2Much4ATitle: Venezuela Rocks!

Hi guys, Ganesh here =)

I'm really sorry for not posting anything yesterday...or the day before yesterday...nor the day before that one ._.

It's just that i didn't think i would be this busy with school! The year's just starting, and i already have lots of homeworks, plus my band, and...i met a girl =). But we'll talk about that some other day.

Anyways, lately, i've been practicing a lot with my band after a long break, and it's been awesome. I play the guitar, and the thing i enjoy the most is playing it with other musician, or friends, it's just so fun, so relaxing and you might actually end up coming with something cool!

That's why i decided to talk a bit about bands today.

My band is really more of a hobby for me, but it still is a huge responsability, and a lot of hard work. I'm not saying we are an awesome-famous band, either, but i thought it might be helpful if i shared my experience with you, and if you share your's with me.

Before you think of starting a band, you should really practice a lot and feel "ready" for having a band. Playing with someone else, is waay harder than playing by yourself, and playing with a whole band (Singer, drummer, Bassist and maybe a keyboard) can get even harder.

When we created our band (it is made from a group of my closest friends, who also happen to play instruments), we were all begginners (cept for the drummer, who was and is still a pro xD). We gathered around 4, or 5 times, but we just weren't ready for it, our musical skills weren't good enough.

So, suddenly, the band died, we just never mentioned it again, never played together again, we just stopped. Almost a year later, a girl from school was throwing a huge party, and thinking we still had a band, she asked us to play in her party. When she told us, we just looked at each other confused, but then said "yes".

After that, we were really scared! we had no idea of why we accepted, and the party was in exactly 7 days!.


My band's logo.

But i'm not going to tell you the whole story of the craziest 7 days on my life, just that after practicing like crazy, the party got cancelled due to some problems among the hosts. Yeah, you can imagine our dissapointment. Tho the next day we realized, that it was the best that could have happened, the band was reborn, and we practiced so much that we all improved both our individual and band skills! Anyways, my point is, that before starting a band you should know that (Even if it's just a hobby or for fun) it's a huge responsability, and real hard work. There's also something else, in order to succeed in a band, you have to have good relations with the other members, your songs will sound as good as the relations among the members. Of course, there's going to be trouble, you're going to fight every once in a while, disagree, and even get mad at each other! but in the end, you'll need to learn how to deal with those differences, and use them for the good of the band. Remenber, you are not playing alone, you're playing with a whole band, and you'll need to adapt to the way they play and sound, just like the will have to adapt to you.

After you have your band and practiced a lot, you should start looking for your own style, your unique sound. At the start we just did lots of covers, then composed a variety of styles (sometimes we played punk, sometimes hard-core, sometimes alternative...) until we found our true "sound". I'd reccomend to avoid labeling yourself and your band as a specific style, just, play, and play, and write and compose until you find out what's your sound. Then, let the "fans" decide what your band is.

If you want to get a bit more serious with the band, i'd suggest creating a facebook profile. Let's face it, almost everyone has a facebook. Post a song or two there with some news, and see how people will slowly join. When you have a decent amount of fans, then maybe it's time for a myspace (or a blog!).

And if you want to get even more serious, then start playing in small parties (usually held by one of your friends) there, you can experience how it feels like playing on a stage with an audience. A band is not just about the music, but also about the way you act on the stage, the way you dress matters too. You can use these small parties to try different things and see how people reacts. Then you can try school festivals, bigger parties (When people ask you to play at bigger parties or event, they will usually start to offer you money. Don't expect huge amounts tho, remenber, you're not Aerosmith, and you won't be paid with just money, but also with "reputation".)

I don't know about other countries, but in Venezuela, the best way for bands to succeed and become famous is by participating (and winning) a "New bands" festival. Usually held by some malls. There's almost always an agent from a studio or a radio station, who (if you're lucky enough) will contact you after the show, and ask for your number. Then, you might actually get signed! from then on, just practice everyday, and record as much as you can.

And well, here's the music video of "Sanitarios" from the venezuelan band "Caramelos de Cianuro" (Cyanide candy, on english)

I hope you guys like em, and if you do, support them!