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Hello
to you all!
Tis the season to be jolly and I hope that all
of you are feeling the good vibe! I become
even more of a kid during the holidays. : )
I've had some exciting things happen to me.
I'm getting quoted in many magazines and
newspapers. And last week I was on Inside
Edition to comment on Lindsay Lohan's
lip-synching. Now is when we should be gearing
up to take the new year by storm. I wish you
all a peaceful holiday season and a fruitful
new year.
Please forward this newsletter to your mailing
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send me an email that says
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email.
In this issue, I've got an interview with Cari
Cole, an indie artist who is also a well-known
vocal coach. She was very generous in sharing
tips for keeping your voice in good shape. In
upcoming issues I intend to explore many
aspects of health for musicians. I've also got
an interview with Indie artist Lisa O'Kane,
who has been successful with marketing her
country music in Europe. The most important
item in this newsletter is #8. Please don't
skip it. I have info about Operation
Gratitude, an organization that is sending
things to our military. While I don't like the
war, I support our troops with all my heart.
One thing they need is music. So please pay
careful attention to how you can donate your
CDs, or other items, to raise the spirits of
our brave troops far from home.
I hope that you'll find the other resources in
this issue helpful too. Please feel free to
write with suggestions and questions that I
can answer in future issues.
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
1. Developing a Guerilla Mentality
2. Maintain Your Voice! Interview with Cari
Cole
3. My next seminar
4. Raising Money Alternatives - part one
5. Interview with Lisa O'Kane
6. Minding Your Music Biz: CD samplers
7. Ask Daylle:
8. Music for our troops
1. Developing a Guerilla Mentality: It's
important to always be ready to jump on any
opportunity that arises, no matter how hard it
is. I hear lazy musicians complain that they
didn't want to get up early to appear on a
cable show because they felt wasn't worth the
effort. Everything is helpful! You never know
who might see you. Some musicians pass on last
minute gigs because they prefer more notice.
Say *no* and lose out! Last week I was woken
by a call from the producer of Inside Edition,
asking me to be on-air in an hour. I had 25
minutes to get camera ready. It was pouring
rain. They didn't know I was still in bed and
that my hair was a mess. With energy, I said
I'd be happy to do it. Happy was the last
thing I felt as I looked in the mirror, hoping
my styling tool would heat up in time. I threw
make-up, hair gel and a banana in a bag for
the ride over. My appearance was short but
it's an important one for my bio. I brushed my
teeth and had a real breakfast when I got
home. When you intend to succeed, you must be
prepared to take any opportunities. Even if
you'd like more time to rehearse. Even if you
only have a day to find a guitar player. Say
yes and hustle to make it work. When people
tell me how lucky I am, I refute that as luck.
I put myself out there and grab everything I
can. You've got to do that if you want to be
one of the *lucky* artists who have good
opportunities.
2. Maintain Your Voice! Interview with Cari
Cole: Indie artist Cari Cole's nationally
distributed CD earned a spot on the 2004
Grammy Nominations Ballot for Best Female Pop
Vocal Performance. Her sought after Manhattan
voice studio boasts 4 time Grammy winner
Donald Fagen of Steely Dan among thousands of
other successful signed and unsigned artists
on their roster of students. I asked Cari for
some tips for taking care of your voice if
you're a performer and got many. Here's some
of them.
What are some tips to help dryness or to
recover from a smoke filled club? "Use
slippery elm lozenges. Gargle with warm salt
water for 30 seconds 3x before every
rehearsal, singing lesson, performance and
recording. Even better, make a cup of Throat
Coat tea. Pour a bit into another cup, add
some room temperature water, some salt and
then gargle! The salt moisturizes your throat
and the tea diminishes any inflammation while
giving an extra coating of slippery elm to the
vocal cords! Works wonders right before you
sing. A spoon full of honey moistens the vocal
tract."
What are some other tips for the road?
"Steam for 10 minutes before a
performance. Also run the shower in your hotel
room at night before bed and in the morning to
keep the air moist."
How does food affect the vocals? "Acid
reflux hurts them. Stay away from all
carbonated beverages, caffeine, citrus fruits,
vitamin C, spicy foods, tomato sauce (fresh
tomatoes are okay), eating before bed, eating
before yoga (turning upside down the stomach
acids wash up on the vocal cords). All cause
acid reflux which burn the mucous membrane of
the vocal cords. The result can cause
hoarseness, voice loss and a compromised
range."
What can they do for physical fatigue and/or
if they're sick and have to perform?
"Aerobics - no matter how tired you are
you must move your body and open your lungs.
Jogging, running in place or jumping rope in
your hotel room will improve your vocal
stamina and sound. Eat lightly the day before
and the day of performance. Eating light will
improve your energy. Chicken, fish and
tofu/beans are easy to digest. Noodle soups
give a little extra energy. Fresh juices like
carrot or celery (no orange juice) are also
great sources of energy."
