In Between the Staff

Letter from the Editors

Our mission when making this magazine was to create a medium for readers like you to explore the world of music. We thought the best way was through a compact, digestible, and easily accessible format, while also getting insider knowledge that under normal circumstances would be difficult to obtain. We are extremely grateful that you picked up this magazine and decided to turn the page. We hope that the fruit of our hours and hours of labor is ripe and ready for consumption. And more importantly, that you enjoy our little magazine. Thank You for reading!

MEET THE TEAM

Bodhi Lucchesi is a Freshman at LASA that grew up under strong influence of music. He enjoys weightlifting, playing video games, and building legos. His favorite food is pizza because he is Italian and according to him he is “obligated to like pizza”. On the other hand, Bodhi hates cauliflower for absolutely no reason. He hopes you enjoy this magazine and really appreciates you for reading it. He is aware that this sounds like an AI generated response but he really really does appreciate the readers!

Spandana Palyam is a freshman at LASA High School in Austin, Texas. She enjoys chicken nuggets, the color purple, crocheting, and of course, music. She also says she absolutely despises toddlers, but does love babies. According to her, her biggest strength is that she is socially aware and knows how to respond to social situations while her biggest weakness is indecision. Having played the ukulele for 5 years, it’s quite apparent that she enjoys music. “Sometimes when I’m having a bad day, the feeling that music gives me can help a lot!”

Photos by: Spandana Palyam, Erica Lan, Jeffery Zheng, Adan Saucedo, and Bodhi Lucceshi

Erica Lan is a Freshman at LASA who is a music enthusiast that loves the diversity music brings. “I think it’s interesting how different types of music can make people feel different kinds of ways,” Erica said. She loves asian food, ceramics, and the color green. “I think it’s very therapeutic, especially throwing [the clay] on the wheel.” But most of all, Erica loves to play the guitar!

Jeffrey Zheng attends LASA High School in Austin, Texas. He enjoys listening to music and is an excellent pianist. He claims that the weirdest thing about him is how ordinary and uninteresting he is. He does have some fascinating pet peeves though, while speaking with Jeffrey, be sure to respond quickly because taking a long time will annoy him.

1 LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

2 MEET THE TEAM

3 HISTORY AND CULTURE

4 GENRES & EXPRESSION

5 LOCAL BANDS AND ARTISTS

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

6

7 MUSIC AND MARKETING

FINISHING UP & CREDITS

8

Treble Clef and Bass Clef

The treble clef typically notates notes above middle C while the bass clef notates notes below. The treble clef is higher.

Pickup Notes

Notes that may appear at the start of a piece of music that don’t fill an entire measure.

Ho w to Read

Time Signature

Determines the “beat” of the song. The top is the amount of notes in a measure while the bottom is the type of note. So, 4/4 is 4 quarter notes.

Bar Line

A line used to separate measures. Always spaced apart according to the time signature.

Dots

A dot behind a note or a rest means that note is played for one and one half of its duration.

Tie

A curve used to combine 2 notes together into a longer note the length of the 2 former notes

S h ee t M us i c

ECHOES OF THE PAST

The culture and history behind our

Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Preservation Hall is dedicated to preserving the cultural musical traditions of New Orleans. Photo by Jeffery Zheng.

Music is everywhere. You probably listen to it all the time - while on the bus or in your car, walking around, at home, or finishing up a magazine article two days after the deadline. But what were the steps to create this amazing system of sounds that we now take for granted today?

The roots of music had already grown before the seeds of humanity were even planted. What we think of today as music was probably created when humans and chimpanzees split off from a common ancestor at the very least, but music is

language. Or perhaps that’s not that unexpected at all; we’ve communicated via music since time immemorial.

“When it comes to languages, there’s always language barriers,” said Anthony Harris, a piano teacher. “People sometimes can’t communicate with each other well, but we always seem to agree on stuff when it comes to music.”

Based on historical records, music was very prominent in ancient times. From the moment a writing system was established, music seemed to be one of the very first things

likely to have been created long before this. Prehistoric music frequently consisted of drums and other percussion instruments. It’s theorized to have played an unexpected role in ancient human society -

to appear. Civilizations across the world enjoyed music. China, Greece, and India especially developed complex song forms. Music was used for religious festivals, marriage and funeral rites, banquet gatherings, as well as for enjoyment in general. The transmission of music ideas and instruments between different cultures was also often shepherded by the Silk Road. As civilizations began to rise and fall, so did their unique ways of creating music. The last part of this musical “antiquity” would be defined by the Medieval and Byzantine eras, where music was often used for religious purposes. However, music would stay relatively uninteresting until the rise of the Renaissance.

