About Ben London

Music Advice

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• Follow Following 1 I just wanted to say thanks.... Phat Man Dee asked Ben London in Arts & Music over 2 years ago

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  Music Schools (high school and above) in Seattle: who rocks?

  2 0 Some of the community colleges have pretty good recording/ music programs that are pretty reasonably priced. Shoreline's program is pretty good. There are also a lot of resources available through the VERA Project. The Art Institute is always an option but it is pretty expensive. Local Studio Glenn Sound also holds some pro tools classes and there are some good audio classes through the UW extension program. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  remembering The Rocket , once a Seattle fav for musicians- what's your go-to publication or website for leading edge music now?

  2 0 The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, KEXP, KEXP Website, Three Imaginary Girls, Facebook, City Arts Mag, Too Beautiful to Live Podcast. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  Are there local booking agents or promoters you enjoy working with and would recommend to a developing indie band?

  2 0 Good Question. I've always been a big believer that when it comes to music you should never hire someone to do something until there is so much work you can't do it yourself. Not to be a broken record but the days of other people doing it for you, especially in an artist’s development stage, are long gone. It used to be that developing artists dreamed of signing to a label, it seems that finding a good booking agent has replaced that dream. The thing is that most good agents are only interested in taking on new clients if they have built something to begin with. Booking agents get paid a percentage on what the bad makes at shows so 15% of $50 is not going to keep their lights on. Now they will obviously take on new clients that are developing if they think they are going to mature into a bigger act. This would usually be based on the band being signed to a label, established manager, publisher, or blown up in the press/blogs/etc. You may have an easier time hiring a publicist. Hopefully they at least have relationships with the writers and tastemakers that will help you build a little buzz around what you’re doing. Ultimately a publicist is only a magnifying glass so they can only do so much to get coverage. It all depends on how the music/live performance resonates with people. Over the years I’ve seen some bands spend a lot of money trying to get press and get nothing and bands doing it themselves and get a ton. It all just depends on the music. As for reputation. I would suggest the following for anyone you are thinking about hiring. 1) Do your research. Check them out, try to get recommendations, Google them and their company. Try to know as much about them before you approach them. 2) Ask them what they think they can realistically deliver. If you just getting started, ask them if they might consult with you a little bit to help you do some of the work yourself to begin with. 3) Ask them to give you an example of when they did not take on a client. This can tell you a lot. If they never turn anyone down, then you can tell that they are more interested in the steady pay check rather than building their own career/reputation. 4) Agree to all costs and services up front. Find out if you’re paying for mailings, phone bills, etc. Lastly, rather than try to find someone with the contacts and the skills, why not become that person yourself. The more you learn about this stuff the better off you will be and it will either allow you to help yourself or be able to better judge the people you hire. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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  The best way to book a tour...

  2 0 The first question I would ask is why do you want to go on tour? What level is your band at? How well do you do locally? If you want to go on vacation (spend a bunch of your own money) and play some music then sure, try to go on tour but if you are going to go on tour to try to build your bands career, then you want to be as smart as possible about doing it. Here are a few realities- 1) There are more bands on tour right now than ever. Playing live is one of the only consistent ways for bands to make money so almost every band that is bigger or more well known than your band is already touring a lot. 2) There are only so many venues, so many slots per night and so much audience in every city 3) What does it get you if you drive 600 miles to play for the bartender and the sound person because you had no promotion? The bottom line is that if you are going to go on tour, you need to have started building a story about your band. The booking agents are looking for bands that have some sort of promotional support behind them. That could be anything from being on a label (big or small), press/blog coverage, extensive social networking or more well known band association. They are trying to put bands in their room every night that will draw a crowd to sell drinks. If no one comes to the show, no one drinks and they lose money. Now, agents will take chances based on how much they like the music or if they think the band is growing and they are making an investment on making money with them in the future. So you are thinking WTF? How am I ever going to get out on the road? Well…here is what I would suggest. Rather than trying to set out on a west coast or national tour, I would focus on what ever you can do within a 300 mile radius of Seattle. If you have anything happening here in town at all then it will be easier to explain it to agents in Bellingham, Vancouver BC, Portland, Eugene, Spokane, Tacoma, Etc. You can do all of these shows in quick shots. There were a number of times back in the day where my band would play Portland and drive down after work and come back that night to go to work the next day. You try to set it up where you’re playing once every month or 6 weeks in each of these markets and you try to build an audience. If you’re good (always the most important part) then word of mouth will spread along with the other bands you’ll meet in every town. Use that internet machine to reach out to as many people as possible in every city as well and try to get them to com out to your shows. IF you can build up the Northwest circuit, you’ll be in a much better position to either attract a booking agent that can help put a national tour together or have more of a story to tell to book it your self. The Exceptions… If your best friend plays guitar in the Cave Singers and they want you to come down and open for them in SF and LA or wants to take you on tour…sure! Go do it. You know you’ll be playing in front of people and it’s worth the trip. If your band gets into SXSW or CMJ, it’s probably worth spending the money to go down there just to meet as many people as possible and have access to the majority of the music industry in one location. Doing all this stuff is a lot of work, but hopefully a lot of fun as well. If it’s not fun, then you should ask yourself why you are doing it? Remember, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Good Luck. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

