Studio B Podcast

This episode we are hanging out with Chris McComb! The super cool guitar and vocals of River Town Saints out of Ontario, Canada! We cover a lot this episode!

• The big question- but also a basic question, but a needed one: What is the number one first thing you need to start a band?  
• Finding your sound. 
• Finding a place to practice.
• Finding a cool name.
• Making a band agreement and the band responsibilities and the business side of things. 
• Realizing that like 75% of Canadian artists have full time jobs on top of music or a side gig.
• Accountability.
• Picking your look and your style and design! 
• When writing songs together, how do you recommend everybody go about that in the band? 
• Looking for gigs! GO look for gigs!
• Studio time as a band. 
• Touring as a band.  
• What if someone can’t make it to a show or a practice? How should a band handle that? What should a band do?
• If someone has to be removed from the band (for whatever reason) how should the band going about that in a responsible and respectable way?
• What are some mistakes that people make while starting a band or while being in a band?
• You can find Chris McComb on Instagram and Facebook and the River Town Saints on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and they also have a website! Thanks Chris! 

The moral of the story is, be a good hang, be a good person and always look for ways to help out the music scene in your city, town, province or even country if you can! There is a lot more to it of course, but those are the main points on how to create a strong music community in your own "backyard." We talk with drummer and podcast host of Calgary Basement Sessions, about building and maintaining a resilient, dynamic and incredible music community wherever you are! Join us for this fun episode and you can find out more about Ben and about Calgary Basement Sessions at @benmontymusic and at @yycbasement sessions on Instagram and Calgary Basement Sessions on Facebook and online! 
You can find Studio B at @__studio_b__ on Instagram and Studio B Podcast on Facebook and myself at @sarahonairhighriver

Of course, everyone knows exercise is good for a person’s health; however did you know that consistent exercise and physical activity might actually help make you a better musician, performer and artist too? You always have to be at your best while you're on stage - mentally and physically. Physical fitness and good nutrition are a great way to accomplish that so you can ALWAYS put on ONE HELL OF A SHOW! Big or small! There's a lot to cover with our guest - we discuss ALL the benefits of how physical fitness and nutrition will make you the best artist and performer you can be, on (and off) the stage! We talk about how exercise improves you as an artist and performer, (Better Breathing/Improved Posture/Strengthened Muscles/Increased Coordination/Sharper Thinking/Inspired Music-Making/Improves Performance Anxiety), scheduling work outs and working around busy schedules and tours and keeping fit on the road. Nutritional planning and hydration, and optimizing your health for your performance and life by eating better. We also talk about body image and much more. Disclaimer: I'm NOT a personal trainer, doctor or nutritionist, neither is my guest, Alberta rocker Clayton Bellamy - but we are two music industry professionals who are passionate about fitness and health, and we've seen the benefits and want to pass on our wisdom to you, to better you - the artist! Disclaimer: before you do anything that will effect your health, please consult a professional - talk to a trainer, doctor, health expert, please. You're probably wondering why I didn't get a personal trainer/fitness expert for this. I wanted someone who has experienced the positive benefits of all of this from an active performer, who understands the artist aspect of this, who's been doing this for several years, who's busy, who's always on the road, who's in various projects, (which are The Road Hammers, Clayton Bellamy and the Congregation and Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion, who's won many awards including a Juno, numerous Canadian Country Music Awards, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year, A Radio Music Award and Western Canadian Music Award, who has been featured in People Magazine, The NY Times,and Rolling Stone an who's released five solo records and has songs recorded by Big Sugar Matt Anderson, Dan Davidson Jason Blaine W3apons FKB Willie Mack and more HE'S STILL ON FIRE!) who understands the struggle is real - to juggle everything as a human AND artist, then trying to add being active and healthy on top of that - but he also understands how important this is for you. Also, HAVE YOU SEEN HIM ON STAGE? He's performance goals! Vocally and with his physicality! You hear his song "Resistorz" in the podcast and you can find him on all social media under Clayton Bellamy and @claytonbellamy.