People sometimes can’t communicate with each other well, but we always seem to agree on stuff when it comes to music.

The Renaissance - a rebirth of European culture, art, and technology. Often considered the beginning of Western classical music, the Renaissance shaped the music that we have today. Containing a clear melody and balanced harmony, Renaissance music created trends that would carry on to the modern era. Following the Renaissance came the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras. Baroque was classified by its polyphony; where multiple melodies were used simultaneously. Classical was identified by its homophonic texture; where there is an obvious melody with accompaniment. The Romantic period forwarded music becoming much more expressive and emotional than ever before. These periods have shaped the way that music is made today.

The 20th century saw a revolution in music with the development of electrical appliances. The radio and television helped broadcast music around the world, with musical performances also becoming increasingly visual. The 20th century also brought new freedom and experimentation. The invention of amps and electronic instruments revolutionized music to become more widespread and easy to access to the general public. The 20th century also saw the unprecedented spread of popular music, which is music with a wide appeal. With such developments in technology, music had never been more widespread.

“Classical music has definitely influenced contemporary music in every, every aspect of music really,” said Anthony Harris, a piano teacher. “As far as Western music goes, as far as the chord progressions that are used and melodies that are used, there’s lots of popular classical melodies actually adapted to pop music that most people learn.”

It’s hard to dispute the claim that everybody enjoys listening to at least some form of music. But, with great diversity comes great divide. Musical elitism is everywhere, with many criticizing others for simply not liking their own favorite genre. A common example of this is the social divide between those who enjoy listening to classical music and those who enjoy more modern types of music, such as pop, rock, and electronic music. Classical is often considered by some to be much more high-class and intelligent. There is some truth to this - classical music tends to have much more complex melodies and rhythms than modern music. However, it’s important to remember that music isn’t just what’s in the song - it’s the way that it connects to people. Many people can relate to modern music much more than

But I do think that it’s important to create. Create something new. And I do believe that is the right way to go forward.

Jazz band aboard a cruise ship.

Photo by Jeffery Zheng.

Photo by Jeffery Zheng

that it’s important to create. Create something new. And I do believe that that is the right way to go forward.”

A hot topic in the debate of music is often whether the use of electronics within music has been beneficial or detrimental to the music industry. A strong argument for electronics being a hindrance is how they reduce the skill and talent necessary to create a good song. Technology such as MIDI and computer software can make music lazier and also lower the standards for what many will consider “good” music.

“I think recording technology has a lot to do with it. The use of computers has really changed things a lot,” said Zane Ruttenberg, musical artist. “[Before computers] You have to be able to play the song front to back perfectly to a

However, the introduction of methods to spread music around the world are certainly not detrimental to the music industry at all. The internet especially was crucial to forward music’s prevalence in society.

“With things like Spotify and the internet we have been able to glimpse into other musical worlds in an instant. So, I feel much more connected to the rest of the world than before and I can only imagine that will continue as new technology to collaborate continues to innovate,” said Jared Farney, a drum instructor.

music to show the colors of our diverse world. And there’s no point in trying to block it out; after all, it’s everywhere.

Photo by Jeffery Zheng

MUSIC + EMOTIONS

[SPandana|Palyam

What’s your type?

Different generations’ favorite genres

57.1% Pop

GenX

They are meldoius and soothing to hear.

- Amrutha Katta

42.9% Classical

50% Classical

Boomers

I like the words and the rhythm.

-

Cheryl Oldham

28% Pop

Millenials

I really like the sound of electric guitars and with the drums it makes the music sound really moving and it comes together really well.

- Lilianne Kirby

16.7% Classical

32% Rock

33.3% Pop

GenZ

50% Rock

I think it’s beautiful and fun and the music is simple enough that I can play it myself. There’s something very accessible about it.

- Sienna White

7% Other

28% Pop

5% Rap

11% Classical

12% R&B

METAMORPHIC MUSIC

Photos provided by Hannah Schlesinger, Mailyn Gil, and Oscar Morales

“When you just create a song or just start humming something it can carry so much that you feel like you can’t say,” Mailyn Gil said. Hannah Schlesinger, Mailyn Gil, and Oscar Morales are all three regular high school students, but one thing brings them all together: music. Music has many special abilities such as lowering blood pressure and connecting people, but perhaps the most powerful one is its ability to affect your mood.

she grew up, she learned to connect with other parts of music. Mailyn learned how to play the piano, wrote songs, listened to different genres, and drew inspiration from people around her.

Above all else, Mailyn enjoys writing love songs , because when she listens to them, she is filled with feelings of happiness and endearment.

Not only does music help Mailyn feel emotions such as joy, it also allows her to express the way she’s feeling when words cannot.. “If I had not found music, I probably wouldn’t be able to express myself in multiple ways, or at least have a way to just calm down and let everything out,” Mailyn said. She loves to explore different genres of music because each one brings a new type of sentiment. Her preferred genres are pop, 50’s love songs, and country.

Each genre of music has a distinctive vibe which sets it apart. Pop music feels bubbly and happy. Rock music feels happy or sad. Classical music brings peace. Mailyn Gil’s favorite genre is 50’s music because she relates to it the most. Mailyn’s first memory of music was when she was at her grandparents house as a baby. Her cousin was playing a flute and young Mailyn started singing along with the melody. As

Unlike Mailyn Gil, Hannah

Schlesinger and her band Spiral Maze mates pose together at Austin City Limits.

That’s just kind of how I always feel sometimes where I just love everything that I feel sick

- Mailyn Gil

Schlesinger hates country music. She prefers rock and pop punk. “[Rock songs] are either really energetic or really down, so it depends on the artist,” Hannah said. She discovered her love for rock music by visiting the School of Rock; a music program where students of all ages learn how to play and write music. The upbeat pace of the School of Rock music made her feel hyped and suddenly changed her mood. Rock music eventually led to being a way of self expression. “It’s like poetry. It lets me vent without having to actually talk to anyone about my feelings.” she said.

When Hannah plays music, a whole different side of herself is shown.

She was originally inspired to become a drummer from a surprising source: Pinkie Pie, a character from the television series, My Little Pony Equestria Girls. She found Pinkie Pie motivational because of her

excellent drumming skills. Her previous favoritism for Fluttershy was thrown out of the window as soon as she saw Pinkie Pie’s apparent drumming expertise.

Since then, Hannah has joined multiple bands, the most recent one performing at the popular music festival, Austin City Limits. Before playing, she described the mixture of energy as nervous and exciting. Hannah said that as soon as the music started, her worries melted away and were replaced with exhilaration. “At first, I felt really nervous. But then eventually, I kind of got into it. I got the crowd dancing and it was just an overall party,” she said. Through playing the drums, Hannah learned how to let her pent up energy out.

Oscar Morales is another melomaniac who spends his time as the bassist in band called Facade and working at Breakaway Records in South Austin. He says that his love for music likely comes from his musician father. “I feel like that’s kind of rubbed off on my personality. I just want to

Mailyn Gil sings for guests at her Quincenera.

I can kind of show my personal side, which is very charismatic, and then the fun girl that’s really weird. And then you got the sentimental girl who’s secretly hiding her feelings and wants to have like I said, a gateway.

- Hannah Schlesinger

be a musician, I like music a lot and I like playing music,” Oscar admitted. His dad was also the one to introduce him to rock and grunge music. Since then, he explored different genres of music by working at a record store. While working,

he explored various genres in the store’s library such as jazz and soul.

they have pent up,” he said.

- Oscar Morales

Oscar says that he’s “gradually relied” on music and wouldn’t know what to do without it. Like Hannah, he sees music as a way to release energy. “I feel like it’s a lot of people just trying to escape or release energy that

So, what do My Little Pony, imagination, and pent up emotions have in common? The ability to inspire music. When writing or listening to songs with these emotions, you may also be affected by these feelings. Whether it’s swooning with love from a romantic 50’s song or weeping in a corner from a rock song, music’s capability to change emotions will always be metamorphic.

I can kind of let my music speak for itself and let it paint the picture of who I am. I don’t know. It’s very introspective.

The band Facade practices before a performance.

Explore the bustling underbelly of Austin’s music scene, which is home to some of Austin’s youngest, most talented musicians.

Sick Scenic playing their first ever show at the Austin High tunnels. Photo curtesy of _.spare_coochie._ on Instagram

WANT TO PLAY

WANT TO PLAY

Visit these local spaces that offer intruments rental or borrowing for a small price/free!

