what should i do?? all opinions are welcome!

[archervsgunman]

hey guys. first off, im almost 32 years old. ive been playing guitar for 13 years, been in countless bands, and have written well over 100 songs with nothing to show for it, save some flyers and some cruddy recordings. i recently recorded a three song demo with a group of some of the best musicians i know, and i cant express the feeling of pride and accomplishment i have. it sounds amazing and the songs are brought out in the best possible light. so... part of me really wants to record a full length album and really have the time to do it right. ive never had that luxury. im currently unemployed and am considering selling off gear (mostly high end audio equipment, that i am currently unable to use without building a soundproof room) to pay for studio cost. meanwhile, bills are piling up. what should i do? is it time to sell everything and pay off bills, or should i go for it and have something that ill always be proud of? after all, ive had money problems before and have always worked them out in time. my current girlfriend, who i live with, is extremely supportive (again, this is a luxury that im unfamiliar with!), and she wants me to do whatever makes me happy. around 6 years ago, i did a diy recording with had potential to do things. i was in talks with a fairly large indie record company that wanted to distribute it and pay some touring cost, but during negotiations, my wife left me and fell into a bottle. when i think back to this period in my life is full of regret and shame for what i did and didnt do. i dont want that to happen again. what do you guys think??

[brokenjoe]

Here's what I'd do:

Get a job. You're only 32, so you've got your whole life ahead of you to make records.

Become financially solvent, then start saving up $$$ to pay for the record you hope to make. Budget yourself for what you think you are going to need to make that record -studio time, pressing, mastering, hired gun fees, legal expenses, publishing, etc.

In the mean time, keep writing and playing. Once you get the dough together, you're the boss of your own project. You call the shots. You reap all the glory -or unfortunately sometimes, the misery.

Come up with a finished product. There are many smaller labels out there who may be interested in picking it up. Record companies are businesses. They don't like to gamble, but if you've got something tangible, it shows them that you have desire, commitment, and drive.

Good luck

[studio1087]

If you are a songwriter with 100 original tunes under your belt, you could certainly play solo acoustic/electric gigs on a regular basis.

If you played 5 times per month at as little as $150-$200 per show you could save for recording time.

You could work by day while doing the solo gig thing.

You'll have no control over your life if you are not financially sound.

I hate to play the straight and narrow but get a day job and continue to work at music. Pay bills with the day job and save gig money for your recording goals.

I don't know what the scene is like where you live but there are countless sports bars, lake bars, and wine bars in the lake country around Milwaukee that feature solo guitar players or duets on the weekends.

Think about it....a nice sports bar can have live entertainment for a couple hundred bucks and the musician keeps a couple hundred bucks. You are not splitting gig money 7 ways.

At 32 year of age; you should be able to find some sort of interesting day job. How about working in a music store??

Good Luck.

John

[Scuttlebutt]

They've got it right, pay off your bills, friend. Get out of debt. Keep playing, keep writing, and save the money to do the studio project your way, without financial worries. Keep your girlfriend happy and in the loop.

[tiktok]

"ive never had that luxury. im currently unemployed and am considering selling off gear (mostly high end audio equipment, that i am currently unable to use without building a soundproof room) to pay for studio cost. meanwhile, bills are piling up. what should i do? is it time to sell everything and pay off bills, or should i go for it and have something that ill always be proud of?"

Always being able to pay your bills is something to be proud of.

Albums are nice and all, but if money's that tight I'd suggest waiting until you've got enough set aside to record another song, and then do that, then repeat. While it might be more expensive in the long run, it allows you to maintain liquidity and pay your bills while you're doing it.

[crawdad]

If your goal and true passion in life is to make this album, I say screw the bills and full steam ahead on making your life's vision come true. Then, keep on pushing like you've burned all your bridges and get that deal.

Find another way to pay your bills--a job, gigs, whatever.

The big question I think you need to ask yourself is "Where is my doubt and hesitation coming from?" If this is what you really want, why are you questioning yourself? Its self defeating and getting you nowhere. Get your purposes and beliefs straight cause a dream like this is not a part time, sometime kind of deal. You have to believe it and want it 100%.

And if you don't do it, ask yourself how you will feel in ten or twenty years. Its better to try and fail than to never try at all.

[geardog]

With a supportive woman by your side a) get financially secure b) shop the 3 song demo c) with bills paid off & savings map out your music career. d) if all else fails, you do music for the love of it & you'll have a loving woman.

