Lessons

Lesson Info

Blasko Interview Clip and Q&A

Blasco is a musician who started a little band, got signed when he was back in high school. He's played with ozzy osborne. For years, he played with rob zombie, he's a guy, and we don't want to play. This is because he was in a band. It was in his own band, decided at some point that, you know, maybe it's, easier for me to play for somebody else. So he dropped. It had to be my ben, and he got into this mental. I just want to play for other people and be part of the band, so now play the clip. You know you've been in enough fans to know that they all don't work out but you've managed to stay working at the top level for a long time to talk about that well there's a little bit of a transition I literally graduated high school in nineteen eighty eight got in a van the next day and went on tour we toured across the u s came back and on the drive home from the last gig we're all kind of like you know I think this is over so from that point I joined it like I was in a band and we waited the ...

l a thing that born and raised in l a but then we met walter o'brien and cooled and they were the parana brothers at that time and walter managed pantera and andy managed white zombie who were king shit metal bands at the time and it was very very brief time but in that time I met walter and his whole crew met andy and his whole crew so then what that led into after that was I joined a band called prongs that was also managed by walter o'brien and and that and those guys were still rolling from there briefly was in dancing for a very short amount of time and then that led into joining rob zombie's band and this is one of those things that maybe you know, people who can take out of it it's like man it is who, you know coming from the guy that was in his own bands to then transitioning into the hired gun thing. Now I did say to someone at that time, you know what I'm done with playing in my own band. I think I just want to play for other 00:01:58.774 --> 00:02:01. people's bands. It's very easy thing to say, but not 00:02:01.51 --> 00:02:05. a very easy thing. Teo really make a reality. Fortunately, 00:02:05.81 --> 00:02:07. for me, it was a reality, and the only thing that 00:02:07.8 --> 00:02:10. I can pull out of that is networking building those 00:02:10.73 --> 00:02:13. relationships because people asked me like, oh, like, 00:02:13.36 --> 00:02:15. how do you what's the secret? You know what the secret 00:02:15.11 --> 00:02:18. is? It's like what you don't understand the hour that 00:02:18.59 --> 00:02:21. you're on stage or half an hour, hour and a half whatever 00:02:21.26 --> 00:02:24. it is that's, not that's, not the important part, 00:02:24.17 --> 00:02:27. it's the other twenty three hours of the day. If no 00:02:27.18 --> 00:02:29. one can stand you because you're a raging asshole 00:02:29.53 --> 00:02:32. or drug addict or whatever for twenty three hours 00:02:32.0 --> 00:02:34. a day, does it matter how good you are for the hour 00:02:34.89 --> 00:02:37. on stage? It's, like people want to have someone cool 00:02:37.14 --> 00:02:37. in there. 00:02:39.92 --> 00:02:44. No yeah how about that picture in blasco great smart 00:02:44.65 --> 00:02:46. guy and I'm watching dave over there not in his hands 00:02:46.94 --> 00:02:48. that speak to you a little bit 00:02:49.36 --> 00:02:52. okay you didn't want wants to work with an asshole 00:02:52.4 --> 00:02:58. I know but it was a constant effort on his part to 00:02:58.36 --> 00:03:01. keep it going and we had the same conversation I joked 00:03:01.01 --> 00:03:02. about he goes god damn right I can't believe I've 00:03:02.88 --> 00:03:06. been able to do this for you know, thirty years and 00:03:06.05 --> 00:03:08. I said welcome to the welcome to the party and that's 00:03:08.66 --> 00:03:11. why when people think I'm kidding about that fear 00:03:11.16 --> 00:03:14. and insecurity and paranoia and all that stuff it's 00:03:14.66 --> 00:03:19. part of the game and you just got up handle it you 00:03:19.36 --> 00:03:21. know but not everybody can so you've got to decide 00:03:21.95 --> 