By Saturday, many of us are moving a bit more slowly than we were on the first day of the NAMM show. Evenings are filled with friends, live music, and a libation – or two. By day three, experienced NAMM attendees have made up a short list of products that we may have heard of from another attendee or read about in the NAMM daily, which is packed with new product announcements.

Peavey AT-200 guitar with on-board Antares Auto-Tune

Peavey AT-200
If you use altered tunings as a key part of your live show, this is something you might want to check out. I headed over to the Peavey booth – actually, it’s more like a large retail store, due to the wide range of music, sound, computer, and hi-tech products the company now manufactures. I had read about the new AT-200 electric guitar with on-board Antares Auto-Tune. I’ll admit, as a multi-decade guitar player capable of keeping my own instrument in tune, I was skeptical of the need for such an invention.

I attended a 5-minute demo that was impressive. Take a pretty standard solid body guitar and add in circuitry so that when the pickups transmit the frequency of each string, it is routed into the Auto-Tune circuit and programmed to always reproduce the proper pitch, E-A-D-G-B-E, of each unfretted guitar string. Peavey’s demo musician detuned each string by a random amount, played it to let us hear how awful it sounded, quipping, “I’m a bass player,” then he clicked on the Auto-Tune and instantly, he had a perfectly in tune guitar without touching a tuning key.

It seemed like a cool novelty. I went over to a side area to play the guitar for myself, mostly out of curiosity, when Peavey Product Manager Michael Smith came over and asked if I had any questions. I chatted with him, and as we talked he mentioned that for players who like to use alternative tunings, the Auto-Tune system could be a real benefit.

He proceeded to demonstrate 2-3 lowered tuning schemes that allowed him to switch between standard guitar tuning and the altered tunings in an instant. In this context, I recognized how this feature was a big plus. Imagine a song with a detuned, dense chordal texture for the verses and choruses, but when it comes time for the solo, switching back to standard tuning for some shredding. Now the AT-200 made perfect sense to me. The DSP software also recognized when I wanted to add my own bends or vibrato with my left hand and didn’t try to “correct” that.

As to the guitar itself, it had good action, sensitive pickups and build quality comparable to any of the five or six brands that make a reliable solid body in the $500 price range. Street price for the AT-200 is $499, and it is due out in July 2012 at Peavey dealers. Like I mentioned, if you use altered tunings, this guitar will allow you to change tunings mid-song and ensure your intonation is always dead on.

Frank Sinatra using a vintage RCA-44 ribbon mic.

Audio-Technica AT4080 ribbon mic.

Audio-Technica’s new ribbon microphone
My next pick is a new ribbon microphone from Audio-Technica, the AT4080. Look back at classic pictures of Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, or Tony Bennett singing in the studio, and you’ll often see an RCA ribbon microphone. Unlike a condenser mic, ribbon mics operate using a thin strip of corrugated aluminum stretched between two poles of a strong magnet, which act as both a diaphragm and voice coil. Vintage ribbon mics are more delicate than a garden-variety dynamic mic since extreme sound pressure levels can distort the aluminum strip or ribbon. However, the reason artists and engineers love ribbon mics is that their sound is often described as smooth, warm, and very musical.

The AT4080 is a standard design ribbon mic, which means it picks up sound bi-directionally. Audio-Technica splurged at the NAMM show and built a sound isolated listening booth where attendees could listen more critically than out on the show floor with a few hundred musicians banging on drums, congas, cowbells, and yes, playing the intro to “Stairway” over and over. Dan Pelletier of AT gave me free rein to listen to my voice, finger snaps, and jingling car keys, three handy sources I’ll use to quickly judge a mic’s tonal range. After testing the AT4080, and comparing it to another Audio Technica mic I know quite well, the 4050 multi-pattern condenser, I’d say the 4080 would be a great addition to any studio, especially for vocals, horns, brass and anything that would benefit from a slightly darker tonal quality.

Unlike the classic ribbon mics of yesterday, the AT4080 has been designed to handle today’s studio and on-stage sound levels, boasting the ability of handling SPL levels of up to 150 dB. (For reference a jet flying overhead at 100’ is 140dB.) It also has an extended frequency range (20-18,000 Hz) when compared to classic ribbons or modern day clones, adding a bit more definition while retaining the buttery sound ribbons are known for. It also operates on standard phantom power, meaning it has active electronics, which gives higher output levels, better matching recording preamps. Current street price is $999.

Dwarfcraft Pedal Creator Ben Hinz.