ROCK N ROLL RENTALS

Rock n Roll Rentals is an intrument store that also do rentals. Their selection of equipment includes a variety of instruments as well as monthly prices as low as $20. They offer rentals at a weekend, weekly, as

CAPITAL MUSIC

Capital Music Center offers rental service on drumsets and pianos. They only offer monthly rentals, with prices around $60 per month. However, their rent-to-purchase plans come with music lessons as well as

YOUR OWN MUSIC?

YOUR OWN MUSIC?

AUSTIN CENTRAL LIBRARY

Located in the hearts of downtown Austin, the Austin Central Library is famous for its high quality facilities. In the teen section on the second floor, the library offers an arrangement of instruments, including a drumset, keyboard, bass; as well as both the electric and acoustic guitar. These instruments are free for the uses of teens within the library.

710 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701

Kings Lovely is a punk rock band based in Austin, Texas. Jules Dekock, Noah Luna, Riley Gonzalez, and Patrick Schmitt met at a musical camp program called Band-Aid in 2021 as middle and high school students.

On February 19th, they played a show at Friends Bar on 6th street. For Riley Gonzalez, the keyboardist/vocalist, changing up the songs they play at each of their shows helped them gain attention. “If you play the same things a lot people are only gonna come once,” Gonzalez said. The punk rock act was

successful in keeping the crowd hyped through their one hour set. They covered a variety of genres, from Amy Winehouse to Weezer. “This is probably the biggest show we’ve played so far,” said Jules Dekock, the lead guitarist. When asked about the success of the band, Patrick Schmitt, the drummer, said, “ Let everyone have a voice because it sucks [to dismiss them] when they may have amazing ideas.”

Despite their success now, Kings Lovely confronted challenges with promoting the band in the beginning of its creation. “The place that we used to practice at wasn’t treating our teacher well,” Patrick

continued. “So once we broke off, we were able to expand more creatively and get more gigs.”

While giving advice on getting the word out as a high school band, Noah Luna, the bassist, suggested that “the most effective [way] would be posting a lot, and a non effective [way] would be not telling people.” The quartet wishes to stay together as long as they can before Schmitt leaves for college. When asked about the future of the band post-graduation, Gonzalez said, “If it happens? It happens. But that’s not really where I’m putting my efforts right now.”

Kings Lovely playing at Friends Bar in downtown Austin.

[Being in a band] is like a relationship. Communication and understanding are important

Sick scenic is a punk-metal band hailing from Austin, TX. With the four members all being in high school, Sick scenic is composed of singer KD, guitarist Ray, bassist Robbie, and drummer Gabby. KD and Gabby formed the band during the Winter Storm in 2021. Then Robbie and Ray joined through KD’s connections.

In regards to their genre of music, drummer Gabby describes it as just simply heavy. “I wouldn’t describe it as any genre cause we just make whatever comes up, you know? In my opinion, if you’re going for a straight up genre, it’s gonna get too confusing. We just jammed and we just made songs,” said Gabby. The band takes inspiration from other local artists like

side I was on, but I backed up next to one of them and I would stand next to them cause I was really scared. I was like, what is going on?” said singer KD. “Every single time someone gets close to me I ac-

pedophiles showing up.” She added, “For me, and the rest of the band, I think we love equality and safety within the scene.”

Ray, Robbie, Gabby, and KD pose for a picture next to a shed

USERUNAUTHORIZED

The four piece hardcore punk act is composed of Sage, Johnny, Rooster, and Isabella. With all four members being in their early 20’s and late teens, User Unauthorized became known in the Austin underground music scene from playing countless shows since 2018. They went on a U.S. tour in 2022.

Rooster Underwood, the drummer and the youngest member of the band said, “It was our singer, Sage, and my brother, Johnny, who started it. And I had already been playing for about a year. So they brought me into it. Our guitarist, we got just a friend from my brother and Sage, Isabella.”

Despite being only seventeen, Rooster’s been in the band for about 5 years. “When I was a baby, I was on something called the Warped Tour, which was a [rock] festival in the early 2000s. I was basically born into that kind of music.” When asked about the inspiration for the way he writes music,

User Unauthorized playing a gig at Kick Butt Coffee, a popular punk venue in ATX. Image curtesy of Bensiive.

Rooster said, “I think a lot just has to do with how I grew up. The message of that straight edge hardcore, I guess another sort of subgenre of punk, has been just dealing with drug abuse and stuff like that. A band called Minor Threat, they inspired me and my brother a lot. For their message: straight edge: like no drugs, no alcohol. It’s a very family feeling because everyone in that scene is so closely related and they’re just good people.”

