SIX for SIX!

[BradleyHagen]

That's really great. Just curious, do you have a live band or are you doing all the instruments?
Greg D

Hi Greg-
No Band. I program the drums, play the bass, play the guitar, and play in other MIDI samples. If it has vocals, I typically do that as well (albeit not very good lol) I sometimes work with a drummer buddy who lives 2000 miles away when doing a real "Song" vs a cue, but more and more..... Slate and Toontrack drums seem to be the way to go! I also have been taking Casey's advice and looking for collaborators, and have found a few that i have already known for many years, from old bands, etc.... I have a Flamenco Guitar Guy, Country Singer, Female Blues R&B Singer, and a really good metal dude! I haven't submitted anything yet with any collaborators, but will be here pretty soon. I split 50/50 even though I am the writer no matter what... Some may think it is too much, but I don't.... 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing right?? I can't sing Country worth a crap, and certainly can't play Paco De Lucia style Flamenco either....lol

[VanderBoegh]

I also have been taking Casey's advice and looking for collaborators, and have found a few that i have already known for many years, from old bands, etc.... I have a Flamenco Guitar Guy, Country Singer, Female Blues R&B Singer, and a really good metal dude!

Hey Bradley, good for you in seeking collaborations. HOWEVER, if I can toss out a quick word of caution that I give everyone that I mentor: the best collaborators are fellow Taxi members. When I first started this journey and decided to collaborate, I - along with probably everyone on these forums - reached out to al of my old local musician friends. I never got too far with this method, as the non-Taxi musicians were not accustomed to the tight deadlines, approach, strategies, etc, that it takes to write music for TV. Furthermore, I came to learn the hard way, that some of these people weren't even registered with a PRO, and had any of our music been signed, that would have raised big red flags to any music library and been a huge impediment to anything getting signed. Some people even balked at even-splits when it came to ownership, wanting more than equal shares. And some were hard to track down after the collaboration, and had any of our music been offered a deal, it would have been extremely hard to get their signature on the contract.

Taxi members, on the other hand, simply GET it. We've all been around long enough to know the rules and strategies and deadlines that are commonplace in this business. Taxi members (mostly) have all their ducks in a row, have their PRO membership taken care of, have been in this game for years, have plenty of connections and knowledge of how things operate, know what's typical and what's odd in terms of deals, are quick with the paperwork, etc.

So, be careful in working with non-Taxi members. They might be the best players you know and you're comfortable reaching out to them, but they could be fraught with problems down the road!

Just some "been there, done that" advice for you to either take to heart or flush!

~~Matt

[BradleyHagen]

I also have been taking Casey's advice and looking for collaborators, and have found a few that i have already known for many years, from old bands, etc.... I have a Flamenco Guitar Guy, Country Singer, Female Blues R&B Singer, and a really good metal dude!

Hey Bradley, good for you in seeking collaborations. HOWEVER, if I can toss out a quick word of caution that I give everyone that I mentor: the best collaborators are fellow Taxi members. When I first started this journey and decided to collaborate, I - along with probably everyone on these forums - reached out to al of my old local musician friends. I never got too far with this method, as the non-Taxi musicians were not accustomed to the tight deadlines, approach, strategies, etc, that it takes to write music for TV. Furthermore, I came to learn the hard way, that some of these people weren't even registered with a PRO, and had any of our music been signed, that would have raised big red flags to any music library and been a huge impediment to anything getting signed. Some people even balked at even-splits when it came to ownership, wanting more than equal shares. And some were hard to track down after the collaboration, and had any of our music been offered a deal, it would have been extremely hard to get their signature on the contract.

Taxi members, on the other hand, simply GET it. We've all been around long enough to know the rules and strategies and deadlines that are commonplace in this business. Taxi members (mostly) have all their ducks in a row, have their PRO membership taken care of, have been in this game for years, have plenty of connections and knowledge of how things operate, know what's typical and what's odd in terms of deals, are quick with the paperwork, etc.

So, be careful in working with non-Taxi members. They might be the best players you know and you're comfortable reaching out to them, but they could be fraught with problems down the road!

Just some "been there, done that" advice for you to either take to heart or flush!

~~Matt

Great advice Matt - Thank You! Yeah, I tell anybody that they have to register with a PRO before we do anything together, and I try to gauge their commitment, availability, etc pretty hard core as well before I agree to work on anything with them. We all know flakes from our musical past (Lord Knows I do!!!! ), and I tend to avoid those folks, but I hear ya....TAXI Members are the ideal situation for sure, and I am always open to that as well!