Eau Claire Thunder pedal
My third pick for my last day of NAMM-venturing, was . . . another stomp box! Down in Hall E, where I kept returning to check out the often outside the box products and their equally interesting inventors, I was struck by a sound reminiscent of the classic Roland Bee-Baa fuzz box I used when I was gigging in the 70s. Once again, I followed my ears and arrived at the Dwarfcraft booth, where inventor and head geek Ben Hinz was riffing using the Eau Clair Thunder pedal.

Like many inventors you’ll meet at NAMM, Ben started by simply building gear he wanted to use himself. He showed his work to a few friends, sold a pedal here or there, and eventually found himself running a company! Ben proceeded to put the Eau Claire Thunder through its paces, wringing an impressive and extensive variety of distortion sounds out of this one pedal. His Time Warp feature adds a diode to the circuit that allows for more tonal range than a standard fuzz box. Additionally, he added a nice touch I hadn’t seen before, a pre-gain or “trim” potentiometer, which can be used to fine tune the input coming into the Tone Blast, which allows you to tweak for high output pickups which can send a stomp box too much gain.

What's all the noise? It's the Eau Claire Thunder, a mighty distortion device.

Quality of build, screen printing and overall sound were all first class on this product and the range of toys that have sprung from Ben’s inventive mind. Highly recommended and well worth the retail price of $275.

It’s over
I left NAMM inspired to spend more time in 2012 making music, a nice side effect of being immersed for three days and nights, along with 95,000 other music lovers, in a sea of innovative and creative musical devices and instruments designed to help any musician fulfill his or her musical dreams. See you next year!

Baton Rouge's L'Angelus, Disc Makers' 2006 Southeast IMWS Finalists, rockin' the PreSonus booth.

Another beauty from B.C. Rich

Inside the Roland Pavilion area - a feast for the eyes and ears.

More Info:
Eau Claire Thunder Video. Watch a demo of the features of the Eau Claire Thunder, courtesy of Pro Guitar Shop
Ribbon Renaissance. From Mix magazine, an article that explores the new breed of ribbon mics.

Read Notes from NAMM 2012: Day 1, Apps, Harpejjis, and Delays.

Read NAMM Notes, Day 2: Vintage Vibe’s Rhodes coup, LouderLogic app, and a DJ revolution in the Emulator DVS

Related posts:

1. Notes from NAMM 2012: Day 1, Apps, Harpejjis, and Delays
2. NAMM Notes, Day 2: Vintage Vibe’s Rhodes coup, LouderLogic app, and a DJ revolution in the Emulator DVS
3. One Day in Gear Heaven – NAMM Blog, Day 1

I switched shoes, from New Balance to Keens, to try to preserve the most abused portion of any tradeshow attendee’s body – da feet. Walking three to four miles on concrete floors day after day takes its toll, but you have to keep up. Each day starts with a massive crush of people trying to beat you into whatever hall you’re trying to explore. OK, what’s on today’s menu?

Vintage Vibes' electric pianos come in a variety of custom colors.

Vintage Vibe
Calling all keyboard players looking for that vintage Fender Rhodes sound! Vintage Vibeis a New Jersey-based keyboard tech firm that has been a mainstay of the tri-state area for 15 years. Having serviced thousands of vintage pianos over the years, the team at Vintage Vibe decided to build their own line of Rhodes-style electric pianos, but “with all the things that players complain about on the original models fixed,” said Bryan Kwasnik, one of the firm’s reps.

Dare I say they took what they had learned from the legendary Rhodes pianos and made them better? The new pianos sound identical to – I should say, sound even better than – the originals. Available in 44-, 64- and 73-key versions, these models cut between 60-100 lbs. from the back-breaking weights of the originals. And while digital samples and emulations of the original classic Rhodes get pretty close, the Vintage Vibe pianos sound perfect. The feel of the keys and the sound, since they use the same tuning fork model, is just what you’d expect from a vintage Rhodes, but with 21st century builds. Ranging in price from $2,500 for the 44-key version to $3,800 for the 73-key model, they aren’t exactly an entry level product, but if you want the real deal, this is it.

A look under the hood at Vintage Vibes' NAMM model.

LouderLogic
Ever been frustrated when listening in “random mode” on your portable music player, and you have to jack up the volume of a quiet piece, only to be blown out of your ear buds on the next selection? Enter McDSP (McDowell Signal Processing), a plug in company from Silicon Valley that has a wonderful set of dynamic processing tools. This year, McDSP has gone mainstream with a new app called LouderLogic. I guess their software engineers have had the same issues with volume fluctuations on their iPhones.

