Insider Column 9

An insider's look at Townsend...Chapter Nine


July 10, 2001
Did you miss me? Did you even notice that I didn’t post my column last Friday? Todd decided that I needed a vacation. Wendy agreed. Let me translate- Todd wanted to spend five days at clear lake jet skiing. Wendy wanted to spend five days with Tami, Todd, and me (and jet skiing). No. Tami is not Todd’s girlfriend. Tami is the most beautiful 19-year old young lady in the state. She’s my daughter and of course that makes her Todd’s sister. So while they were having fun in the sun I was hacking away at my computer doing Townsend stuff.

Because I was out of town from Wednesday through Sunday I was unable to get together with Nick to finish his interview (Nick, this is the last time I lie for you buddy!). I’m sure that we will have it completed by this Friday. Right Nick?

I’m thinking about adopting Matt as a son. At least he thinks that I’m worthy of having my own fan club and website. He even took my picture today. On second thought, I better not adopt Matt. I can barely afford Todd. I just had a scary thought. What if I had twins? Todd and Tad? Actually, if I had twins I would have named one Robert and the other Trebor. So, if Robert is Bob, would Trebor be boB?

Sorry for going off on that crazy tangent.

A Townsend fan sent the guys a poem. Normally I hate reading poetry. Color me weird, but I love writing poems and find no value in reading poems. Occasionally, I come across a poem that I really love, like this one! I was given permission to post it as long as I didn’t say who wrote it. I think that it’s a shame that I’m not able to credit the writer. I don't know its title.




i hear your voice
puts my mind at ease
close my eyes
imagine your face

i feel your tears
and the longing from you
leaves me breathless
and it's all worth it
to hear you smile

can't get my mind off you
sleepless nights i dream of you
i've held you in my heart
there's a heaven made just for you






Frequently Asked Questions

As Townsend’s Manager I am frequently asked three questions. They are, in order of frequency:


1. What is the best way to communicate with the members of Townsend?
2. Is managing Townsend my full time job or; what do I (T Rex) normally do for a living and/or what do I do when I’m not managing Townsend?
3. What should an aspiring young entertainer do to maximize her/his chances of being successful in the music industry?

Unfortunately, answering the first question is not as easy as you may think. I don’t know! It would be easier to herd stray cats than to get these guys to devote the several hours per day that it would take them to respond to all the mail that they receive. As far as I can tell, they read all of the letters that they receive. They read all of the emails that they receive and they try to log into the chat room at least once a day. It takes me about two hours per day to respond to all of the Townsend correspondence that I receive. Let’s face it I receive far less than they do.

No, managing Townsend is not my full time job even though I usually spend many hours per week taking care of Townsend business in my "spare" time. Answering the second part of the question is easy; I just choose not to answer it. Besides, by now you should all know that I work for NASA. The only Townsend fan that I’ve directly responded to regarding the question of what I do is Joy. Besides, it is real easy to find out what I do without asking anyone that knows me.

Before I go on, let me point out that this is not my typical Insider’s Column. At best it’s a supplement. The real intent of this column is to answer the third question. I imagine that most of you will find the following to be of minimal interest. So, unless you have plans on becoming an entertainer in the music industry, don’t waste your time reading this. Go do something creative. Paint a picture, read a book, write a poem, anything!!

If I knew the answer to question three I probably wouldn’t be working for NASA. I cannot speak from experience when answering the question on what an aspiring young entertainer should do to maximize her/his chances of being successful in the music industry. While I firmly believe that Townsend will be immensely successful as entertainers in the music industry, it should be obvious to all that they’re not quite there yet. Nonetheless, I do have some suggestions based on what I’ve experienced to date in the entertainment industry as well as the knowledge that I have gained by traveling life’s paths.

First things first: if you’re looking for the perfect five-step approach for making it big in the music industry you’re not going to find it here -as a matter of fact, you’re not going to find it anywhere. Imagine how horrible it would be if there were five-easy steps that anyone could take and end up being an internationally world famous musician. The world would be totally overrun with boy bands. Ick!!

The truth is that it isn’t that difficult making it in the music industry, that is, if you are willing to just barely eke out a living.

When I was in high school I played the standup bass in a Friday night band. I didn’t play well. I didn’t have to play it well. My job was to look good and attract the babes. I did. Other than me, the band was all made up of family members. It was the Maule family. The Maule’s had 12 kids, 13 with me. All but the very youngest could sing and play an instrument. Most of the kids could play several instruments. A day didn’t go by that we didn’t jam for an hour or two. That was over 35 years ago. Most of them still get together and play as a Friday night band. A Friday night band is a band that just plays on weekends to supplement their income or just because they love doing it. The Maule’s did it for both reasons. There wasn’t a weekend that went by that they didn’t perform both Friday and Saturday nights. About the time I went off to join the Navy the five teenage members of the family went on a road tour. They were booked in the best clubs. They were good; they were very good. They went back to being a Friday night band. That is, all but one of them. One of the girls went on to be one of the best jazz vocalists in Australia.

