Eager Music - The Independent Musician's Resource

I had the opportunity to talk to Bri Cauz right after her Mountain West tour! We talked about her tour experience, from planning, to travel and performing as well as talk about her process in writing/recording her album "Trials & Triumphs." 

Bio (from bricauz.com):

Born & raised in the tech hub of Silicon Valley now based in the Pacific Northwest, Bri is a vibrant young Singer, Performer, &  Producer living out her dreams as a full-time musician.

Over the last 6+ yrs of playing live, Bri has built a devoted fan base & foundation from the ground up. That platform has allowed her to be a successful independent artist, touring across the West Coast each year in over 6 states. She's had the privilege to play in venues of all sizes, for crowds of 10 to 10,000+. Her spirit, undeniable talent, & ability to connect with her audiences is infectious & inspiring to witness. 

Having parents both classically & ear trained in singing, piano, guitar, & drums it's obvious Bri literally has music running through her blood. Both mom & dad say she started singing before she could even talk!

 "For as long as I can remember music has been a part of me. It's like it chose me. One thing has always been clear, singing is what I was born to do." 

Her music is inspired by her faith, relationships, creation, and artists of great influence: Coldplay, Switchfoot, Joseph, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, & many others. 

 It's an honor to share my music & deepest passions with so many of you. I'm grateful to have you come along as my musical journey continues to write itself. This is our story.  " 

-Bri

Connect with Bri Cauz:

Website: bricauz.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube

Spotify: Bri Cauz

Featured Songs: Conditional, With You 

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

Hot off the release of his sophomore album, "Riverside," I sat down with James Spaite to discuss his musical influences, and his process to write, record and now promote his new album.

James is from San Diego, California and recently released "Riverside" on April 10, 2018. His first album, "A Woman Gave Me Music" was inspired by his grandmother, who instilled the first sparks of music into him at a young age. 

He moved from Visalia to San Diego for school, and it was there where he released his first album. James, has toured across the US and also abroad in the UK and is planning another summer tour to help promote "Riverside."

We talked about his collaborations with featured singers, recorders, producers and how to network while abroad. Then we get into more personal details, highlighting his successes and failures, as well as stories from abroad. 

Hope you all enjoy this conversation, and if you want to get in touch with James, you can do so below:

Connect with James Spaite:

Website: jamesspaite.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram 

Spotify: James Spaite

Featured Songs: Riverside, Effort 

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

Cameron and Whitney from Pocket Entertainment join me today as we discuss the ins and outs of their business, and how they are helping to "foster young musicians." 

After seeing some success following their first Skacadamy Awards show, Cameron and Whitney decided to pursue their promotional business further. We discuss how they utilize Facebook and social media to promote their shows, how they prepare for big events, and the value of being nice to people. We also talk about how a band with no hype, can use these outlets to build a reputation for themselves, as well as using traditional methods of promoting.

About Pocket Entertainment: 

"Pocket Entertainment was formed at the beginning of 2016 following the success of the First Annual Skacademy Awards in Orange County. Founders and partners Cameron Hallenbeck and Whitney Dunkle started the production team as a way to foster young musicians, bring attention to local artists and businesses and develop fun ways for the community to come together and support live music and causes throughout the community."

Connect with Pocket Entertainment:

Website: pocketentertainment.org

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram 

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

I sat down with The Big News, an independent Ska-Punk band from Oklahoma for a casual conversation about music, their local music scene, and their musical influences.

The Big News is currently touring around the West Coast, and play nearly 100 shows per year all over the country. As they say, "If you're not committed, you're not in."

About The Big News: 

"Oklahoma City's The Big News is a Ska Punk band. They mix influences from British two tone and third wave Ska with a heavy influence of 90's punk rock.

The Big News has opened for Ska and Punk greats including Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Interrupters, The Toasters, Roddy Radiation of The Specials, Red City Radio, Los Skarnales, Dan Pothast of MU330, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Here Come The Mummies  & Suburban Legends. 

The Big News is more than just a band. It is a movement. The common idea that binds this group of musicians together is to create a new generation hungry for the truth in this convoluted and sick political world and to usher in a new generation of show goers who welcome compassion, love, and understanding for all peoples."

Connect with The Big News:

Website: www.thebignewsband.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Featured Songs: Loganio

Spotify: The Big News

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

I recently went to a Red Jumpsuit Apparatus show, and while it was awesome, something really stood out to me during the opening acts; some bands have really poor presence on stage.

Now, I don't mean to sound condescending in any way, this is just my honest opinion, but, a couple of the opening acts did very little to engage the crowd during their performance. They were stiff, with very little movement on stage. Despite their music sounding great, I felt disinclined to approach the stage and rather stood in the back having a beer and talking with some friends. It wasn't until Rivals, the band prior to RJA, came up that I really felt urged to get up close, because man did they put on a show.