The LouderLogic app makes a significant difference in playback volume on the iPhone.

LouderLogic, which is currently only available for the iPhone, levels out the volume differences between the tracks in your digital music player while keeping the audio fidelity at its best. They do it with a proprietary algorithm called Audio Level eXtension, ALX for short, which looks at each track and balances the overall volume to feed a consistent level to your headphones.

In the demo given by McDSP chief, Colin McDowell, he flipped between a pounding rocker by U2 and a classical piece. Without LouderLogic, the U2 intro was quiet and the classical piece was basically inaudible as it started out. He played back the same two pieces using LouderLogic and immediately, the U2 intro was clearly audible. The louder sections of the same track were still louder, but not four times louder, like it was without the app.

Same result with the classical piece. Its soft intro, probably a double P (pianissimo), still came through our headphones, and as the piece built, we weren’t scrambling to cut the audio level down. Bottom line: LouderLogic seems like a great add on to digital music players, especially if your iPhone has become your default music player. Right now, McDSP is offering a free 30-minute listening trial from the App store, or you can purchase the app for $3.99.

The Emulator DVS is the coolest thing I saw at NAMM!

Emulator DVS
My third and final product for Day Two is something called the Emulator DVS. Not to be confused with the ground-breaking sampling keyboard of the 1980s, the Emulator DVS was brought to the NAMM show by a Canadian company called Smithson Martin, and it is a whole new way to look at MIDI control, especially for the DJ market. Whatever combination of mixers, turntables, CD players, video sources, or DAW programs you’re using, the Emulator DVS combines them on a display with a tactile, fully customizable touch screen that can withstand the rigors of nightly performances.

Pre-made templates are available for Traktor, Serato, Ableton, Virtual DJ, Logic, Pro Tools, and a variety of applications. As long as the sources have the option of MIDI control, it’s 100% customizable, so you can program and create your own faders, buttons, control wheels, knobs, and more. Even better, The Emulator DVS allows projection of your entire control surface to the house, allowing the audience to see and experience your creative process as you build your mixes or sets.

The Emulator DVS up close.

It retails for $2,499, and for DJs and mixers who perform live, this is a must see product. Note: it requires a separate computer, AC mains, and a VGA connection to larger screens to deliver its full capabilities. Bottom line, this is one of the coolest products I saw at NAMM 2012.

Read Notes from NAMM 2012: Day 1, Apps, Harpejjis, and Delays

Read NAMM Notes, Day 3: Peavey’s auto-tuned guitar, a new ribbon mic from AT, and another awesome stomp box

Related posts:

1. Notes from NAMM 2012: Day 1, Apps, Harpejjis, and Delays
2. NAMM Notes, Day 3: Peavey’s auto-tuned guitar, a new ribbon mic from AT, and another awesome stomp box
3. One Day in Gear Heaven – NAMM Blog, Day 1

It’s January 19th. It’s 65º and sunny and I’m standing in line with a few thousand other musicians. Ah, Anaheim. Time for the annual ritual known as NAMM.

This year’s show drew 95,000 attendees and more than 1,400 exhibitors. Amidst the sore feet, schlepped shoulder bags, and (too tight) spandex on some of the aging rock stars in attendance, it’s a heck of a party and a real look ahead at what music products will be making waves in the coming year. So what products caught my ears and eyes at this year’s NAMM?

Artist Growth logo

Artist Growth
I’ll start with what might be the first real “killer app” for the artist intent on building his or her career. It’s called Artist Growth, and it leverages the power of cloud-based computing with a well-designed interface. The app works on an iPad, iPhone, or Android mobile device to put a full range of tools and systems at your control to help you manage and grow the business aspects of your music career.

The company’s slogan, “Artist Development in the hands of the artist,” nicely sums up the design philosophy behind this system. I spent about 30 minutes with the company’s co-founders, Matt Umry and Jonathan Sexton and Marketing Director Jacob Jones. In five minutes, they explained the functions and features of the app to me, and it seemed clear that Artist Growth could be a real game changer for an independent artist sustaining his or her own career.

When you launch the app, Artist Growth’s green globe logo is surrounded by six icons, each of which links to a set of data that become operational once you register and start your account. Populating your system is straightforward. Enter data for all your upcoming gigs, upload your songs, input your merch and product inventory items and how many of each you currently have in stock, link to your social media pages, and you’re up and running.