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  Where did all the good drums go?

  1 0 I don't think I have a good answer for you other than to say that it seems like when it come to music it seems like there is a pendulum constantly swinging back in forth. Sometimes the music that is popular is really intricate and technical and other times it is really simple and raw. Every generation needs their own sound (or their new version of an old sound) and thus they must rebel against what came before them. If you think about the indie pop that is popular now, it has more in common with the 60-70's hit makers like Fleetwood Mac, CSNY and the Beach Boys than with punk rock. Give it time as the music gets more precious and the beards get longer a new generation is going to come along and want something more aggressive whether it is metal, hip hop, electronic music or whatever. It always happens. As for the drummers, there is always a place for good music, so if someone or some band does something great with technical drumming, people will like it. If it’s just complicated for the sake of complicated, then people who read Modern Drummer will like it. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 7 more answers »

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  Are the rules any different for bands seeking boring, regular work as background music vs. sit-down concerts?

  0 0 I don't know to be honest with you. I'd just look and see what restaurants are doing live background music and go in and ask them how they book their artists. Beyond that I'd say all the other first contact rules apply. Good Luck. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  The Elusive First Show...

  1 0 They say the first time is the hardest... It sounds like you are doing all the right things. Being underage can make it a little harder in 21 and over clubs. I suggest you focus on some of the awesome all ages venues here in the Northwest like the Vera Project http://www.theveraproject.org/ The Old Firehouse http://www.theoldfirehouse.org/ Kirkland Teen Union Building http://www.ktub.org/ Once a band has played a few of these venues, you may have a better story to tell the booking agents in the clubs around town. Lastly, most clubs are booking 3-4 months out at all times so if they offer you a gig in August, take it. It seems like that is months away but it will give you more time to practice and promote the show so it is killer! Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  Tips on finding your audience...

  2 0 Friends and family are always the best place to start. Don’t be afraid to ask them to help you. Ask your close friends to each invite 5 friends/co-workers to one of your shows. If you are good, they will keep coming back. I suggest that any new band sits down as a group and discusses their goals and what they want to accomplish in 4 month blocks. Write it down and then you have something to gauge your success (or failures) by. When your first getting going maybe the list includes writing a set worth of material or booking our first show. You never know what everyone in the band is thinking and when you have common goals they are easier to achieve. The other thing this allows is division of labor. You divide the responsibilities depending on everyone's skill set. One person handles booking, another takes care of all the social networks and blogging, another goes out a lot and tries to meet and make friends with other bands, etc. A lot of work for one person but doable if you split it up. Depending on your goals, if your band mates are not willing to do that work then they may not be the people you want to be in a band with. The days of someone else doing it for you are long gone and the more you learn how to do this kind of stuff the better you will be set for your entire music career whether it is with this band or another. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

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  How do you identify they good guys from the bad guys?

  2 0 The changes in the music biz have gotten rid of a lot of the scammers and thief’s. There are much more lucrative ways to try and rip people off these days than the music biz. Not enough money in it anymore. Best way to work with good people is ask questions and discuss the outcomes before they happen. Don't ask the agent what the split is after you already played or what your friend who puts your CD out is going to give you after it's already produced. The only power you have when you are getting started is to say yes or no to different situations. If you don’t like the terms of a show- don't play, or if you do, you’ll at least have decided that the promotional value out weighs the money or lack there of. Either way, you had some say in the decision. Lastly if you do work with bad people, let your friends and other bands know. Transparency is your friend unless you are doing something wrong. Look out for the community and the community will look out for you. Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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