Bands and Artists Books

I must say I was very surprised at how good this book was! Yes there were basic things included as well, as mentioned in another review but there was also tons of new ideas and more advanced strategies. I understand how many people dont know the basics such as my bass player..lol Myself I know alot more than basic and this book gave me lots of ideas.. we already have booked more shows and following is growing for sure as more people are coming to shows..and got a review in the paper! never would of done that without this book! great read, Great strategies, and useful ideas here! Thank-You, Thank-You, Thank-You!

The book has some good ideas, but much of it explains really basic things like how to upload audio and video files. There's simply too much filler. All of the really good marketing ideas could have been written in ten pages or less.

There has never been anything available before that offers such clarity and knowledge of this industry. A must have for someone starting out either as an artist or anyone wanting to get into the field. The author really knows his stuff.

In today's world where music is the number one download on the Internet and connected with the top gift lines of today, making money with it has not been the on the "top of the online businesses to make money" for the average person. Until now.

From basic HTML codes to social networking, this book clearly and simply explains every single step of the way to the bank, with success whistling all the way. Its contents and index provide an easy way to browse through the book to find exactly what you need to know or do, with professional advice and teaching from cover to cover.

The book is written from heartfelt experience, tough roads, and successful insight. I enjoyed reading it, and with the information in this book opening up a new field on line--it would be best to jump in now ahead of everyone else.

I'm extremely suspicious of this book getting 17 5-star ratings. It was alright! Seriously though, any more than 3 stars is generous.

THE BAD:
It's quite basic, explaining how to set up a myspace page, etc. Now, maybe I'm biased because I was not new to MySpace when I purchased the book. I already knew about bulletins and blogs and messages and how things work on MySpace. I was more interested in getting more traffic to my band's page.

Certain things about the book were frustrating. For instance, there is a subheading in one of the chapters titled "Getting on the Front Page." Well, in that section it talks about what a great opportunity it is to get on MySpace's homepage. (Duh.) However, it does NOT tell you how to accomplish this. Instead, it states how unlikely it is, but that it's a "wild dream for everybody." Useless. Basically, the book tended to tell you which things would be good things for you to do but then left you clueless as to how to go about it.

There was a type-o probably every 5th or 6th page, and that REALLY irritated me. It was hard to take the book seriously when it clearly had not been edited.


THE GOOD:
It is a quick read. You could go through the whole book in a day.

It talked a good deal about promotions for your band. Although, most of it involved writing or hiring a writer rather than flyers or other traditional techniques I assumed would be the most proficient.

Nicky Kalliongis obviously has a lot of contacts and has done some great stuff in his musical career. ... but I would not by any means consider him a good author.

Anyway, yeah, 3 stars, no more.

I love this book, the more I learn about Mr. Sinatra the more I fall in love with him...He was the epitome of class and of someone who lived life "his way". He set the bar high for other performing actors/singers and I think no other can match his genious aside from Lucianno Pavarotti....Excellent read!!

Of the plethora of books on Frank Sinatra that have been fighting for space on the shelves since his death, this is the best.

A wonderful essay by John Lahr chronicles his life, from the tough streets of Hoboken to a room in Beverly Hills shortly before his 80th birthday. A now well chronicled life, but captured by Mr Lahr in all its complexity and contradiction.

At the heart of this life was his great gift - singing. At the very end, in the Beverly Hills room, surrounded by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan (what were they doing there?) Steve Lawrence and others, he insisted on singing the solo. It was his right then, as it had been his right throughout his life. And he was undeniable.

A beautifully designed and produced book, it is adorned with a perfect selection of photographs to complement the essay. Look at the faces on page 102, completely transfixed by "The Voice" and see what James Agee called "an erotic dream".

A must have for Sinatra fans, and anyone fascinated by popular culture.

