Why it's a good time to be a musician in Dallas

I've always been a natural optimist. But when it comes to the music industry, especially over the last decade, I've been far too pessimistic. On any given day you could hear me complaining about the proliferation of mediocre artists online who muddy the waters for the "good" artists; about the lack of gatekeepers and culture-makers; about the impossibility of making any money; about the attitudinal shift of our generation that no longer values music as something worth paying for -- the list could go on. So today, I'm going to focus on the full half of the glass and write about some positive things -- a few reasons why right now is a good time to be a musician, particularly a musician in the Dallas area.
Here goes:

1. This was the year of Adele.

Adele is awesome. That is all.
(photo attribution here)

True, this was also a big year for Katy Perry and other traditional pop stars, but the huge popularity of Adele's music is restoring my faith in the tastes of the music-buying public, and could pave the way for more record labels to sign artists like Adele now that the popularity of her music has been proven. Adele combines excellent, raw vocals, great songwriting, a warm, vintage tone, beats you want to dance to, and melodies that make you cry. And she's the real deal; her live performances are every bit as good as the recordings. True, other artists that combine sincerity, great musicianship, and fantastic writing have found success this year, including The Civil Wars, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy, Mumford and Sons and other acoustic acts that favor musicianship over auto-tuned vocals. However, I tend to single Adele out because she seems to be so universally liked. There's no one I've asked who doesn't like her music -- and that applies to people who are fans of artists from Katy Perry to Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin. This is why she's powerful -- she's exposing fans of all sorts of music to something truly good, which may lead them to try more good stuff. It's kind of like converting a Bud Light drinker to fine wine -- Adele is the sweet, yet full Cabernet Sauvignon that eases the transition into other wines.  Now I'm probably sounding snobby, so I'll give it a rest. Adele is awesome. That's pretty much all there is to it.

2. KXT


For Dallas musicians and fans of great music alike, KXT is what we've been praying for. The listener-supported public music station (like KERA but with music), airing on 91.7, celebrated two years on the air in 2011, and this is a great sign, because it shows that, even in the midst of difficult economic times, listeners have kept the station going. KXT plays all sorts of music. Sometimes its eclecticism is too much for me (I'm not a big fan of 80s pop or reggae) but I'm happy to take those few songs I don't particularly care for if it means I can hear a mix of all the artists I just cited above, plus the Beatles, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bob Dylan, Counting Crows, and a mix of local artists like Seryn, who I wouldn't have heard of had it not been for KXT.  The local artist bit may be the best feature for people like me, who happen to be local artists. KXT accepts music submissions -- not something many stations can do -- and proudly supports local music. Maybe 2012 will be the year you will tune in and hear Girl on a String over the airwaves.

3. Art House Dallas

2011 marked the 1-year anniversary for the arrival of Art House Dallas on the arts/music scene here in DFW and the 20th anniversary for its parent organization, Art House America, based in Nashville. The goal of Art House America is "cultivating creative community for the common good." They do this through concerts, monthly pub gatherings, songwriting workshops and workshops for all sorts of creative types, quarterly book discussions, and social networking. I attended a discussion of Francis Schaeffer's Art and the Bible, and I immediately felt like I had come home to people who were like-minded. If you are a Christian and an artist and feel that you're not sure how your calling fits in to the world when it's hard to make money and the church at large isn't always as supportive of the arts as it could be, Art House Dallas is the place for you to find encouragement, friends, and opportunities. Check out their website, because they express it better than I could.

4. Learning opportunities for young musicians: DBU

Yes, I'm biased because DBU is my alma mater, but in the 10-years since I entered their brand new music business program, DBU has grown in ways that would have been hard to imagine when I was completing my college recording projects in a tiny studio in the basement of the library with 1 computer, a microphone and pro-tools. The university as a whole continues to deepen its academic rigor and add to the beauty of the architecture on campus and the quality of the resources available to students, but the biggest change for music business majors is the state-of-the-art recording studio they finished this year. (Read all about this amazing studio here.) Now, if you are a young, Dallas musician looking for a great education in the music industry, you truly don't need to go to Nashville or LA -- everything you need is in this small Dallas liberal-arts school. And the liberal-arts part is important, because you don't merely learn technical skills -- you learn how to use your mind -- and that helps with any job you end up with (just in case you don't make money as a musician -- not that I'd know anything about that... :))

So there you have it: a few reasons for Dallas musicians to be optimistic about what the future holds. I can't wait to add to this list -- is there anything you would add?

Resolutions kept, Resolutions made

Happy New Year! Last year, about this time, I wrote on our facebook music page:

Christine Hand Music

Happy New Year! Our New Year's Resolution? To finish and release our EP! Like all goals, we may need our friends' (and fans') encouragement to stay motivated...

And that's exactly what happened. Thanks to the support -- through giving donations, coming to shows, and asking us to play paying concerts -- from  people who love us and our music, we were able to make our EP a reality! How many success stories of new year's resolutions kept do you hear this time of year?

