Music and Writing - Gave me the Desire to Further my Education

This blog is about music. I started this blog a few years ago and concentrated on the live music scene. That is how the title of the blog “Live Mic” came about. I have always been a huge music lover, as are most of us, no matter which genre we prefer. I have also been freelance writing since 2005. In 2006 I became a fan of American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks. I was granted the opportunity to interview him, and the next thing I knew I was interviewing several musicians. Well-known names, musicians who were in a band and now breaking out on their own, actors who also are great musicians, too great independent artists who just need some extra word of mouth to get their music out to the masses. I find an immense amount of joy in speaking with musicians, and helping to get information out to their fans, and hopefully gaining them new fans.

Along the way I have discovered that being in the music industry is very hard work. Not only does a musician need to be good at what they do, and entertain their fans, they must also try to gain new fans in a business that is filled with millions out to do the same thing. Another thing I discovered is no matter how good your music is it does not mean the masses will get to hear it. Creating great music does not guarantee getting radio play.

A musician also needs people are their side. They need their publicists, promoters, and everyone else on their team to be on their side 100%. They cannot slack off on their duties to their client if the client is to noticed by the public. You would think that since they are getting paid to do that then it obvious that they will do their job. This is not always the case however, and the musician is the one who suffers from sloppy management.

I was doing what I could interviewing and writing about musicians and searching out Indie artists who needed publicity. I soon realized that while I was doing what I could to help it wasn’t enough. Let me clarify, it was not enough to satisfy my desire for what I want to do in regards to music. I made a huge decision to get an education, so I could learn more about how the music industry works, and also to become a better writer.

In October I enrolled in college to obtain a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications at Ashford University. I am nearing the end of my first year of college. I am very excited to get my degree and become a professional music blogger, or a music publicist.

This blog will showcase some great musicians.

No Electric Means Lack of Online Music For Me

I have missed so much info regardind Taylor Hicks and music in general this week. I am in Ohio and the ice storm that came through has had my electric out since Tuesday Morning. Then yesterday my phone goes out. We are surving though. Kersene heaters and lanterns sure come in handy. Though cooking is a challenge. They are saying they hope to ave electric on Sat at 6pm but no gurentees. I am at the library right now using the WIFI access to check on what I have missed so far. So Feb 17th we will get to see Taylor Hicks video. Can not wait for that to be come available. Also saw where Taylor has gotten 19 spins on the media base chart. Awesome!! Looks like Taylor doing things HIS way is going to pay off for him. I can not wait until I get to hear Taylor’s music on the radio where I am at. Ok that is all for now. Hoepfully I have my electric and everything back on soon. I am haing winter. They say we have lots more snow coming next week. Geez I am getting spring fever. Catch up with ya’all later on.


Off Topic – Check this out if you need a tv stand

How the Internet Changed Music

The internet is a huge place. There are no limits on where you can visit or what you can discover with the internet as your guide. The internet has changed music and continues to change it more every day. Before the internet and sites such as Face Book, MySpace, Live Journal and Yahoo Groups to name just a few getting your music out to those who would enjoy and appreciate it consisted of relying on a record contract or doing live gigs and getting a following that way. With the internet you can post your music online and get it out to many more people. Even if you do not have a record deal you can still get a large fan base that love and appreciate what you do. The internet has changed music so much.

The artist can interact more with their supporters though blogging, emails, journal entries and so many more ways. You build a more intimate relationship with you fans with the help of the internet than ever before. The fans feel more connected to the artist and are very supportive of everything they do. It almost builds a friendship of sorts between the artist and the fans. An artist who spends their time building the fan base and devoting some of their free time becoming personally involved on some level with the fans reaps the benefits for the rest of their career.

Many artists use the internet for this very purpose. For examples I will name a few that I follow.

To read the rest of the article go here

Taylor Hicks Thursday

It’s Thursday, which means it is Taylor Hicks Day here at “Live.” Taylor is on hiatus, taking a well deserved break and writing music for his second CD. Because of this there isn’t much new news to report about Taylor. So I’ve been thinking what I want to discuss about Taylor Hicks.

Music is something that we can all relate to. We may not all like the same artists however we all know we could not live without music. Different moods make us want to listen to different types of music. How do we find out the new artists that are out there? Most of us rely on radio and television to show us new talent. This is how I had been my whole life.

Then when Taylor was discovered because of American Idol, I went on line to see if I could find some more information about him. I found out he had 2 Independent CDS. “The Fall” was the first song that I listened to of Taylor’s pre-idol music. It has been my fav ever since. I also love “Heart and Soul”, “The Deal”, “Hell of a Day” and “Soul Thing.”

Then I started wondering how I had never heard of Taylor Hicks before. The songs on “In Your Time” and “Under the Radar” are great. Taylor’s voice is one of the best voices I have ever heard. The record producers just ignored Taylor, for ten years he pounded on doors trying to get someone to just give him a chance, to let America hear his voice. We all know this did not happen. Until the day he walked into American Idol. The judges passed him through long enough to where America got to vote. We the listening audience knew Taylor was just what the music world had been waiting for. He was a change that we had been waiting for and we proved it each week, voting for him until he won the show.

So after all this I realized if all I did was listen to radio and television waiting for them to introduce to the next great person I might be waiting for along time. I knew Taylor Hicks had been out their performing and he had a fan base before he even went on Idol. I just had never heard of him until AI. That’s when I realized if I wanted to discover music that I truly enjoyed and was not force fed on me by radio stations playing their choices over and over, I was going to have to find the music myself.

I started looking on Myspace for Indie artists, or just those I had never heard before. Over the past year and a half since Taylor’s win I have found some artists that I truly enjoy and am so glad to have discovered them. Such as Ross Copperman The Hughes
Relient K and most recently Judd Starr, who I just interviewed and the interview will be published soon. Below you will see his video “Firefly.” I really love this video and his other songs on his CD. I am sure if you go searching for undiscovered or not highly promoted artists you will find some great new music to add to your own play list.

John Mayer - The Evolution will be televised

This is what Live music is all about. Below is a excerpt from a blog by John Mayer. To hear a song while it is still fresh and new. To be among the first to experience John Mayer in concert performing a song that no one has heard yet. That is what “Live” music is all about, new and exciting experiences.


Posted by John Mayer on October 14th

It's been a long time since the days of my playing small acoustic club dates, and though I'm more than happy (and extremely lucky) to be where I am these days, one thing I've missed is the creative spirit of working without a net. Some of my best songs were written because I had a show nearing and needed more original songs to take the place of covers. It was creation by way of necessity.

It's been my stance for years that I don't want to work out new songs on stage for fear of them getting out in their raw form. I've always believed that in music, the first impression is the most lasting, and I wanted to have the say as to when a song would be heard and in what incarnation.

I'm ready to change that stance now. I've realized that there's a new level of access into my life, one that I accept as a by-product of both lifestyle and technology. And if there's going to remain such a large window into my life off-stage, I feel like I need to open the window to my music equally as wide. I am still as devoted to music as I've ever been, and I won't let anything redefine that against my will.

I'm going to return to that firefight, taking small late night gigs around New York City and Los Angeles, writing songs and playing them when they're still fresh. The date of the gig is my self-imposed finish line and I will play a new song with each set I perform.

To read the rest visit John's Blog.