Contests: Part 1

I personally jump at the chance to enter Contests. Taking 5 minutes out of your day to possibly win something very cool, seems worthwhile to me. Anyways, my sources tell me Alternative Press is offering a few music related contests. You should probably check them out.

Win an Autographed Acoustic Guitar and a Equal Vision Records/MerchNow Cd Prize Pack from Dustin Kensrue

Enter to win a custom painted/signed guitar from The Stranger's Six and a year's subscription to Alternative Press Magazine! One winner will receive a custom/signed guitar by The Stranger's Six, a year's subscription to AP, a poster of the band, and a copy of the new album A Date With Daylight!

Enter to win the opportunity to become a band photographer for one night on the upcoming Shadows Fall tour. Enter to win a camera and a photo pass, and your best picture(s) will be featured in/on Alternative Press!

Buckcherry is giving away everything! Enter to win autographed CDs and t-shirts. Five winners will be selected.

Good Luck!

Get Paid to Work With Your Favorite Bands!

I just found out that The Truth is sponsoring and training kids to work at this years Warped Tour and Scream Tour and thought EVERYONE should know... Unfortunately I've got another year before I can participate, but God knows I'll be there when I can.

Get paid to travel with a couple of huge music tours. No Seriously!

We're looking for outgoing people to represent the truth® anti-tobacco campaign to travel on tours like Scream Tour 6 and the VANS Warped Tour®. We need superstars like you to help us expose the facts behind the tobacco industry and educate youth about truth®. Here's the catch...

*You must be 21 or older
**You must be responsible and mature, as well as creative and outgoing
***You must be willing to travel from JUNE 2007 through SEPTEMBER 2007

To become eligible and get more information, please visit thetruth.com/applications and fill out a questionnaire.

After submitting your completed QUESTIONNAIRE (Round 1); you may potentially proceed to a PHONE INTERVIEW (Round 2), which will determine if you are invited to New York City for a FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW (Round
3) and FINAL SELECTION (Round 4).

The interview and training will be held in NYC and will take place between May 29th - June 2nd. If you are invited, you will have to provide your own transportation and lodging to NYC. One last thing, all finalists invited to NYC must be available for the entire duration of May 29th to June 2nd.

QUESTIONNAIRE DEADLINE: MAY 2nd, BY 9:00PM EST

APPLY NOW AT: thetruth.com/applications

Reel Big Fish - Best Live Show Ever?

Reel Big Fish is a "Ska / Rock / Comedy" band that is now working on their 11th album. I recently had the pleasure of seeing them perform for the second time, and let me tell you, it gets better every time. I'm not usually the type of person that listens to ska, but their music is filled with so much passion, talent, and even humor that I find myself singing along anyways. Back to their show, because, technically thats what I'm reviewing... Oh My God. Reel Big Fish really knows how to get the crowd involved. There was more movement on stage than any band filled with 19 year olds. Scott Klopfenstien, one of the bands two trumpet players, backup vocalist, second guitarist, and piano player was one of the most talented musicians I have seen grace a record label in a long time. Half of the time I was just watching him and wondering how he does what he does. But don't get me wrong, the rest of the band is insanely talented as well. Jumping around and parading on stage while playing an instrument (WELL) isn't the easiest thing to do. Each person fills in with backup vocals, and more importantly witty lines throughout the night! Reel Big Fish hit the jackpot with finding the perfect blend between music and comedy. Look Out for this band next time they're in your area!

Learning Guitar, As Easy as "A","B","C"

Have you ever played Guitar Hero and wished it was a real guitar so that you could learn while you play? I've been trying to learn guitar for ages. I think I picked up my first in third grade, and I just couldn't get it. I tried again in high school, learned a few songs and gave up again because reading chords got too complicated...? Whatever the reason, I kept giving up. I'm a singer, not a guitarist right? Well I think I found my solution. A company called Fretlight is making guitars that will take the stress out of learning guitar. What they have done is placed a set of small LED lights under every string for every fret. You can plug the guitar into your computer, select a song or lesson, and the chord or note that you need to play lights up.

The interactive light system shows you where to play no different than how the letters on your computer's keyboard show you which keys do what. You press the "A" button and an "A" pops up on the monitor. This is how we learn to type, so why should the guitar be any different?

These guitars run a little expensive. You can pick one up at Fretlight's Website for anywhere from $400 to $900. But cutting down on the learning time and allowing you to have more fun with an instrument you enjoy, may just be worth the price.

About Me

Hi! I'm EverydayHero AKA Wes Crouch.

I've been in bands for as long as I can remember. What I don't remember (or maybe trying to forget?) is how well the bands have done. I've been stuck with THE WORST bunches of guys ever and not one of my musical endeavors has gotten very far off the ground. Lately its been starting to look good though. I did a few side projects, and now it seems that bands from all over are dying to get me to sing for them, girls are dying to get me to sing to them, and I'm dying to get back on the main stage. I'm here to document my journey as I go from small town natural disaster to big time musician/heart breaker and maybe help a few of you along the way. I'll be posting Journal entries, How To's, Reveiws of Bands both well known and upcoming, and reviews of the gear that you need to have! I'm always around so if you have a question about anything band related or otherwise, feel free to ask!

Oh... and P.S. If you need a singer??? Let me know!!!

How To - Set Up Practices

Every new band needs a place to practice. I know I've practiced in garages, bedrooms, basements, living rooms, hallways, and even written some acoustic stuff on a train bridge and on the edge of a cliff. Anywhere your comfortable (and let me stress the word comfortable) can make a great practice spot. Being comfortable is important though, especially for a vocalist. Any stress can throw off their game, and practicing for the first time with a new band in front of your extended family can't help. Distance is also a big problem. Most bands contain between 3 to 5 people. If the practice space is hard to get to for even 1 person, it will throw the whole band off.

In my opinion a serious band should practice at least 2 or three times a week. I've definitely had a few side-projects where there was only time to get together once, and it worked fine; the downside being we wrote less material in a longer amount of time, and we constantly forgot the material we were working on. Trying to answer how long you should practice is another story. I've had 8 hour practices and 2 hour practices, and each one works for different types of people. If your band consists of guys who can jam for 8 hours straight and not loose a creative focus AND still have fun with it, then go for it. Not many people can do this though. The rule of thumb is, practice for as long as it takes you to feel like you have accomplished something. If you can get it done in 2 hours, go for it! I always bring some type of mini recorder with me just so I know what to work on for next time. Not having to MEMORIZE things during practice definitely helps to keep everyone in a good mood.

A few side notes. You should practice how you would on stage. Drums in back, singer in the middle, and guitars on the sides. Thats unless your writing your own music. If your writing, you want to turn everything down so that you can hear each part clearly. If the music doesn't go together soft, then it won't go together loud. This just helps to keep everything more controlled and keep frustration out of the picture. Also, Everyone should practice their part in their own time... Your band won't stay together long, if a few people are working hard for it and your just riding the wave.

Once again, let me know if I missed anything. I'd be happy to update!