Established bands typically have a great grasp on having great stage presence. They have the benefit of playing recognized music that the crowd can sing along too, and can feed off of the crowds energy. Smaller, local bands do not have that same benefit. They have to transfer their energy off of the stage to the crowd to get them engaging back with them. (At one point of the show, a band with absolutely no presence asked the crowd if they were ready for RJA, and received a minimal cheer despite having a decent crowd, whereas the band prior had a smaller crowd but a bigger cheer due to great presence).

How to engage/Improve your presence:

Start by conveying energy, whether that be moving around, head banging, jumping, etc. (Make it genre specific, country artists should not perform like heavy metal groups). 

Teach the crowd a lyric and have them sing along. This makes the crowd feel like part of the show, AND gets them to learn one of your songs. Maybe even gets it stuck in their head and they stream it on Spotify over and over.

Perform as if you are playing to a sold out arena. Whether there are 50,000 people, 500, 50, or 5 your presence should be the same. It might seem uncomfortable jumping around with a 5 person crowd, but treat that opportunity as practice for engaging with bigger audiences.

The front man is the focal point:

The person who should be the most engaging is the front man. Usually this is the singer/guitar player. Whoever is the focal point of the audience, is where the energy needs to lie. If the bassist is spouting energy, and no one is looking, then he's not engaging. It needs to start with the front man, and then spill out over the rest of the band, not the other way around. 

Keep all of this in mind the next time you are performing and find out the things that work and tweak the things that don't. Figure out what gets the most engagement out of your audience and go from there. At the very minimum, by practicing your presence on stage, you will feel more confident and energetic in your music which will cause you to sound better. 

So Eager Nation, I want to hear from you…what are your tips in regards to stage presence? Send me a tweet @JosephRocha42 or go to eagermusic.com/contact

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn
• Leave a Rating and a Review
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com and eagermusic.com

What does it mean to "make it" in the music business or to find "success" doing what they are passionate about?

Some people say that to have made it, your band needs a top 100 song, sell out an arena, have over a million spotify plays, double platinum album, hand shake with the queen, etc. But thats not necessarily true. Of course those are metrics of success, but those shouldn't be the only metrics for success.

There are many indie musicians who make a career out of playing music that they don't need all the aforementioned common-place standards.

I read a great book last year…and then again this year…twice…entitled, How to Make it in the New Music Business by Ari Herstand, where he dissected the topic down into every minute detail to explain what making it really means.

Does someone who has 100million spotify plays, but can't get 100 people to show up at a live performance have success? How about someone with a 50 thousand plays but is licensing their music on commercials, TV shows and music? Has the first person made it or the second?

I'll let you in on a little secret…it really doesn't matter! Success is something that is extremely personal, and no one can define it except for you. Don't let someones opinion about success affect you because they don't know what your metrics are. If success for you isn't having millions of youtube views, but you're making $90,000 on tours and merch sales, then you have made it. If success for you isn't to be on the Billboard top 100, but to play festivals and local shows (and get paid for it) then you have made it.

What this all boils down to, is that you don't need the fancy car, the gold chain, the double platinum record to make it. If you are basing your success on something arbitrary, if and when you achieve it, you will realize that that "thing" won't actually bring you any happiness. Making a good living, doing something you love, is what will make you feel fulfilled, and thats when you know you have made it. As Ari says in his book, "Music is about the journey, not the destination"

So Eager Nation, I want to hear from you…how do YOU define success, and what is it that YOU are trying to get out of your musical journey. Send me a tweet @JosephRocha42 with the hashtag #emsuccess..or go to eagermusic.com/contact

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn
• Leave a Rating and a Review
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

I sat down with For The Record, a local up and coming ska band from Central California for a casual conversation about music, the local music scene, and their musical influences.

For The Record will be opening for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on April 5th, 2018 at the Wakehouse in Reedly, CA.

They will also be performing in Visalia, CA on April 11th at Cellar Door.

About For The Record: 

"For The Record is a Ska band from the central valley of California. Heavily influenced by the sounds of Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Streelight Manifesto and so many other great bands, we try to add our own touch while staying true to the classic third wave ska sound. We give it our all at every show we play, so come on out to a show and have a good time."

Connect with For The Record:

Website: fortherecordska.com

Social Media: FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter

Featured Song: Can We Be Famous Too?

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

Performing is easy, and it's one of the reasons why we do what we do, but one of the hardest things…and the thing most musicians struggle with, is practicing effectively and efficiently.

This episode is going to dive deep, and deconstruct an ideal practice session, and give you actionable tips to setting up your own practicing schedule:

I am going to split this into two parts, setting up individual practices, and setting up practices as a band.

Individual:

• Schedule an allotted time just for practicing
• • i recommend at minimum 3 day a week, 30 minutes a day
  • make it the same time every day to build routine
  • find a space that makes practicing motivating
• Dont just run through the easy stuff
• • its easy to just focus on the stuff you're good at
  • practice the hard stuff, but don't put all of your practice time into one section
• Split your goals into chunks
• • a section getting you frustrated? take that section and work on it one measure at a time, then adding the measure before it
• take it slow, no need to take it at tempo until its perfect
• • playing fast creates more chance for error, and its harder to fix a mistake after your muscle memory knows it incorrectly
• Work on the 4 quadrants:
• • one of the ways i like to practice is splitting up my goals into 4 quadrants:
  • • technique
    • tone
    • reading
    • performance
  • explain each piece and how to split up the time
• BE CONSISTENT!!