This is the best-looking coffee table book on Sinatra, with most of the first half based on an excellent essay by John Lahr. For a thorough look at the music, you want Will Friedwald's book, but this one is a classic photo tour of Sinatra's career from Hoboken to the world. I could spend a 1000 words on the pictures, but you can travel back to the 1950s with this one. The large format photos bring home the personality of the subjects, who include Nat Cole, Ava Gardner, Dean Martin, Count Basie and other music icons of the last century. Very enjoyable evening read, also.

this is a really great book. it is in true lewitt style. 100+ pages of 'bands of color' nothing more. very intersting to see his use of color and line direction. similar to '100 cubes'

This is a wonderful coffee table book full of Tony's (Anthony Benedetto's) beautiful art and lots of personal "asides" that we fans all appreciate. Well done!

Instead of writing a review I am citing an error that I observed in reading the book. On page 141, Mr. Davis states that Bob Marley had a daughter named Kimane. He had a son named Kymani, who is now a singer and recording artist.

Stephen Davis is a writer extraordinaire. He manages to capture the spirit that was, and still is, Bob Marley. His words transport you into a world of sound and emotion as he describes the life and music of the King of Reggae. He brings us Bob Marley: the man, the champion of human rights, the son, the husband, the proud father, the lover, and the musicmaker. He shows us how profound Bob Marley's short life was and its impact on the world and yet he reveals an ordinary country man dealing with the issues of survival: work, family, crime, political unrest and betrayal. Once you begin reading this book, you will be unable to put it down. At the end, you will be emotionally spent.

This is a very original book about the Tuff Gong. It traces Bob's evolvement as an infant-child, boy, pupil, "street rebel", struggling youngman, father, "lover", musician, poet, Rastafarian and beloved Freedon-Fighter we all know. It is a moving, evocative book. It starts almost like a mellow tale describing the humble, natural surroundings of the deep Jamaican interior into which Bob was born.

It almost immediately rises to a pre-climax of the hardships of Trenchtown, with Bob not only struggling to survive, but also hesitantly nourishing his dream of being a BIG musician, his tackle with the Rastafarian faith and his immediate deep conviction, his frequent "travels"; e.g. to visit his mother in Deleware, USA or his short stay in Sweden full of stress. To me, these are the formative stages of the "Tuff Gong International" and these travels overseas broadened his perspective, both as a musician and as a man, especially a highly sensitive man as Bob.

The book further on describes how Bob's talent and faith - in Jah and in himself - evolve into extraordinary, peerless musical craftsmanship, making Bob's music explode to the four corners of the earth ... almost like a miracle, in the twinkle of an eye! At the climax of this book, Bob is already a supertar, confident, uncompromising, mature, wiser and hard to equal, the wiry cult-hero from Trenchtown, Jamaica.

It's also interesting to observe Bob's relationship with the press, as the press was from the start of it all invariably attracted by his magnetic charm, which thing in turn really [directly or indirectly] raised him to the star of mythical and mystical prorportions that he REALLY is. Because he simply deserved it. Just at the climax of this book, Bob dies, and that's when - in retrospect - things really start looking like a tale, like an unended tale. Pathetic. Mystery. That's just when the "real universal meaning of being Bob Marley" comes to light and is understood: a mission.

Reading this book, one feels the sadness, the love, the hate, the pain, the hope, the godly determination, the fear, the doubt, the anger and the danger that escorted Bob throughout his astonishing rise to superstardom; he becomes almost a religious figure with his ever-growing numbers of fans and disciples, but much the same as his persona continues defying "classification". One can interpret him as a cult-hero, poet, prophet, revolutonary, "statesman", champion of human rights, supreme musician, or the painstaking musical craftsman who knows really well how to poetically "play about with words" in his compositions ...

... Yet, this book will show you how really simple, modest, serious, human, honest and humane Bob was and how this can be sometimes taken advantage of by others [including "friends"]. This is a very good, well-researched book and, I would say, a must for all of you Marley fans and Black Survivors out there [especially if you never read a full book about Bob!]. Peace! WE WILL FIGHT THE DEVIL!

