The Winning Tape

AMBITION. If you don t have it, stop right there.

ADVICE. Listen to advice but only act upon it if you re convinced it s right for you.

A&R, the key to your future career. Be nice to A&R men and buy them packets of wine gums.

ATTITUDE. Yours can be an asset or a hindrance.

BEST SONG. Always put your best song first on your demo. The right person might not get any further.

CLICHIS, to be avoided like the plague at this moment in time even as we speak. (Especially, waiting all alone by the telephone; we ve got to get ourselves together; I m going to love you till the end of time , etc.)

CONTACT name and number, always include them. There s not much point if someone loves your demo and they can t get in touch with you. If it s an e-mail address make sure it s legible and don t change it next week.

CHORUSES. Too many Irish rock songs don t have any, but they re a bit essential if you want to have even a mini-hit.

COVER VERSIONS. Don t touch them unless you re going to do something interesting with them, otherwise they simply prove how unimaginative you are.

DEMONSTRATION. That s what a demo is, a demonstration that you can play, write and sing to an acceptable standard in relation to the kind of music you want to perform and record.

EDITING. Your song may be too long and need a little editing to stop key people dropping off during the nineteenth verse. See if you can pare it down to the bare essentials. If it s over four minutes it won t get many plays on the radio anyway.

FAN BASE. As soon as you start demoing and doing gigs you should start building a fan base.

FANNING SESSIONS. A great scoop to get one, but make sure you re able to take advantage of it when it s offered.

GRATUITOUS PRAISE. A very dangerous thing and much more seductive than either constructive criticism or vitriolic abuse. Your best friends and family will tell you how wonderful you are when really you need to know how you can improve.

HOOK-LINES. Many a drab song has been sold by a neat hook-line that nags away at your brain-cells until you give in.

HUMOUR. Listening to demos is very serious work, so leave out the rambling pages of obscure jokey stuff that never really seems as funny to read as you thought it should be.

IMRO. If you re a songwriter you should be a member of IMRO, especially since it s free and the entry criteria are relatively simple.
LIVE GIGS. Record them as often as possible and listen carefully afterwards. This can be a comparatively cheap source of demos and a good way of judging if you re getting there.

MANAGER. You don t need one as early as you think. In the meantime, doing as much as you can for yourself will be character-building.

MASTER COPY. Never ever send out a demo without keeping your own master copy.

MEDIA. The media are the channels through which you can communicate with the public
who will buy your records and concert
tickets. The sooner you start to learn how to
use those channels the better.

MUSIC INDUSTRY. Do you know enough about how it works in order to carve out a career in it? Do you think you could become an
international footballer without knowing the
rules of the game?

NUISANCE. Don t become one by hassling people who are trying to do their work (especially journalists, unless you want to buy them creamy pints or sumptuous lunches).

NUMBER OF SONGS. The people you send demos to are generally busy, so keep it to 3/4 of your best songs.

ORIGINALITY. Is your work truly original or are you merely regurgitating the work of your more illustrious heroes?

PRODUCTION. The production on a demo should be delicately applied so as to enhance a song rather than smother it. The better your songs are the less production they need to prove their point.

REHEARSALS. An obvious but costly
necessity, so don t overdo them to the point
that your live appearances lose all spark and spontaneity.

RIVALRY with local bands is usually a waste of precious energies. You don t want to be better than the local band, you want to be better than the best band in the world!

RHYMES. There s no law that says your song lyrics must consist exclusively of rhyming couplets of equal length.

SONGS. Songs are the raw materials that fuel your musical career. Without some really good ones you won t be going too far. Very few acts who are even moderately successful today would have achieved that success without a couple of decent tunes.

STUDIOS can be expensive places, so prepare as much as you can before you venture in. That way you avoid wasting your money.

TAPES. Don t tape over some old Neil Young album you found under your brother s bed, and don t forget to wind it back to the start.

TRACK LIST. Always ensure your Demo has one and that it s legible.

UP. It s the only way.
WORK. A life in music will involve lots of the stuff, so get used to it from the get-go.

YOUTHFUL ZEAL. A wonderful thing and a joy to behold when in full flight, but you may find that a couple of old blokes might have some useful advice or information for you now and then.