Indie Music Marketer .com

I hate taking drugs. I know that's hard to hear coming from a full time working musician. But it is true. I hate taking anti-histamines or sprays. I prefer the holistic approach. 

The three ways to protect your voice: 

1. Water: Distilled water is the best. Chlorinated water, even when filtered is the worst. Why? Think about how your skin feels after you've been swimming. Chlorine does the same thing to vocal cords - dries them out. 

If you can not find steam distilled water, Wal-Marts have water filtered by reverse osmosis. It's a charcoal based filtering system that has no bacteria. Spring water is no good for that reason. You don't know what spring it came from, so you don't what organisms are still there. 

2. Sleep: Hard to get enough sleep. If you're like me, you go, go, go. So 8 hours is tough. What I do is I make sure I take a nap before every gig. Even if I lay down for an hour it helps. The voice is never more relaxed then when at sleep. 

3. ALOE DRINK by KHEE BROS. This stuff is the best! (No I don't get a commission form them.) I just tell you it works! 

Ingredients: Pure water, aloe gel, fructose, honey, citric acid, calcium lactate, vitamin C, aloe fruit. 

I usually find this drink at an Asian market. We have a great Chinatown in Chicago where I live. But check any of your local yellow pages or google them. It comes in a green plastic bottle. It actually real refreshing -- not like the aloe extract you get at the nature stores. It has helped immensely in healing my voice after a couple nights of gigging. 

Aloe Vera is a miracle plant. If you don't know about it, you need to read up on it. It hydrates and it also helps allergies!! fat grms, 0 trans fat grms, 0 sugar ( it does have honey in it ), 11mg sodium, 0 Cholesterol, 15gms of Carbohydrates. 

Musicians work hard. They write for days. They rehearse like fiends. Drag heavy gear here and there. Sweat like pigs on stage. Put marathon hours in at the recording studio. Work their fingers to the bone…well, at least into some pretty gnarly calluses. But, musicians also like to play hard: booze, drugs, groupies, and trashed hotel rooms are actually more occupational hazards that rock ‘n’ roll myths. 

No matter how disciplined an artist needs to be for his or her music, they will always need to blow off steam in some way or another. Some hit the gym, run, partake in extreme sports, do yoga, pursue their spirituality, web surf, build custom guitars, restore classic cars…you name it. All of these outlets help musicians to handle the enormous flow of energy so necessary to channel the creative process. Still, other musicians prefer a more debaucherous form of escapism. They drink until they puke, get stoned and eat a case of Cheetos, or sleep with all of their friends’ sisters. 

This wild lifestyle, albeit a music cliché, may feel terrific at the moment, but many musicians clearly forget that the days of offstage antics circling around the buzz of the band, like whispers in the wind, are long gone. These days, fans carry camera phones to gigs, friends videotape your band’s every move, and everybody’s a blogger. The afterparty, once simply a chance to blow off steam with loved ones and lovers of your music alike, has now gone from the innocent scandal of, “Oh my God, did you hear what happened after the gig Saturday?” to a website monitoring every second of debased insanity with pictures, video, and descriptive essays. 

This new unexpected publicity may increase the number of crazed partiers at your next gig, but what happens when the entertainment attorney you’ve been courting, the A&R guy you’ve been hoping to hear back from, or the manager you’ve been telling how serious you are about your music, pops on the internet and finds your drummer passed out in the pool, your bassist vomiting in someone’s bushes and your guitarist naked in a stranger’s bed with cheerleaders of questionable age? 

The following are a few tips that may help you to throw a terrific afterparty without the ramifications hurting your career in the long run: 

1.) Pick A Designated Partygoer---As much as this thought may send shivers through the spine of any wild-at-heart musician, it’s a good idea to have someone at your afterparty keeping an eye on those who’ve sold their souls for rock ‘n’ roll…or at least Jack Daniels. Whether you rotate it from gig to gig, or find a friend of the band (girlfriend, manager, a bandmate’s brother, etc.) who’ll stay sober enough to make sure that no one does anything stupid…and if they do, that it won’t be “caught on tape.” Playing Band Hall Monitor is truly a thankless job for anyone who parties hardy, so maybe free admission to the gig and some cool band swag as compensation would be a nice way to say “Thank You for being our assigned killjoy tonight!” 

2.) Set Some Guidelines For Your Band And Fans---I know it sounds like Big Brother is busting up your raging good time but when you’re talking about your career, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Have a chat with your band explaining that extreme behavior needs to be controlled at parties where fans are recording events. Post on your web site, and your fan club or have a Pow Wow at the gig and explain to your people that, while you love all of the cool photos and videos they take of the band at the gig, there has to be a few rules for what can be shot offstage. Be honest. Let your friends/fans know that you love partying with them but that the band’s reputation is an important ingredient for its success and that it’s vital that certain memories be enjoyed by partygoers only and not preserved in cyberspace for the world to see. 

