Ryan Hoover

Hey everyone, it's that time of week again. This weeks Follow Friday is for some cool folks I've found around the Cleveland area on Twitter.

@JoeHaden5 - First & foremost, I hope everyone gives a warm welcome to one of the newest members of the Cleveland Browns, Joe Haden. Joe is a cornerback out of Florida, and was pretty much universally regarded as the best corner in the 2010 NFL Draft. Welcome to Cleveland, Joe. We're happy to have you.

@Dan_Stansbury - You would most likely remember Dan from The Maxwell Show on WMMS. Now that the Buzzard has hooked up with the Alan Cox Show (which, if you ask me, is about the worst thing to ever hit the airwaves), MWL has to wait for their non-compete clause to expire before they go back on air and demolish their replacements. Until then, Dan is about the only link to the show available to the public.

@deg4 - To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if Derrick is actually a Clevelander or not, but he's a big Browns fan, and quite possibly one of the elusive 5 people in the US who actually enjoy soccer. That in itself makes him worth pointing out. Derrick also writes his own column at the Bleacher Report - a site where sports fans can post their own articles to be shared with the masses. You can see Derrick's content here.

@OfficialBrowns - The Cleveland Browns' official Twitter page. Want to get Eric Mangini's & Mike Holmgren's thoughts on the happenings of the Draft, as well as updates as to what some Browns players are up to during their off time? Give the Browns a follow, and keep yourself in the loop.

@JohnnyBTruant - I usually refrain from plugging those who call themselves "business/social media consultants" because they're usually full of it. However, Johnny is a local guy who's received a lot of praise from some pretty highly respected people in the blogosphere (Darren Rowse of Problogger, for one), and he's not your typical "How to make your shitty video go viral" hack.

@KeithKrebs - Keith is an old buddy of mine from our high school football days @ Mentor. He is currently a cheer, tumble & stunt instructor for American Elite, and has a lot of good takes on movies, music, sports, and a lot more. Check him out.

That's all I have for now. You can also see my list of Cleveland people (which is sparingly updated) by clicking here. Also, if you know of a Clevelander that should be listed or included in one of these posts, please feel free to comment and make suggestions. You can also find me on Twitter by either clicking the logo in the right-hand column, or by clicking here.

One of the most important, yet most often forgotten steps in the process of forming a band is the initial brainstorming and conceptualization process. There's a lot to consider, so I'll jump right in:

Questions to Ask Yourself

How Serious Are You?

One thing you must consider is your desired end result. There's absolutely nothing wrong with simply gathering a few of your musician buddies a couple times a month to just jam out for a few hours. However, some people are not satisfied with the confines of the garage and want to take their act to the stage and make a career out of it. Knowing this ahead of time is crucial in deciding your course of action as well as in the process of finding band mates.
Continue reading "Starting a Band - Step 1: Brainstorming" »

One of the most common questions I'm asked by new musicians and experienced musicians alike is, "what do I need to consider when starting a band?" The answer, in short: Everything.

Starting a band can be a daunting task, and there is a seemingly endless list of different things to keep in mind when doing so. In the series of posts to follow, I will attempt to outline some of the most important and often overlooked aspects of such an undertaking -- from concept, to finding musicians, to rehearsal, to international rock-stardom playing out.

Be sure to follow along by subscribing to the RSS feed (to your right) so you don't miss a thing!

Following a tip from Chris Brogan, I've decided to turn my Follow Fridays on Twitter into blog posts for a couple of reasons. First, it allows me to list as many people as I want without having to flood the timelines of my followers. Secondly, it's a cheap and easy ploy to get you to visit my blog -- duh.

In this week's edition, I present to you, in no particular order, a few people that you should be following if you're interested in making a career for yourself in the music business:

@Lefsetz - Bob Lefsetz is a no-BS kinda guy armed with a lot of knowledge of the music business and how it works. If you're looking for someone who's going to tell you how it is without the sweet candy coating, and offer great insights into the biz, you need to be following this man.

@artistshouse - A great place offering advice and how-to guides for musicians.

@dbrose67 - David Rose is the Managing Editor at KnowTheMusicBiz.com

@MusicianWages - as their bio explains, "How to make a living as a working musician. Written by musicians for musicians."

@solobasssteve - Steve Lawson is a UK musician who has a lot of experience in carving out a niche for himself and making a career out of it. He is full of great advice, and just about anyone looking to pursue a career making music can learn a lot from him.

@sivers - Derek Sivers is somewhat of an "indie musician's superman." He was the founder of several services for the DIY music community such as CD Baby and, more recently, Muckwork. Yet another great source for insight into the music biz.

@mountflorida - Heather McDonald is the About.com Music Careers Guide. She's written countless articles giving career advice to musicians and other folks within the music industry alike (producers, agents, managers).

@MrBuzzFactor - Bob Baker is an indie music marketing "guru" who always has good new ways to promote your music.

@davidhooper - David is another great source for ideas to market and promote your music. He is also the host of the Music Business Radio podcast.