New to Los Angeles, want to pursue the dream.. need advice

[sixstringking713]

If you ever need a bass guy for an album/tour........ Just to throw it out there.....................

But yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you except I'm still in my hometown..... for now... Just like what these guys have said. It's all in who you know almost more than WHAT you know... I know so many people who could blow any of the guys that are out there right now right out of the water... So why aren't THEY the ones with the deals and big gigs?? Again.... all in who you know. The internet changed things so much it's a whole new game... Just get some videos together and start putting stuff out at the highest quality you can.... Start working on an EPK and record a kick ASS demo with ZERO flaws... Just slap something on somebody's desk that they can put on and go "my GOD.... THIS is who I need!!" The rest is all you bud!! (The offer stands on bass'ing... hehe... )

Haha ok thanks.

Can't hurt to give your card to the local studios as a fill in. This will also help you in your networking and may open some doors for you.

Yeah I may try this, worst they'll say is no thanks.

1. Just fully realize that there's exactly one bazillion dudes in LA alone that have the same exact "plan" (or dream) that you have.

2. The internet doesn't need any more videos of people covering EVH songs on guitar. Be yourself. Write some original riffs and solos that show diversity in your playing, and your own style. Unless your ultimate goal is to be in a EVH Tribute band...

3. Listen to anything Pete Thorn says. To me, he has the absolute ideal career in guitar: world tours with famous musicians, tons of great gear, endorsements, notoriety among the guitar community - but, he can still walk down the street and not get mobbed, and live life like a normal human being. To ME, *that* is living the dream.

That's a good point.

First off.. Hats off to you my man. Go for it dude!!! I wish you all the best.

Then... Don't talk shit about anyone at all at any time, and network. Start out by just hanging out with people. Don't have an agenda, just hang out. Pretty soon you have a circle of people that can help you with things in the future.

Thanks!

LA changes people. Careful, or it will eat you up and spit you out.

Good luck though. At least there's some peeps here willing to help you out.

x2 live your dream...

Atleast going to try to, haha thanks.

If your on Facebook , look up Barry Squire , he has been placing musicians in pro touring and label based acts forever. Your the right age for his projects.
Get ready to go to some auditions!

Thank you for the suggestion, I found him on facebook and sent him a message. He hasn't responded yet however.

The YouTube thing, I didn't start until 2007... It's been beneficial for sure, but I was already playing with Chris Cornell then, had done a bunch of other tours for like 15 years and had had like 3 bands with record deals, etc. I wouldn't want to be "just a guy on YouTube", the YouTube thing doing lessons or maybe gear demos for manufacturers is just one piece of a puzzle and it should come after you get out and play and establish yourself

Also I agree with the poster who said, the Internet doesn't need another guy playing Ed VH covers. While we all love EVH, it's better to show what you can do- your own music.

Gotcha, thanks for your advice.

2. The internet doesn't need any more videos of people covering EVH songs on guitar. Be yourself. Write some original riffs and solos that show diversity in your playing, and your own style. Unless your ultimate goal is to be in a EVH Tribute band...

I don't disagree with this, however, are you aware of how Phil X got the Bon Jovi gig the first time around? Somebody showed Jon Phil's Fretted American videos that are on youtube and guess what he plays mostly? VH, Zeppelin and a host of other classic tunes, without accompanyment.

That said, Phil's had a number of high profile gigs in the past and probably didn't get the gig just because of his playing because he's a great singer, a total natural on the guitar (and has also spent thousands upon thousands of hours honing his craft) and he's pretty darned funny too.

All this is to say if you've got your own thing going on, youtube can be your friend.

Yeah idk I might record a few newer videos in general but I guess I wont do a whole slew of covers by the sounds of the advice here.

id move to nashville just cause of less taxes, not as expensive to live there in some areas from what i understand.

I was thinking along similar lines, get your country on and move to Nashville.

Good luck to OP for following your dreams.

Yeah no thanks on the Nashville. I love living in LA so far..

Youtube worked just fine for the biebs!! now he is out there livin his dream and being so untouchable that he no longer wishes to be spoken to when attending events...

good luck in your pursuits but I would make sure I had a really good back up plan in case they don't pan out.. i'm thinking your day job or amateur porn.

My dayjob pays well enough for me to live in LA, that's good enough for me.

The music industry is a disaster.

Go into pharmaceuticals.

Best advice so far!

You seem very talented and driven. Work towards finding your style and finish some songs. Start your own band. Do your own thing as you see fit.

No matter what your location, enjoy the trip!

Thanks

Don't talk shit about anyone at all at any time, and network. Start out by just hanging out with people. Don't have an agenda, just hang out. Pretty soon you have a circle of people that can help you with things in the future.

This. If you talk smack about anyone in the biz it will spread like wildfire. Be yourself, practice every style you can think of if you want to get into session work. Learn to budget like there is no tomorrow. Lots of guys move to LA and get eaten alive because they can't keep off of substances. There is a very good reason the term 10 year over night success gets used a lot. Be patient and strive to keep goals. Keep them realistic. The world of 80s rock stars has past. As stated earlier, Pete is IMHO living the dream as a successful musician. However, I'm sure that if you asked him he would say that he has made a lot of sacrifices along the way.

I dont have drug issues, I'd rather blow the money on cars or gear than drugs.

What's even cooler is how Phil got the Tommy gig: he was painting the garage of producer Scott Humphrey. He happened to hear that they needed a guitar player for Tommy's album, and boom... right guy, right place, right time. That led to working with Zombie, Alice, and the shitload of others. His calling card was his unique overdubs, especially after the Daughtry album broke.

As far as his YouTube success, I've heard him say he credits YT big time for a lot of his opportunities. It's brought him fans around the world that plug their stickered and fan-grill adorned Vipers into Bad Monkeys cuz of him. It brought him a signature amp and guitar. It brought his band The Drills on a UK Tour. What do I think make his videos unique on top of his bad ass skills, even though a lot of it is playing covers? The guy has a larger than life, likable personality to obviously speaks to many. (yes, I know some find him over the top ) Also, there are tons of guys that play the classics accurately, but Phil does it his own way with some extra special fire sauce!

So cool to get advice directly from Pete Thorn who has been there, working his ass off, and is making it happen!
Pete's YT videos are also huge standouts to me cuz he demo's stuff with original compositions that the gear inspires with super high quality sound.

As far as coming to L.A. to pursue the dream... right on man! Not much for me to add that hasn't already been said, but I'll offer my $0.02
Echoing what Reza said, I've heard Barry Squire's name brought up quite a bit with guys I've worked with (although I don't know much more than that.)
Also, my band has used a couple of these guys http://www.backlinersband.com who are a team of high quality session musicians to fill drum and bass duties. They used to do a monthly social at Universal Bar and Grill for L.A. area musicians to network. I think it's been on hiatus for a while, but they're supposed to start back up. Maybe it'll be worth it to get on their mailing list to find out about the next one.
FWIW... As a guitarist playing with a band here in L.A. for a few years- I can tell you NOT to play The Whisky or The Viper Room and expect to be "discovered!!!" Or to have a crowd for that matter.

Ok cool I'll check that out. Yeah I went and saw a show at the whiskey to check it out and some bands were pretty good, some were really pathetic

I guess it really depends on what you're trying to accomplish as a guitar player and making a career out of it. I've been living in Hollywood for around 5 years and have done pretty well by networking at the rock bars. The rainbow, angels & kings, velvet margarita, loaded, bar sinister, etc. I've never stepped foot into musicians institute, or the baked potato. Barry squire didn't do squat for me, I didn't make any epk showcasing talent.

Playing skill varies so much out here. If you wanna spend your first couple years making a name and reputation for yourself, audition for a national act and knock it out of the park. And cater to what they as a product are selling. If they look like kiss, don't show up looking like urkel lol. Actually, don't show up anywhere looking like urkel lol.

My first gig was an audition for a female pop singer. Knocked it out of the park, got the gig, 2 weeks later flying first class to chicago to play lollapalooza with muse, the black keys, foo fighters, a perfect circle etc. Finished off that tour season with 5 songs on tim burtons alice in wonderland and frankenweenie.

That fueled my reputation right away and have landed great gigs since. At this point, I've met some of the biggest touring bands in the world, with opening slots and direct support for rob zombie, megadeth, korn, five finger death punch, etc.