Influences from legendary hardcore bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag can be heard clearly from User Unauthorized’s music. Yet they added their own twist to the raw and abrasive sound of hardcore punk. “I think our lyrics are very politically infused. A lot of other Hardcore is more just talking about how they’re going to beat somebody up or whatev er it is, you know, but I think it’s more political,” said Rooster. “And I think us as people, we have such a good relationship with the band. All of us are

just best friends. So when we play, we’re really having fun. And I think you can also tell that we’re really angry.”

Rooster started playing drums 6 years ago, at the age of 11. “As a teenager, you have anger, you want to just, beat something. I don’t experience that too much, but I know a lot of my peers do relate to that. You can let out a lot in your instrument, especially when writing [music],” he said. “It’s definitely good for my emotions, just being able to write music. I think it’s something that makes everyone a little more calm. For me at least, just writing and I think playing shows too. It’s such a feeling that’s indescribable to me; being seen, even if it’s one person or one hundred, watching you do what you want to do for a living or just what you love doing. It’s definitely a great feeling.”

Rooster

I think music really impacted almost everything in my life: socialness, how I interact with kids,but I think it’s had a very positive impact on my life.

Music Festivals

Photo Courtesy of Nathan Zucker

Festivals

Music Festivals In the u.s

(2020 & 2021, Miami)

RootS picnic (Recurring In Phidelphia)

Image Credits (Left to Right): Bob Comix, Aupika, Natasha Sinegina, Bob Comix, Bob Comix, DCMacNut, OpenClipart. Data Credit

Miami)

Map (2020-2023 edition)

Lollapalooza (Recurring in Chicago)

Rolling Loud (2022, Queens) av

Rolling Loud (2023, Hollywood park) Coachella (Recurring in indio)

Broccoli City (Recurring In RFK Stadium, Washington DC)

secrets oF the show

Have you ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes of popular music festivals? If so, you have come to the right place! Most of the content here follows expert advice and insights into the Music industry, perfect for up and coming artists who need guidance, or for anybody else interested in music!

All of the advice and information here was gathered from three industry professionals; Jeff Pinkus, a bass and banjo player who was a member of the Butthole Surfers from 1984 to 1996, Scott Wonski, a concert promoter who has worked thousands of shows for 15+ years, and Luann Williams, who works in business development, Sponsorships, Event Planning, and Production.

PAGE 32

worked at South by Southwest, a popular music festival held in Austin; Texas Each professional said that they got into the music industry very gradually. Scott Wonski, for example, started his career off at a young age:

Need to know facts and opinions from the Pros.

Luann also

In Between the Staf

2023 f

According to Wonski, the way to progress through the system is to look for opportunities and take promotions, pay raises, and even slight improvements can benefit in the long run. In Wonski’s case he made friends with a box office manager who suggested that he apply for her position once she left:

“She said “Look, you know the ticketing system, you know how this all works, you’d be great for it. I know you’re still going to school, there’s long hours, and a lot of nights and weekends. But I think it just definitely gets your foot in the door.” “And it did.” Once you are in a good position, you can sort of climb up the chain of command. Wonski had 6+ jobs before landing at the spot he is now, so don’t give up, always look for that next foothold. You may also be promoted in other ways, according to Wonski: “When I started, we were owned by Universal Studios. And they have a division called universal concerts, they own seven amphitheaters across the country. And then that was bought by House of Blues, and then the House of Blues was bought by Live Nation, which is now the largest music promoter in the world.”

[I worked] for Ticketmaster in the 90s while I was in high school. That was kind of my first introduction to live entertainment and how it all works.

When it comes to jobs and how difficult they are, Luann believes that the toughest jobs have to do with planning and production. “At South by Southwest in particular, there are usually 100 or more venues, and they have to handle all the gear and all the support for those venues, load in and load out everything, so it takes a huge team.”

All of these other jobs are important, but artists play a huge role in music festivals, they are probably the first thing you think of when you think about roles in Music festivals. I wanted to interview an artist who had been to a music festival or on tour, which I originally thought would be tough but I was able to snag an interview with Jeff Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers. Pinkus lives for touring. He loves it so much that he actually left the Butthole surfers so that he could continue to perform music live.

