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51. Buy a decent stereo for home use. If you know where to look (Craigslist, various home audio forums), you can get a receiver, a turntable, a CD player and some good speakers for little more than $500, and it’ll make a world of difference in how you think music should sound. Your laptop is doing you no favors.
52. Brooklyn has one of the most thriving DIY scenes in the world. Utilize it. DIY promoters, bookers, labels and, most importantly, audiences will likely be more open to taking risks on unknown bands and more forgiving when you flub your guitar solo at your second show ever.
53. You live in NYC for a reason, right? Embrace it. Go to shows, shop at brick-and-mortar record stores, talk to people. If you don’t, you might as well be a band in South Dakota. It’s cheaper, and they have the internet there.
54. If you have the means, try to get down to Austin for SXSW at least once. Between traveling expenses and the unspoken agreement with showcase presenters that you’ll play pro bono, you’ll likely lose money in the end, but considering the opportunities that could arise from it—all that elbow rubbing!—it might be worth it. You just never know.
55. If you ask nicely for us to re-tweet something about a show you’re playing, we just might. We also might not, but we probably won’t make fun of you for asking.
56. Try not to leave too much stuff in your van overnight. You’re gonna be so pissed if all your shit gets stolen.
57. You should make t-shirts, yes, but also maybe sweatshirts! We suggest crewneck for a nice change of pace. (Unless you’re in a hardcore band, in which case you’d get beat up for such a thing.)
58. Should you choose to cover a song, please do so without irony.
59. Pay attention to the other bands around you, but not too much. Great scenes are made up of originals, not carbon-copies of one another.
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"I always had the idea that this was a really great thing to do: it's fun, it's important and we'll do it as long as we can."
Mar 29, 2012
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