Ed Ackerson is a producer / engineer, songwriter, musician, instigator and facilitator. Owner of Flowers recording studio , Ed has a huge list of clients including The Replacements, Motion City Soundtrack, The Jayhawks, Brian Setzer/Stray Cats, Sing It Loud, Golden Smog, Metro Station, and many others. Founder of experimental pop band Polara, pointman for the Susstones electronic collective, Ed has worked on a wide range of major label and indie projects nationally and internationally. For further information visit: edackerson.com .

One of the most exciting experiences for a young band is going into the recording studio for the first time. How that first recording session turns out can depend a lot on the band’s attitude and level of preparation going in. I’ve made a list of some things to think about before and during a band’s initial studio adventure.

1. Know what you want to sound like- as you write and rehearse songs, think about what sort of sounds  you like and how you’d like your material to come across sonically. It’s good to be able to describe the sound you’re after to the producer/engineer at the studio in reasonably specific terms. Also, make sure everyone in the band is more or less on the same page about your sound.

3. Record and listen to yourselves- these days almost every band has access to some sort of cheap or free recording method, be it Garageband on your computer or even an old cassette player. It's surprising how few bands make a habit of recording and listening to themselves. Don't worry about how the recordings sound, they're for your own reference only. The important thing is to hear how all of the instruments and vocals work together as a whole. It's also a very good thing to get used to playing while you're being recorded.

4. Go to a studio/engineer that will understand you- do a bit of research and find a place that will be sympathetic to your sound. Talk to other local bands that you like and see where they've worked successfully. Find an engineer or producer who you respect, and who will also respect you and be into what you're doing. It makes a HUGE difference to work with someone who is actively helping you rather than just punching the clock.

5. Be open to change- the studio environment is very different from your rehearsal space or a live show, so it's good to be able to adapt to what works best in the new situation. Sometimes instruments, amps, and drums that work in a less critical environment may come up short in the studio. Also, sounds can blend together (or clash) in ways you might not expect. It's good to have an open mind about things like amplifier settings, drum set up and tuning, etc. Having your own sound and approach is very important, but do listen to the engineer's suggestions about these things. Sometimes it's hard to understand why doing something different is better until you hear it back through the studio speakers.

6. Don't bite off too much- a common mistake new bands make is to try to record too many songs on their first studio session. Everyone has their favorite songs, and everyone wants to hear everything recorded. However, it's really important to give yourselves enough time to learn and react to the recording process. Trying to do too many songs in too short of a time often leads to none of them turning out very well. If you're going into the studio for just a day or two to start, you might want to consider doing a really good job on two or three of your songs. Pick the “best” to try first, and have one or two in reserve in case one of the others isn't working out. This first session will teach everyone in the band a ton about how the recording process, and the band itself, work. It may be a good idea to do a single initial session, learn from that experience, and then go back to the studio to do more songs with that experience under your belts.

7. Budget realistically- following on from the last point, make sure you know how much you have to spend on recording and be realistic about what that money will get you. Remember that, in addition to recording, you'll need to do mixes. Also, be sure to budget recording media (hard drive for computer recording, tape for analog) into your overall picture. Like many of life's projects, recording can often take a bit longer and cost a bit more than planned. Pragmatic budgeting and, above all, your own preparedness can head off surprises down the road. Figure out what you want to achieve and what your budget is and communicate that clearly to the studio before you go in. The studio will often have good suggestions about how to make things work within whatever budget you have.

8. Another note about budgeting- while it may seem like a good strategy to work in the cheapest possible recording environment as a new band, this isn't necessarily the best choice. A professional studio with good sounding rooms, functioning gear and a knowledgeable staff can be much more cost-effective than someplace with poor equipment and/or inexperienced engineers. This is most particularly the case when recording live drums, acoustic instruments, and vocals. There's no need to book the fanciest place in town for your first session, but these days most towns in the US have pro studios priced within reach of indie artists. Working at a pro room with a quality engineer will often get you good sounding results more quickly than you might expect.

9. Party with care- everyone's probably super excited about the session, and nerves may also be running a little high. It's tempting to pound a few beers or do whatever else to add to the mood and maybe relax a little. It's good to keep a handle on partying during the session. Remember that you're paying money to be there and you only have a limited time to do what's most important, which is getting your music recorded. There's plenty of time to celebrate afterward when you listen back to it all. Another, less obvious thing to avoid is going into the studio with a hangover!