No regrets

[VerySlowHand]

Sounds like... (a) you want your current circumstances to govern what you do, rather than... (b) creating the right circumstances, then doing what you want to do.

Given the background, I'd make a 2 year plan (for want of a timescale) and do the latter. At least that way you know you're working towards a goal and that'll both comfort and motivate you.

[tazzboy]

Get a job pay your bills first then if you have any money lift over pay for recording time.

[Jack]

Get a job and pay the bills. You owe people money and you need to be responsible and pay them. I can't tell you how many people I know that were going to make it, but didn't.

I don't mean to sound negative, but you asked. Unless your paying the bills by playing then it's time to find a way to make a living first and then work on everything else.

Your young, don't throw your life away.

I'm sure you've hear the old joke: What do you call a drummer without a girl friend?

Homeless and broke!!

[Wardpike]

Make decisions that you can live with. I wish I had put out more records before now. Gear comes and goes.

[tpaul]

No shame in selling stuff to pay bills. If you had put that money in the bank instead of investing in high-end gear, and then took it out of the bank to pay bills, nobody would question that.

But selling gear to pay bills when you don't have a job means your life is a ticking time bomb and you're well on your way to insolvency.

I work full-time AND I'm selling gear to pay bills. Believe me, I'm plenty worried (and I'm also doing something about it - finding moonlighting work and talking to my boss about getting a raise).

Bills can eat through a lot of sold gear awfully fast. What are you going to do when you're halfway through recording your album and you run out of money? Or if you get it recorded and then you run out of money to fund the tour to support the album?

The consensus here seems to be heavily in favor of finding a job and then recording. With this in mind, start looking for a job that will pay the bills and leave you enough time and energy at the end of the day/week to go into the studio. The desire to record the album will give you the motivation you need to find the right job... not just any job, but the job that you need to support the creative life you want.

Good luck, and treat your girlfriend right, she sounds like a peach.

[PeteMac]

Ok . . . just to balance the advice here - I'm with Crawdad - Follow your passion !

At the very least, if you put all your eggs in the "recording" basket, you're going to be very motivated to make it work.
Get out there and play as many bar/pub/cafe' gigs as you can find for the $$$, sell the gear you don't need and go for it - You'll never know . . . etc.

But in the end, you can only make the decision that you're going to be comfortable with . . . but don't let fear be the deciding factor.

Good luck,

[VerySlowHand]

Originally Posted by PeteMac

Follow your passion !

At the very least, if you put all your eggs in the "recording" basket, you're going to be very motivated to make it work.

Or, because you're up to your eyeballs indebt, s**t scared in case it fails...

[TG]

I'd say to follow what feels right...but that can easily be used as an excuse to do something really dumb. What feels right doesn't necessarily mean what you want.

We don't really know your full situation so it's difficult to give this sort of advice, but I would try to balance what I want to do with what I can do...and how it will affect the significant others in my life.
Will the unpaid bills become an actual threat in any way to you and/or your girlfriend?

[emu!]

I know at least a half dozen guys...some REALLY good musicians, that dropped alot of $$$ on a studio quality CD. They are very proud of it, but not one of them has re-couped their expenses. Seems the marketing and selling of the music for a profit is always overlooked.

[T Prior]

At 32 you have enough time and energy to have a day gig and work on your passion. There are thousands of song writers pitching songs and you should continue to write and pitch but you should also face the reality of debt. The competition is fierce, even for the best of tunes. Debt and bills piling up don't go away and will cause undue emotional stress. At some point you will be older and it will be much more difficult to resolve the situation if you don't make some sort of plan to chip away at it.

If you are a strong vocalist go out and work solo , cover tunes with mixed in originals, do a quick and dirty CD of a few tunes and sell them at your solo gigs.

Many artists that are in your position feel they must make the next " PET SOUNDS" CD , it's a mistake at this time. Make a reasonable CD of quality, sell that at solo gigs, go out and market yourself for the larger higher paying gigs but don't make the mistake early on of going original out of the gate. Most clubs just want to rock out, so rock out and mix your tunes in with the set list, see what happens,learn from it.

Sell the gear that you do not need right now to go out and gig,do not sell any gear that you would need for playing shows.


Get some sort of a job to assist in paying down your bills or at least keep current. You can buy all the gear you need, any gear, on any day of the week if you need it again.

Formulate a plan and stick with it...

good luck

t...much older than 32....

PS, I have bought and sold probably 5 times the amount of gear that I have kept, gear is disposable, the only thing that is not disposable is your favorite working guitars.