Contributors
Brendan Benson on starting a label and embracing the DIY ethos
With seven full-length albums under his belt (five solo and two with the Raconteurs), BRENDAN BENSON is no stranger to the inner workings of the music business. Which is why, after more than a decade in the biz, he decided to take control of the recording process and release his own music through his own […]
The Dirty Spot #5: The Ups And Downs Of Playing Keys In A Band
When the Venetia Fair lost their original keyboardist about four years ago, I was playing guitar in a band that I had been in for about four years. Benny (TVF's vocalist) and I had been hanging out daily, so I mentioned to him that I might be interested in joining. I toyed around with the […]
The Dirty Spot #4: The Venetia Fair's Joe Brown on Reno, NV
Throughout high school, I always played guitar in hardcore, punk or metal bands. All of my friends were in the heavy music scene, so naturally I was too. I went to hardcore shows almost every weekend. I can't count how many bands I was in before playing keys in the Venetia Fair. I'm not a […]
Devin Oliver of I See Stars on growing up and achieving his dreams
Twenty is an odd age. I feel so young, but the fact is I’m not anymore. I believe all the changes bring out my imperfections, and I struggle to understand where my younger characteristics end and my adult ones begin. It's especially weird for me because I was always the youngest one on the tour […]
The Dirty Spot #3: The Venetia Fair's Joe Brown on The Van Down By The River
Off-days on tour usually go one of two ways. They can be excruciatingly boring, spent in a van on a long drive or in a Wal-Mart parking lot, or they can be surprisingly fun if someone is able to find a place to hang out. That can be someone's house, a pool or a park. […]
Tyler "Telle" Smith of the Word Alive on cherishing your loved ones
I planned on writing about a different subject for this blog, however I received a phone call from my aunt last night who told me my mom was admitted to the hospital. I'm currently waiting on the results from her MRI, so hopefully by next week I will have great news. Hearing about this put […]
Tyler "Telle" Smith of the Word Alive on staying positive when surrounded by negativity
The Word Alive are currently on the All Stars Tour with a plethora of other top-level metalcore acts trekking across the country. While on the road, frontman Tyler “Telle” Smith will be keeping AP up-to-date on his musings about life. First off, I have to say thank you for all of the positive responses to […]
Journalism Ethics 101: What not to do when you call a band a white power group
Yesterday, Lonnie Nasatir, Director of the Anti-Defamation League's Upper Midwest Region, wrote this opinion piece for CNN.com about white power music. The article was a response to Sunday’s shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple which many have labeled a hate crime. (The shooter Wade Page was in two white supremacist bands.) In the article, Nasatir […]
The Dirty Spot #1: The Venetia Fair's Joe Brown on the ups and downs of pursuing a musician's career
Being a smaller band that didn't get the immediate success of the slew of bands that have gained semi-stardom in the scene can be tough. My bandmates (in the Venetia Fair) and I have seen countless bands with the same cookie-cutter song writing formulas, the same nasally high pitch singing, and the same br00tal frontman […]
Phil Labonte of All That Remains on the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms
When PHILIP LABONTE, lead singer of ALL THAT REMAINS, wrote an Op-Ed for AP on the right to bear arms, last week’s shooting in Colorado had not yet happened. The Op-Ed was set to run in an upcoming issue. However, in light of the horrific events, Labonte revised his column in order to address last week’s […]
Tyler "Telle" Smith of The Word Alive on his ethos as a frontman
So you think you want to be a rock star? I mean, why not? It seems glorious: the endless nights of partying, the girls, the screaming fans. Is that really what you want? Is that why you want to be a musician? For me, it's far different. I grew up going to a small school […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman on coping skills and perfectionism
A recent issue with a number of my clients lately has been that they seem to be creating their own problems. It occurred to me that it’s kind of a universal theme and that to some extent, we all do it. So, I’m going to generalize a bit about how sometimes it’s human nature to […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman: Update On The Movement/Why Some People Suck So Much
I feel the need to address the reaction to the last column before moving on to this weeks’ subject. When I decided to write about starting a movement, what I anticipated was that some people would leave comments at the bottom saying “yeah…that’s a pretty good idea, you should do that.” I figured I’d read […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman: Let's Start a Movement
I’m a firm believer in synchronicity. When a number of seemingly disparate things happen at the same time it makes me think that it happened for a reason and that they are ultimately connected. Late last week I had this happen and it definitely encouraged me to take this column off the page (um…screen) […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman on the prescription drug abuse epidemic
The latest epidemic in terms of drug abuse/addiction that’s going on right now starts in everybody’s medicine cabinet. I’m going to discuss how out of control prescription drug use currently is, using the examples of stimulants and benzodiazapenes. My big problem with stimulants right now is the strange belief that suddenly if there is anything […]
Craig Owens (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows) on jaded musicians and fans
These days I see so many jaded musicians living amongst the world of rockers and it truly bums me out. It’s not that I had never seen these people before, as I grew up in the music scene of Flint, Michigan–where “jaded” is considered borderline positive. These musicians are jaded for a number of reasons, […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman on the three characteristics of addiction
Apparently the last column had a pretty big impact. Judging by all the emails I’ve gotten and the feedback from the editors at AP, they have asked me to do this column on a biweekly basis. I am now questioning the judgment of the editors of AP. The inmates are apparently running the asylum. As […]
We Liked You Better Fat: Confessions Of A Pariah
There’s this really nice piece at underthegunreview.net by Jacob Tender that a friend forwarded me today. It’s about how important Fall Out Boy’s album “From Under the Cork Tree,” was to him. After reading it though, nostalgic and well-written as it was, I really found myself more depressed than anything. It’s a complicated feeling, one […]
Stop The Hate, And Rise Above It
Hate is nothing new to me. I have been dealing with it all my life. I was attacked mentally and physically starting at a young age. I remember being the punk kid at summer camp and trying to sleep with my eyes open because my cabin mates would beat me while I was sleeping. However, […]
Musician life coach Dave Sherman on what makes artists abuse drugs and alcohol
Who the hell is Dave Sherman and why was he asked to be a monthly columnist in AP? Good question. I’m a sober/life coach for touring musicians. You don’t know that I’ve spent the last five years working with roughly half a dozen artists that have appeared on the cover of this magazine. No, I […]
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