Well, anyway. Does anyone remember the question? Oh yeah, the question is what should an aspiring young entertainer do to maximize her/his chances of being successful in the music industry? As I see it, there are several broad categories of essential requirements that must be considered when a young entertainer is planning a career in the music industry. The broad categories, according to T Rex, are:


Attitude
Talent
Appearance and Behavior
Awareness
Marketing
Support
Opportunity

In addition to the above, you need a good manager and a better agent. More on that later.

Attitude
In this case attitude doesn’t refer to the angle of an aircraft in relation to the direction of the airflow. Nor does it refer to the angle of a spacecraft in relation to its direction of movement. Hey, cut me some slack. I work for NASA and the first "A" in NASA does stand for aeronautics. What I am referring to is an individual’s behavior, opinion or general feeling about something. Of course there are attitudes and there are attitudes. The only right attitude is a positive one. If you have to cop an attitude wait until after you’ve signed a fifty million dollar record contract.

To me attitude is like your nasal passage. A good attitude is like having clear nasal passages. All is right with the world. A bad attitude is like having seriously congested nasal passages. Life is miserable. Have you ever tried to sing with a head cold? Not good. A bad attitude is worse than a singer with a head cold.

It is imperative that you believe in yourself and that you express this belief in a way that results in a physical posture and behavior that reflects the confidence that you feel. Unless you are one of the most talented individuals in your profession, the worst thing that you could do to yourself would be to cop an attitude that is arrogant. A positive attitude fosters persistence. Persistence is essential. In other words, if you have a good attitude about yourself and what you’re doing you are likely to stay focused on performing the tasks that are required to achieve your objectives, i.e., becoming a "rock" star.

There are two categories of persistence that need to be considered. I’m referring to persistence in training and persistence in marketing. I’ll cover marketing later. Motivation and persistence are the two sides to the same coin. If you’re going to be successful as an entertainer in the music industry you have to be so motivated that you are willing to make major sacrifices. You have to be prepared to give up something of valuable or importance today for the chance that you will achieve your long-term goals. In other words, establish priorities and follow them.

Persistence means that you have the desire to continually and aggressively strive to achieve your goals despite whatever problems or obstacles confront you. For our younger readers, that just means that if you want something, you go for it and you don’t give up until you get it.

Talent
If you lack talent you’re in for a major disappointment. Either that or you must be willing to make major sacrifices. Even the most talented individuals have to sacrifice a lot to achieve their ambitions. Talent in the music industry is the key cornerstone to success. Without it you have little to build on. The more you have the easier it is. If you’re extremely talented, you probably need to spend far fewer hours per day training and/or practicing the required skills to achieve your objective than an individual with limited skills. As an example, let’s say that you want to be the lead singer of a rock band and you have considerable talent. At least five days per week for one to two hours per day you need to practice singing. You need to spend at least one hour per week with your vocal coach. If you play an instrument you need to practice for one to two hours per day five to six days per week. If your band also dances, you need to practice your routine as a group at least two hours per day three to four days per week. You need to spend at least two 4-hour days per month with your choreographer. If you’re learning a new routine, you need to spend several full days with your choreographer. If you write your own lyrics, and you should, you need to spend at least 10 hours per week writing. Had enough yet? Oh contraire moose breath. Physical fitness is extremely important. The dancing will go a long way to help with cardiovascular fitness. That’s not enough. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, boy or girl, you need to work out with weights. Weight training will improve your endurance as well as your appearance. If you don’t dance, run. If you dance, oh what the heck, run.

Now, before you scream "no way", take into consideration that the schedule that I laid out is for an individual or group that is just getting ready to launch their career or is in the early stages of a career. What ever you do, do not sacrifice your education. School comes first. Even extremely talented individuals fail to make it in the music industry. You will need to make lots of sacrifices if you’re going to be successful in entertainment industry. Never, and I mean never, ever sacrifice your education. It is highly likely that you will need it.

Appearance and Behavior
Appearance is almost as important as talent. I’m not saying that everyone needs to be beautiful. What I am saying is that your appearance needs to reflect the image that you need to portray to fit within the norm of the genre. For example, if you want to be a punk rock musician do not dress like an attorney. If you want to sing gospel, do not dress like a member of the Hell’s Angles. Remember, a person’s physical appearance is the visual aspect of an individual that creates a particular impression of the individual. In terms we all can understand, look the way you want others to see you. One other think, it’s okay, even preferable, to be ugly if you’re into heavy metal (jk).

Like appearance, behavior is a physical manifestation of a person’s persona.
Persona, persona, what’s a stinkin’ persona? I think that I need to learn how to converse without using big words. Anyway, persona is the image of character and personality that an individual wants to project to others. So, if you don’t want to be perceived as a floozy do not dress or act like one. If you want others to perceive you as country and western singer wear cowboy boots, chew tobacco, and say "how y’all doin?" Oh, and spit a lot, but not in San Francisco. It’s again the law.

For young folks, the right appearance and behavior is equivalent to being cool. Don’t smoke, don’t drink, and don’t do drugs. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that the decision makers in the music industry think that you’re cool if you smoke, drink, or do drugs. Trust me, that’s the last thing that they want.