(L-R) Jonathan Sexton and Jacob Jones of Artist Growth.

One of the features of Artist Growth is their Action Packs – pre-made “to do” lists for each gig. The Action Pack will populate your calendar with reminders to notify media in the region and confirm logistics for each show using a template provided in the system, which you can edit or adjust it to suit your needs. The night of the gig, simply tap the icon for each item you sell at your merch table and inventory counts are reduced and income is added to your revenue spreadsheet. At the end of the night you can input your gig fees and have them show up in your overall tour budget.

If you are registered with ASCAP or BMI, send venue and set list data to them for public performance royalty calculations. On the road, the app helps you keep track of your expenses (gas, strings, hotel, road tolls, etc.). Instead of keeping a mountain of paper receipts, simply take a picture of each, and Artist Growth will store it for retrieval and later input into your expense spreadsheet.

The “Industry Search” tool links to the database of The Indie Bible. Tap on the Industry Search tool, and up comes the database, where you can easily access Venues and Press and Radio contacts to help promote your upcoming shows, send push notices, or simply find the address or phone number of a venue where you’d like to drop a promo pack.

Artist Growth automatically syncs to all your mobile devices and is accessible anywhere with internet access. Managing your own business and promotion will be a whole lot easier with this app. Bottom line, if you are an artist that is regularly gigging and actively building a following, the $4.99 cost per month for Artist Growth is a steal. You can even test it out for one month for 99¢.

Tim Meeks wowing NAMM attendees with the harpejji.

The Harpejji
Hall E is my favorite NAMM hall. It’s the one where the newest companies usually exhibit, since it’s basically in a basement, far from the main traffic areas up at ground level. As I wandered around the hall, I heard this rich, thick, luxurious chordal texture that wasn’t a guitar, harp, or autoharp. What the heck was it?

I followed my ears over to a man playing what looked like a snowboard with strings and met Tim Meeks, President of Marcodi Musical Products and the inventor of the harpejji. The harpejji is an instrument, which like the famed Chapman Stick, is played by tapping. It has 24 strings, 16 treble and 8 bass. Guitarists or pianists can quickly adapt to the harpejji, as the layout of the strings is easy to understand.

Like a piano keyboard, Tim designed the harpejji with white and black markers so you can see the 12 chromatic notes that make up each of its five octaves. A diamond marker identifies every C note. For me, a lifelong guitarist, I found the sounds and tactile nature of being able to use all ten fingers to tap, slide, bend and make chords an exciting and innovative reason to consider adding a harpejji to my musical palette.

Check out Marcodi’s YouTube channel for a number of quick demos, some of them with Jordan Rudess, keyboard player for Dream Theater, and also to see the harpejji played by composer A.R. Rahman accompanying Dido for the song, “If I Rise.” The K24 retails for $3,999, while its little brother, the G16, which has 16 strings, sells for $1,999.

Jam Labs Delay Llama was one of the best new pedals at the show.

The Delay Llama
My third and final “must have” product from Day One is a stomp box called the Delay Llama, a full featured analog delay pedal that takes you right back to the early 1980s, with its bucket-brigade delay circuits and warm sound that provides up to 600 ms of delay. The Delay Llama is the spawn of Jam Labs, based in Athens, Greece, dedicated to building high-quality, vintage-inspired pedals to provide guitarists with unique sound tools. Jam Labsis one of a new breed of pedal manufacturers that are pushing the boundaries of the sector by re-engineering the classic pedals and circuits found in rare or unattainable pedals from 40 years ago.

Among their assortment of pedals is the Rooster, a treble booster based on the classic Dallas Rangemaster, made famous by Brian May (Queen), Rory Gallagher, and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath). There’s also the Fuzz Phrase, inspired by the classic Fuzz Face but with New Old Stock (NOS) germanium transistors. You’ll be channeling Jimi with this one! The Delay Llama was my pick though, as it really delivered the warm, full tone that I prefer. Just out is the Delay Llama Plus which adds a hold switch, so if you have an expression pedal, you can continuously alter the delay time as you continue to jam. Highly recommended with a retail price of $355 for the Plus model and $285 for the standard.

DJ Demo – DJ products continue to be a central hot spot in the NAMM world - demos seemed to be around nearly every corner.

King Washington – this LA band played a passionate set at the Sennheiser booth.

NAMM Brass – There's a lot more than guitars and stomp boxes, as hundreds of traditional instrument makers are also in the house.

Wrapping up my first day at the show, I got a tap on the shoulder from a large, serious-looking man asking me to step aside politely in one of the most crowded aisles of the main hall. I complied and watched Stevie Wonder pass me by, another one of us there to learn, be awed and enjoy the nearly endless creativity that the NAMM instrument inventors share with us each year. More notes soon from the next two days at NAMM.

Read NAMM Notes, Day 2: Vintage Vibe’s Rhodes coup, LouderLogic app, and a DJ revolution in the Emulator DVS

Read NAMM Notes, Day 3: Peavey’s auto-tuned guitar, a new ribbon mic from AT, and another awesome stomp box

Related posts:

1. NAMM Notes, Day 3: Peavey’s auto-tuned guitar, a new ribbon mic from AT, and another awesome stomp box
2. NAMM Notes, Day 2: Vintage Vibe’s Rhodes coup, LouderLogic app, and a DJ revolution in the Emulator DVS
3. One Day in Gear Heaven – NAMM Blog, Day 1

If you’re in the Philly area on Friday Feb 10th and want to know what Disc Makers’ employees do with their time outside of work, DM Palooza 12 is the place to be. Once again we’re taking over the upstairs restaurant venue at The World Cafe Live to put our music where our mouth is.

The only requirement of the performing acts is that (at least) one member be a Disc Makers’ employee – and in true DM fashion, a number of former peeps are climbing on stage to spend a night with their old friends and comrades.

The show is open to the public and it’s only $5 to get in. C’mon and join the party!

DM Palooza 12
Friday February 10
7:00 pm ’til they kick us out

World Cafe Live (Upstairs)
3025 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
philly.worldcafelive.com

Acts include:
Kojack, Wavefarmer, Brenda Barry, Valley Creek, Love Always, Problem Solving, Harper, The Big Black Night, Hijack, Ganto Barn, Releveller, RB Hezlep, Robin Ball, April Monet, The Broken, The Musical Chairs, Indefinite Dyad

Andre Calilhanna and Kris Ohrenick (Hijack)

April Griffin (April Monet)

Bob Wilson

Will Love (New Liberty)

Live images by Ahren Ciotti (© 2010 Ciotti Images)

DMPalooza poster archive

Related posts:

1. Disc Makers Palooza Wrap-up
2. Disc Makers Palooza X: The Highlights
3. Join us at Disc Makers Palooza IX

Being healthy is not just about what you eat, it’s about how you live. Making a commitment to eating better and living a healthier life while on the road with your band can provide you with more energy, better moods, and greater self-esteem – all of which can positively affect your songwriting, performances, and relationships.

It’s not about being perfect – it’s about making small, gradual changes that become habits over time. It’s about implementing what is feasible. Find a reason to be healthy that’s bigger than you! Do it for the band, the music, the songs, your performance, your future, your grandmother, your livelihood, your soul. Find a reason that won’t let you back down.

Before you head out
Get the band down with the plan. It’s a lot easier to make healthy choices when those around you are making the same decisions. But if the band decides not to go along, maintain your strength and do it by yourself.

Stock up on water. Make a decision to only drink water in the van. Just this one thing can make a huge difference in how you feel. Most people are unknowingly dehydrated, and most beverages are loaded with sugar and chemicals that tax your body’s resources. Drinking water will help keep you adequately hydrated while continually flushing your system. Stock up at a distributor before you go, pack a personal water bottle/canteen, and get the venue to provide you with a case or two of water at each show and take the leftovers with you. Spending a lot on bottled water can be avoided if you plan in advance.

Bring a camping stove and some pots and pans. You can grill burgers, organic veggie burgers, fish, and veggies like peppers, onions, squash, zucchini, or sweet potatoes for practically the same price you would spend for lower-quality food at a restaurant or fast food place.

Pack a cooler. Some of your healthy foods need to be kept cold.

Note: It always helps to bring spices. Sea salt, fresh ground pepper, cinnamon, paprika, curry, basil, parsley, or whatever your favorite is. Also, bring as many good knives as you can. You’ll at least need a small one and a big one.

Things to avoid
Fast food restaurants. This is an obvious point but a difficult option to avoid when touring from gig to gig.

Hydrogenated oil. This stuff is poison. If you can avoid it completely, you’ve done another huge service to your health. Because hydrogenated oil is an inexpensive preservative that enables food to sit on the shelf for months, it’s hard to find packaged snacks that don’t contain this pernicious ingredient. Basically, it’s an oil that’s turned into a solid through a process that uses heat over 350 degrees. In order to break down again, it needs to be heated to the same temperature. Your body is not capable of reaching these temps, so it remains totally unprocessed in your system and gets stuck to your insides and arteries causing all kinds of damage.

Sugar/high fructose corn syrup. While your body needs sugar to function properly, you’d be shocked at how much sugar goes into common foods and the health hazards it causes. It’s in most breads, crackers, snacks, cereals, granola bars, salad dressings, pasta sauces… you name it. It’s worth it to check the ingredient list and see if you can find a version of what you want that doesn’t contain added sugar.

Stocking The Van With Healthy Snacks
Fruit. Always a good choice.

Cereal. Try to find granola or other cereal that doesn’t contain sugar. You can get milk, or soy or rice milk, and keep it in the cooler. Keep in mind that the flavored versions of these are often full of added sugar.

Instant Oats. You can heat up water to add to the oats. Again, try to find a healthy version of this convenient instant breakfast.

Bread. Go with whole grain, or better yet, “sprouted” bread in the freezer section of most every supermarket.

Vegetables. Celery, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and cherry tomatoes stay crisp in a cooler.

Breakfast/granola bars. Make sure you check the label. You’d be surprised at the ingredients in those granola bars you ate as a kid. Luckily, they make a lot of healthier alternatives these days.

Other healthy options include, nuts, seeds, raisins, dried fruit, veggie chips, corn chips (baked), and sesame sticks. You can stock natural peanut or almond butter, yogurt, jam, pickles, olives, or hummus in the cooler.

Healthy Eating
There are going to be plenty of times when you can’t eat as well as you’d like and many venues that give you a choice of pizza and burgers. Don’t sweat it. There are many things that you don’t have the power to change. But there are things you can do to make the best of a less-than-healthy situation.

Eat slowly! Eating slowly will help you realize when you’re full so that you don’t overeat and regret it through the entire show. Stop when you’re full, not necessarily when the plate’s empty.

Chew, chew, chew. Chewing your food thoroughly helps your body start the digestion process.

Any veggies will do. If the only option is pizza, order it with spinach and peppers, or olives and onions, whatever works for you. And always order a side salad. Even iceberg lettuce is better than nothing. Use oil and vinegar instead of the creamy ranch, blue cheese, or Italian dressing options. These options very often contain added sugar and a whole host of chemicals to increase their shelf life.

Take a little extra time. It’s always easy to pull in to the first place that you see when you’re hungry, but if you spend a little extra time looking, you will probably find a much healthier and more delicious option.

Healthy Living
Meditate and/or Stretch for 5-15 minutes every morning. Start your day in a relaxing and revitalizing way. When you meditate, your mind calms and you’re able to focus on what’s really important. You can do the same mental cleaning while you’re stretching. Both provide vitality and help activate your mind and body for the coming day. They also help reduce stress and find calm within yourself, which goes a long way toward making sure relationships stay stable on the road.

Maintain good relationships. It’s crucial that the band gets along on the road. When you’re frustrated, annoyed, or fed up, it shows and it affects every interaction you have. Eating well and activating your mind and body can help you maintain a much more positive outlook.

Exercise. Walking is an exercise that you need no equipment for and no gym membership. You can do it anywhere at any time. Try and incorporate walking into your daily routine. If you’re in a new city, exploring it by walking is the way to go.

Get as much sleep as you can. You can’t stay healthy over the long haul without adequate sleep. Make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to sleep while you’re traveling. Everything else suffers when you don’t get enough.

Being healthy on the road is easier than it seems. You just need the desire, some ideas, and a little motivation.

Carolyn Stanish shares time between being a mom of two and professional photographer. Her work ranges from moms, to models, to music. Check it out at Facebook.com/CarolynStanishPhotography.

Related posts:

1. Indie Touring Strategy: Getting Out on the Road

Did you know ringtones make up 1/3 of online music revenue? Did you know ringtones can go platinum? The folks at MusicProductionSchools.net put together this infographic that spells out some fun and interesting facts about ringtones.

Created by: Music Production Schools

No related posts.