00:03:23. on your own everybody's night in here we have some 00:03:23.5 --> 00:03:25. more questions over there evelyn by the way you guys 00:03:25.59 --> 00:03:28. are doing a fine job here today okay? Thank you make 00:03:28.63 --> 00:03:31. it easy for us you guys that we make some ground here 00:03:31.93 --> 00:03:35. today guys ready to chow down here all right so I 00:03:35.32 --> 00:03:37. wouldn't just bail re capital but the most important 00:03:37.46 --> 00:03:41. thing of this is you know, using the golf analogy 00:03:41.56 --> 00:03:43. I hate it when people I'm just going to hit somewhere 00:03:43.77 --> 00:03:46. out there I'm going not good enough right? I'm going 00:03:46.2 --> 00:03:48. to hit it at the tree. I want you to be thinking and 00:03:48.93 --> 00:03:52. you go google all you youngsters out there. Ben hogan 00:03:52.24 --> 00:03:56. right and I want you to be aiming at the bird on the 00:03:56.12 --> 00:04:01. right branch on the end of that tree and commit to 00:04:01.31 --> 00:04:07. the target and go after it and remember gentlemen 00:04:07.24 --> 00:04:12. you don't ask you don't yeah okay on dh that it sounds 00:04:12.96 --> 00:04:17. stupid but I'm telling you that's how you get there 00:04:17.04 --> 00:04:21. don't don't ask the question and give the answer your 00:04:21.37 --> 00:04:25. job to ask the question life we'll give you the answer 00:04:25.55 --> 00:04:28. okay let's go ahead and ask this one from jazz bear 00:04:28.82 --> 00:04:31. how about for a behind the scenes jobs like production 00:04:31.42 --> 00:04:34. scoring your session musician would love to know run 00:04:34.59 --> 00:04:37. man's advice on getting my name out there work on 00:04:37.13 --> 00:04:39. whatever projects were available or hold out and say 00:04:39.45 --> 00:04:41. no to doing work I don't love 00:04:42.59 --> 00:04:46. let me tell you the difference between being a professional 00:04:46.59 --> 00:04:49. musician and being a hobby right 00:04:51.09 --> 00:04:53. hey brian they ever ask you to do some around here 00:04:53.08 --> 00:04:59. you really love never yeah he's lying okay in life 00:04:59.49 --> 00:05:02. you do all kinds of things that are not perfect remember 00:05:02.21 --> 00:05:03. I said it again it's going to sound like a broken 00:05:03.9 --> 00:05:06. records not perfect man I'll tell you something I 00:05:06.66 --> 00:05:09. learned too many band members that's got to be a musician 00:05:09.89 --> 00:05:12. can sit there and they want to do it just right I 00:05:12.2 --> 00:05:14. wanted to be really pleased man getting in if you 00:05:14.9 --> 00:05:18. want to get in the game sitting on the sidelines waiting 00:05:18.29 --> 00:05:21. for the train to your perfect destination is crap 00:05:21.57 --> 00:05:24. it's not gonna work okay so you know what you know 00:05:24.95 --> 00:05:29. a nim perfect idea that gets on the train to somewhere 00:05:29.26 --> 00:05:32. that gets polished up by the time you get there ok 00:05:32.56 --> 00:05:35. is much better than a first class seat on the train 00:05:35.03 --> 00:05:39. to nowhere which leaves any time right so if the questions 00:05:39.56 --> 00:05:42. you want to be a professional musician do you take 00:05:42.34 --> 00:05:44. some things that maybe you don't love I'm saying if 00:05:44.9 --> 00:05:47. you're a professional music damn right you're going 00:05:47.08 --> 00:05:49. to take some things you don't love but that's what 00:05:49.86 --> 00:05:52. defines you as a professional musician you get paid 00:05:52.5 --> 00:05:55. for it okay I haven't loved every moment of being 00:05:55.68 --> 00:05:58. a manager I've had some horrible moments of being 00:05:58.19 --> 00:06:01. a manager with people I like okay and I'm sure they 00:06:01.84 --> 00:06:06. would feel the same way but you do it and if the whole 00:06:06.37 --> 00:06:10. of the picture is where you wanted to be it's mostly 00:06:10.62 --> 00:06:13. okay not perfect but but manageable then that's what 00:06:13.74 --> 00:06:16. you do okay and how do you get to those people just 00:06:16.96 --> 00:06:19. we just play the video you make the calls you hang 00:06:19.81 --> 00:06:22. out where people you stay in the scoring zone where 00:06:22.11 --> 00:06:24. something good can happen you know and by the way 00:06:25.0 --> 00:06:26. the couch is not the scoring area 00:06:27.96 --> 00:06:31. okay any more questions yeah absolutely. Um I actually 00:06:31.03 --> 00:06:34. have ah question from online mixed in with my own 00:06:34.27 --> 00:06:37. question for you let's take your spurs because I've 00:06:37.87 --> 00:06:40. been dying to ask you well I have a cousin who's in 00:06:40.64 --> 00:06:43. a band and I talked to him a lot about his band and 00:06:43.76 --> 00:06:45. I'm hearing a lot of the same questions coming from 00:06:45.81 --> 00:06:48. online that I hear him complain about his band and 00:06:48.39 --> 00:06:50. it's we can't get our foot in the door promoters want 00:06:50.98 --> 00:06:54. money from us we need a manager and I'm hearing different 00:06:54.02 --> 00:06:56. versions of this repeated throughout the day and it's 00:06:56.63 --> 00:06:59. getting me psyched amps you know so my question for 00:06:59.78 --> 00:07:02. you is what are your thoughts on going outside the 00:07:02.38 --> 00:07:05. box to differentiate yourself from everybody that 00:07:05.06 --> 00:07:07. seems to be the same there's a billion bands out there 00:07:07.36 --> 00:07:09. there's a billion managers out there thinking outside 00:07:09.98 --> 00:07:12. the box and that's where this question from j gorski 00:07:12.99 --> 00:07:15. comes in what valued is creating a music video have 00:07:15.9 --> 00:07:17. towards the band publicity in today's competitive 00:07:17.88 --> 00:07:20. social media rome in other words maybe you don't have 00:07:20.72 --> 00:07:23. a manager you don't have the financial backing but 00:07:23.0 --> 00:07:25. you're doing creative things that you might not have 00:07:25.33 --> 00:07:28. done ten fifteen years ago I think that's a good question 00:07:28.71 --> 00:07:31. what valued is a video have debatable they've been 00:07:31.25 --> 00:07:33. debating that went even when there was mtv right? 00:07:34.66 --> 00:07:37. Because if you have a great video but it's not a great 00:07:37.24 --> 00:07:37. song 00:07:39.02 --> 00:07:42. why not mean anything? There's been a few videos that 00:07:42.42 --> 00:07:46. were great got great attention on youtube and that 00:07:46.98 --> 00:07:50. might have showed mohr skillet making a clever video 00:07:50.4 --> 00:07:53. than writing a great song right, so if you want to 00:07:53.36 --> 00:07:55. be in business for the long term it's great songs 00:07:56.49 --> 00:07:59. and great performances in videos part of that I'll 00:07:59.42 --> 00:08:02. say this if you're looking in to get attention and 00:08:02.97 --> 00:08:05. we're talking about videos in particular talk about 00:08:05.33 --> 00:08:08. the gatekeepers mtv was the classic gatekeeper bands 00:08:08.83 --> 00:08:11. would spend hundreds of thousand dollars big record 00:08:11.5 --> 00:08:14. companies walk into that meeting and some cloud would 00:08:14.56 --> 00:08:17. sit there going I don't know man and you were done 00:08:17.7 --> 00:08:21. so today you have youtube so everybody can play which 00:08:21.48 --> 00:08:25. is good news everybody can play which is that was 00:08:25.51 --> 00:08:29. a bad news but challenging news right? So the point 00:08:29.09 --> 00:08:32. of it is while you're waiting for all these other 00:08:32.1 --> 00:08:35. things toe happen everybody knows what goes on with 00:08:35.72 --> 00:08:38. successful careers great songs, great performances 00:08:38.53 --> 00:08:40. great video they got great photos they have a sense 00:08:40.81 --> 00:08:44. of themselves you know, knowing who you are makes 00:08:44.53 --> 00:08:48. it more real. Ok, so those those big picture elements 00:08:48.48 --> 00:08:51. all come to play so you know, thinking out of the 00:08:51.55 --> 00:08:55. box? Hell yeah that's what if the gate keepers is 00:08:55.02 --> 00:08:59. about because everybody myself included get comfortable 00:08:59.47 --> 00:09:02. with the way things were working