Kevin Brown: Kevin's Home Page
Welcome to Curse Buster Sound.
The home of saxophonist: Kevin Brown.
Curse Buster Sound is a Texas based recording studio owned, and operated by Kevin, a blind jazz saxophonist.
Producing some of the best jazz, and sax tracks on the market today.
You will find Kevin's original music, as well as many links to other musicians websites, music gear, recording, software, hardware, computing, promotion, artist portals, music info, music tips, musical instruments, articles, MP3 downloads, podcasting, Solo Artist Pages, Solo Musicians Pages, Solo Instrumentalist, music marketing for the serious minded musician and much more.
Feel free to listen to Kevin's original music.
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Lets face it,...When it comes to music marketing on the internet, most musicians dont have a clue on what to do.
Most musicians are great at what they know how to do,...and that is play and record music.
Well,...Curse Buster Sound is dedicated not only to your music, recording, and music products,...but, we are also thinking about the internet marketing aspect of your music projects and promotion.
That is why you will find a well rounded selection of internet marketing products for your benefit.
We offer, SEO optimization, Premium lead generation, portal marketing, and one of the most powerful automated email response and verification systems on the net todate.
So,...it is not only important that you know just what to do with your music, but, you need to know just how to market your music, and music related websites, and projects on the web.
We invite you to dig right in,...Curse Buster Sound is here for your complete benefit.
Saxly Yours, Kevin Brown
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Tips For The Solo Musician: Your live performance
Kevin Brown
So here we are! We have made the journey up the road, and have arrived at your "Live Performance". This journey has taken us through the practice shed,...Beyond perfection,...Into the street musicians corner,... And now it is time to go onto the next step! Right here, we move on to the small establishments, and venues.
Remember, this is not a quick fix,... or, what I call a "Quaker Oats Approach",...We are not trying to do things "Quick, Fast, and In a hurry". But, we are building this solo musician career in a slow, steady, persistant, and well directed manner. Doing things this way will guarantee you long lasting success, and prosperity.
So,...Let us begin, and talk about "Your Live Performance". , Now,...what is a live performance? Just what does this term mean in normal, understandable language? First,...You are a live, and breathing person. Second,...The music coming from your instrument, or vocal chords, is a live sound. Thirdly,...Your performance is alive, and thus, making all things around you alive with the energy that you are expelling. The venue, or establishment where you are performing becomes alive, and active with the sound you are creating.
This is the reason for all of the long hours of practice, and preparation. You must have complete control over your body, which is the vessel of creation. You must have complete control over your instrument, or vocal chords, which is the tool by which you project your created sound. You must be as aware as possible of your surroundings, which is the means by which you communicate with those who come to hear what you have to offer.
1. Be sure you are in top physical shape,...Just as athletes shape, and tone their bodies so that they are in tip top condition for whatever sport that they want to excell,... You, "The solo musician" should be sure your body is in tip top shape to achieve top notch performance level.
2. You can never get enough practice! Practice, Practice, and Practice some more,...and some more after that! As I stated before,...you want extreme monster chops! The only lasting way to achieve this, is to PRACTICE!
3. This is probably one of the hardest things to do,... But, you need to develop a keen sense of awareness! I mention this because in order for the vibes of your music to completely connect with your audience you need an almost telepathic mind-set! When your at the peak of your condition,...When you have that unbelievable control over your instrument, or vocal chords,... When your awareness is of such, that you can just about tell what mood your audiense is in at any given moment. Then you will become a Healer,...A Problem solver,...A Spirit lifter,...A Most desirable of performers to hear! You will, in fact, breathe life into your audiense.
Speaking from experience as a blind individual,...I can tell you that this sense of awareness is of utmost importance, and very attainable. For instance, when I meet people,...I take them for who they actually are. The outward appearance does not get in the way. To me,...it does not matter what color, what size, what nationality,...ect. I connect with the person who is inside of the vessel. So,...when I play music, I am absorbing the energy from those around me,...and in turn, transferring what I recieve back to them in musical tones, and vibes. That, my friend, is a high that absolutely No Drug can achieve!
Now,...let us talk manners, and hardware. When you play, you want to be presentable, polite, and positive. You are offering a most honorable service. You are the servant,...Offer your service from your heart. Acknowledge the establishment, or venue where you are performing, first in your press releases, and before you actually start playing. Step up to your microphone and state what a fine people these are, and thank them for allowing you to perform in their establishment. Find out what specials they have to offer, and anounce these over your microphone,...They will greatly appreciate this.
Your actual personal area, whether it be a stage, or just a given area on the floor is your space! Keep your area clean. It should not look like a junk yard! This is where people are going to be observing you, and your performance.
When I perform these type of gigs,...I make sure I have these items:
1. Microphone, and microphone stand.
2. Promo stand, and tip jar.
3. I run two small hotspot moniters in stereo, which I place aprox. two feet in front of me so I can hear the play-a-long music when I play.
4. I use a sturdy, and moveable rack which I have my mixer, amplifiers, my play-a-long machine with pitch control, and a clip on shelf for small articles such as CDs.
5. I use two small but powerful main speakers; 10 inch woofer with horn.
6. speaker stands.
7. 25 foot extention cord.
8. you should have a stand for your particular instrument,...in my case; a saxophone stand.
9. business cards.
10. CDs of your original music for people to purchase.
Remember,...this whole concept is built around the fact that you, "The Solo Musician", will be using a play-a-long library. When you build your library, you are going to be obtaining the particular music that you are geared for performing. In my case; Jazz.
One last thing is to be aware of your volume. You absolutely dont want to blast the people out of the room. They should be able to talk, and hear themselves clearly. Be asured,...if you are on top of your game, they will definately hear you,...and want to come back for more.
I gave some long hard thought to the fact that I am using a play-a-long library for my background tracks. Just how will people take this? There is no doupt that you, "The Solo Musician", can last a lot longer when using this technique. As I put it to the test, I found that when your are a top notch musician, that people did not mind, or even notice the fact that you are using a play-a-long library. That is the reason for again stating that you must perfect your personal sound as much as possible.
I recall playing an establishment called, "China Gardens", in San Angelo Texas. An accomplished organist brought his mother out to dinner that evening. Before he left, he came looking for the band that was playing in the next room. When he saw me, and no one else,...he could not believe his ears. When I finished playing, he came up to me and said,"I just cant believe that you get that sound , and you are playing by yourself. I thought for sure there was a full band in here". So,..that is just one answer for my concerns of just how people would take this way for "Solo Musicians" to make a living.
Next time I will talk about just how to achieve perfection.
About the Author
Kevin Brown is a blind jazz saxophonist, his intense, improvive style of playing is both soothing, and captivating to the listener.
Kevin owns, and operates a Texas based recording studio: Curse Buster Sound.
Kevin is producing some of the best sounding jazz on the market today.
Kevin Brown may be contacted at http://www.cursebustersound.com.
Click here to view more articles by Kevin Brown.
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