Life can be tough. Our band starts Jammin' and the tough fades away

I am ever thankful for the gift of music in my life.  The things happening in the world today.  The economy stinks.  My bills are too the roof.  Can't seem to catch a break, no matter how much effort or how hard I try.

Once my band TORQUE starts playing or just Jammin' at the Club House. That hard ass reality of a life just faded away.  New songs just kept rollin out of Jeremy's guitar.  I felt OK again.  I know anyone reading this that is a musician or has a love for great music knows what I mean.

We are messengers.  Only time we are happy is delivering the message.  The rest is just not our job!

Have a great Friday.  Snow is piling up outside.  A great day to just hang in the studio and play with my girlfriend "Pearl..........Session Custom".  She is my favorite color green and fades to black.  Too bad they quit making this kit.  It is the best Pearl ever!  Keep breaking Zyldjians and Sticks like crazy.  Guess I am just too emotional about that sweet Blues/Metal sound we have.  There is a music player on our music site, our main web site and myspace pages that have our new album, TORQUE - HELLs JUKE JOINT.  Try out the player.  Start with a song called "Sweet Lady Hardcore" then Transplant or Bottom of the Hollow.

I think you will find it excellent.  The player has our first EP  TORQUE - El Diablo and our latest TORQUE - HELL's JUKE JOINT.  If you like what you hear you can share the widget and put it on your page or hit the little shopping cart and it will take you to iTunes.

I would appreciate your opinion if you care to respond with your thoughts of our sound.

Have an outstanding Friday and remember that "The Truth is In The Music".



Dewight Traina
Owner of Traina Studios
Drummer for TORQUE

Internet is tough but worth it

WebSiteDevelopment. 2 years ago when I started my trial and error learning at web development my head was spinning. Knowing that our world now evolves around Internet, I stayed the course.

I am glad I did. Harder than I thought it would be. If you are going to promote your music or your band, it is very important for you to understand also. Ranks very high for entertainment businesses. Search rank, SEO, meta tags, UTF -8, word relevance, validate this validate that. Google Analytics. Google bots, spiders, bugs, error pages, site maps, search speed, internal links, external links, add sense, add words, ebay, craigs' lists, advertising. Make it function, make it pretty.

All of that, then oh....by the way. Sense of urgency. Drive customer toward action. Traffic, Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, Blogger, Reverbnation, iLike, iHeartRadio, amazon mp3, napster.

Then publisher, author, performance, mechanical, sync, distribution, iTunes, Foreign sales.

Sell merch at shows, CD's hats shirts hoodies shows in texas, oklahoma, kansas, ohio nebraska. Back home back to the web.

I know for a lot of you, all those words made sense. That is freaky. Who would think you needed to know any of that? I didn't 2 years ago.

I also opened a recording studio. Worked very hard at perfecting the use of Logic Pro now up to 9. Crazy. I have iMacs, iPhones, iPods, iLife, iWeb, iHome. One of my email addresses is idewight.

I got in a serious band called Torque. We have played over 100 venues in those 2 years. Shared stages with some awesome talented musicians and held our own according to most. We released an EP and now our first full length. Hells' Juke Joint you can get on iTunes and everywhere else those awesome people at TuneCore deliver our music to.

ROCK THAT SHIT! Hells' Juke Joint is just 13 good Blues/Metal/Rock songs. There is a TuneCore player Widget on most of my web sites. Listen to it buy it and see if we learned anything in the last 2 years.

Hope you are having a great Monday.

Dewight Traina

Owner of Traina Studios

dewight@trainastudios.com

www.everythingaudiostore.com

www.myspace.com/trainastudiosinc

www.twitter.com/trainastudios

and lots and lots of other links.

Discount Limited Time for new Bands

http://www.trainastudios.com/trainastudios.com/Studio_Music.html

Get your band off the ground with a great new EP. We have a new package deal available for a limited time at a HUGE discount. Click the add, go to your email. Type in your bands name, a phone number to contact you. A few optional time slots that your band would like to record and I will set your band up for success.

The most important thing in any band is your music. We get it right here at Traina Studios.

Buy Torques' new CD Hells' Juke Joint from the TuneCore widget on the music page. Click the buy button and it will open iTunes for you through the Apple web site straight to Torques new album where you can purchase an individual song, or the Whole CD.

Download it INSTANTLY and you can listen to TORQUE at the quality that it should be heard.

All was recorded, mixed and mastered here at Traina Studios. Post the Widget on your myspace page from the menu, become a fan of torque and keep up with their show schedule all from this powerful widget from TuneCore and Clearspring.

Life is a decision. Open, listen, buy and record here at TrainaStudios. Your smartest decision to enable your bands' success.

Have a great day of football tomorrow. Go Vikings!