[Casey H]

I also have been taking Casey's advice and looking for collaborators, and have found a few that i have already known for many years, from old bands, etc.... I have a Flamenco Guitar Guy, Country Singer, Female Blues R&B Singer, and a really good metal dude!

Hey Bradley, good for you in seeking collaborations. HOWEVER, if I can toss out a quick word of caution that I give everyone that I mentor: the best collaborators are fellow Taxi members. When I first started this journey and decided to collaborate, I - along with probably everyone on these forums - reached out to al of my old local musician friends. I never got too far with this method, as the non-Taxi musicians were not accustomed to the tight deadlines, approach, strategies, etc, that it takes to write music for TV. Furthermore, I came to learn the hard way, that some of these people weren't even registered with a PRO, and had any of our music been signed, that would have raised big red flags to any music library and been a huge impediment to anything getting signed. Some people even balked at even-splits when it came to ownership, wanting more than equal shares. And some were hard to track down after the collaboration, and had any of our music been offered a deal, it would have been extremely hard to get their signature on the contract.

Taxi members, on the other hand, simply GET it. We've all been around long enough to know the rules and strategies and deadlines that are commonplace in this business. Taxi members (mostly) have all their ducks in a row, have their PRO membership taken care of, have been in this game for years, have plenty of connections and knowledge of how things operate, know what's typical and what's odd in terms of deals, are quick with the paperwork, etc.

So, be careful in working with non-Taxi members. They might be the best players you know and you're comfortable reaching out to them, but they could be fraught with problems down the road!

Just some "been there, done that" advice for you to either take to heart or flush!

~~Matt

I have to agree strongly there. I've almost never had the slightest issue working with other Taxi members and I've worked with dozens. But hanging out with great folks like here, you take for granted that others 'get' it for things like even splits, PRO, work for hire agreements, types of deals, and so on. As MVB said, often not the case at all.

Best,
Casey

[mteezykeys]

Oh Yeah!!! Congrats! Hope the tracks get signed!!!

[kjckjc]

Awesome!! Way to go Bradley!... You are becoming an inspiration to this "Old Timer"!!! I too am really focusing on "reverse engineering" the ref's as well... and I believe I am getting closer... Keep it going Dude!!! BTW ~ Once I get my full blown "Real" recording studio up and running - I would love to collaborate - as your drummer possibly (my "old" profession )... I am having issues trying to use loops and programmed drums for my stuff... I am chomping at the bit and cannot wait until my studio kit is up and mic'd and ready to rock!!!

[BradleyHagen]

Awesome!! Way to go Bradley!... You are becoming an inspiration to this "Old Timer"!!! I too am really focusing on "reverse engineering" the ref's as well... and I believe I am getting closer... Keep it going Dude!!! BTW ~ Once I get my full blown "Real" recording studio up and running - I would love to collaborate - as your drummer possibly (my "old" profession )... I am having issues trying to use loops and programmed drums for my stuff... I am chomping at the bit and cannot wait until my studio kit is up and mic'd and ready to rock!!!

As much as I hate to parrot it.....it is true _WRITE TO THE BRIEF I am stubborn and as egotistical as the next guy, so it has been very hard for me to conform to this ideal...but it is the TRUTH
Drum samples are just fine, it is all about how you do it.... get everything off of the grid, and play around with Velocity..... that is the key. You are a drummer, so you know better than anyone just how the drums should sound....make them sound like that!
And finally, gear is great, I have a ton of expensive gear, but you know what?? Most of the folks on here that do very well in the Sync World, don't have World Class Studios, they are just good.....

[kjckjc]

Thanks for responding Bradley (I get very few)... Agreed!! ... In fact - I just now got another in a series of returns (yea!)... and that was the main feedback... If you like - I'll attach the tune and the feedback... I actually played the Bass and Key parts "organically" - thru my midi keyboard - triggering Studio 1 Sounds - but I am still using loops for all the drums/percussives (I DO edit and piece together different loops however)... Which - IF I had my full studio up - I would most likely be playing all that stuff live/acoustically (soon hopefully!)... Actually - I used acoustic guitar loops for it as well - oops! Anyway - here is the Feedback link:

https://www.taxi.com/members/0TMsBs66Sf ... zcfKo1OV-A

and the tune is on top of my profile page - called "Emotivity"... Thanks in advance for checking it out... CYA!

~Ken

[BrentWhiten]

Awesome, and congratulations!
Great guitar sound!!

Brent