Awareness
Take the time and make the effort to learn about the industry that you want to get into. If you want to sing, listen to the best. If you want to dance, watch others. Read!! Read!! And when you have time, read! Let me put it to you this way, read!! Read trade magazines. Read critical reviews. The Internet is great for getting information. Use it. What I am trying to tell you is that research pays. Do it!

Ask yourself why you like certain performers over others. When a record goes gold or platinum ask yourself why. Ask your friends what they like in music and ask them why.

Self-awareness is critical. Understand your capabilities. Do not lie to yourself. Understand and challenge your weaknesses. Work to your strengths, overcome your weaknesses.

Bottom line, know about the entertainers, know what the fans like, and understand yourself.

Marketing
Hopefully you will reach a point when you are good enough to be marketed. In the music entertainment industry marketing refers to the business activity of presenting your skills to potential management companies and/or record labels in such a way as to make them eager to offer you a contract. Do not kid yourself, at best you’ll get a lukewarm reception

Marketing is not something that you can do on your own.

One of the most import elements in marketing is your marketing packet. A marketing packet is a "professionally" packaged assortment of multimedia information. As a minimum it should include a cover letter, a least one flattering photograph, a CD or cassette, and a short biography. The cover letter should be brief. It should include an introduction, a statement of intent, a description of the contents in the packets and information on how you can be contacted. The cover letter should be on your personal letterhead.

Your cover letter may look something like this:

T Rex 7/4/01
Armpit Records
1313 Rock N. Ln.
San Pasquale, Ca


Dear Mr. Rex,

I am sending you this promotional packet to introduce Ashley Angel to Armpit Records. Ashley is a young dynamic, Milpitas-based, Pop singer. She has been singing for the last 8 years. Ashley has many of the same characteristics that made current pop singers successful - image, charisma and talent. Ashley also has the added advantage of having written her own songs.

Please review the information enclosed to determine if a contractual relationship between Ashley and Armpit Records would be mutually beneficial. We are looking for a record company that specializes in producing and promoting an individual that has Ashley’s attributes.

Included in this packet is a CD that includes several of Ashley’s songs, Turtles Are Green, Love Grows on Trees, Tomorrow is too Soon, and A Chocolate Fire Hydrant. Also enclosed you will find a brief biography, a photograph, and a personal message from Ashley. If you request, we can provide a video of Ashley performing before a live audience.

If you think that Ashley may be the type of singer that meets your criteria, please give me (Ashley’s advisor and manager) a call at (550) 055-5550. The best time to call is between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. Thanks!

Respectfully,

Ima Angel


A great tool for marketing purposes is a personalized website. Websites can cost next to nothing or you can spend a small fortune to have one developed for you. Unless you're already independently wealthy, don’t spend a bunch of money to have a flashy website constructed. Think about who your intended target is. It should be your fans and potential management and/or record companies. Neither one will appreciate an overly flashy and complicated site. Most fans do not have high-speed data access and they do not want to wait for what seems like forever for your site to download. Management and/or record companies are not going to take more than a couple of minutes to look at your site. They need to be able to rapidly navigate your site. They will not waste their time with flashy wizbang that has no substance.


Support
Can or should Ashley market herself? No!! Even if you need to start off using a friend or a family member to manage your career you will be far better off than trying to do it on your own. You cannot manage yourself and devote the required time to practicing your skills. And, unless you’re very wealthy, it is unlikely that you can afford to pay a full time manager to manage your business. And that’s exactly what it is, a business. Any manager that is worth his or her salt, other than a family or a close family friend, is not going to be cheap.

Your talent, your manager and a lot of luck may get you a record deal. Even with that, it’s unlikely that you will get a record deal unless you’ve had the opportunity to perform on many occasions before a live audience. If you’re expecting to perform for large audiences, as in major concerts, you will need an agent.

The best need the best. An agent can make or break a performer’s career. The best agents attract the most talented performers. If you are truly talented, do not settle for a second rate agent. Before you select an agent, do your homework. Find out whom they represent. Make sure that they represent performers in the same field of entertainment that you’re interested in.

Support comes in all sizes and shapes. Emotional and moral support from family and friends is crucial. Financial support is great, but if you don’t already have it don’t count on getting it. If you know someone who is willing and financially capable of launching your career, a paltry $50,000 will go a long way in putting together a very professional promotional packet. That, plus a ton of talent and a lot of luck should buy you at least 30 seconds of some record company VP’s time.

Opportunity
Opportunity is a combination of favorable circumstances that are recognized and grasped by the recipient. Opportunity does not come along every day. All too often opportunity is not recognized for what it is. Probably the greatest cause for an individual to fail to recognize opportunity when it presents itself is impatience. Individuals that are constantly grasping at straws will in time fail to distinguish between a straw and opportunity.


Never, Never:
Never compromise your personal values.
Never compromise your integrity.
Never compromise your family or friends.
Never compromise your intellectual standards.
Never compromise your entertainment standards.
Never compromise your moral or religious standards.

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