TAXI: Music Forum - Custom Cars and Demos

« Custom Cars and Demos »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
Feb 9, 2010, 10:49am

TAXI: Music Forum :: DISCUSSION GROUPS :: General Hangout :: Custom Cars and Demos

Author

Topic: Custom Cars and Demos (Read 295 times)

rayzer
Full Member

member is offline

Joined: Sept 2006
Gender: Male

Posts: 150

Custom Cars and Demos
« Thread Started on Mar 6, 2008, 10:56am »

I saw a car yesterday that made me think of songs and demos.

The car obviously had a lot of time and effort put into it. The bodywork done on it was extensive with fender flares, hood scoops, a front spoiler and huge rear wing. On top of that, it had a professional paint job with about 10 coats of beautiful black metallic paint. It was the kind of custom paint that costs thousands of dollars. However, there was a problem.

The problem wasn’t the paint. It was the bodywork underneath the paint. That beautiful paint job revealed every imperfection on the surface and it looked pretty bad. I felt sorry for the guy who had apparently done all the bodywork himself, then stood back, looked it over, and thought it was pretty good. “Sure, there are a few things I could have done better,” he probably thought to himself, “but when it’s painted, it’ll look awesome!”

So he laid out his hard-earned cash and got a professional paint job.

The paint didn’t fix the imperfections; it only made them more apparent by contrast. A lot of work went into that car, but it wasn’t ready for paint. He should have gotten a second opinion. He should have asked for help from other skilled, knowledgeable professionals to get the car really ready to paint and then it would have been amazing, but he lost perspective, rushed it, and thought it was good enough.

You probably already know where I’m going with this, but I’ll say it anyway. Don’t waste money on demos when your songs aren’t ready. No industry professionals will be fooled by a professional recording of a pretty good song. Between reviewers and your own honest opinion (if you’ve gotten enough professional feedback on other songs in the past) you’ll know when a song is ready to demo. Then go for it, but not before then. Don’t fool yourself. It’s a waste of hard-earned money. Listen to Taxi reviewers and improve your songs before you demo them. Good enough isn’t good enough.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

tedsingingfox
Ultimate Member

member is offline

[avatar]

The Grateful Ted

[msn]

Joined: Jul 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 2,795
Location: NASHVILLE!!

Re: Custom Cars and Demos
« Reply #1 on Mar 6, 2008, 9:03pm »

Can I get an AMEN?!?

(you're a pretty smart cookie, there, Rayzer.)

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

The truest of tears
Seem to me to be the ones
Shed in gratitude.
-haiku by Ted Fox, 1982

jp
Full Member

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Nov 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 161
Location: buffalo, NY

Re: Custom Cars and Demos
« Reply #2 on Mar 8, 2008, 3:33pm »

yes you can...AMEN

all great points..

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

www.myspace.com/liteboxtherapy

arkjack
Ultimate Member

member is offline

[avatar]

I'm very photogenic.... as long as there's a dead fish....

Joined: Oct 2006
Gender: Male

Posts: 889
Location: Valley Forge Penna.

Re: Custom Cars and Demos
« Reply #3 on Mar 8, 2008, 7:09pm »

That same scenario applies when you do your own paint job. I can think way too many times I let a little thing here and there pass, one little note in the guitar solo botched by a tenth of a second, the bass and drums falling out of sync on a chord change that lasts a tenth of a second, a little piece of a phrase sung a tad off pitch for a tenth of a second. And I mean some of the places in a recording that can make the difference are just short spots ... less than a tenth of a second. The bottom line is though, they add up, and when they get under the microscope of the screener as to whether the work is up to the broadcast Q bar or not, even one of those glitches or blemishes left un-fixed can be the difference between a forward and a return. I've found the most difficult part to achieve is the discipline to make sure everything is fixed and polished down to the last detail.
ArkJack

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

lopc
Full Member

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 184

Re: Custom Cars and Demos
« Reply #4 on Mar 8, 2008, 8:49pm »

great analogy, rayzer. Stay away from friends, family, and shady letters in the mail that offer evaluations of our work, don't fall into the trap of allowing one particular outlet you pay to be a member of that offers "screeners" or "evaluators" an opportunity to practice the techniques dictated by their employers (many that wouldn't know a solid work if it bit them on the ass), post the lyric and music before your peers and recognize the suggestions and advice from ones that know what they are talking about, never think the first pass is a completed work, never forget the original when you have subjected it to bastardization beyond belief, and beyond all else, remember, you have the final say right or wrong. The success rate in this endeavour is very low. Don't second guess or beat yourself up about it-keep on keeping on. Later

Link to Post - Back to Top IP: