I think you have to present yourself as being unique in someway first and foremost if you're looking to secure a niche in the market. And that can be anything from the way you dress, the way you play, your image as a person, the way you speak... etc etc.
I've seen plenty of people who have an incredible personality and can't play a lick of music, and they work non stop doing something or another. Of course my advice is not going to be just work on your people skills and forget about the music, I think you need a healthy balance of all things to find work and be hirable.
I work on the bass playing side of things on a daily basis so my chops are in shape constantly, and that way I maintain some musical consistency in my playing. Along with the playing side of things I'm constantly writing, arranging and composing so I'm working on my voice as an individual within music too. I think this has been the biggest help to advancing in the industry no matter what direction it is. People start to recognize me for me, and not just as a name on a list of bass players somewhere.
I think the human side of it is really the foundation of your musical personality, and that's ultimately what draws people to you as a musician or a writer. There is no quick fix to conquering the human interaction side of the music industry, you just have to get out there and meet people and find your place.
Something that was told to me at a very early stage in my musical career/education when I was about 16 was this:
I had a trio playing jazz tunes, and even a couple of songs we'd written together. I had only been playing for a couple of months, but I'd been inspired in such a huge way by Laurence Cottle (
www.laurencecottle.com) that I had gotten into the music as fast as I possibly could. This trio with a piano player and drummer I had met at a jam session got the opportunity to play an opening set for a piano player's trio that we all admired greatly. The guy's name, in case anyone is interested, is Robin Aspland. Great piano player living and working in London. So we go there to the gig, all excited to get to play this little 30 min set before robin's gig. We play the gig, all goes great, and Robin is sitting right there in the front row watching everything. Then we swap places and listen to his gig for an hour or so. Afterwards, we're hanging in the dressing room or somewhere talking and so on... and all we can think about is playing with this guy robin. we wanted to play in his trio, or jam with him, anything. We were just huge fans and loved the way the guy played. So we each say something to this effect to him like "hey robin, you know.... if you're bass player can't make it ever.... I would love the opportunity to play for you...." etc etc. all very respectful, and humble and everything. Then he comes out with what I think is possibly the best piece of advice anyone has ever given me (not that I knew it then of course....) which is: "why??" "why would you want to play my music and promote me when you have your own thing going on?" He was basically saying that we were doing something far more important by having our own sound, music and identity, than anything we could be doing playing for him. And that the best plan of action as he could see it was to continue being ourselves, writing our own music, and playing as a unit.
I didn't get the significance of this until much later in life, but he couldn't have been more spot on with that advice.
To have a crew of people around you that bring out the best in each other is one of the strongest aspects of a performance you can have. An audience instinctively knows when there is positive energy coming off a stage from a good performance by people who get on well and know each other. And that becomes something totally unique when the audience transfers that energy back to you, enhancing your performance and pushing you to great heights because of it.
I have a crew of people for all aspects of my musical pursuits. You should have good lawyers and managers for the business side of things, great musicians to be around to perform your music and communicate with you on and off the stage, and I also have a crew for productions too. I have some of the best tracking, mixing and mastering engineers that NYC has to offer, studios I know inside out, rental companies for vintage gear, musicians who work great together in the studio, and writing and production partners for various styles of music.
It doesn't happen overnight and you have to start very small in the beginning. But the more you put yourself out there, and the more you meet people who are thinking on a similar wavelength to you, the stronger your network, your music, and your life/career are going to become.
And I don't think it ever stops either. I know that I spent more time checking out shows and new musicians 10 years ago, and now I don't have so much time in my schedule to commit to listening to new music. But I'm as hungry for it as I ever was, and any chance I get I'll check out a new musician, band, songwriter, producer etc etc..... because it's that new crop of people that arrive somewhere every month of the year that keep the music industry young and alive. To aspire to be a part of that is the first step in the right direction. To aspire to create and innovate within the realm of music and art will provide you with steps forward for the rest of your life.
Easy,
Janek