10. Above all, keep things in perspective- it's a big deal to do your first studio recordings, but it's also important to have fun with it. Don't get too worried, frustrated, or angry if things don't turn out exactly the way you had planned. Anytime a group of people work together things can go in unexpected directions. Sometimes the best results come from being open to “rolling with it” and seeing what comes out the other end. If things go off the rails, don't get too upset. If someone in the band is having trouble performing, cut them slack and don't get too critical. There'll be plenty of time for analysis afterwards. Ultimately you can only be as good as you are that very moment, so it's important to make that moment as cool as you can. While you're at the session, keeping a positive attitude and working as a team will make all of your preparation and effort much more likely to pay off.

Todd Hansen is the Creator of Better Than The Van , a couch-surfing social network for bands on tour. Todd has spent the past 10 years playing/touring in bands and running a label out of Minneapolis. He now calls Austin, TX home and spends his time creating new ways to help bands do great things.

I feared writing this blog post only because I've read so many in this vein and usually there is very little new information. But, Dave asked me to so why not right? I'll give it a go.  Disclaimer:  I hope those that read this peel off some new ideas; or it lights a fire under your butt to tour; or gives you cause to lambast me with ironic whit about how my ideas are passé'.

I know touring is hard but it's absolutely necessary. If you want to quit your job and do music you must tour. It's even more important now as most money to be made is out on tour. Plus if you find yourself on a label, they'll expect you to be in a van more than your apartment.  Let me tell you one quick story from a few years back about Syd Butler of Les Savy Fav and owner of French Kiss Records.

When I first met Syd French Kiss was picking up a band from the label I was helping to run. Over drinks one night The Plastic Constellations (TPC) and I listened to Syd talk about his expectations for the band. TPC would not be sitting around, waiting for something to happen. Syd's conviction was borderline religious. "Tour, tour, tour…that's it", he would say and drive the point home the rest of the week. He believed that on whatever level a band exists, touring is beyond a necessity.   I couldn't argue. Syd had built a band and a label on that foundation. In the years that followed, Syd never let up, always asking TPC when they were touring next, even when they were out on tour. I got it. A label is helpful but a band's success is usually launched via your four-wheeled pirate ship sailing to all points USA. (Note: Syd’s not alone, read the last paragraph of this interview at Hypebot with Patrick Amory of Matador Records.

Understand I don't think that all bands just kick back, write some songs and wait for magic to happen. But it's important to know that making a personal connection in other cities builds momentum and makes your band familiar. Yes, I know this isn't a new concept but I'll keep going. As you meet other bands and people you build a friend base that evolve into a fan base.  It's these people that act on your behalf in those cities by passing along your music and stories of your show(s) to friends. Word of mouth is the most potent marketing tool.

So how do you get shows outside of your city when you don't have a booking agent or are just starting to tour?

Simple. Relentless networking. My DYI game plan was to go around the venues and straight for bands in the cities I wanted to play. I'd hop on MySpace or like site and start asking around. I looked at it no different than being in my home city and meeting people/bands at shows. It becomes mutually beneficial situation as they are probably looking to tour as well. They help you, you help them and your network grows. They may not be able to help when you right away, but they might pass you on to another band; or introduce you to someone at a venue; or hook up a house show. Basically don't be afraid to ask for help and give help when asked.

It takes time, patience and genuine willingness to help people out but the benefits are worth it. Be smart when you try to show swap by finding bands that fit the style, genre or mode of your band. Obviously you’ll have a better chance of the crowd being into what you’re doing. You will make stronger connections that can lead established friend bases that grow into fan bases. MySpace is not the only option either. As social networks become more tailored for particular needs, space will be created for sites dedicated to helping bands with the practical necessities of touring; like finding a free place to stay after a show.

Steve Gerstman has twenty years in the music merchandising business, having worked at Winterland, Signatures and Brockum. He started Steve Gerstman Services, Inc. in 2001, which currently incudes among its clients Eric Clapton, Queen and Stray Cats. In 2007, Gerstman began Cut Merch (www.cutmerch.com ) which he calls the "First 21stCentury Merch Service."

INSIDE TIPS ON TOUR MERCH:

You have finally booked some shows – congratulations! – and now you’re looking forward to the big day.  And if you haven’t been living on Mars for the last few years, you know that selling merch is a way to make money.  After all, touring can actually cost you money, especially at the beginning, and selling merch can make the difference between costing you money and breaking even – or even making some!

