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So You Want To Be A Star
Part 2: Planting Seeds
You drop little seeds as you travel through life. A word here, a kindness there, and you move on, oblivious. But the Universe isn't oblivious. Some of these seeds take root and grow. (Sometimes these seeds are not planted in kindness, and the fruit that these plants bear can come back to trouble you. So plant with care, forethought, and awareness.) I didn't know it at the time, but I was planting seeds among the local Goddess community. I attended local rituals and celebrations, met new people and made new friends. Many times we would form spontaneous drum circles, or just play, since there were quite a few people who were musicians. Sharing in that way, just playing and giving were the seeds that I planted. We discovered that we could make music together. The fruits of these seeds answered me when I put out the call.
Ironically, the responses I received when I put the word out that I was starting a recording project were overwhelmingly male. So be it. The door to my band is never closed, and perhaps some day I will make music with some women, but for now, it's me and "the guys".
I work in the corporate world. I am a cog in the great machine of business and technology. I have been modestly successful, and I have learned about being part of a group and leading groups to achieve a certain goal. Some of the things I've learned are highly applicable to working in a band and making a record.
I required a commitment from my men, and I gave the same: a year and a day. A year and a day is a significant length of time in the Pagan traditions that I follow. We sat down at the table and talked business before we ever played a note together as a band. We put stuff in writing so that there would be no confusion later. At least we thought so at the time. If you don't get lawyers involved, there always seems to be a loose end or two when you get done.
I have heard enough analogies that a band is like a family, and I suppose that sometimes it is. I didn't want to follow that model for the band, because that would make me the Mommy, and I already have that job at home, thank you very much. So I made the analogy that a family is like a company, and we will run the band like a business. If that makes me the boss, well, at least that's better than the Mommy. Bosses don't change diapers.
Let's think about the band/company analogy for a moment. A band is a business proposition. We were together to create something. We were together to make something. We were together to work. The songs we were composing together become real, tangible, intellectual property with an intrinsic material value (a commodity). Whether someone would be willing to pay money for it was still a matter of conjecture, but there are legal and financial ramifications when a group of people agree to do this sort of creative work together. We were all mature, grown-ups who had been through the music mill for a number of years in a variety of roles. None of us were music virgins. So it was important to iron out the business details first.
First we laid the ground rules regarding writing. The rule we followed is described in "The Songwriter's Guide to Collaboration," by Walter Carter (Writer's Digest Books). Simply: whoever is in the room while a song is being written is a co-writer. This is because you don't know where or from whom the inspiration for that great lyric or melody will come from. It could be someone sitting on the couch talking about something completely unrelated that triggers a memory or a flash of insight in you. If they weren't there, would you have thought of it? Also, from a practical standpoint, it keeps gawkers and girlfriends out of the writing sessions (yes it could be boyfriends, too, but "boyfriend" doesn't alliterate with "gawker") if you know you're going to be cutting them in on the copyright and royalties. Which brings me to
Music Biz Rule Number 2: PUT IT IN WRITITNG.
Whatever rules you and your band decide to follow is fine as long as everyone agrees, and you then follow your rules. That's what writing things down does for you. And if you still have trouble, post what you wrote on the wall so you can see it.
Then we set a goal. It is important for the group to have a goal. The goal doesn't have to be achievable in the short term, but if it is, or if it is perceived to be achievable, it helps keep people focused. The job of the leader is to keep people focused and then get out of their way. I think our first year's goal was pretty reasonable: "Let's put a CD out in a year." And we focused on that.
We scoured our existing collections of music to see if we had anything that would be appropriate to add to the album. There were a few songs from the past that we wanted to record, and there were others available as back-up.
Then we started writing. I had a vision for our first CD, and I started a bunch of songs, and finished others that I had started earlier. We wrote together and separately, in pairs, trios and the whole quartet.
Then it was time to record.
The 500 Hats of Madam Musician