Check out the latest and greatest indie music from CD Baby! Here are the 10 best-selling albums in January:

Boyd’s Blues

Boyd Lee Dunlop

Invincible

Two Steps From Hell

Madison Rising

Madison Rising

Archangel

Two Steps From Hell

Timeless

The Quebe Sisters Band

24 Hours

Richie Kotzen

Alaki

Mohsen Namjoo

Gypsy Summer

Cam Penner

Kuntry

Jawga Boyz

Lightning on the Strings, Thunder on the Mic feat. T.O.N.E-z

Gangstagrass

Related posts:

1. Top 10 CD Baby Albums: December 2011
2. Top 10 CD Baby Albums: January 2011
3. Top 10 CD Baby Albums: September 2011

If you’re a songwriter looking to do something special for a youngster, here’s an organization worth checking out. Sing Me a Story is a program that gives children in hospitals, orphanages, and youth organizations around the world the chance to write and illustrate stories about anything they want – childhood memories, people they know, stories they’ve invented – it’s up to the child. Through Sing Me A Story’s network, these stories are distributed to songwriters, who turn them into songs.

Once recorded and uploaded to the Sing Me a Story website, the songs are then sent to the children through their respective organizations. The mission of the Sing Me a Story Foundation explains that, “as a global community, we are only as healthy as our children. It is our global mission to give the most in need a voice, while empowering and caring for the whole child.”

The Sing Me a Story Foundation was co-founded by Austin Atteberry and Sara Doschadis in Nashville, Tennessee. They are actively courting songwriters and “partners” (a representative from an organization that serves children) to join their network and get collaborating.

You can learn more, volunteer your songwriting services, hear songs, and donate to the cause at the Sing Me a Story website.

Related posts:

1. Keeping a Song (and Yourself) Together
2. Online Collaboration
3. Sell the Story – Not the CD

The talented designers in our Design Studio created twelve original works of art (one for each month) that feature some of our favorite songs. Each month we will post a new design, in six common desktop sizes, so you can use them as your desktop wallpaper.

February’s wallpaper features “99 Red Balloons (99 Luftballons)” by Nena!

1024×768
1280×800
1280×1024
1440×900
1680×1050
1920×1200

Related posts:

1. Desktop Wallpaper – February Edition
2. Desktop Wallpaper – May Edition
3. Desktop Wallpaper – November Edition

This post is an excerpt from the e-course, In The Key Of Success: The Five Week Jump-Start Strategy.

“Goal” is such a ridiculous word. It’s a word that, once you put it in place, you automatically create its inverse: the possibility of failing to achieve it. The prospect of failure can be so scary that it becomes impossible to take action towards achieving your goal, and thus, the downwards cycle of mediocrity and spinning the wheels begins!

Let’s cut the crap right now.

The true purpose of goal setting
It’s not about your goals and objectives, it’s about the work you do in their honor. I had a goal to win a Grammy in my twenties, and when I turned thirty, it was like I couldn’t breathe I was so disappointed in myself. One of my problems was that I didn’t have interim goals. For me, it was Grammy or nothing. With no smaller goals purposefully set, I couldn’t acknowledge myself for all that I had achieved in my music career in my twenties. All I saw was that one big failure. What I now know is that I was not a failure. I was the opposite. I was in action, living the life of someone whose goal is to win a Grammy.

Cut yourself some slack. It’s hard to determine exactly how long it will take to achieve something. The goals you create are your game. You can change the rules, as long as you are still in the game.

I had to look at what I really wanted in my life to more specifically define my purpose, not just creating goals. This crystal-clear purpose is now what I call my “Statement,” and is much more than just a single goal. It’s a concise sentence that clearly expresses my purpose in life and my career.

Note: we are talking “big picture” here. It is a goal of mine to win a Grammy for songwriting and an Oscar for film-scoring. It is a goal of mine to make $300,000 in one year from music placements alone. These goals are specific aspirations to work toward. They can also be called ambitions, intentions, and targets. But they do not tell you what I am really up to in my life, and they alone do not give me fulfillment like a clear purpose can. Hence, the need to define my “Statement.”

1) Define your purpose, aka your “Statement.”
Your “Statement” is the one sentence that will let anyone know your overall purpose both in life and the music biz. This purpose will inspire you in all of your pursuits. You can call it your ultimate goal, but it’s bigger and more useful than that, and it’s something that you can be today, not something that you are waiting to obtain.

My Statement is: “I am out to make a living and inspire the world through creating music and sharing my process.”

Everything I do is in line with my Statement. This article is in line with it. Performing live, recording a new record, and composing music for a beautiful documentary or a funny video is in line with this Statement. On the other hand, when I received an offer a few months ago to compose music for a violent video game for very little money, I turned it down. It was not in agreement with my Statement. As forks in my road appear, revisiting my Statement helps me take the right path.

To figure out your Statement, look at your goals and see what the common denominators are. Ask yourself why you have those goals. What’s the goal behind the goal? Is your goal to make money? Why? So you can travel? So you can express yourself with music more easily?