Everyone I know that is a working musician in my genre has had their own way of getting themselves where they are at. I'm still just as ambitious, but I've learned a ton about the industry, and how to manage myself, so that I'm not stagnant, or nose diving. Set goals and achieve them, be flxable and know how to manage yourself, set timelines on what you're doing, and know when to move on. Get to know everyone in your genre as far as musicians, promoters, sound guys etc. Even drummers lol.

Btw, everyone is full of sh! t out here so be smart, keep everyone at arms distance so you don't get into trouble. Never stop trying to write good songs ever, record every great idea you get, cause they will come in handy.

Where do you get the info that a national act is searching though? Would that be on craigslist or would you have found that somewhere else typically? And yeah, anytime I come up with a cool riff or song idea I record it and store it on my computer. I figured they would come in handy. I have to start writing down how to play them though because some of them I have to go figure out WTF I was playing haha.

Better have a day job ...

Yup I do

One more thing... very important too... no matter how much you want something, don't suck anyone's d_ck to get it! Look what happened to all those child stars :-/

 

[WhammybarAllstar]

How do you find out a national is looking? It usually isn't advertised, especially on craigslist, that's like digging around the bottom of the barrel for stuff. Its all word of mouth. Go to the rock bars where everyone hangs out. Hollywood is a very small town. Theres only really 4-5 bars where everyone goes every night. Say hi to people you recognise and tell them who you are and have a casual convo. Be straight up and friendly, add them on fb, and ask if they know of any bands could use a good guitar player like yourself. Things might be slow at first, but word will get around, and be consistent. Dont push it too hard cause you'll come off as a poser. But soon you'll get to know people, and you'll star hearing opportunities. I just heard davey suicide lost their bassist just yesterday. Might not be everyone's bag, but they're becoming national, etc. I hear spots open everyday. Not long ago, trapt was auditioning guitarists. The spot got filled by the guy from atreyu, but that's another example. Get in where you fit in and keep your ears open. Theres always something, that in turn leads to other stuff. Thats been my experience so far.

Network at the rock bars and talk to people.

 

[Bob Savage]

Yeah idk I might record a few newer videos in general but I guess I wont do a whole slew of covers by the sounds of the advice here.

My point is really that if you've got something cool going on, youtube can be one of many ways to help bring you some exposure. The are a billion guys playing covers and doing gear demos on YT though, so you should think about what it is that you'll do to make you stand apart from the rest.

Good luck on your quest.

 

[ewill52]

Cocaine and hookers. That is now my default answer when asked questions I don't have a real answer for. This board changes people.

 

[muudrock]

The music industry is a disaster.

Go into pharmaceuticals.

...lol Pharmacueticals made the music industry a disaster...

 

[lettmusic]

Then... Don't talk shit about anyone at all at any time, and network. Start out by just hanging out with people. Don't have an agenda, just hang out. Pretty soon you have a circle of people that can help you with things in the future.

great tips here
I was at a local bar once watching John Scofield play. Went back to the bar to have a beer, saw some local guitarists chatting up a storm. It seemed to me that all they were doing was talking shit about everybody, even cutting down Sco, who they were there to see??!?

 

[sixstringking713]

I've lived in LA for over a year now and I have just finished recording an instrumental album. The music is written, performed, mixed, and mastered by myself. Going to put it on the website soon.

Do you guys have any suggestions for other open mic nights other than the 2 previously mentioned (baked potato and 3 clubs)?

 

[UltraGary]

(I've been here 23years and still haven't mastered the scene or made big $....so I don't know what I'm talking about, but....)

*The importance of making friends in the scene can not be overstated. Go to those friends' shows, even if you have to work in the morning. When you do get something musical happening, you'll be a friend and they'll come to your's.

*Don't waste time covering other people's stuff on YouTube. Who F'ing cares.

*People will only be entertained by what you do and/or passionately follow you if YOU are exhibiting passion about something uniquely your's. Again....I can't speak from the viewpoint of huge success (yet ).....but when I'm in my casket I can sleep well knowing I kicked a*s doing MY thing and loved some people getting off on it.

*If you want to make steady $, play covers. If you want to artistically satisfy yourself and/or go for HUGE success.....you better work somewhere in the daytime to have the gear & gas to be a viable bandmember.

Good luck! (& if you're around Hollywood Blvd this Wednesday....come see Ultramunx at King King!!)