So, we wanted to say thank you, and to make public our (well really, my) 2012 resolution: to write regularly on this website's blog. If you take a look at the blog history for this site for the past year, it would appear that we merely played one house concert in January and spent the rest of the year recording and promoting our new record. But so much more than that happened -- seen, in part, on our facebook page, yet worthy of full blog entries. A few of the highlights include composing music for the Stolen Shakespeare Guild's production of "Love's Labour's Lost;" discovering a new coffeehouse to perform in -- Roots in North Richland Hills -- which quickly became a new favorite for the excellent fair trade coffee, lovely atmosphere, and dedicated clientele; arranging duet guitar versions of "The Wedding March," and "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" for a wedding we played for this summer; and having a very fun and successful CD release party, which certainly deserved documentation here.

In addition to musical goings-on, I would like a space to record other musings on the creative life, especially as playing live shows and recording becomes more and more minimized in the coming year as my day-job (as a teacher and phd student in literature at the University of Texas at Dallas) becomes increasingly time consuming as I prepare for doctoral qualifying exams.

 So, even if our performance times are limited this year, I will be keeping in touch through this blog. I hope you will stop by and join the conversation.

Happy 2012

New EP: "Girl on a String" Free Download!

Click on the link below for a free download of our brand new EP, "Girl on a String." We'd appreciate your leaving a tip of your choice, but we mostly want you to enjoy the new music and tell all your friends.



Also, if you're in the Dallas area, don't miss our CD release party tonight, at Lake Highlands Church Coffeehouse. We start at 8:00, but be sure to come early to hear the talented Brian Holand at 7:30.

We have a limited number of physical CDs available, and if you come to our show, you can purchase a signed copy!

Thanks for all your support! We couldn't have made this EP without you!

CD Release Party

 Here's a sneak peek of the cover art,
courtesy of the very talented Krystal Wight Armstrong. 

Okay, guys, it's official: our CD release party for "Girl on a String" is happening Friday, September 23rd at 8:00 pm at Lake Highlands Church coffeehouse, with Brian Holland opening at 7:30. (See their website here for more info.) You do not want to miss this awesome, free, and long-anticipated event! Also, be sure to check back here on September 23rd to find out how you can get your free download.

In the Studio! (Pics)

So far, we've spent our Summer visiting the wonderful NoiseVault Studios here in Dallas, TX, to record our upcoming EP - Girl on a String.  (It should be ready by August or September.)  The music sounds better than ever, and the studio experience strongly exceeded our expectations.  (No, Noise Vault didn't ask us to say that, we're just extremely pleased with them.)  It's rare to find a studio that does things the way you want them to without spending half a day explaining how everything is supposed to sound.

Here's some photos of the process.:

(All photos in this group were taken by Connor Roberts.)

Christine's guitar work formed the foundation of each track, and she always got it right on the first take.

Here's Ed laying down the bassline for the song 'Open Country.'  Between the drums, the organ, the piano, the bass, and his vocal lines, Ed probably did more work than anyone else in the studio.  He's very talented.

Believe it, or not, this mic was used by Jennifer Lopez before it was purchased by our sound engineer.  It made Christine's voice sound great.

Even though I don't really play the piano in our shows, when we got to the studio I had an idea for a piano part on Christine's song, 'Girl on a String,' and I recorded on the next take (while Ed was recording the drums and Christine was singing in the vocal booth).  The ability to record a few separate tracks simultaneously made the process much quicker.  (In the background you can see that I'm under the intense scrutiny of our sound engineer, James.)

"I think you should turn up the guitar...uh, a little more...no, that's too much...wait, back up....no, down again...now, turn it up just a little...and back down...that's too far..."

The drums are my favorite part of the recording, so far.  They sound really great, and Ed's jazz/rock style gave our music a great sound.

We've been playing 'Open Country' for two years, but it only got a mandolin part a few weeks ago.  And, yes, tall guys look goofy playing little instruments.

It's a good thing we went to the studio to record some songs, because we really don't have many band pictures.

Thanks for your support, and keep an eye out for Christine Hand's EP, Girl on a String.

Performing Tonight @ White Rock Coffee in Dallas

Tonight, at 8:00 p.m.we'll be playing at White Rock Coffee House in Dallas, TX.  Their coffee is amazing and the people there are always great.  See you there!

Click here for directions.

(By the way, the spiced chai at White Rock Coffee is my favorite coffee drink in Dallas. -Adam)

Recording

We had a great time recording this weekend at Noise Vault Studio. We will continue the work this weekend, and we hope to have a new EP out by fall! In the meantime, come to one of our shows. This month, we'll be at Dallas favorite, White Rock Coffee on June 17th. Hear songs from the new record, and enjoy coffee from a coffeehouse recently voted one of the top ten coffeehouses in the nation! We'll look forward to seeing you later in June!