The actions you take will vary greatly depending on the true goal you’re working towards. Once you’ve looked at your goals, write one sentence that answers the question “What are you all about?” Write three different options. Tweak them so they become one clear sentence. If it inspires you and is something you can tell anyone and they’ll understand you immediately, then you’ve got your “Statement.”

Congrats! You will be amazed how opportunities and results will start showing up JUST because you got clear about what you are up to (and declared it to the universe)!

2) Assess what you’ve got going on, and what you’d like to have going on. List any and all goals that you have for yourself, your life, and your music career. Then list any resources you already have (people, accomplishments, tangible things, and skills). Now list what’s missing. You may even want to enlist the opinions of family, friends or fans to help fill in any gaps you may not be clued in to. (In my e-course, this is the part where you’d be asked to fill in the “Blind Spot Survey.”) You’d be surprised what you have going for you already!

Believe it or not, the next step is to let go of all these goals and remain unattached to them. This means that while you would be super psyched to win a Grammy for “Best New Artist,” you understand that achieving this goal will not define you, and your career can be fulfilling even if you do not achieve this goal. The ultimate goal is to be living the way you want to live, indefinitely, not just until a goal is reached.

3) Figure out your main strength, aka your “Entrée.”
Do you have a day job? Are you trying to make money by performing live, by licensing your songs, or by selling merchandise such as CDs and t-shirts? Do you have other sources of income? Do you have other passions?

If you were a restaurant menu, all of these ways of making money would be the different “courses.” As an indie artist, spreading yourself too thin will not get the results you want (and you’ll probably resemble a chicken with its head cut off). Thus, it’s time to figure out your Entrée, the main focus of your career. While you may love to work and even thrive in other areas of the music industry, you should focus your skills, energy, and next actions on your Entrée.

I realized that I had four courses on my menu: Performing live, licensing my recorded music, film/commercial composing, and speaking/teaching. Until I was able to define my Entrée, I was stuck on where to move forward. So I didn’t move at all.

I uncovered that, for me, if I expanded in the licensing area, the other three areas would also, automatically, expand. This, indeed, was my Entrée! [Insert loud cheer, sigh of relief, weight rolling off shoulders, etc.]

What was next for me was to finish my third record so I could license it. The result of figuring out my Entrée gave me clarity, focus, and motivation.

To figure out your Entrée, list all the things you do and skills you have (make records, perform live, co-write with others, etc.) and then ask yourself this: Which one thing that you do, if it took off, would help all the others succeed and expand? This is your Entrée.

Now look at those other items. You know, the ones that didn’t make the Entrée cut. Those gigs, projects, ideas, processes – if in line with your Statement – are still important for your career and who you are. They are just not the main focus at this point. They remain on your menu. Keep this list handy so that when you get stopped or challenged while working on your Entrée, you can remind yourself there are other areas in your career where you can take action.

4) Take action! And put your plan into reality (aka a calendar). Write down the results you’d like to see in one year, 6 months, 3 months and 1 month regarding your Entree. (For example, in 1 year, you will have sold 1,000 CDs at live shows, in 6 months, 500 CDs, etc.). In a calendar, write down actions you can take to have these results happen. And then DO THEM like your life depends on it!

A little note on the results you’ve laid out for yourself: they are mini goals, benchmarks and targets to reach. Do not be attached to them happening, just keep plugging away and reassessing every once in a while to make sure you are still inspired by what you are doing, and that you are committed to a career you love, no matter what the results.

And lastly, a little note on being overwhelmed: “Overwhelm” is due to two things: working alone and being stagnant. The cures for overwhelm are to ASK FOR HELP and to GET INTO ACTION.

Keep rockin’!

Cheryl B. Engelhardt is a composer for films, ads, and CollegeHumor.com, and a singer/songwriter who’s booked a bunch of tours around the USA and Europe and gotten her recorded music placed on TV shows. Her website is CBEmusic.com and she writes a music industry blog called Living On Gigging. You can follow her on Twitter @CBE.

Cheryl just released, In The Key Of Success: The 5 Week Jump- Start Strategy, an E-Course for independent musicians on how to jump-start their careers to radically change the results they’ve been getting. If you liked this article, you should seriously go right now to get the rest of Cheryl’s E-course. She guarantees you will get the results that you want, or money back. And because you are a loyal Echoes reader, you get a ridiculous 70% discount off the regular price by typing in IHEARTDM in the “discount code” field.

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