Everyone benefits from critiques, but not enough artists receive them. The Young Performers Club show competitors top input from our showcase series is that they want to receive both live and written performance critiques. We have provided written critiques from the judging panel in a few of our showcases, but the hardest part is that we sometimes get asked questions on specific comments which we can’t answer since we were not involved in the judging process. Setting up a consistent critique structure is highly recommended.
Many performers receive feedback from their teachers, family and industry professionals, but they don’t as often receive feedback from their own band members or peer musicians.

In a coaching session with a band in our development program, Catching Arrows, the national touring band, The House on Cliff, commented on how important their critique sessions are to the development and success of the band. They will review band footage after their shows and openly discuss weaknesses, strengths and opportunities for improvement. Many times they were unaware of the observations made, so they feel seeing the performance footage is super helpful. The videos also provide them information on the crowd’s engagement and interaction with the band and their music.

The Catching Arrows Band has set up a collaborative practice with another peer band, Far Reach, for the purpose of doing a stage presence clinic and critiquing each other’s performances. This is an easy session to set up, and it can prove to be very beneficial for all participants.

Critiques don’t always need to focus on the band’s weaknesses, but should also focus on the areas they are strong so they can make sure they incorporate those strengths into each and every gig.

What to look for in your critiques:

•Is the band having fun?
•Does the band look happy to be performing at the event?
•Do the band members connect and engage with the audience and fans?
•Do the band members see and look out at the audience or could they just as well be performing in a basement?
•Are the band members connecting with each other?
•Does the band use the stage space well?
•Is the band relating to the music and rhythm of the songs?
•Are there any recognized technical mistakes?
•Do the vocalists connect well on harmonies and with their stage presence?
•Does the band look confident throughout their performance?
•Are the band members paying attention to each other so they are in sync?
•Does the band show their personalities?
•Are there too many unnecessary guitar or drum fills?
•Does the band feel the music?
•Is the set well balanced and does it keep everyone’s attention?
•Are the band dynamics recognizable?

Some of the most valuable feedback can come from your bandmates, and making this a routine exercise will strengthen the overall band relationships. It is exciting to see the band make progress, and the critiques will only contribute to the progress made. The critique process can also help band members demonstrate the respect they have for each other, and being open with each other will help the band be tighter both on and off the stage. Play hard and critique harder!

The Young Performers Club receives calls from bands all over the country regarding band challenges that get in the way of band success. It is difficult to escape band drama completely, so there needs to be a system in place for managing it. Allowing discord to get out of control will most definitely take the fun out of the process and ultimately could result in the band members parting ways.

Below are some of the issues that can ignite band drama along with some suggested solutions.

• Lack of commitment by all band members. When one band member is not serious and shows up late, and misses gigs and other important events, it impacts the whole band.

• Parents exercising control over every move the band makes. It is difficult to get a consensus when you have 15 or so individuals involved. We recommend that the bands work out as much of the decisions on their own. This is great for social development and negotiating skills

• Disagreement over song choices. Everyone wants their song choices to make the set list, but the set list is always evolving and with patience everyone will see their chosen songs performed live and make it on the set list. We suggest making a master set list and listing all the songs under consideration, along with a timeline for when they will be tested out with the band.

• Lack of agreement on the practice schedule. If you have no consistent practice plan, you will see little progress made in the band’s development, so it is advisable the band establish a schedule for at least three months, so everyone understands the overall commitment and can plan their calendars accordingly.

• Differences of opinion over performing covers versus originals, and how the time will be allocated to each. This is typically be a hot issue will all band members and it determines the type of band you want to be. Having a discussion on these plans before the band begins to practice is a good idea.

• Jealousy when some band members get more stage time or attention than others. Sometimes this is driven by the specific role the band member has in the band. It is best to select songs that allow each band members to have the spotlight on specific songs.

• Band members outside commitments. Many young musicians are in multiple bands so they need to prioritize their commitments. If a band member misses a gig due to having another gig with another band that will not be easily accepted by the bandmates. Knowing about these commitments early on will help, and having a backup plan in place is strongly recommended.

