen to "top bands", bands that got lucky (getting on the radio, MTV, magazines, get featured by the media). and these bands will get even more fans thanks to free advertisements and herd mentality.
bands that aren't so lucky will stay where they are, unknown to most people.

it's really all about luck (and less skill).
so if you wanna make it big, just keep doing what you're doing and GRAB WHATEVER OPPORTUNITY that comes your way. you never know which one will be your big break

 

[visa]

epicbreakfast:

I disagree completely.

Getting on the radio, MTV, magazines and being featured by the media is not a matter of luck. Do you know anybody who just "got lucky" without having quality music and a solid fanbase? It takes lots of hard work and effort to publicize your music and your band. If people don't know about your band, it's not because you're "unlucky", but because you simply aren't promoting your band to anybody.

Before the media publicizes you, they have to be certain that by promoting you, THEY are going to benefit. The media is not a charity. They'll only put up bands that they expect will boost sales, and bands that boost sales are bands that already have a solid fanbase to begin with.

If your band is crap and you put in alot of work to promote it, then you're going to be known by alot of people. As a crap band. But if your band is awesome, but you do NOT put in any effort to promote it, then nobody's going to know about you.

Whose fault is that but yours?

 

[Jugman]

so if you wanna make it big, just keep doing what you're doing and GRAB WHATEVER OPPORTUNITY that comes your way. you never know which one will be your big break

EXACTLY what i'm doing.

sigh once again i find myself doing everything for the band. i make the music. i book the studios. i find the gig opportunities. wow. it's really hard work when you're doing it alone and when you have other commitments as well.
no matter. i'm practising to cope with major responsibilities.
but this isnt about me.

however, i do agree with what visa is saying. you need to divide the efforts equally. half to practice and half to publicity.

 

[GrimRiffer]

I'm not waiting for my big break. I just learn guitar for the fun of it.

 

[Dime]

yeah its useless if you can get gigs but your material is as shitty as can be.must be a balance between commitment and technique.

grim bow down to me im your teacher.

 

[Lithumn]

There are competitions like " Live The Dream" but i don't see the winner being too famous or has many supports locally.
Bands should aim for realistic goals for a start like try breaking through asia before thinking about international.
Radio stations like 98.7FM has sections for local music like "HOME"
Band all must start somewhere, why not start at gigs and slowly make your way to the top, i'm sure every band has an equal chance of reaching their goals. "Rome wasn't build in a day"
And most importantly, quoted buy Jugman. You must have passion for music and what you do. people can see the passion and commitment being put in a song, instead of just plainlessly moshing during gigs just for the kicks of it.

every band deserve a big break, why not yours?