According to him, “They wanted to perform less and tour less, make more projects. I love performing for live audiences, which they understood, so I left without any real trouble or bad blood.” Pinkus also details how traveling across countries and continents feels as an artist. “When I went to New Zealand all the locals wanted to show me around, people will try to impress you, try to get you to stay longer.”

Pinkus has also performed at more notable shows. According to him the largest show he ever played at was Reading in England. For Pinkus, the larger the show the easier it is to perform at. “Big shows like Reading are much easier when you got 60,000 people there. It’s just like a big ocean of heads.” He adds: “Smaller shows on the other hand,

those can be tougher. If you are performing for a small crowd and you can see your family or friends for example, those are faces that you can assign names, personalities, and whole lives to. The fact that these are people you know makes things a lot more intense.” Everybody who was interviewed had a positive outlook on the future of music. Lonski in particular was hopeful that newcomers would learn from the veterans in the industry and avoid bad record deals and managers. Pinkus, however says:

So if you want to get into larger shows and perform at bigger venues, find a good manager, eg. somebody who helps the entire team stay connected and on the same page, gives advice, and, of course, gets you the best possible deals.

Pinkus Himself in his element, live and on stage.

Photo Courtesy: Metal Chris on Imgur

Photo courtesy: Randy Stewart on Flickr

You need a manager or agent for any show above club-level.

Artists who want to go to major music festivals have a couple of options for getting into shows, but with some requirements. According to Luann Williamson who worked at South by Southwest for 12 years: “There’s a huge international presence. When I was working there, the largest number of bands from outside the US came from Canada in the UK, oftentimes as many as 100 from each country. The government supports the arts, and they pay to bring delegations of people and artists over to the United States to promote their music.”

She also had some advice for local artists who are not being sent by their government. “I can really only speak for the way South by Southwest did it when I was there. I’m pretty sure other conferences do it sort of similarly. First, with South by Southwest, artists apply, and then they have to provide samples of music, songs, albums, mixtapes, et cetera.” PAGE 34 In Between the Staf

“Then, they have to provide information about who their manager is, who the booking agent is, their social media accounts, bio, of course, and photos and any videos, any sort of supporting materials just to show that they are serious about having a career and not just coming to the event to just have fun. So all the things around kind of running a business. a website, social media accounts, an email list or booking agent, manager or publisher, and Performing Rights agencies. Really anybody who has the rights to their music, like ASCAP or BMI. So the more serious that they are about their career, the more likely they are to get accepted.”

Jeff Pinkus and the butthole surfers performed at the first ever Lollapalooza. Pinkus recounts: “We came out right after Janes addiction. The lead singer of the band, Gibby Haynes had brought a giant beach ball and a shotgun which was loaded up with blanks. He threw the beach ball up into the air and shot right by it, which popped it. Blanks can’t cause any real harm from

a distance, and he started firing into the air above the crowd. They scattered, they were screaming and running until they realized that the shotgun was firing blanks and things sorta settled down. After we finished our set, Ice-T and his group came out they were performing and the crowd was lovin’ it. Ice-T actually had two 9mm [Handguns] also filled with blanks,

he was firing them at the crowd, but they weren’t as scared because we already fired at them, and they caught on pretty quickly. To quote Ice-T, “They stole my thunder!””

The Butthole Surfers Performing at the first ever Lollapalooza, 1991.

The future of music seems to be bright. With all sorts of new artists and easier methods to produce music it seems like stars are appearing overnight. But is the quality there? Scott Wonski personally believes that the quality of concerts has changed, for the worse and better. He mentions NASA Blues and how they originally started a website where you could livestream

news. they were growing so fast and it was way too ahead of its time. So if that would have happened in the landscape now, I think it would have been a great success. So they put a ton of money into technology and research to pull that off. And it just fell flat.” Scott Wonski thinks these sorts of new innovations will help concerts keep up with the digital age and any challenges such as Covid-19 that may arise: during quarantine, all those bands were doing virtual shows, and charging ticket prices, you know, ticket admission fees, pay $10, to watch this band. I myself paid for a couple of those just because I was so bored and hungry for content and wanted to see some new stuff. They started doing

these parking lot concerts for a while, or you know, just in the drive in movie theaters, where you pull up in your car and then you just sit on the hood of your car, you couldn’t leave your little quarantine spot.