Dewight Traina
Owner of Traina Studios Inc
www.trainastudios.com
dewight@trainastudios.com

The Right Sticks

I joined a few drummer networks. There are some common issues among us that could use some new innovation. One of those areas is stick performance.

Each drummer is, of course different and so is his/her actual drum set up. I have for example stubby fat fingers and I sit up higher than most. I hit the drums and cymbals very hard. I believe in "Over" Accentuate everything. The fan (listener) likes the feel the changes coming for a mile away. I just help them with that. LOL

By my style, I sometimes go through 3 to 4 sticks in a 13 to 15 song set. Crazy huh? At 12 bucks a pair, you can see how that can get expensive. I also get splinters all over the place. Wooden tips don't last 5 min, nylon tips sound fake. I actually lately use Vater 5A's left hand wood tip. RH Nylon tip.

When you are recording drums, the unique sound of the nylon tip on my Zildjian Ping Ride is an important accent. That is why the Nylon tip for the Right Hand.

I have looked into lots of options and still need an engineer to come up with a solution. Keep good sound quality and last a while. The new 30 dollar sticks are an idea that I might try but the Guitar Center says you have to tape wrap em. After a while that is a sticky mess I got away from in High School in 1980. (lesson learned). I use a little Gorilla Snot and keep breaking Vater Sticks for now.

Anyone got this under control. Hit me back.

Dewight Traina
Owner Traina Studios

Traina Studios Inc

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Traina Studios

New Discounts Limited Time

Check out the new discount banners on the Studio Page. A package deal for an all inclusive EP for your band at a discount rate.

Add that EP to your MySpace and have your band ready for you fans and Club owners to review to get your band moving forward and earning money.

All about the music because Music Matters.

Lay your tracks at Traina Studios.

Negative thinking

Are you a mostly glass half full person, or a glass half empty person? Crazy question? Your answer is actually very important. I have a tendency to look for the good in each situation and for the good in people. I almost always find it.

People that are looking for the faults in you, I believe find them also. It seems a miserable existence to me to look for the faults with a person.

Are you in a band? How does you band mates treat each other. Are you helping your "weakest link" improve or just settling for him/her until an adequate (in your mind) replacement comes along? Are you the band critic, or do you support your members? When someone mentions something negative about one of your band members, how do you handle it? A good suggestion is to take the negative person to that band mate and let the feedback happen person to person.

I am not much for a middle man conversation. I have heard lots of those types of comments after the person is not around. No chance for good quality feedback, only second hand assumptions.

A band is a sensitive situation. You end up knowing more than you want. If you continue to look at the negative, without healthy suggestions to further the "weakest link". Bad things happen.

Some people take criticism different than others. I was trained by my mentor, before giving any negative feed back, you should give a positive response first.

The longer your team stays together. The more important the relationships get. Do you accept the things people do wrong as well as what they do right? No one is perfect every day. Even you.

I also know, every time a band member changes, the whole chemistry is changed. Almost like starting again. Protect that investment with communication skills and looking for the positive. If you look for the negative, you will always find it.

Have a great day.

Dewight

Widget

Drum work today

Today I sit in a different kind of mood. I see things changing, yet I don't know why. Just when we could have made a difference.

Everyone lives life on their own timeline. I think back on when I wanted to open this studio of mine and remember why it was important to me. It was not for big money. Anyone in the music business knows there isn't much of that.

I opened it to capture the moments. Bands with something to say. No matter what happens tomorrow, I think that part is a success. With Torque, we made some just good songs.

In The Wake made a good album here.
Kill The Silence did also.

Some EPs were made. Every Second did not last but the singer is now in Zero Fix.

We recorded live for ICT Underground. Bulls' last show. I thought it was awesome. We have done some others since then.

I guess if you think about it. We just capture the moment. Some of them are great. Rhinos' song. Like a Drug.

All good times. No Regrets. Lots more to come. Where ever this studio ends up.

All about the music because Music Matters. Lay your tracks with us. Keep them for a life time.

Drum work and studio available

What do you want?

With all that I have learned, I can tell you. Stay true to what you really want. If you don't know, spend some time finding out.

Then let others you plan to include know. If they still want to be a part of it? Together, make that plan.

Set weekly, monthly, quarterly goals.

Keep a daily journal.

Then go and get it.

lala

Hells' Juke Joint - Torque

I guess people forget

I think everyone has forgotten.

It is not about your egotistical band at all. It is about writing good songs and the fans enjoying what you do. Nothing more, nothing less. Good music that makes people want to hear it over and over until the sun comes up.

It's not about where you toured, who you are with. It's not even about if you get along. Its about how you make people feel. How you play your music and what the fans and listeners to your music think.

