Taking action is so awesome.

Our mini-album release performance in February 2010.

In my last two posts, I wrote about taking the driver’s seat and grasping control of my career and artistic direction. It is has been an amazing ride in the recent four to six months for my bandmates and me (and it’s just starting ).

In my last post on November 25, 2009, I wrote the following goals for our band:

1. Break the 1,000 fans mark on our Facebook page.
2. Hit the radio airwaves.
3. Release our own album next year.

Well, guess what?  No. 2 and no.3 are done.  We released our first mini-album on February 10, 2010 and as a result, we’ve been featured on two major radio interview shows. Check and check.  Goal no. 1 is in the process of being completed (I forecast completion in two days max); at the time of this writing, we are looking at 947 fans (and that number shot up from 774 fans within 48 hours due to a TV show appearance we did two days ago).

On national TV earlier this month.

The fact that I am mentioning all these figures and accolades are not for showing off or asking you to bow down to us. :p  Not at all!  I just feel compelled to write this post today simply to tell you that if you: 1. make goals and commit to them, 2. take action on your passionate ideas, and 3. stay consistently fervent on achieving what you set out to achieve, … you’re going to see some pretty phenomenal results.  I kid you not.

Since October of last year, our band has achieved many of the landmarks that a ‘signed-and-backed-by-a-huge-label-band’ achieves with only the smarts, courage, and passion of a few stubbornly hopeful individuals.

Some crowning achievements:

1. Getting radio airplay
2. Going on a major TV show
3. Winning a nationwide songwriting contest
4. Releasing an album
5. Getting accepted to perform at the Woodstock 2010 of Taiwan (Spring Scream)

What’s even more inspiring is that we’re actually making profit from our ventures because we are literally our own bosses (i.e. no big brother entertainment agency snatching a huge chunk of our income).  One thing that I’ve learned more than anything is the importance of a strong movement.  And by that I mean the friends and family that help build the fundamental roots to uplift a product (in this case, our band Cool Silly).  We have such amazing support from our close friends and it is truly indescribably touching just knowing that they are there for us. So, special thanks to all of you guys and gals!!!

And as usual, some upcoming goals for the band to be completed within the next 6 months:

1. Sell 500 mini-albums (on our way)
2. Shoot a music video
3. Surpass the 2,000 fans mark on our Facebook page
4. Perform in China (in the works)

If you’ve read this far in to the entry, I read somewhere once that goals are dreams with deadlines and that a goal without a deadline is just a wish. Bottom line: Take action on your passionate ideas!   Set goals with deadlines and stay committed!  If you come up with cool ideas and halfass execute them, you are simply wasting your time.  Go full throttle!!!  You will be on your way to awesomeness in no time!  I leave you with a nice quote:

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all.

Now GO!

Upon request by a few of my readers, I’ve decided to post an entry about how to record music with a computer. I have been recording music in the form of vocals, live instruments, and synthesizers for well over ten years. I started when I was 12 years old by recording on a dual cassette deck boombox with my parents’ karaoke microphone (good times). Today, the power of technology has enabled any one of us to set up a decent recording platform in the comfort of our homes at a very affordable price. For instance, if you sing and play the acoustic guitar, you could record decent quality demos of your songs with a microphone and recording machine at the cost of less than USD$200. This was definitely not the case ten years ago.

Here is a basic visual of my recording setup along with the prices of the individual components:

There are four primary components that you will need to record decent quality music with your computer:

1. Whatever it is you want to record (e.g. guitar, vocals, synth, drums, strings)
2. Recording hardware
3. Computer
4. Recording software

Explanation:

To understand this setup easier, try to imagine a river between the Yamaha synthesizer and the Mac Mini computer in the above image. In order to travel from synth to computer, you must cross a bridge that is the Mbox2 Mini recording hardware. Still don’t get it? Then think of the keyboard at the top as a Japanese speaker and the computer at the bottom as a Spanish speaker. The recording hardware between them is the translator that will enable the two devices to communicate.

The Pro Tools software on the computer is the interface you use to record music. The software interface usually consists of several tracks like this:

One key point to remember is that there are many, many alternatives to the products used in the setup above. For instance, the synthesizer can be replaced by any instrument or microphone:

Also, there are several choices for the type of brand you would like to use for the recording hardware, computer, etc. Below is a list of some choices for each part of the recording setup:

Synthesizer:

• Yamaha Motif – great string sounds, interface is harder to use right off the bat but very powerful
• Korg Triton – great synth sounds
• Roland Fantom – great organ and piano sounds
• Alesis Micron – great fat synth sounds

Recording Hardware:

• Digidesign Mbox
• M-Audio Fast Track
• Alesis iO
• Edirol UA

Computer:

• Apple (OS X)
• Dell (Windows)
• Toshiba (Windows)
• HP (Windows)

Software:

• Nuendo – MIDI and wave recording
• Pro Tools – MIDI and wave recording
• Fruity Loops – MIDI recording
• Propellerhead Reason – MIDI recording
• Logic Pro – MIDI and wave recording

Obviously, there is ongoing debate about which of the above products are most superior. But it really boils down to your personal taste and the type of music you are creating. Some people love Pro Tools for its simple interface, others love Nuendo for its amazing plugin sounds. And of course we have Apple fanboys and loyal Windows users. There is so much out there in terms of tools and sounds. I advise you to start with the basics (a cheap setup), and work your way up. At least that’s the way I did it. In the meantime, keep researching and stay up-to-date with the latest information and products. That way, when you are ready to upgrade your setup, you know exactly what you want and how much it will cost you.

Good luck!

I’ve been thinking about the path to becoming a successful musician. I’m sure a lot of aspiring musicians are thinking about this 24-7. After some contemplation, here are Tony’s 5 steps to musical fame:

1. Work your ass off and become good excellent at whatever it is that you do. This is where passion kicks in. If it’s guitar, take lessons and practice many hours a day. If it’s singing, your vocal chords should be on your mind 24-7.
2. Get your name out there. Start performing. Tell your network of friends. Keep performing. Distribute your music.
3. Get noticed and signed by a good company/agent. Sign a contract with a solid company and have them invest in marketing your music. This is a pivotal point. Basically, you are looking for $$$.
4. Write hit stuff and become successful. The catalyst. A combination of luck and hard work. Get a hit out there. Become famous.
5. Sustain success. Self-explanatory.

That’s pretty much it Short and simple. #4 is key. Working your tail off touring and getting signed by some company is not too difficult as long as your persistent. But #4 is hard to control. It’s up to the public and whether the pieces fall in place for you.

I guess this applies to getting your startup noticed (or acquired by Google) somewhat too…