Band Meeting

Tomorrow morning I meet with my drummer, and now soul band mate in DOS for the first time since the departure with Brant and Nathan. I have been anxiously awaiting this meeting for over a week now. We will be discussing the terms of Brant and Nathans departure, as well as the future of the band.

I am fully aware of the terms of Brant's departure, which I will keep private out of respect for him, but I know very little about the circumstances involving Nathan leaving the band. The only thing I will say about this is that I feel that Brant's departure was necessary, but without knowing anything else about Nathan's situation, I am a little disappointed by him leaving.

As for the future of our band, Paul says he would like to continue playing the same style of art rock music, and I am largely in agreement with this, which is why I have agreed to stay on at this point. I am just going to have to see how it goes without Nathan and Brant, and try to bring in good people to complete our line-up. I wasn't to begin auditioning new members as soon as possible, starting with a bassist. I have already started putting up ads on craigslist, and putting out the word, so hopefully everything works out for the best. I am a little nervous about the future, I will admit, but maybe this will be my opportunity to shine.

Sales this Month

Today when I was working at Guitar Center, I was asked to cover drums all morning. Now, I know very little about drums, let alone how to run that department by myself, so I always feel a little intimidated when I am over there. I did manage to sell a couple of things, but I didn't have a stellar day.

I have yet to beat my best day, of $750.00 in gross profit. However, I only need a little over $100.00 in GP tomorrow to beat my best month in business thus far. Obviously, I would like to be selling a lot more than what I am, as I haven't sold enough to see commission checks yet, but I am encouraged that my GP has improved every month since I started.

I am also very pleased with the excellent networking opportunities that this job has provided me. This job is the reason I met my current drummer, and was invited to join his band. Now hopefully, I can employ those same networking resources again to find a bass player.

DOS Line Up Changes

The time has come, as it does with every band, that DOS has begun discussing line up changes. Brant, our front man, and Nathan, our rhythm guitarist are out. We are now looking for a new bass player to fill out our line up.

For the time being, I am going to handle vocals, as well as continuing to play guitar, although my role as a guitarist is going to shift a little bit since we just went from three guitarists to one. Our drummer, Paul says he has a keyboard player that can work with us for a few months, but not on a permanent basis.

I am going to be posting an ad on craigslist and maybe a few other sites looking for a bass player, and we will start auditioning prospective members immediately. We need some is interested in playing original music in the art rock style, such as Velvet Underground, or Radiohead. I wish Brant and Nathan the best in there future endeavors. Perhaps we can work with them again in the future.

My Ambitions for Concert Promotion

I have decided that I would like to start putting together my own shows. I will start out small, since I have never done this before, and just get one show set up for now, with my band and one other band. If this goes well, then I will do more in the future.

First I need to find a good venue, and figure out what my costs will be. Then I need to come up with some idea of how many tickets I can sell, so I know how much I will need to charge just to cover my expenses. I don't know allot about concert promotions, so I am going to try to find some smart people to help me with this.

I want to try to keep things as simple as possible at first, but still have the event be entertaining enough to draw a decent crowd. I don't think I want to deal with any kind of concessions at first, that way, all I should need as far as help goes is some one to work the door. I also have to figure out how much I will need to pay this person.

To make this all work, I need to get a handle on the promotion end of things as well. I need to figure out what I need to do to get a decent turn out, so the bands can make some money for our efforts. This is just brainstorming right now. I am sure I will be able to get these questions figured out with some hard work, and the right help.

First Show With DOS

On Saturday night, I played out with my new band, DOS, for the first time ever. We played at a cook out, hosted by my good friends, Joe and Courtney Rolinski. I had a great time, and even managed to avoid the rain.

Not to toot my own horn, but our first set really rocked. We got a really great crowed reaction, and got some really great feedback afterwards. I could tell that it was genuine, and not just friends being nice.

The second set had to be cut short unfortunately due to the threat of rain. There were storm clouds in the sky all night, and when thunder and lightning started, we decided it would be better not to take any chances, and pack it in. I would definitely like to play some more parties like this one though, as it is great practice for future gigs.

A New Begining

I have decided to clear out all my old blog posts, and get a fresh start. Consider this a new blog from this point forward. With that in mind, I think a little introduction is in order, for any future readers of this blog.

My Name is Devin J. Garman. I currently reside in Columbia Pennsylvania, and I am a musician. I work part time at the local Guitar Center store, and I recently joined a new local band, which is tentatively called DoS, which stands for Dictionary of Sound. I am also currently writing music for what is currently a solo project that I am hoping to build into another full fledged band.

In addition to my duties as a songwriter and guitarist for various bands, I am also looking to get into concert promotion, although I admit I am an armature in this regard, so I will be needing a lot of help to get started. I am hoping to start things off by putting together a benefit concert for the Crones and Colitis foundation, to help battle digestive illnesses.

Okay, so if anyone ever finds themselves reading this, now you know a little about me. Please leave a comment, and tell me a little about yourself!