for them right? And 00:09:02.99 --> 00:09:06. so they want you to play their comfort zone ifyou're 00:09:06.17 --> 00:09:10. trying tio to get to where you want to be your kind 00:09:10.42 --> 00:09:12. of working around everybody's comforts and I'll give 00:09:12.84 --> 00:09:15. you one thought it too as we gotto break here you 00:09:15.58 --> 00:09:17. know, I have a saying around the office got knocked 00:09:17.58 --> 00:09:19. three times for me my wife will tell you it's true 00:09:19.98 --> 00:09:22. somebody will come and mentioned something to me and 00:09:22.47 --> 00:09:24. all kind of oh yeah great and then I'll be off to 00:09:24.35 --> 00:09:26. something else and then the second time somebody collected 00:09:26.66 --> 00:09:29. you hear that record and you'll go yeah and then you 00:09:29.76 --> 00:09:31. won't think about it again and then you'll hear it 00:09:31.64 --> 00:09:33. on the radio so we'll give you a great example my 00:09:33.71 --> 00:09:37. young and turned now employees cody rahm nous three 00:09:37.46 --> 00:09:39. knocks on the door I met him I did something like 00:09:39.23 --> 00:09:41. this at the musician's institute in l a a while back 00:09:42.08 --> 00:09:45. and it turns out and in preparing for this I watched 00:09:45.33 --> 00:09:47. this video of the performance and there was this kid 00:09:48.05 --> 00:09:50. that stood up said sure I'm trying to decide whether 00:09:50.54 --> 00:09:53. I want to be a producer of this or that I work in 00:09:53.04 --> 00:09:56. a bar what should I do if I want to be in the recording 00:09:56.47 --> 00:09:58. because they need to hang out of studios man that 00:09:58.5 --> 00:10:02. was cody rahm nous okay we ran this music mentor contest right hey you to help me get some traffic and I'll be your mentor right so cody romney's pops up there and again right and so he's part of thing doesn't win right and so fair enough he offers to be an intern say great one down did a show at usc and so now he's back on my radar again and what happened in that is that the three knocks on my door finally got through right? So the moral of the story is knock one didn't mean I hate him not to didn't mean I was making any judgments that wasn't it by the time I got knocked three now my radar was up and then when he came in and showed me his stuff came in and cleaned up the closet that I've been bitching about for a year cleaned up came in vacuuming the floors and I'm sitting there going do then I find out a little bit about the guy is a walk on the football team and I think he's on the kickoff team this guy's volunteering to run full speed into and I'm doing this my boy and so now he's been hired so you've got to just keep at it that's the moral of this story if you want an easy job, do it what does medea here go to college, get good grades, goto work for the big accounting firm and be miserable? Okay, all right, what are we going to do? We're going to talk about some of the tools you've got out there and we've already talked about some of this and I knew we would get going on this, but we'll talk about some more ideas and I'm gonna give you some thoughts about things that I've done over over the years and I am ways to just get out there and that we're going to know most of them, but we'll talk about him and for some of the folks that out there watching it might, you know, give them some insight into it. So that's, what we're going to talk about and then we'll talk about a little bit more about getting a plan together, which we're actually in the process of doing right here, but may well pick a couple people from the internet to give a plan two. I think there are many people on the great level plan, a couple quotes from the internet. We have white view music who says, I'm so excited. I'm a photographer and I've been watching creative life for a long time, but I'm also a singer, and that is my first love, so thank you, creative live for bringing the music genre. Chase loses a fan and I get what I have to break a smart guy he's got us all here right way also have absent monk, who said, red man is a raging dinosaur full of action.