Good news, radio listening still accounts for much, much more than all the streaming services combined when it comes to sharing your music with the world, but also for that reason, it’s still one of the most competitive ways to get your music heard. Radio airplay doesn’t just happen, it’s usually what happens after months or years of hard hard work - gaining an audience on other platforms, building up relationships in the industry, and growing your network.  However, there are ways you can take to boost your odds of getting on the air. I brought in former radio hostess with the Artist Rep, Project Manager, Creative Consultant with Straight Arrow and At Heart Branding Co. and all around peoples champ when it comes to supporting indie, emerging and green artists, Stephanie Bakker on this episode to talk about boosting your chances of getting on the radio!
We discuss how it’s important to be realistic, persistent and most of all, make music that will grab the attention of influencers and radio stations. We talk about which types of radio stations you should be talking and at what level of their careers you should be talking to certain ones. We talk about commercial and non-commercial, but there are three kinds of "markets:" small, medium, large. We talk about picking the right song for radio and what radio stations are looking for in a song you send to them.
 We share what you should do first before you even think about releasing a song to radio. We talk about professionally approaching radio stations, Program Directors, Music Directors and on-air personalities. Building a realistic, easily managed radio campaign and EPK's. We discuss the role of Radio Trackers and we also take you on the road with getting prepared for radio tours and even a few surprises in there!

It's been a minute since we've hung out, but hello again! Thanks for coming back! This week, I am bringing you Calgary's singer,songwriter and budding (and excelling) producer and graphic designer Julianna Laine! Up until recently, she was probably known as a finalist in 2018’s Project Wild, a radio competition that tends to focus on Nashville-ready country artists. She just released her new single, "Eighteen" under her new genre of bedroom pop and it's a bop! She is the founder of and graphic designer and creative for Not Your Designer. She's also a traveler and surfer... so what I'm saying, is she is just the coolest! You're going to love this episode! We talk about her travels and how that helped her discover her new sound and how you can travel casually and get shows successfully on the road. We discuss graphic design and about Not Your Designer and how to approach graphic designers with you vision and how you can work with them to have you design dreams come true! We of course talk about the (growing in popularity and her new genre) bedroom pop and about what it is, and about at home production and exploring and becoming more confident with your sound and in studio with the knowledge of at home production. We talk about successfully switching genres as she originally started in country and the steps to take! We touch on how to incorporate that into your social media/website as well and how you should keep you look consistent and what she suggests you should do first when you are introducing yourself to the world with a new genre under your belt! have fun!! You're also hearing you song "Eighteen" in the podcast too and you can find all her music on every streaming platform and herself on Instagram @juliannalaine on Facebook at Julianna Laine and her graphic design work online at Not Your Designer! Thanks for joining me Julianna!

Blue Jay Sessions are these sweet southern style songwriter pop-up circles in Calgary, Alberta. Combining amazing music, very delicious food and great company, Eat Norths' Dan Clapson and Calgary Country's Emily Holloway have brought musicians in the country, roots and folk genres together for live music for the Canadian Country Music Awards, Christmas, Valentines Day and they were supposed to happy during the Juno Awards weekend in Saskatoon, Sask. but, they were cancelled due to the current global situation. They have also postponed their April sessions at the Oak Tree Tavern in the interest of public health and safety. HOWEVER,
Eat Norths Dan Clapson and Calgary Country's Emily Holloway came up with this cool way to keep music alive and support artists monetarily with Facebook LIVE STREAMS with Blue Jay Sessions Live Streams every Wednesday at 2pm MST. Dan tells us more about it, how you can support local artists and local restaurants and bars and how he may be writing a musical for us! ALSO check out the Eat North podcast "More Than Maple" and their live streams, "Eat North Variety Pack" on Thursdays 12pm MST!
Follow Dan at @danisgood and @eatnorth and also Eat North on Facebook. You can follow Calgary Country at @calgarycountrymusic and on Calgary Country on Facebook. 

Guest, award winning artist, Matt Blais says, "I believe that we will come out of this better as artists because art is about life and the expression of ourselves. If we can learn from this, then imagine the great art that can come out of it." You don't need me to tell you that we are going through a tough time right now. My heart goes out to you and I wish you all the best. We will get through this! I have to say I am so proud of the resilience that has been shown throughout this so far and how the music community has come together in many many ways. We will continue to do so, I know it! I spoke with roots rocker from Calgary, Matt Blais, who has been doing music professionally and full-time for over a decade. He speaks with us about how to take care of yourself, your peers, your industry friends at this time. We also talk about how this is a time to be creative and really get yourself prepared for when the gates do open again for live performances.
Check out his most recent album "In Shadow and Light," right now and we hear his song "Everything Connected" in this episode. Check him out on Facebook under Matt Blais and on Instagram @mattblaismusic.  

Over the next few weeks we are going to start seeing summer tour and festival announcements from an array of artists at all levels and I am so excited for them! If this is your first year or first time hitting the road as an artist or band - that's amazing! Whether you are doing a DIY tour or you have a team behind you -  taking your music on the road is one of the best ways to reach new audiences, travel, and hopefully have a memorable and great adventure — but any touring artists and performers will tell you that it’s not as easy as it looks - it's totally something you're going to learn from and have fun with though! You gotta do it! From maintaining peace among band members and staying healthy, to dealing with iffy hotels/accommodations and endless hours in a car, time on the road can present unique challenges and maybe some interesting stories to tell around the holiday or for a podcast! Thanks to everyone who became a part of this episode! Here are stories and tips from experienced touring musicians, performers and industry professionals on how to thrive and survive on the road at any time of year!
We feature Clayton Bellamy (Clayton Bellamy and the Congregation), Dan Davidson (Roots artist), Chard Morrison (songwriter/Shattered Glass), Drew Shulka (FKB), India Coran (RPM), Lisette Xavier (Pop artists), Jay Der (Drummer of The Prairie States), Demetrius Nath (Antiskeptic Entertainment/Maybe May), Ty Baynton (Country artist) and Ryan Davidson (Grammy Nominated Guitarist).

Obvi, every band and artist is different – from genres, styles, and everything in between – but they’ve all got one thing in common - they want to get recognized. Merchandise is a great, if not one of the better choices these days. It gives you the ability to take your visibility to the next level and raise some money at the same time. Your merch can be and will be a walking billboard for you or your band. The good news is, there are so many flexible options out there for you to choose from. We are going to talk through your roll as an artist when it comes to providing your fans with merchandise, the entrepreneurship and business brain you need to have behind it (as an artist) when it comes to your brand and your merchandise, how to find what’s right for you and your brand, we also have lots of merch ideas to share, we discuss budgeting it and ways to save money for ordering what you need and designing your merch, the best practices for selling it, and what kinds of items and designs your fans would love, how it creates an unification of your fans and how it creates and interaction with people to become bigger fans, both online and in-venue. Our guest industry expert this episode is musician Adam Chiasson who is also the owner and founder of Tree Picks, this great company out of Calgary that makes beautiful custom wooden guitar picks. You can find Tree Picks on Instagram, Facebook and online! Let's talk merch and business on this episode of Studio B - Gotta Make It For You, Gotta Make It For Me. 

Make no mistake about it – photo shoots are work, and they can easily take, hours,
all day or night or maybe even a few tries! And they can be a little intimidating! With Michelle Spice of Michelle Spice Photography, I can tell you, you’re in the hands of an experienced photographer who
has such a passion and love for her work and her clients and artists. That’s why she’s our industry expert in this episode of Studio B. Michelle is incredible at capturing that moment
in time that can only happen once - and she’s going to make it that moment legendary - and so are you, because she’s going to get you prepared for your best pictures and photoshoot! Although you are going to want to shoot your shot
with Michelle Spice - we do talk about finding your right photographer! Having the perfect photoshoot! How to stand out! How should you prepare for the photoshoot How often should you refresh your pictures? How not to go down in meme-ory!  We discuss budgeting and contracts and packages. And of course giving credit to the photographer! We also have info if you are an emerging or independent photographer wanting to shoot musicians/artists/bands and concerts! You can find Michelle Spice on Instagram @michellespicesphotography and michellespicephotography.com and on Facebook under Michelle Spice Photography on Facebook. 
You can find Studio B. on Instagram at @__Studio_B__ and Studio B. Podcast on Facebook.