Read This Before You Join a Band!: My Life as a Touring and Session Musician

By Michael McManus

Every person who dreams of "making it" doesn't take into account the cold, harsh reality of the music business. Neither do parents, spouses, friends, and other influences, who are undoubtedly instrumental in helping them achieve their goals. During his career, Michael has had many triumphs, but not without hard lessons learned. His successes with international bands, tours, and recordings also came with failed record deals, false promises, and empty hopes (and pockets.) These are just a few of the struggles with which anyone in the music industry is all too familiar.

Read This Before You Join a Band! is a very real look at the everyday life of a working musician. It is a personal tale of Michael's career - the highs and the lows - as he tells you what to capitalize on as well as what to avoid. Whether you're entering the music industry, or if you've been in it for awhile, this book is a valuable resource in helping you prepare for -- and succeed -- in your career.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496913777

Book preview

© 2014 Michael McManus. All rights reserved.

Cover photos, editing, and design: Jen Rachidi and Heather Lindegrin

Photo at the end of the book: Harry Reese

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/02/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1405-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1377-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014909142

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication Page

Prologue

Who Am I?

Promotion

Grassroots Promotion

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Social Media

Communication (Recording, On Stage, and Contracts)

Recording

Lessons Learned: Burbank

On Stage

Contracts

Management Agreements

Money—The Cold, Hard Truth

Finances

Staying Afloat

One-on-One with Jared Weeks

Promotion

Communication (Recording)

Communication (Onstage)

Communication (Contracts)

Money

Fitness on the Road

Q&A

Road Journals

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Dedication Page

This book is dedicated to you—you who have stars in your eyes. May you continue to see stars, just not through rose-colored glasses. May you continue to see stars, just armed with a little more knowledge about what your future holds. May you continue to see stars until you land among them. You’ll get there.

Prologue

Moments. There are moments that come in life when you know what you want to do. You finally realize why you have been put here, or what your passion really is. For me, it happened a few different times. Yanni, yes Yanni, was my first musical inspiration. I heard a song by him in my fifth grade art class and was blown away. From there, I went and saw him in concert a little while later, my eyes fixated on his drummer, Joel Taylor. That was my first moment when I knew I wanted to play drums and moreover, make a living in the music industry. The next happened a few years later. Over the course of those few years, I got into heavier music. Namely, Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc. I went and saw Linkin Park and their opening act, Mudvayne, at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN and remember standing there, utterly fixated on the stage, dreaming about one day being up there. That was my second moment. After seeing this show, I bought a book called The Real Deal: How to Get Signed to a Record Label. I opened it up and began writing my goals on the inside flap, crossing them off as I achieved them or as they changed, due to various circumstances. For instance, one says, Everyone in the band must want it as bad as I do, and must give 100%. Underneath it, I wrote the name of a band I was in, only to cross it off later because they did not want it as bad as I did. So, I quit and moved on. Other points that I have written include, I want to be in a signed band (I later crossed off want to and replaced with will), I will make a living off of music and down at the bottom (in all of it’s unedited glory), 100%, NEVER give up, can’t imagine another way of living w/out living your dream.

Another moment was years later, right before I joined Breaking Point. At the time, I was the drum tech for their drummer, Zeke Dauner. I had always wanted to play the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival and although I was trying to hold it together as his tech, it hurt. I wanted to be up there playing. That night, The Killers were the headlining band. I stood on the back of the stage as the lights were down and the crowd was growing louder. I stood on the back of the stage as the band members walked up and assumed their various positions (I even shamelessly pulled the guitar player aside before this and said, If you guys are ever looking for a drummer, call me! Yes, he took my number. No, I never heard from him). I had my

Reviews for Read This Before You Join a Band!

[Fact Checker · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I staffed Memphis in May '05. Michael, a "roadie for a day" helped Breaking Point set up gear. They went on to tour heavily for 2 yrs. Michael was not part of their tours. When their final record and tour cycle was done, the band ended. Their agent had 2-3 shows available and Michael filled in for those few shows. So, no...he was never an official band member, nor did he "tour" with Breaking Point.