Get that part right and you may go far. You still have all the odds stacked against you. I have seen more bands break up lately than in a long time.

I think they have all forgotten.

Dewight

Music Matters

When did you first think you wanted to work toward becoming a serious musician?

Did you have a plan to get you to your goal?

What is the first step?

You ever ask any of these questions? Did you make a plan with the members of your band?

What was your first goal? How long did you practice together before your first gig?

Do you have 10 or 11 songs that are original? Do you Have an EP?

If you want to record your first EP, bring your band to Traina Studios Inc.

We can help you get your music heard.

Dewight

Protecting Your Music Pt 2

Good Morning Dewight Traina here,

My last blog discussed how hard it is to keep a band going. The next thing now well understood is getting it out to the public after you have finished your recording.

You have several options. Make CDs and sell them. Put them on your websites using a publishing service such at Tune Core. They are awesome to me. They take care of a lot of things you would not even think of and also distribute your music world wide. The cost is next to nothing and your music is available for download on any site you want, plus iTunes and 18 other big name outlets.

Next is distribution. You are thinking I just took care of distribution. Some what true. You still have to maintain and drive sales which is done through Tours, Radio Station Appearances, Book Store promotions, local gigs, Social Web sites and stores.

If you are hard headed like me you continue to try to market this yourself. Most people however will buy your stuff better if you are "signed with a record label". Still remember here you are giving away part of your profits. You have to weigh out the potential sales they can generate to the sales you can generate and see which one will pay you better.

Advertise. The record labels have these techniques. You probably don't. With a lot of hard work on the new and learning which sites have free adds, again you start to promote.

I keep moving of the original subject a little bit for you to understand all the people wanting to help you with your music.

If you are a band, you probably have more than one member in it. When the album is finished, you are going to need to Copyright protect it. Registering it is up to you. Helps for dates if someone tries to play your music without permission.

The Copyright in our case became a big deal. If your songs do make it up to the "bigger money categories, there are royalties due to you. Without the proper documentation when you publish this music, the royalties don't distribute correctly. For example you would have to trust one band member to distribute those royalties to the others. If it is through a record label, they get the royalties and distribute them to you. If you add in a manager, they what their cut also. All is crazy isn't it.

I bet you thought you just had to play good every night. Seems to me all this junk keeps you from playing.

Have a Rocking Tuesday and remember. Nothing is important in music as the song. Emotions drive people. Music you feel and love lasts forever. Keep on making music because Music Matters.

Lay your tracks at Traina Studios because we understand its all about great songs.

Have a great week.

Dewight Traina
Owner TrainaStudios.

Protecting your music

Hi Dewight Traina here.

In the past couple of years, I have been working both as a Recording Studio Owner and an artist. The things that I have learned are amazing.

Last year with my band Torque, we play around 105 shows through the midwest. The Curtain Club in Dallas to The Blue Goat in Salina. All over. We have played with some awesome bands and made some great fans.

While at home, I run a recording studio because I know how hard it is as an artist to find a recording studio you are confortable recording in and the influences sometimes change your songs. I did not want that for my band and since I was designing in anyway, I thought we could help local bands around Wichita too.

All has gone pretty well.

The odds of making it in the music business are very slim. Your have internal personality issues. Spouse and family issues. You have to be willing to work a few years for literally no money. Stay focused on your dream and music. Get that music recorded. Market that music. Become a brand. Get a manager you can trust. Sell your merchandise for gas money and food on the road. Sleep in some crazy places. Get home when your wife and kids are getting ready for their day. Any one of the above things can cause a band to not make it. Even if your songs are the best, the odds of it getting to the right market are still not even mentioned.

Getting a good record deal is usually after your 3rd to 5th years if you get one at all.

So next you study what it takes to be your own label. Paperwork not bad. Couple hundred bucks. The tough part is marketing yourself. The market has moved to internet and pod cast. Used to be labels and radio stations.

I have over 25 web sites to maintain to market Torque. The labels all know that and have manpower hired just to maintain and brand these bands. All you give up is about 4 bucks of every 10 dollar album you sell.

Most of us think you made it to the big time if you can get to enough money generating to take care of your family and play for a living. We admire our friends in bands that have done this. Primer 55, Soulfly, Hemlock, Seasons After and many others. Bon Jovi drove on for about 8 years before they got to a decent living.

You must really love what you are doing and have a will in your heart that makes you continue on.

The next few blogs will be about our upcoming mini tour with Primer 55. We are starting in Independence Mo. We get back to Wichita for a CD release with Mark Rizzo of Soulfly on January 22 at The Lizard Lounge.

Here at Traina Studios I know the most important thing is the music. I care about it, live it and love it. Music Matters and so do the people fighting to get it to your ears.

Have a great day.

Dewight