1. PLANNING THE TOUR MERCH

Like other aspects of your tour, you need to think through what you will want to sell on your dates and, very importantly, how many to produce.  Regarding what items, don’t try to get too fancy or different with your tour merch.  There are many reasons why bands sell t-shirts, mostly black if they are of the rock variety.  It is because (1) that’s what their fans want and expect, and (2) they provide good profit margins.  It is important to try to figure out how many to produce, an issue I will deal with later.  Along with t-shirts, sell your CD if you have one.  If you are going out for the first time, or in a city where you are appearing for the first time, or if you otherwise are playing to new people, and you are playing in clubs that hold less than a hundred people, that’s all you really need to have.  If you want to carry more, consider a keychain or poster, or a girl’s shirt.  (Baseball caps usually are embroidered, and you won’t want to incur the set-up costs for a small run of caps.) 

2. DESIGN

If you have a CD cover design or a design on your website or MySpace page, use that, or at least tie it in.  If you have a logo on the CD, use that.  Don’t make changes in typeface or colors if you want to project an image to people that they will remember.  T-shirts are billboards for your band, and having the t-shirt reflect the same (or similar) images as your CD cover and your web presence will help people remember you and associate it with you.  I also recommend that you make your tour merch tour merch, by which I mean that people who buy merch at shows like to see (and show their friends) that they “were there.”  An itinerary back (if there are, say, six confirmed dates or more) does that.  If it’s less than six dates (say, in a month’s time), then you might not want to date the merch – because you will want to sell them over a longer period of time, and you won’t want to sell “stale” product.  Finally, keep your designs simple.  That means only print two sides (forget sleeves) and keep the colors down.  Going crazy on prints and colors on a short run of shirts raise the cost more than you can make up on the price you sell them at. 

3. PRODUCTION

You have to balance the number of items you produce with the cost per item.  The more you produce, the less each will cost, but the more you are out-of-pocket.  It is the goal of every merchandiser and band to come out of each tour with as few items as possible, especially if you’ve “dated” them with an itinerary back or other date. It probably isn’t as critical when it comes to CDs as you probably have a garage full of them.  If you do a keychain, a simple acrylic one that uses a digitally created photo is the cheapest to produce, and the result, with two sides in color, looks pretty cool.  When you are thinking about how many shirts to produce, consider the number of people you expect at each show, the number of shows, and then multiply that by the “per cap,” meaning what you project you’ll sell per attendee and divide by the price you will sell them for.  Whew!  There’s a tool on the www.cutmerch.com website for this you can use for free.  Go to the site and send a note.  It’s called the “forecast tool.”  Another resource for posters or handbills (you may want to give out handbills at the shows) promotes your website, announce tour dates or record release, whatever.  It’s www.psprint.com.  Very reasonable prices for anything printed on paper and easy to use website.  Regarding the print run for apparel, try to meet the minimums that keep per item costs reasonable.  As to what “reasonable” means, you need to shop around.  And don’t forget that your costs may or may not include set-up costs.  Don’t assume: Ask!

4. SALES

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A question from Carol the bar owner:

Hello John,

I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me.

Our bar booked a show with a band by verbal agreement for two weekends in a row. The first weekend they were there they were incredibly rude, and were even overheard in the bathroom telling people to not come to this show because they don't like our bar. While onstage they called us by the name of a different bar, and when corrected, they lead singer said loudly in to the microphone "I don't f-ing care"!!

The manager took him aside during the next break and asked him to correct himself in the next set and he spent the rest of the night sarcastically stating that he was at "The correct name of our bar" and he was "Sooooo happy" to be there.

At the end of the night the manager told him not to bother coming back next weekend, that we would find a band that wanted to be there.

Long story short, they are taking us to small claims court for breaking a verbal agreement.

We're wondering if they even have a case? Does this type of thing happen often?

Thank you for your time.

Carol

WWJDD?

SUCH DRAMA ! ! No, I don't think that they have a case.  How much money was guaranteed? $100? or was it just a door deal?  This band really should get a life & spend a little more time making music rather than bitching & moaning & working on their rockstar attitude. You ought to have one of the burly bouncers find the band & threaten the shit out of them (most likely they'd fold like an oatmeal outhouse) . . . KIDDING ! ! I don't think this happens very often 'cause people usually have better things to do.  Maybe show in court, roll yr eyes at the judge & say, "Really? Are you kidding me? you're going to all this trouble for some crappy bar gig?" (Of course that's not to say yr bar is by any means crappy). Have they actually filed the small claims suit? I doubt that they will actually get around to that. Musicians are really wired that way.
 Don't forget; wear a tie in court, have fun & thanks for writing,
Jd

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .