Archive: 52 Weeks to Rock
The End: Oh My God, The Last One Ever
When Brett Milano first suggested the idea of the "52 Weeks in the Life of a Rockstar" project, I guffawed. Read full post »
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Week #51: The Pre-Graduation Rock & Roll Checklist
Congratulations, rockers: Your first year in a band is nearly over! Read full post »
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Empty-Room Syndrome: How To Handle A Tiny Crowd...Or Lose The One You’ve Got
When your friends in a band come back from their first tour, they’ll probably go on about that one ill-attended disaster show. “Oh man, Cleveland was the worst—we played to nobody”. Read full post »
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Boston, You’re My Home
A Quick Introduction to the Rock’n’Roll Center of the Universe (Really!) Read full post »
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Feel The Pain: The True Story Of A RockBand.com Forum Poster''s Quest For A Sweet Tattoo
I have tattoos, many of which I even received while sober. And I was thirsty for more. And no tattoo magazine, artist's portfolio, or Tiny Toons sticker book could quench this proverbial thirst with the inspirado I was seeking. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / 20 comments
HMX Bands Showcase: How To Go From Work To A Gig In Style
Last Thursday, Jessica pulled together six Harmonix bands including Abnomality, Thief Thief, Breaking Wheel, Death of the Cool, That Handsome Devil and Bang Camaro for a night of awesome music at The Middle East right across the street from the Harmonix offices. Read full post »
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Welcome To The Internet: How Not To Suck At Web Promotion
You've always thought your band had a decent interweb presence. You’ve got a good amount of friends on the Facespaces out there, most of which reside in your town. So what’s up with the tumbleweed gigs? Read full post »
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Kurt’s Magic Box: A Life In Ticket Stubs
What would it take to locate the ticket stubs of every concert you’ve ever been to? Read full post »
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Backstages We Have Known: True Stories From The Rock And Roll Depths!
They can be some of the dingiest, God-forsaken spaces you’ve ever seen…and if you’re a band on the road, those backstages are your home. Read full post »
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Rich And Famous
Phillip Hunt is an operations associate at Harmonix. He was born in Texas, raised in England and settled in Boston. He has a pre prepared monologue for when people ask about his accent. It’s not Australian. Read full post »
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52 Weeks Summer School
52 Weeks is off this week for summer vacation chillaxing on the beach, sipping on mojitos out of a big jug while being fanned by a team of cheer leaders and record executives. Read full post »
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Living Large When You're Not: How To Live Like A Rock Star On A Budget
You've finished your encore; underwear litters the stage and everyone's standing up screaming - on tables, on the bar, on their boyfriend's shoulders. You're ushered offstage where - what's this? - French 75 cocktails and Turkish cotton hand towels wait to quench the fevered sweat from your exhausted bodies. Read full post »
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Touring 101: Surviving California
Any band worth its salt will one day find itself touring the intimidating beast that is the state of California. Bear in mind, this is no small task. Read full post »
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Are We Famous Yet?: How To Know When You've Made It Big
A month or so ago, my band VAGIANT was playing at a basement show. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, be-a-rockstar, joan-jett / 7 comments
Dealing With Band Member Turnover
When one enters into the unholy cabal that is a “band,” there are a number of unfortunate realities one must wrestle with at some juncture or another. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxalex, dealing-with-bandmates, start-a-band / 6 comments
Be My Stevie And I'll Be Your Lindsey: To Date Or Not To Date Your Bandmates
At some point it's bound to happen: your band's at rehearsal (assuming you bother to rehearse) or maybe playing a gig. You take a sidelong glance at your guitarist as her fingers slide smoothly up and down the neck of her beaten-up old Strat, or at the drummer's glistening shirtless torso as he works up a serious sweat keeping the beat that your bassist can't seem to find. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxallen, dealing-with-bandmates / 7 comments
Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away): How To Kick Out A Bandmate Without Getting Kicked Wicked Hard In The Shins
A band can be a fragile thing. Sometimes the chemistry is perfect – you all love nothing more than sitting around in the space chugging Clamweiser and writing Deep Purple rip-offs about how great you look in Capri pants. But sometimes the chemistry isn't so hot. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, dealing-with-bandmates / 21 comments
First Gigs, Nightmare Or Otherwise
If you’re an aspiring rock star, you’re going to have to do it eventually. I’m not talking about waking up naked being spooned by a stranger on the couch of a hotel room under a dirty sleeping bag. I’m talking about getting up on stage for the first time ever, in front of a (hopefully?) large crowd who probably hates you already because they don’t know who you are. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxjessica, playing-live / 2 comments
How To Win Fans And Influence People: Projecting “Rockability” Onstage