This is a very original book about the Tuff Gong. It traces Bob's evolvement as an infant-child, boy, pupil, "street rebel", struggling youngman, father, "lover", musician, poet, Rastafarian and beloved Freedon-Fighter we all know. It is a moving, evocative book. It starts almost like a mellow tale describing the humble, natural surroundings of the deep Jamaican interior into which Bob was born.

It almost immediately rises to a pre-climax of the hardships of Trenchtown, with Bob not only struggling to survive, but also hesitantly nourishing his dream of being a BIG musician, his tackle with the Rastafarian faith and his immediate deep conviction, his frequent "travels"; e.g. to visit his mother in Deleware, USA or his short stay in Sweden full of stress. To me, these are the formative stages of the "Tuff Gong International" and these travels overseas broadened his perspective, both as a musician and as a man, especially a highly sensitive man as Bob.

The book further on describes how Bob's talent and faith - in Jah and in himself - evolve into extraordinary, peerless musical craftsmanship, making Bob's music explode to the four corners of the earth ... almost like a miracle, in the twinkle of an eye! At the climax of this book, Bob is already a supertar, confident, uncompromising, mature, wiser and hard to equal, the wiry cult-hero from Trenchtown, Jamaica.

It's also interesting to observe Bob's relationship with the press, as the press was from the start of it all invariably attracted by his magnetic charm, which thing in turn really [directly or indirectly] raised him to the star of mythical and mystical prorportions that he REALLY is. Because he simply deserved it. Just at the climax of this book, Bob dies, and that's when - in retrospect - things really start looking like a tale, like an unended tale. Pathetic. Mystery. That's just when the "real universal meaning of being Bob Marley" comes to light and is understood: a mission.

Reading this book, one feels the sadness, the love, the hate, the pain, the hope, the godly determination, the fear, the doubt, the anger and the danger that escorted Bob throughout his astonishing rise to superstardom; he becomes almost a religious figure with his ever-growing numbers of fans and disciples, but much the same as his persona continues defying "classification". One can interpret him as a cult-hero, poet, prophet, revolutonary, "statesman", champion of human rights, supreme musician, or the painstaking musical craftsman who knows really well how to poetically "play about with words" in his compositions ...

... Yet, this book will show you how really simple, modest, serious, human, honest and humane Bob was and how this can be sometimes taken advantage of by others [including "friends"]. This is a very good, well-researched book and, I would say, a must for all of you Marley fans and Black Survivors out there [especially if you never read a full book about Bob!]. Peace! WE WILL FIGHT THE DEVIL!

You will enjoy this book as much as you would enjoy his music. Stephen Davis recreates Bob Marley's life from his ancestors to his final days . I really enjoy this book because Stephen Davis makes you feel like your there with him from days of dread to days of glory. I highly recommend this book to readers. Its very easy reading.

This is an excellent book, and its subtitle (Artist Management: The Ultimate Responsibility) is proved throughout the book. Written by a college professor, this book gave me so many answers about the music industry that I was looking for. Topics include Personal Management, The Contract, Legal Aspects, Marketing the Artist, The Record Company, Touring, Care and Feeding of the Creative, Merchandising, Endorsments & Sponsorship, Business Management, and Case Studies on Legal Battles. Before I read this book, I was remotely considering going into music business management. Now I'm sold!! Now what does that tell you about the depth of this book?

Well thought out and informative, this book would be the perfect band management book if not for the distracting typos laced throughout its text.
The author has done his job well, but the editor dropped the ball on the basic editing and proofing chores.
Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who was about to test the waters of band management and the music industry as a whole. It's very thorough, yet easy to understand.

The updated version of this book is great! This book has taken a look at publicity, touring, contracts, branding, marketing, trademarks, merchandising, and record companies. Unlike the previous editions of this book, this book goes into music downloading and it's consequences. This book is a must have for anyone looking at music management or performance!

The author's disdain for progressive rock negates the book's credibility as a resource for all music fans. One star.

I own the 1996 edition, and recommend this book with some reservations. While I learned about a lot of bands I never would have heard of otherwise (draining my bank account as a result), there does seem to be a bias toward newer artists, particularly British (perhaps they could have included Wanda Jackson?). Also, there is a definite tendency toward artists who have yet to prove themselves in the long run (Alanis Morissette???) or artists of questionable merit (Meatloaf?). It is interesting to compare this book to the Trouser Press review guide, as their opinions are sometimes diametrically opposed to each other regarding specific albums.

I love this book and I have spent a great amount of time dipping into it since it arrived in the mail. I'd already seen a fair bit of it online but the print version with irreverently captioned photographs and whatnot is certainly an improvement.

The editors have made some interesting choices, granting equal space to relatively unknown bands such as the X-Ray Specs as they did to The Eagles. This book is basically about bands "that mattered" and record sales don't really influence the amount of space granted to any individual act. The editors cheerfully admit that they didn't really get around to including the Moody Blues (I can't complain!) The perspective is pretty much what you'd appreciate and agree with if you are interested in Indie Rock and enjoy the Britisn NME rock magazine. I am, so I love it.

Furthermore, the book seems to be pitched to rock fans in their thirties: there is a wealth of entries on late 70s UK punk bands and their influences and American counterparts. If I were a few years younger, I don't know if I'd enjoy this book as much as I do.

The fact that a lot of it was collected from contributors to the Internet means that there is less of a geographical bias than might have been expected. There are several entries for 80s bands from New Zealand that would have made ripples in England (such as the Chills, the Clean, etc).

The book's only problems as far as I can see is that it's only one of a series of "Rough Guides". For example, there is no entry for Bob Marley, who presumably has been included in the companion volume on Reggae. They could have included some colour photographs, especially when dealing with album covers, but I suppose that'd jack up the price.

All in all a great, fun read if you're into that sort of thing and I'm sure I'll be dipping into it for a long time to come.

I've looked through lots of "rock history" books over the years. What makes this one different is that it was truly a joint venture by hundreds of different people and done mostly over the Internet. While most bios were done by fans, they still maintain objectivity. They aren't afraid to comment on a specific band's strengths and weaknesses and where a band did something great or not so great. They also give accurate bios of virtually every group that did or still does exist. Not only that, this book chronicles histories of hundreds and hundreds of bands, and not just the most popular ones, but also a lot of the more obscure bands around. While there are a few groups (mostly ones that are extremely obscure) not listed here, the books' editors took great pains to include as many essential bands as humanly possible. As for the ones missing, well there's always the next edition to include them in.

Indispensable for any serious rock music fan's library.

I don't know enough about the other bands presented to adequately judge the accuracy of the entire book, but if the entry on U2 is any indication, this book is entirely unsubstantiated. The author notes, for example, that U2 have "never inspired universal acclaim" and that the voices in favor of the band are "matched by the equally vocal contempt of a legion of detractors." Other than this author, I have never read any contempt. I have read occasionally unimpressed reviewers, responding to such albums as, say Rattle and Hum, or to the pretentions of the PopMart tour, but U2's grammy awards, sold out concert tours and extensive coverage in magazines (almost always praising the band's music) indicate that this author has an ax to grind. The very sentence "...in spite of their success, U2 have often found themselves out of step with the prevailing zeitgeist of pop" is ironic. Is being "in step" notable? Is that the condition which cues the contempt of the "legion of detractors" that the author never really names? At a recent series of U2 concerts, I spotted Elvis Costello, Bush, Gwen Stefani...are those the "fashionable" for which U2 are "anathema" according to the author? Maybe I'm simply offended...but it seems the author is presenting his own views in the shroud of real research. The opening word is even spelled incorrectly.