What can singers do for vocal fatigue and/or
hoarseness? "Tense neck and throat
muscles always accompany vocal fatigue and/or
hoarseness. Getting a band mate to rub your
shoulders and neck muscles will diminish this
tension and help to restore your voice. For a
deeper effect use a mentholated balm made by
Sunrider or Tiger balm. I teach my singers
self-~massages that are simple to apply (on
her website) Before your tour, get
professional voice lessons and learn the
correct techniques to avoid injury! Keep in
mind too that your speaking voice could be
ruining your singing voice on the road! Using
your speaking voice correctly will save your
singing voice!"
Visit Cari's website (http://www.caricolevoicestudios.com)
to get more tips for keeping your vocals in
the best shape possible. I couldn't fit
everything here. In the next issue I'll have
more pointers from a vocal doctor. Your throat
is part of your instrument and you must
maintain it in top form!
3. My Music Seminar Updates: My next
seminar is Start & Run Your Own Record
Label on Saturday, February 26, 2005 from 11
am - 5:30 PM at The New Yorker Hotel, on the
NW corner of 34th Street & Eighth Avenue.
The seminar is $95 in advance or $115 at the
door. http://www.daylle.com/seminar.html
Credit cards can be used on my website or the
payment can be mailed to:
Revenge Productions
PO Box 8016, FDR Station
New York, NY 10150
This will be the only private seminar I do
this year. I am available for speaking for
others who put the event together, like the
one I did for VLA. As usual, there will be
guest speakers. I'm expecting someone from
DiscMakers to talk about manufacturing. Also
confirmed are Wallace Collins, Music Attorney
and Patrick Arn, founder of Gotham Records. I
met Patrick years ago when he took one of my
first classes. I interviewed him for the first
edition of Start & Run Your Own Record
Label because he did such great things with
his label. I'm excited to have him share his
wisdom with those of you who attend.
4. Raising Money Alternatives - part one: I'm
regularly asked about how to get people to
invest in your music. There are no easy
answers. It helps to be in as many places as
possible. Exposure can attract fans with
money! Some people put ads in biz
publications, like the Wall Street Journal or
Crain's. If you get interest from someone, you
must have some ammo to convince them that your
music is worth investing in. Before you go to
anyone for money, enhance your profile. Do the
ground work to make it look like you've got
something besides good music. Getting
publicity can encourage a potential investor
to touch their checkbook. Getting written up
can look more impressive than a nice CD. You
should be doing everything you can to get into
publications, no matter what your goal. It
shows that people are paying attention. If
you're not ready to get press, you're probably
not ready for an investor. People want to
invest in something attractive. Clips give
them something to hold and share with others
who may be involved. Keep reminding yourself
and your bandmates, "A press kit without
press isn't impressive."
5. Interview with Lisa O'Kane: Lisa
O'Kane is an Americana roots country artist
who has an established a touring and recording
career independently in Europe. Earlier, she
got married, had two girls and devoted herself
to being a wife and mother. When her oldest
daughter was eight she decided to make a
record. "Just for the heck of it!"
Lisa's friend sent her first album, "am i
too blue," to a European country
publication, Country Music People UK, and it
got the spotlight album and a five-star
review. She did her first European tour at the
beginning of 2003.
How did you get to where you are now? "I
started sending the album to other
publications, where I also received great
reviews. Then I hired a publicist, Martha
Moore. We sent the record out to European
radio stations and they all loved it. Three
years later, "am i too blue" is
still playing all over Europe."
What motivated you to do this independently?
"I didn't know very much about the record
business. It was just great working with
Martha and watching all the playlists and
reviews come in. The first year was just about
that. After having about eight months of
airplay in Europe, fans started asking when I
was coming over so they could see me
personally. Martha has great contacts with the
European DJ's and I was invited to perform on
television in Holland in January 2003. There
was also a music conference in France going on
(MIDEM) at the same time and a Spanish DJ (Lluis
Sala) was interested in organizing a tour for
me so...we combined everything into one
trip."
How big is country music in Europe and other
countries? "Oh my God - it's huge! They
love country music. They all still line dance
and one of the venues in Switzerland made up a
special dance for me. They love all kinds of
country music and particularly like Americans,
so I consider myself lucky to have such a
captive audience when I'm there. I've
performed in Holland, France, Spain,
Switzerland and Germany, from small clubs to
ancient beautiful concert halls to large
festivals."
Has your music been licensed? "My first
album was recently licensed in the
Scandinavian countries and I'm doing a tour
there. They found me from the airplay I'd been
receiving there and all the press review
stuff. They emailed and I negotiated my own
deal."
What's helped your success? "I made a
good record, hired a great publicist and great
producer. I make sure to surround myself with
good musicians who play for the music, not for
the money. My opinion has always been 'you get
what you pay for.' Everyone wants something
for free or wants everyone to work for really
cheap."
What's it like to be independent? "If you
go independent, be ready to work your ass off!
It's a lot of work but I've certainly gained
an education that perhaps I would not have if
someone else was doing it. Besides, I have
total control, therefore I can't blame anyone
but myself if something doesn't go right or
get done. I was offered a label deal last year
and didn't take it. I didn't see that they
were going to offer anything better than I
hadn't already done myself. I think my new
album may cause a stir however so I'm
open."
What's your best advice? "I expose myself
regularly to every opportunity that arises as
an artist and good things always seem to come
of it. The more exposure you have the better.
I believe in what I am doing and I work really
hard. People come up and congratulate me on my
success and usually say something like 'you
must be making a lot of money'. If I were in
this for the money, I'd quit. There are
different measures of success and the fact
that I've come this far in just over two years
is amazing. My favorite saying is 'I have
problems of abundance' and I wouldn't trade
them for anything."
Amen!!! When you do what you love, you are
very rich. Lisa has learned to balance having
a family and a music career well. When I
interviewed her, she was mainly developing her
career overseas. Her new album was recently
released and is already getting a buzz here.
Lisa has been touring her home state of
California and continues to market her music
in Europe as well. http://www.lisaokane.com
6. Minding Your Music Biz: If you can
afford it, give out CD samplers in areas near
an upcoming gig. I was excited when indie
artist Marly Hornik says she get them for 55
cents each at Media Services CD and DVD
Manufacturing (www.Mediaomaha.com). I called
and spoke to the company's founder, Jim Pettid.
He says these are bulk CDs that come without a
jacket, though you can have info on them.
Plain, paper sleeves run about five cents
each. Samplers are great grass roots
promotional tools. You can bring them into a
non-traditional outlets that fans of your
music may shop in, like skate shops and
clothing stores. Be creative. You can give CDs
away to promote that you're playing. Many
record stores will give them out.
7. Ask Daylle: If I'm going after a
record deal, do I really need a top notch
recording?
Yes, Yes Yes!! Some people will tell you it's
not necessary. There are definitely A & R
people who can recognize talent on a rough
demo. But many can't, or don't want to. I
always believe in putting your best foot
forward. There's so much more competition
today than ever before. Anyone with a computer
can get software and record music. That's why
you want to make people listen by giving them
the best recording possible. You can still
refer to it as a demo, so they can try to
imagine your music with more money behind it.
: )
8. Music for our troops: I recently
learned about Operation Gratitude, an
organization that sends thousands of care
packages on a regular basis throughout the
year to our troops. I contacted Carolyn
Blashek, who runs it and she would definitely
love to receive CDs to send to them. You send
donations to California and they get them
overseas. If you want to send your CDs to
someone protecting our country far from home,
the address is below. Letters are encouraged
too. I'd recommend putting a letter with each
CD so the recipient knows who you are.
If any of you have contacts at the major
labels, please pass this info to them or let
me know. I've made some calls but it's hard to
get straight answers. I feel very strongly
about helping to brighten the life of someone
serving in the military in these hard times.
Remember, what goes around really does come
back to you!
They need lots of things besides CDs. Since
postage for each package averages $15-20, you
can also make a small donation of a check
payable to Operation Gratitude (sent to the
address provided below) or by credit card
through PayPal from the Operation Gratitude
website). Money donations are tax deductible.
In addition, they need the following items to
include in the care packages:
New DVDs, CDs and players; Disposable Cameras;
AT&T Prepaid Calling Cards
Handheld games, Puzzles, Word Game and
Crossword books
Commercially wrapped individual packets of
Trail Mix, Beef Jerky, Nuts,
Cookies, Energy Bars, Sunflower Seeds, Candy
Ready To Eat Tuna or Chicken Salad kits; Boxes
of Girl Scout Cookies
Packets of Powdered Hot and Cold Beverages
Commercially sealed Lip Balm; Individual
packets of moist towelettes
Packets of Stationary (Holiday Greeting Cards)
Novelty Items, Beanie Babies, Yo-Yos, etc.
Knit Hats and Gloves,
Travel Size containers of Foot Powder; Tobacco
Products
Unsealed personal cards and letters
Send everything to:
Operation Gratitude
16444 Refugio Road
Encino, California 91436
Direct any questions to: Carolyn Blashek,
cblashek@aol.com. This is the season of
giving. I ask each of you to see if you can
send something. If you have kids, consider a
drive in their school. This org is legit. I've
checked them out. While you're home enjoying
the holidays with friends and family, many
thousands of Americans are far from home and
in dangerous situations. Please open your
hearts! You can learn more about them at
http://www.opgratitude.com
Ferdinand Foch said, "The most powerful
weapon on earth is the human soul on
fire." When you do something for just the
money, the fire is dim. As you begin the new
year, find ways to stoke your fire. Take some
gigs that excite you, even if they don't pay
much. If you're not happy with your present
course, take a risk and try a new direction.
You only have one life. Don't let your fire
get dim in an effort to conform, or because
you're scared to let it expand. If you have no
fire, you're just passing time. Don't waste
precious time! When you're on fire, you're
motivated to work hard and do what's necessary
to reach your goals. When the fire of passion
burns brightly in your soul, you'll experience
true happiness. I know because I've found it.
: ) I wish you all a prosperous new year.
Until the next issue.....
Keep your passion strong,
Daylle
© 2004 Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
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