A few years before I started working at Harmonix, I got into this big argument with my roommate at the time over who should be called the “greatest front man in history.” I said Iggy Pop; she said Jason Kendall of the Amazing Royal Crowns. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, be-a-rockstar, playing-live / 13 comments
Rock The World, Pass The Twizzlers: A Crash Course In Tour-Bus Survival
The tour is about to begin, the open road is calling, and for the next couple of weeks, the tour bus (or van, or RV, or really crowded Volkswagen) is going to be your home. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, playing-live, be-a-rockstar / 0 comments
CD Or Not CD: They’re Clunky, Expensive And Obsolete. But Yes, You Still Need To Deal With Them
As we’ve all heard a million times by now, the CD is dead. If you want to sell music, all you’ve got to do is let your fans pay the price of their choice for a download. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, promoting-your-band, recording-your-band / 7 comments
You CAN Come Home Again, But You'll Never Get The Smell Out Of Your Bomber Jacket: The Hellion's Tour Diaries, Part 4
It wasn't me. I swear. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, playing-live / 19 comments
I Got A Free Bird For Ya, Buddy: Dealing With Hecklers
If you’ve played a lot of Rock Band, you know what happens when the band screws up a song: the audience boos, the singer throws a little hissy-fit with the microphone, everybody gives the drummer a dirty look, and the band gets to try again. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, playing-live / 14 comments
Most Likely To Succeed: The Hellion's Tour Diaries, Part 3
I know that lots of things have changed since I was in high school. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, playing-live, dealing-with-bandmates / 9 comments
On Tour And In Trouble: The Hellion’s Tour Diaries, Part 2
About two years ago, my band VAGIANT was approached by our Number One Superfan, an affable chap named Wes, about playing a show in a hotel for his birthday party in Virginia. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, playing-live / 7 comments
Don't Go On The Boat: The Promotional Party
So you’ve just released your first CD (or record, or download, or piece of fancy cardboard). Great! Now you’ve got to make sure people know about it. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, promoting-your-band / 2 comments
Nancy Is A Punk Rocker: The Hellion’s Tour Diaries, Part 1
I recently came back from my first tour with my band VAGIANT and the very badass boys of Razors in the Night. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, playing-live / 17 comments
Inside South By Southwest
You go to the South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX for a number of reasons—to see bands; do business, see more bands, make contacts, see more bands, and eat more barbeque than you can handle. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, playing-live / 1 comment
The Commute From Hell
You’re a hot Boston band with a national buzz, you’ve been on the road and the big hometown gig is coming up. Everything’s going your way—except that your van just broke down. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, playing-live / 5 comments
Tales From The Management Zone
So you think you know what it takes to manage a band? Then think of what you’d do in each of these situations. . . Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, promoting-your-band / 3 comments
Getting Signed: How To Get Your Demo Past The Intern
In my year as a record label intern, I listened to hundreds of demo CDs of bands from all over the world. Six years later, I can only remember a handful of them. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxcj, promoting-your-band, recording-your-band / 8 comments
Meet Your Rock Heroes! True Encounter Stories
As you move up in the rock ranks, you’re bound to run into some of your musical heroes. This is where you learn to keep your cool—After all, you’re now a peer of sorts, not just a fan. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, be-a-rockstar / 15 comments
Giving Props To Props
If you need proof that the right props and staging can make or break a show, consider a Yes concert I saw in 1985 (yes, I loved Yes in 1985 and proudly admit that I still do today). Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, be-a-rockstar, playing-live / 14 comments
Valentine's Day Edition: Jason Kendall’s True Rock’n’Romance Confessions
You’re the frontman of a happening rock band, the opposite sex goes wild when you play, all the temptations are there for the taking….but all you really want is your old girlfriend back. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, be-a-rockstar / 2 comments
Just Lust: A Guide To Making Your Fans Want To French Kiss You Big Time
Like many of you (okay, ALL of you) I started a band in the hopes that it would ultimately lead to bath-time make-outs with ridiculously attractive people. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, be-a-rockstar, joan-jett / 22 comments
Riders On The Storm: Making Backstage Demands Like A True Rock Star
I learned many things during my tenure working at a nightclub: what platform boots are good to wear when working the guestlist, what not to say to bouncers, how to tip your bartender, and how much money a touring DJ makes. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: playing-live, promoting-your-band / 16 comments
For Those About To Stalk: How To Handle Your Fans Now That You Actually Have A Few
I am not the popular one in my band. That would be LoWreck. Here is a sample of the type of email we receive on a fairly regular basis: Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, be-a-rockstar / 12 comments
Personality Crisis: Tips On Getting Along With Your Bandmates
I want to state right off the bat that I am totally qualified to write about how to get along with your bandmates. I know this because, at the time of writing this, I have punched only one of my bandmates in the face. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, dealing-with-bandmates / 7 comments
The Gig From Hell: What Happens When Everything Goes Wrong
Often playing a gig is the most amazing experience or your life. Other times things go wrong. Sometimes things go very, very wrong. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: playing-live, promoting-your-band, dealing-with-bandmates / 17 comments
Hitting The Studio: How Not To Get Nervous When They Press “Record”
When you make your first trip to the recording studio, there is just one thing you need to keep in mind: what you’re about to do could go down in music history, make or break your band, and change or ruin your life forever. Okay, now relax and have fun! Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxmusoman, recording-your-band / 2 comments
Adventures In Booking: A Guide To Getting A Show
The hard part is over. You’ve gotten a band together and written some songs. Now you’re ready to play some shows but you don’t have the faintest idea of where to start. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be on your way to stardom in no time. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: promoting-your-band, playing-live, hmxjessica / 2 comments
Talk Is Cheap, But So Are You: Advice On Stage Patter
Okay. So you've got the band together through want ads or social networking websites or maybe just recruiting random interesting-looking people you saw on the subway. You've written some songs, maybe learned some covers. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: be-a-rockstar, playing-live, promoting-your-band / 3 comments
It Is Really Unlikely That Your Arm Will Suddenly Snap Off: Fear And Your First Show
When I was a kid, I was scared of almost everything. I was what child psychologists might call a “highly imaginative child,” which is what a normal person would call... Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, start-a-band, promoting-your-band, playing-live / 22 comments
Gimme Gimme Gimme: Gifts For Your Bandmates That Hopefully Won’t Result In Them Taking A Tremendous Pee In Your Coat Closet
Hey everybody, HMXHellion here, freshly plumped with a couple extra pounds of lovin’, cheerfully gained on my Thanksgiving weekend diet, composed of such health-conscious foods as “bacon grease” and “stuff cooked in bacon grease.” After eating enough to feed a bathtub full of panthers, I spent much of the weekend shopping, as, I’m sure, did many of you. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, dealing-with-bandmates / 16 comments
Fashion Victim: Dressing Like A Rockstar
I don’t know anything about fashion. I feel I should get that out of the way right now. The best item of clothing I've ever owned was a pair of R2D2 Underoos that I had when I was 6, and I'm pretty sure that even back then I wasn't accessorizing properly. My co-worker and fashion-plate gal pal Naoko Takamoto (who is a member of Rock Band's own That Handsome Devil) once told me, "Your taste in shoes is like your taste in dudes: sometimes I see something so revolting that I immediately think, 'Oh man, I should tell Helen about this, she would love it.'" Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, be-a-rockstar / 15 comments
This Gear’s Model: Extremely General Tips On Finding The Right Gear For You
Welcome back, everyone, to another installment of 52 Weeks in the Life of a Rock Band. I’ve gotten some great feedback from all of you about this series and have received some fantastic questions as well. In response to the most-commonly asked question, yes, Alex Rigopulos really is that dreamy in real life. And what follows here is my attempt at answering the second most-commonly asked question: what kind of gear should I get? Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, start-a-band / 13 comments
Getting Interviewed - How To Make Journalists Love You
Alright you budding artists, you made it. People actually want to know who you are, what makes you tick and are clamoring for your answers. That’s right, it’s your first interview. But what are you going to say? Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxveng, promoting-your-band / 4 comments
Husker Don’t: Picking A Band Name And Learning To Live With It
Let’s imagine, for a moment, that you’re deciding what to do on a Friday night. You’ve looked at the schedules for all the venues in your area, and you recognize none of the bands playing, but as a good little Rock Band fan, you are committed to the idea of seeing some live music, however unfamiliar. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, start-a-band / 30 comments
Hell, It Turns Out, IS A Bad Place To Be: Finding A Rehearsal Space
People who know me know that I am not particularly "precious" when it comes to cleanliness. I’ve been known to eat fried chicken that I drunkenly left sitting on a stack of LP’s in my living room overnight... three days later. My desk at work features such interesting detritus as pistachio shells, snapped guitar strings, and at any given moment, at least seven mostly empty Polar seltzer bottles. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, start-a-band, dealing-with-bandmates / 12 comments
The Hellion's Guide To Rock: Part Two
The Hellion's follow-up post to picking an instrument teaches you how to pick your bandmates. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, joan-jett, start-a-band, dealing-with-bandmates / 10 comments
The Hellion's Guide To Rock: Part One
TheHellion gives tips on how to start a band, even if you already have a 401k and don't know how to play an instrument. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, joan-jett, struggling-musicians, start-a-band / 25 comments
52 Weeks To Rock Introduction
The year was 1982. I don’t remember where I was, but my family didn’t have cable, so I must’ve been at a babysitter’s house after nursery school. Read full post »
Filed under: 52 Weeks to Rock / Tags: hmxhellion, joan-jett, struggling-musicians / 28 comments
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