Rock and Roll All Night?
I’ve been a KISS fan since I was 9 years old. My best friend John had a copy of Alive 2 which happens to have a picture of Gene Simmons on the cover with stage blood running down his face. My mind was blown. if you’ve never seen it this is a double album that has an awesome gatefold picture of the band’s stage at the time. Apparently they shot off a full shows worth of pyro for that shot. It is an awe inspiring picture that made a lot of kids want to be in a band. I certainly knew I had stumbled on to something that was cool and different.
The thing I realized about KISS early on was they are polarizing. I didn’t even know that word yet but I knew that people seemed to love or hate them. I certainly knew my share of haters in elementary school. They couldn’t tell you one song, but they had seen the makeup and knew they didn’t like it. Years later I would realize a couple of things about this.
The first is that the visual element plays a giant role in how entertainers are perceived. You will be judged by your “look” before anyone hears a note of your music. This of course can be kind of messed up but it is a reality. The flip side to this is that there will be people who are attracted to you without hearing any music. This is why you want to think about whether your look is consistent with the genre of music you are playing. These days you literally have seconds for people to decide whether they are interested or not. Sending out mixed or confusing signals can lose you potential fans.
The other thing I realized is that being polarizing is actually a good thing. Fans pretty much know whether they stand with you or against you. Not everyone will like your music, that’s just the facts. Pick out a handful of bigger artists and you will notice they are usually polarizing in their own way. Polarizing doesn’t have to mean you are always giving your political opinion, etc. It can mean your music takes chances and doesn’t always play it safe. Your music may already be more polarizing than you think. If not, it may be time to break out of your comfort zone. As an aside I think the more polarizing you are, the more diehard your fans will be.
Seeing Gene spitting blood, blowing fire, or commanding his Army from atop the lighting truss makes an impression. So whether you love them or hate them, remember the fans are where the impressions are being made. Your fans want to be impressed too.
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Here’s an update for you. I just got done recording the last audio book for my new upcoming recording course. Still tweaking some elements but I should be making an announcement very soon. If you are not on already on my email list, I suggest signing up because I will have a special offer for subscribers only. You can do that at rockmixingengineer.com
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Need More Fans or Clients? There’s still time to pick up your FREE copy of “Traffic Secrets”! This is an AWESOME book that I highly recommend.
Also, in case you didn’t know, I mix singles, EPs, and Albums for Rock and Metal bands. You can check out my work and get more info at mattclarkmixer.com/listen as well as get prices, etc.