Setting up a band practice: (most of the above rules apply)

• This is harder because you now have to schedule around more than just your own commitments, which can be really difficult if you have a lot of people in your band; I know, I have been in a band with 10 different people, getting all of us together was hard!
• • A way to make this easy is to set up a longer session, once or twice a week, at a predetermined day and time; preferably always the same day and time combo
  • • for example: tuesdays and thursdays from 6-9pm at johns house
• that brings me to my next point; location
• • try to find a place where everything can stay set up (for the most part) or where minimal set up time is required
  • • that way you don't wast 10-20 minutes setting up and tearing down every time, or lugging gear between band members homes
• Again, don't just run through stuff
• • If you are cleaning up older music, take the time to focus on accidentals, dynamics, all the small stuff that could make a huge improvement in the way you sound
  • If you are learning new stuff, take the time to learn it correctly the first time (TAKE LOTS OF NOTES)!
• When its practice time, focus is key
• • it can be hard and distracting playing in a band with some of your best buds, I know first hand how a practice session can be derailed by some jokes or stories, but try to save that for after. from 6-9 (with allotted breaks) should be strictly to focus on practice.
• BE CONSISTENT

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com 

I personally think hustling is an over used phrase (just my opinion, I'm entitled to it) and the "on fire" mantra has been claimed by legendary entrepreneur JLD, and honestly, I didn't think any word matched my vision, or experience as to what it is like to be a musician.

Lets take a closer look at the word, "eager" and I'll show you what I mean:

• The word Eager is an adjective, defined as: "(of a person) wanting to do, or have something very much"
• • "The man was eager to please'
  • Synonyms: anxious, impatient, longing, yearning, wishing, hoping, hopeful
• It's secondary definition: (of a persons expression or tone of voice) characterized by keen expectancy or interest
• • "Small eager faces looked up and listened"
  • Synonyms: keen, enthusiastic, avid, fervent, ardent, motivated, dedicated, committed, earnest, gung-ho

These definitions, and their synonyms, to me, really convey what it is like to be a musician, no matter what stage you are in your musical career. Let's unpack that thought a little…

• We will take a look at the first definition: (of a person) wanting to do or have something very much
  • Beginners are excited, anxious/impatient to just start. (enter brief example of how I was excited, or some of my students were excited to start learning)
• • Have you ever wanted something so much as you do out of music?

• Now lets look at the second definition: (of a persons expression or tone of voice) characterized by keen expectancy or interest
• • Anyone can tell when you are eager, because you radiate excitement. People can see it in your face, the way you speak, and how you present yourself
  • Another way to put it is passionate: when you are eager, you are passionate about your craft..its your favorite thing, the one thing that makes you who you are.
  • When you are eager, you give every ounce of energy to this one thing, and are motivated and driven by finding success. We will cover what success really means in a later episode.

EAGER Musicians can be found at every stage of the game!

Beginners are EAGER because:

• They are excited and anxious to learn
• The are hopeful that one day they will be great at their instrument
• They are impatient, because the learning process is difficult, and they just want to be good!

Intermediates are EAGER because:

• They have shown dedication to practicing and improving their skills
• They strive to be even better
• They start looking forward at the next step, anxious at whats to come
• They are committed to improving

Pros are EAGER because:

• They have a burning, ardent passion for music
• They strive to alway be better, always practicing, always improving
• It shows in the way they present themselves, especially when they are performing
• They are GUNG HO! Nothing will get in their way

Teachers are EAGER because:

• They MUST be motivated in order to motivate others (repeat this!)
• Always learning
• Dedicated and committed to the success of their students

Now does this mean that your musical journey is going to be one without obstacles or hardships? NO WAY! It's a very rough road, sometimes frustrating, especially when just starting out.

Not everyone is an eager musician. If after a few years you discover that music, just isn't for you…then go ahead and pursue your other interests. I'm sure you are an eager artist, or an eager business owner, or even an eager stay at home mom/dad. Nothing wrong with that, follow your passion!

For those of you here, who are true, eager musicians…I am talking directly to you, Eager Nation, and I am here to help you along your musical journey no matter what stage you are at. Lets not forget, I've been at the beginning (bright eyed, excited) and I have faced my frustrations, I know what its like to perform, teach, and learn…and i am EAGER to transfer all my personal experience, to you, so that you can make it to that next level.

This has been a more general informational/motivational episode…but I do have some in the pipe line that are more the nuts and bolts, how to's, guides, and interviews with other Eager Musicians as well. I just wanted to thoroughly explain the meaning behind the Eager Music Brand, and why it was chosen.

Connect with Joseph Rocha at:

• Comment on the show notes
• Email [email protected]
• Subscribe on iTunes, or anywhere podcasts are found
• Follow Eager Studios on social @eagerstudios
• Visit eagerstudios.com