3.) Monitor Your Websites And Web Communities---Again, better safe than sorry. It’s always a good idea to visit your forums, message boards, photo galleries, fan clubs, blogs and online communities to see what the latest scoop on your band is. It’s also wise to retain approval privilege on anything posted on each of your band sites. Let people post all of the drunken, naked pictures they want, and then pick and choose which images you want to represent your band. The same applies to comments and posts. Remember fans are important and priceless but it’s ultimately your image to preserve to the industry and the world and your web presence is how you represent yourself to everyone interested in you from fans to labels and everything in between. 

4.) Dial Your Scandalous Behavior Back A Bit---It’s all well and good for your drummer to sleep with your girlfriend’s mom on his own time, but at band functions make sure that the behavior is kept professional. In our modern society, the lines between reality and publicity have become so blurred that a simple kegger in your singer’s garage can get more coverage than a Grammy Pre-Show Special. Sadly, that may simply mean changing the standards of band partying to those that you exhibit at gigs. Throw private parties and have orgies in your grandma’s bathtub, but when it’s music related you’re, in a sense, at work and should act accordingly. 

I realize that telling musicians not to party, is like telling a dog not to lick its private parts and if, after reading this, you feel that the thrill of the over-the-edge rock ‘n’ roll afterparty is completely ruined, don’t change your major to math just yet. Remember, doors lock, parties can be invitation only, cameras turn off, and bloggers can be taught to use discretion. You can still live like Jim Morrison at Scott Weiland’s toga party; just do your best to keep it off the internet. While a little scandal is titillating, a lot of scandal just says to a label, “Sure. We’ll take your money and then we’ll blow it all on Tequila and show up to the studio three hours late every day.” Show the industry you’re serious, put on a professional face, and give your website the appearance of a band that’s fun and responsible. Then, have a private party, invite the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, a donkey, the drug dealer next door, and your guitarist’s horny aunt and throw a party that would make the cast of Half Baked blush. After all, you’ve got to fight for your right to party…in secret…with the digital cameras unplugged. 

So you have prepared yourself and you think you're geared up. Act is fine-tuned, your costume or getup for the experience is prepared, and you couldn't probably try to feel any more confident. It hits. When it hits it doesn't matter if it's a week, day, or hour before the Act; the dreaded stage fear appears out of no where. Yes alot, of the great stars admit to experiencing different types of stage anxiety which continues with the performers career. If the big stars can move on, so can you. The official news is there so many different ways to fight its influences and even use it to develop your Execution. 

This is something that you probably know, but let's take a look at the indicators of stage terror. So many people are fimiliar with dry mouth, quick beating heart, and possibly a combination of cold, sweaty, and shaky hands. Sounds incredibly pleasant doesn't it? Further real indicators include nausea and trembling lips. There are many performers that enforce reported warning signs of sweatiness and dizziness as well. With such over powering indications it doesn't seem possible that stage fear can be tamed, but fortunately, it can. 

One of the perfect ways to head off stage terror before it begins is to be prepared. Be to be ready by knowing your lines, the music to the song, or whatever stuff you need to know for your Performance. Practice hard and make sure you are focused during your rehearsal times. Make sure you remember your material, the more secure you will feel playing it. It is also a good idea to set aside time for just relaxing. Reading, listening to music, or participating in your favorite sport or exercise is a concrete way to unwind. 

Right before the Execution there is a boat load of techniques you can utilize to keep stage fear at bay. Get to the scene first. Of course, this way you can become aware with your backdrop and ascertain your gear and wardrobe. Eradicating the potential for an unpleasant ambush will go a long way in steadying your worries. Before the Appearance take a short walk and be sure to stay hydrated. If you can try not to drink so much drinks that mid-performance you are playacting the pee dance; just enough to head off the effects of dry mouth. 

Many artists are fimiliar with the most awful stage fright right before the curtain goes up. Most of the time it depends on what kind of Execution you are giving depends on the rightapproach. If everything is in place it can be relaxing to the nerves when you look into the audience and you find the friendliest face in the public and concentrate on the notion as you deliver your lines or sing your song. Try to make eye contacthelps to take away the feeling of being completely alone up there. Human relations always helps with stage fright. Please remember, the hardest part is starting, after that it is so easy. 

Believe it or not stage terror can in fact be conducive to the performer and Performance. It helps to guarantee that the epilogue is well rehearsed and the performer is ready. Use stage anxiety to your advantage. You should always remember to breath, put on your perfect smile, and get out there and break a leg. If you believe it, the theater will too.