• Parents being overly aggressive and booking events without discussing it with the band and parents who invite specific band members to do other music events without letting all band members know. This can cause major unrest and havoc within the band. Feeling left out can result in challenging relationship issues and uneasy emotions. When these cases evolve, the parents need to have a parent meeting so there are no lingering hard feelings.

• Not being on the same page on gigs, financial commitments, training, song choices, recording, etc. Managing a band is similar to managing a corporation so you need an infrastructure in place for managing the process.

Having been in the management/development process with bands for over fourteen years, our number one recommendation has always been to address issues as they happen, and be consistent with parent meetings. Coda Sky has been managed for five years, and our newest band, Catching Arrows, has been together for seven months. These two bands have a great group of parents and the performers and parents all respect each other. Both bands operate by a detailed Communications Agreement which addresses day to day band management and future decision making processes.

The band members know when there is band drama, even if the parents try to keep it quiet. This causes silent stress and can get to the point where the band members don’t want to continue with the band. All it takes is for one parent or band member to make a comment about another member, and have it get back to the band. This creates trust issues, causes major insecurities and overall paranoia. Bands need to focus on the positives and let that energy drive the band forward.

Parent meetings and band member only meetings are critical to the band’s success. It provides a great forum for discussing the band’s progress and addressing any issues that could cause unneeded band drama.

It is about having fun, getting recognition, celebrating success and establishing powerful relationships. Band drama eats away at progress and stalls the band’s success. Avoiding drama will be challenging, and it requires focus and open communications every step of the way.

“Youth musicians need greater exposure, and to be seen and heard loud and clear. These hard working young performers deserve much more support and attention than they are getting.”-Founding partners of All You Got Tour

Our performers, sponsors and All You Got Tour Team will give it all they’ve got to make the debut All You Got Tour tour a standout, one-of-a-kind entertainment extravaganza. We are empowering teens and young adults about the value of giving back to society. Being able to inspire and entertain thousands of young adults, benefits all who participate. Music education and participation is known to have positive effect on academic performance, sense of community, confidence and self-esteem. Collaboration with other artists and audiences, inspires creativity and emotional commitment.

Patty Duffey, President of the Young Performers Club, and Jackie LoGiudice, President of Next Generations Concerts, created the tour based on their dedication to showcase talented and hard-working 21 and under youth musicians to provide them unique opportunities to demonstrate their love of music and performing to engaging audiences. The tour shows will be a powerful mix of the arts along with influential speakers passionate about important social issues; anti-bullying and youth drug prevention.

The All You Got Tour’s name was inspired by the following tour objectives.

• Motivate, inspire and educate young musicians
• Present impressive high achieving musicians/artists to all types of audiences and events
• Support music charities focused in the arts
• Obtain sponsors to support young musicians participation in the tour
• Expand awareness on important social issues facing our youth
• Improve the visibility and opportunities in the young performer market
• Change the future direction and resume content of every tour artist that participates
• Provide artists supportive services to strengthen their brand
• Make every artist feel like proud tour stars
• Enhance communities with a diverse mix of the arts

Patty and Jackie recognize the ongoing struggle to locate quality performance opportunities for young musicians ages 21 and under. There are few all ages’ venues and most large festival stages are filled by older well-known artists. For almost ten years we have been calling venues, clubs and event managers to find performance spots for talented young performers, only to not be taken seriously or be told definitively “no, we don’t don’t do all ages shows”. With our mission to keep the performers motivated and happy, we have been fortunate to locate a few venues, that have welcomed our performers and provided them unique opportunities. Our universal love for music, passion for seeing young performers advance their careers, and commitment to showcase outstanding talent to our communities and give back to society, has gotten us excited to build the tour into a well sought after entertainment event.

