Indie Rock 101: Running, Recording, and Promoting your Band www.indierock101.com This page intentionally left blank Indie Rock 101: Running, Recording, and Promoting your Band by Richard Turgeon Designs and illustrations by Richard Turgeon AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2009, Richard Turgeon. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail:
[email protected] You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Application submitted British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-240-81196-3 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com 09 10 11 12 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Dedication Music has been and will remain a lifelong journey for me. It’s also a team sport. So I’ll need to dedicate this book to several people—namely all the great musicians, engineers, and home recordists I’ve had the good fortune to work with and learn from since I was 13. It’s also dedicated to my mom for instilling in me an appreciation for words, and to my dad for his love of music. This page intentionally left blank Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 What’s an indie rock band?.....................................................................................1 Who this book is for and what it will give you....................................................1 Before we start…......................................................................................................2 Develop and trust your own ears, tastes, and instincts…..........................2 You don’t need to spend a lot of money to make