u/smtrautman

I have been playing open mics for a while now, and I am ready to make the leap to more "proper" gigs. I don't mean huge rooms, I just mean non-open mic, scheduled shows at say a coffee shop. I've looked up a lot of advice on here about how to approach venues, and of course all of them say to include links to your music.

The problem is that I like to record full-band music, so that's what I have to share. But I don't have a band right now, so I am looking to book shows as a solo artist. What's the best way to handle that in the booking email? I could ignore the recorded versions entirely, but they sound better than the handful of phone-video solo live clips I have. But in a very short email, it's a little clunky to say "Here are some full-band examples of my songs, but I am looking to play these songs as a solo act." What would be a good way to handle this?

Starting a couple of years ago, I got back into writing original music. Soon after, I started trying to teach myself basic home recording. This has always been on the cheap. Cheap mics, cheap interface, free DAW (GarageBand). I have gotten better as time goes on, but my final results still sound like what they are: a hobbyist with no training messing around on a MacBook in his bedroom.

I would like to take some of these songs and get them properly mixed by a pro mixing engineer. I have found someone I like for this task, and the quote is decent. But I am a little nervous because there are VERY basic process questions I don't understand. Like, I assume I will be sending over .wav files of each individual track, right? And I have heard you are supposed to strip those tracks of any processing you put on them in your amateur mix, correct? One of the plugins I have enabled is a global pitch correction - should I take that off too? Does a mixing engineer deal with things like comp'ing tracks or tuning vocals? For my tracks that need comping (vocals and bass), I have already done that work. Should I send the completed comp track to save them work, or are comping decisions something a pro mixer would like to be involved with themselves?

I have never done this before, and I feel like these are questions that are so basic, no one ever really asks them, so I don't see a lot of clear advice online. Any basic info and advice y'all can give me to seem less like a noob would be appreciated.

I am a hobbyist singer-songwriter. I have a handful of bedroom recordings, and have played the open mic circuit in my town. Ultimately, I do not have any real "commercial" ambitions, but I would like to take the next small step of playing some small local shows. Before doing that, I assume I am going to need some kind of social media presence for the music (which I would like to keep separate from my personal socials).

So, my question is, what are your tips for someone who is trying to do this for the first time? What are some do's and don'ts, what are some things venue owners and other musicians are going to expect to see? Also, which social platforms are preferred for this kind of thing (I feel like I'm too old for TikTok and too young for Facebook, but I'm willing to compromise). To be clear, I am not looking for what will grow an audience on SM, how to go viral, etc. The plan is not to be an influencer or content creator. I just want an Instagram (or whatever) account that I can use to showcase my music when reaching out to venues, and to promote shows if and when I get them. Any tips would be appreciated.

I recently found this community, and it’s something I’ve been looking for a while. It’s been fun poking around and listening to everyone else’s stuff. I write and record my own songs on an amateur/hobbyist basis, and I would like some legit feedback. Especially about the recording/mixing, but I’ll take any honest impressions. Go ahead, I can take it.

This is my most recent finished recording. TIA.