Positive Message

Because the team at All You Got Tour understands the power of music combined with a captive audience, we are dedicated to present performances with a positive message. We build relationships with organizations that promote healthy lifestyle choices and educate on topics such as, addiction, bullying and positive support. We will be placing some speakers, artists and community leaders in between the sets of our youth bands. All the time is filled all the while embracing the opportunity to teach something. We only maintain sponsorship relationships with companies and products that are held high in moral standard.

The Tour’s Mission

• Offer a successful youth music tour for 21 and under artists and bands that offers quality performance opportunities, career enhancement, artist development growth and exposure to important social issues.

• Inspire, motivate and educate young artists and tour audiences by combining music and positive messages shared by community speakers and role models.

• Offer a unique career changing experience for young performers, and inspire them to make healthy decisions by embracing the art of imagination and creativity.

• Present spokespeople for anti-bullying, drug prevention and education, and healthy lifestyles. Tour artists will connect with their audience in a fun, positive way.

The All You Got Tour has many tour stops booked with new stops being added each week at camps, venues, festivals, schools and more. Tour performer auditions will take place in Boston in April 2017, and all genres are welcome. On March 19^th the tour will have its Pre-Tour Kickoff Show at Breakaway in Danvers, MA. The show will include musicians, bands, singers, artists and special speakers.

We are confident everyone who sees our tour will recognize the power of the arts. This excitement will provide us great momentum and growing opportunities for young performers and artists.

We will give it all we’ve got to make the 2017 All You Got Tour an experience which will change the careers of young musicians and excite audiences with talent from musicians and artists that will give it all they’ve got to entertain audiences throughout New England and beyond.-Patty and Jackie

The Young Performers Club has been booking shows for almost ten years, and we continue to be stunned by the lack of seriousness and effort in responding to gig opportunities. Of the 700+ shows we have participated in, there have been commitment issues more frequently than not. It is better to respond you are not available than to not respond at all? People have taken the time to consider you for their show or event, so it is entirely disrespectful and unprofessional to ignore these calls and emails. Why is this important?

• There are so many connections in this industry and you don’t know who is connected to who
• You don’t know what other future opportunities this contact may have for you
• By not responding, you drop down or get deleted on that contact’s prospective performer list
• You create an unfavorable reputation for yourself as a performer and can appear as arrogant, unprofessional, uncommitted and not serious enough
• You create the reputation you are already too busy so people will think twice before they call again
• This type of behavior will not go unrecognized and will be remembered!

It takes minutes to provide a timely professional response either through text, email or leaving a message. An example follows:

Thank you for inviting us to perform at your event. We unfortunately have other commitments on that date, but would love to hear about other performance opportunities you may have in the near future. It sounds like an exciting event to be a part of. Thank you for your interest in having us perform, and we hope your event is successful.  I have provided my direct contact information for future reference.

Not showing up for commitments is behavior that is remembered. We have no shows or cancellations moments before show time at many of our competitive showcases, which is very disturbing since it is a spot another performer would have loved to have had.

We get calls frequently for performance opportunities, and contact the performers who we are confident will respond and follow through with their commitments. Many of the gigs are paid gigs and are gigs that will enhance your resume.

We recommend all performers respond within 24 hours, and preferably 12 hours of receiving a call on a performance opportunity. Showing your appreciation for each and every call is extremely important.

At the end of our recent showcase one band, came up and thanked me for doing the show and then all members shook my hand and showed how appreciative they were to have been a part of the event. Believe it or not, this is not a common occurrence. It really made the day that much more special knowing how much it meant to them to be a part of the showcase.

Every call you make, and text or email you send matter. Put some thought into them and say “thank you” any opportunity you get.

Once you get on the back of the list, you will have to battle your way back to the front of the list. Many artists, decline all unpaid gigs and so much as tell you they only do paid gigs. This is very narrow thinking as some of the biggest gigs you can do can be unpaid. Those types of gigs can have a significant impact on your resume and could result in other referral opportunities.

Don’t be one of the “he/she is hard to get a hold of” type performers! How you manage your engagement opportunities is as important as your talent itself.