[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by anemicrock

Fleaman, I agree with everything your saying it's just sometimes you made it sound like LA was the only place worth being in a band.

I said that if you wanna play with the big boys, you need to come to LA. The odds are best here, but the competition is also the hardest. It's the law of attrition and exactly why A&R (if they even exist anymore), shakers and movers allow LA itself to weed out the the weak.

Of course bands need to build a following in their home town first (unless it's a farming town or some shit) then hit the road.

Yet again, you could spend a year or so building a following in a small or medium size home town, another year or so hitting the road and playing small clubs that you're not recognized at....

...or, you could move to LA, build a following here in 1 or 2 years, and if you're good, the odds are some or a few movers/shakers will have seen or heard you.

How would you like to spend the next 2 years?

I was being a little facetious but I have been in my band for 10 years and have reached points in our career where we thought things would get easier. (MTV, BIG TOURS, KERRANG MAGAAZINE INTERVIEWS, GREAT REVIEWS etc) but still not much came from that.

That's all promotion/media coverage, etc. That's the stage bands get to when they have buzz, but it doesn't usually translate to record sales or even a record contract.

Example. 10 years doing it. Little band supports us at a show. Basic band. Bland and they we're only 16. Asking us questions about how we were doing so well backstage. 1 month later there supporting AVA, Paramore, On the cover of every magazine in the UK, MTV every min, and now sell out pretty big shows. Luck? Put it this way they have rich parents. I also know for a fact that they paid to get every one of those first big tours.

$$ was used to market and promote that young band. That's not luck, that's reducing your odds. w/o big $$ you'll need a record company or big management to do that, the Parents skipped that process and it looks like it paid off....assuming that they actually are making $$$.

Not exactly luck.

It's the same the world over. Even if yo do build up a big following in LA doesn't mean your gonna make it big. But let's just agree to disagree on this one and lay it to rest.

The point is that LA is just another tool for a band/artist. It IS the entertainment capital of the world, it IS the most competitive, yet on the flip side it offers a lot of opportunity. More top line musicians/artists to build a band, more contacts, more music clubs, more fans, more music business types, etc.

Problem is, the record industry as a whole doesn't have the means to sign and promote bands anymore, but that's another topic

But just know, I LOVE LA. It's where I grew up and would absolutly love to live there again. I was only talking about the whole (needing to be in LA if your in a band thing).

Again, if you wanna increase your odds, know where you stand (as an band/artist/entertainer), and you had to pick ONE place that offers the most, LA would be it. You don't have to come here, and many don't, many also come and leave shortly thereafter, 'cos LA isn't easy to even survive on a daily level (Jobs, living costs, etc.).

But as an example, I just went to Spaceland last night...it's a free night (every monday is free music in the silverlake club scene), it was at capacity, a good 400+ heads. Out of those 400+ heads is the largest percentage of musicians, music industry, press (there were 6 pro photographers there), than anywhere else in the world----and this happens on a weekly or daily level here, it wasn't a showcase.
I was introduced to 8 musicians and a management company through mutual friends. I'm not currently in a band right now, but I get introduced anyway, because it's just a friend introducing another friend, you can't swing a Les Paul w/o hitting someone related to music here.

No doubt it would be easier to build a following in your smaller home town, that's exactly why record labels in general don't focus on bands with big followings in smaller towns.

So again, how would you like to spend your first few years building your band?

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