Foreword

Nashville, or Music City, is a truly unique, always interesting, and often mysterious place. It is a place of yearning, a place for learning, and a place for craftsmen and dreamers alike. This place, that some also refer to as the country music capital of the world, is also the world's second largest music production city, and a place where dreams can come true or be crushed. Every day, from all over the world, aspiring musicians, artists, songwriters, engineers, producers, and music enthusiasts move to Nashville to pursue their lifelong ambitions and dreams of making it in the music biz. Once they get here, some of them become successful, but many find out that the music industry of Nashville is not what they thought and are unable to achieve their dreams and aspirations, often resulting in a premature and hasty exit.

In 2002 I was a newcomer, and arrived eager to dig in but not knowing where to dig. Unlike most musician immigrants to Nashville fresh off the boat, I was extremely fortunate to be armed with a secret weapon, my good friend and mentor “D”. D is a guitar player friend of mine that I knew and jammed with back in my native land of New England, and in the early nineties he moved to Nashville and began his own journey into the big music industry centered here.

D became my Nashville mentor and guided me with some great direction that helped me to find my own path. I had an endless supply of questions and grilled him heavily during my Nashville infancy. He graciously took me under his wing, taking me to his hangouts, introducing me to his industry friends, teaching me some Nashville chops; he even gave me one of his guitars and helped me land one of my first road gigs. He taught me how to network and go about building the relationships I would need to survive. When he spoke, I hung on every word, and his advice proved invaluable.

Since those early days, my career has taken me down many roads, some good ones, and some bad ones too. All in all it has been a massive growth experience providing me with much insight into the world of big music business that I had not previously seen. Along the way I have met many great people; players, singers, writers, engineers, producers, all with their own story. Often these fellow journeymen have offered advice and insight, and sometimes they have asked for mine. At some point a while back it occurred to me that the Nashville music scene could benefit from a book designed to help musicians better understand how this scene is structured, and how to go about finding work. A book that would provide the details and insight that could help musicians and artists on a practical, day to day street level. I searched for books and articles and found many geared towards songwriters, but very few writings geared towards helping the musicians, technicians, and aspiring artists. Ultimately, it was my quest for this knowledge that led me to write this book.

The Nashville Musician’s Survival Manual is an outline of concepts, strategies, and tips that can help musicians find paying jobs that will allow them to earn a living from their craft in Nashville and beyond. The first section of this book, Music Related Jobs within the Nashville Music Industry, covers three separate, but often overlapping categories; The Nashville Nightclub Industry, the Nashville Touring Industry, and the Nashville Recording Industry. The details about job requirements, pay structures, and the networking required to land gigs will be outlined in great detail. Also explored are some of the other music related support roles and industries; Techs, Cartage, rehearsal studios, repair technicians, production companies, music retail, music teachers, administrative personnel and more.

The second part of the book, Touring Life, goes into great detail about the different aspects of touring; what it's like to live with a band, to live and sleep on a bus, dealing with fans, fly dates, eating on the road, and the impact that long-term touring can have on relationships. Also within this part of the book is a section called tour diaries; personal accounts of interesting and often funny scenarios that can only happen on the road.

The third section, Nashville Institutions, explores some long-standing entities that are at the core of music city. The Grand Ole Opry, the A-Team, the Musicians Union, BMI and Ascap, and the good ol’ boy network have all been here since just about the dawn of time, and an understanding of these institutions is essential to all aspiring music professionals in Nashville.

The fourth part of the book, Nashville Specifics, talks about the culture shock of relocation, Tennessee climate, cost of living, where to live, getting around, non-music related employment, and a few other helpful things specific to living and working in middle Tennessee.

Sustainability, the fifth and final section of the book, explores some of the long-term problems and potential solutions of being a career musician in Nashville and beyond. Issues like repetitive motion injuries, self-marketing, home recording, wearing a lot of hats, aging musicians, and overall mindset and character will be discussed.

Interspersed throughout the book are some real-life accounts from my experiences and travels, as well as several interviews with veteran Nashville musicians, songwriters, artists, engineers, and producers.

Although many of these situations and stories are specific to the Nashville music industry, the overall concepts are universal to all who desire a career in music. If you are considering moving to Nashville or another big music business metropolis to pursue your career in music, this book can give you some idea of what to expect. If you are new to town, this book could be a valuable tool in helping you get off the ground. If you have been here a while and are struggling, it might inspire you to try some different approaches. If you already enjoy a successful career, it might help re-enforce what you already know or give you a different perspective. This book only scratches the surface of the possibilities that exist in this place. You can only truly comprehend this scene by experiencing it firsthand. However, I believe the knowledge on these pages can potentially save you some time, money, frustration, and maybe a few embarrassing moments.

I don’t consider myself an expert on the Nashville music scene; certainly there are many others here with greater credentials and differing opinions. I don’t claim to have all the answers either; I simply want to share what I know, based on my life experiences, from my perspective, as well as the perspective of those I have interviewed. The concepts and strategies I am putting forth are a set of guidelines that stem from my knowledge and have worked for me. If you talk to others here in Nashville, you will certainly here about alternate routes in which to approach earning a living from music in this town, at the end of the day it is up to you to determine your own path.

After living my first 35 years in small town America, relocating to Nashville was a wake up call of epic proportions. There are so many supremely talented individuals in this place and I feel truly blessed to be a small part of a place so rich in music culture and tradition. It is my goal that this book will offer assistance and inspiration to those who quest knowledge and insight to the Nashville Music Scene and desire a career in music here and everywhere. It’s a strange and mysterious world, the tour starts now.