Concerts, called “hiv.com”. The goal was to allow people across the country or world to experiance these concerts on the internet. Wonski adds to this by saying “The technology wasn’t there, there were a lot of buffer ing issues, and it was in the

1991. Photo courtesy of Ric Wallace.

MUSIC MARKETING &

Fame To Gain

One of the biggest constrictions artists face while gaining recognition is their marketing approach. When looking at the top dogs of the music industry, it becomes very apparent that people like Taylor

Swift, Rihanna, and Bad Bunny put in thousands of hours of work into ensuring their target audience was reached through various marketing strategies. Whether it’s from a CD to a talking dog, there are infinite amounts

of ways to take an approach to this. Upon this challenge presenting itself, many artists tend to have trouble with ideas, and become lost. So which ones are the most effective?

I S A I A H

F R I A R

Don’t be afraid, just go for it, don’t pay attention to haters and people saying you can’t do it because you never know if you can actually get big off of what you do.

-Isaiah Friar

MERCHANDISE

According to Isiah Friar from Crockett High School, located in Austin, Texas, he has been thinking about this topic for a while now. As a new artist, he would like to increase the popularity of his brand. This new wave of uncertainty overwhelmed him. After weeks of brainstorming, he was finally able to decide. What better way to show off your work than creating stylish merchandise? Merchandise, widely referred to as “merch”, can be any type of goods that are sold to the public. This can be

great for new artists wanting to give away free and addictive promotion to people without them even noticing. In fact, last year the average artist made over $10,000 from merchandise alone. It’s similar to having people pay you to become walking billboards! Popular artists’ merchandise can sell up to hundreds of thousands of dollars unintentionally. Merch is an amazing way to promote your brand and it also gives an opportunity to express yourself. Kanye West is really good at this. All of the

crazy fashion designs and ideas he comes up with become a trend on social media no matter what they look like. If you are looking for a trendy way of connecting with your fans, promoting your business, and expressing yourself then you should try making some merch.

Photo Curtesy Of Unsplash

K I N G S L O V E L Y

Making merchandise is a really good and simple way to grow, but for an up and coming artist, it can get pricey when you add in the manufacturing and shipping costs. This is why the local Austin band “Kings Lovely” decides to do something to promote their business, and even better, it’s free! Noah, the bassist in the group, states “the most effective way of gaining followers would be posting a lot”. They frequently post about their music sets and gigs using multiple social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Also, noted by the group is word of mouth; they can be the most supportive fans

you can find. When creating a social media account, it is important that your name is simple and memorable. Another item to make sure of is that you link your other social media accounts and even music. Most artists follow a specific format inserting their occupation or role at the top of their bio on social media, following it up with a quote, and finally adding a link to their website they have created for themselves that contains all of their socials and music. This is a key aspect for giving your audience an easy way to get some more of you, which also allows

Most effective way would be posting a lot on... Instagram, Facebook, and any other social media

-Noah (Bassist)

you to connect with your audience on a personal level. Doing this creates a community around your name for people to talk about. When following the trend of the new generations, social media and other online services will be a permanently successful way of gaining

Kings Lovely Preforming at a local bar in Austin

MIKKE ZEOLI

The third and final way of making it to the top comes from successful music artist Mikke Zeoli, who plays in multiple bands such as “El Chingon ‘’ with some members of “Del Castillo”. The band works on music for the people, as well as the famous filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Where they play the soundtrack music to his films showing on the movie screen live on stage. Mikke says that the group focuses heavily on improvement and quality of their work. Gaining more skill does not always mean spending restless nights by yourself practicing. Mikke says that surrounding yourself with people who have a lot of

advice to give is one of the best ways possible to get better at what you do. He performs for a lot of people and as a natural outcome there will always be someone better than you ready to critique your work. His advice is to not take it personally but instead use the information to your advantage. Doing so will also allow you to become more involved in the community, being able to meet new people who could give you an outlet to become the next big thing is a very common way most

No matter what options you choose to do, there are always aspects that are shared in common. Hard work, confidence, and consistency; the necessities for anybody with a goal. With these qualities you will never be able to achieve what you are looking for. As Mikke likes to say, “The music must always come first, everything else is secondary,” which perfectly sets an example of the mindsets the new generation of musicians looking for more than just a hobby should have. Keep an eye out next time you come across anything to do with musical artists, and see if you can spot any of these strategies they may use. You will be surprised just how incognito, but effective, the little things are.

Be patient and have fun learning and improving … and hang out with musicians who are better than you are.

- Mikke Zeoli

Curtesy Of Mikke Zeoli

“WHEN WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS”