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Bosco Coonstantine
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 9
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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject: I finally have a few minutes to actually post = ) |
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Hey gang - figured I would stop in and stay hi finally after being on SL for a whopping 3 weeks now.
I came to SL just to check it out and found a wonderful out for a career that I didn't think I could have in RL due to RL commitments. I have played for over 12 years touring (not soloing) and always wanted to mess with my own music as any musician does. So my second day on SL I checked out the live entertainment while I was looking for a SL "job" and it hit me what I could do with this game. Since I have a break from touring and playing I figured this was a great chance to get some of my original stuff out the box and write some new stuff at the same time. Currently I'm writing a song a week (3 in the bag so far) based solely on my experiences in SL written from my Avitar's perspective. I found early on i needed to mix it up with some covers so my show is about 50-50 now.
I started out just doing acoustic sets but when I follow up a kariokee style performer it KILLS me that my sound is "empty" compared to the overproduced tracks some people are doing. So I'm going into my studio and playing my natural instruments give everything back tracks (drums and bass).
All of my fees and tips from SL go to a school in Africa for scholorships for youth to attend school. It costs $600 a year for them to attend and there is no public schools there so it is a great cause. I met too many start kids tat just needed someone to teach them. It is a great cause a few musicians and I support in RL and its a great way to get the word out on SL as well.
Hmmm, don't blog much so I guess since you are musicians I will tell you I have my own studio I do recording out of with a 26 channel console, 20 piece kit, 2 basses (5 and 4 stings), 2 acoustics, 2 electrics and some keys i never use lol. All that being said I have a dedicated stream and computer just for SL music so if anyone wants to jam I'm virtually lag free and would love to colab if you have time.
I made the mistake of hiring a manager to get me gigs in front of as many people as possible to get my name out there and she was a total noob and waisted my time and my $L. I played my first gig the 3rd day I was on SL and its been crazy ever since with bookings nightly and sometime 4 and 5 in a day.
Lastly I'm opening up a private club called the Boondock Saint that is just for promoting musicians in a small intimate unplugged setting. It reminds me alot of the places I played when I grew up in New Orleans so feel free to stop and check it out. It was a blast building. So thats it... long hello but I plan on being here for a good while and even playing a few gigs while i'm out on the road the next tour which will be a blast I think. Below is the standard spam of marketing. I got a few samples on Myspace that i threw up there just to stop giving private gigs to every venue owner paranoid to book me when I first got here. Google calendar has all my gigs for your planning pleasure. Thanks for reading and see you around!
BoscoConstantine@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/boscoconstantine
Google Calendar
http://www.google.com/calendar/em...l.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles |
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Zak Claxton
Joined: 16 Oct 2007
Posts: 2008
Location: Podul/33/243/154/
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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Welcome! 
And great first post.
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Norris Shepherd
Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 324
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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Howdy Bosco. THink I heard you at the pranksters one night.. pretty sure.
I'm sure i'll hear you again if you've been playing like crazy. lol
Welcome to the forum, happy postings and readings. |
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ticious
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Posts: 2119
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Howdy Bosco, and welcome!! I haven't caught your show yet, but I think one of my biz partners was telling me about you recently (she was impressed and that's not always easy to do  )
I'll make a point of catchng you inworld soon!!! Meantime, settle in, snoop the forum for anything you might find helpful and informative, and if you have time/inclination to post about your newb experiences which might benefit other newbs, feel free to post it!!
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Joy is in the ears that hear
- Saltheart Foamfollower
- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant |
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Bosco Coonstantine
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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I know I've seen your Norris once for sure.
About the noob thing... I have to say the biggest thing going for me so early in being as successful is I have RL experience in starting at the bottom. So I learned alot of lessons doing that in RL and have that "if I had it all over to do knowing what I know now" kinda thing going.
The biggest mistake I made was hiring a manager to get me more gigs and to work the music scene. I was going from open mics to regular gigs to pretty big fee based gigs in the span of 4-5 days so SL was becoming a business and not the fun i wanted it to be. She oversold herself and didn't have any connections and after 6 days it really showed. But I lost alot of networking I should have done myself. In the RL you hire a manager who usually takes your 20% and works their butt off to get you gigs otherwise they don't get paid. So I would still like a manager to handle marketing but for right now I'm just logging in everyday answering IMs and booking myself.
It would be nice if there was a marketing firm in SL that would be able to help. This has been a nice learning experience for sure. |
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ticious
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Posts: 2119
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Bosco Coonstantine wrote: | | The biggest mistake I made was hiring a manager to get me more gigs and to work the music scene. I was going from open mics to regular gigs to pretty big fee based gigs in the span of 4-5 days so SL was becoming a business and not the fun i wanted it to be. She oversold herself and didn't have any connections and after 6 days it really showed. |
This could lead to a GREAT bit of advice for noobs!! There are a lot of good managers in SL who would bring you the contacts you sought and wouldn't run out of gas within the first week. There are also a lot of folks around who think managing a musician means going to gigs and pimping for tips and group joins and don't have a contact or a clue (but gee, don't it look like fun!!!).
How did you get hooked with up this manager (it's obvious you took the wrong route *wink*)? Were they someone who heard you at an open mic and volunteered? Did you answer a classified ad? Did you get references from other musicians or from venues?
As for marketing, that's a really tough nut to crack in SL. It's not that there aren't avenues for marketing, in fact, there are way too many and none of them reaches much of an audience. But there are groups in the SL Music Community, as well as here in the forum, looking at that problem and trying to find a way to solve it. So keep your eye open and be ready to throw your own ideas in the pot!!! You may be new, but sometimes no one sees more clearly than the new kid on the block 
_________________
Joy is in the ears that hear
- Saltheart Foamfollower
- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant |
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Bosco Coonstantine
Joined: 30 May 2008
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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My problem with the manager thing came down to timing. I got slammed so fast that I couldn't see straight. I was planning on taking it slow and finding the right manager (like the one we have in RL is GREAT!) but I didn't see too many managers with acts except the really big ones (max kleene ect.) so I put an ad. I did interview and get references but in the end I desperately needed someone to handle the bookings b/c i went from day to day gigs to 2 weeks full. I didn't know the economy which really hurt me. How much was I worth? What do I ask for? Honestly she did know more than I did about those issues when I first got her. But in the end she could only get open mics and spotty gigs where I was getting rebooks with pretty big fees. She was just along for the ride and wasn't much help at all. The flags were going off when all the venues didn't know her at all.
The other problem with the better managers is they won't touch you if your new. There is a variety of talent on SL and they have the top tier locked up. So in so many words some of the "best" didn't even return my IMs lol. I don't hold it against them at all as they are slammed probably by venues ect. I think after I get a little more settled and my club gets off the ground I'll prob. go into managing a few awesome new acts in SL that wouldn't mind getting some of that ""I was a noob too advice"
Which brings up another issue... I haven't found one manager who is a musician or X musician. They might know the SL scene but having that perspective of how to help a musician get to the next level as a manager is important. I'm lucky to have some RL people occasionally log in to listen to my shows and give me some serious and critical feedback which is why show has gotten better every time out.
I think there is no silver bullet to all this. Your manager should be helping produce gigs YOU could not get on your own. That was my manager's problem. I could have gotten all those gigs myself. Now I have this other person who solely works the Euro venues for me and OMG I get WAY more fees but not as many tips... where the US venues are tip heavy and not so much on the fees. It's interesting to see how the 2 worlds operate. Honestly I've treated them as 2 totally different markets and approached even the set lists different. I wonder if anyone else has seen this pattern? |
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Slim Warrior
Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 248
Location: UK
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Fyrm Fouroux
Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 294
Location: North East of England
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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Just adding my word of welcome here, too, Bosco
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Real life website http://www.lewismusic.co.uk |
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Creola Deledda
Joined: 16 Oct 2007
Posts: 122
Location: Outside Nawlins Louisiana
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:05 am Post subject: |
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| Welcome from da Northshore Bosco. I have heard you play and was impressed! |
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