As The World Tunes
Design Reviews
by Steve Bussey
GeoSynchronous Records
Here we will look at an exciting new way to create a buzz for your band, connect with your fans, and improve your music.
Typically, a band writes a bunch of songs, goes into the studio and records them, picks the best of the bunch and has thousands of compact discs duplicated, officially releases the CD, then attempts to sell the product to the public. But what if the public does not like your CD at all, or maybe they like it OK, but the same simple suggestion keeps popping up, like "turn up the vocal" or "the last song should have been the first one"? What can a band do? At that point, not much. The band is totally locked-in to the songs, mix, song sequence, everything on the CD, unless they want to spend a lot of money and do it all over. But here are some things to do before pressing the next CD, using a technique borrowed from outside of the music business.
In the engineering field, design reviews are common. At various stages in the design process, the engineers will meet with the senior engineering staff, marketing, customers, users, and any other interested party. Design plans are presented, and comments about the plans are discussed and acted upon. The concept here is to be sure that the project is properly engineered and does what the customer wants. Changes can be made prior to committing to production and manufacturing. It also gives all involved parties an ownership and interest in the design.
My band, Big Red & The Bus, is very familiar with the Design Review concept, consisting of four current or previous Kennedy Space Center engineer/rocket scientists and a singing CAD boy at a highly touted electronics company. Not a tattoo or ear ring among the whole bunch! So, it was a logical and natural step for this technique to bubble up in the band. Guitarist/singer Hootie explains, "We decided to apply this to our musical process, since Design Reviews work well and a large part of our fan base comes from the same engineering and technical background."
We started out with our own internal design review. We verified that each band member knew exactly what he should be doing, and what the others were doing in the song. Vocal lines were closely examined, and specific harmony parts were arranged. Lyrics were studied and re-written, song structures experimented with and selected, instrumentation and percussion were decided. Beginnings, dynamics and endings were decided upon and rehearsed.
Next, each song was reviewed and critiqued at The International Songwriters Guild. The Guild has a chapter in Orlando, and critique sessions are held monthly. Other song writers listened to the songs, and offered suggestions, comments, and corrections.
We then introduced the songs at our live shows. Obviously, we did not ask the audience for design review comments, but you can gauge a song by the audience1s reaction as you play. Are they tapping their feet and bobbing their head, or are they nodding off or leaving? Do they tell you they like it or hate it during your breaks?
(editor's note: this was written in early 2000. The CD is now released and thus the sampels, as described in the following paragraph, may no longer be available)
So far, we have not really mentioned anything new. All of the really good bands do these things before they release a CD, although they probably do not call them design reviews. Here is the new, non-traditional twist. Big Red & The Bus are now ready for a public 90% Design Review. We find this one the most exciting, not because of the slick new technology involved, but because it involves YOU, the reader of this article! Yes, you are invited to our 90% Design Review. We have posted our song candidates for our next CD on the World Wide Web, and you are invited to go and listen (right now for free) to our songs, and post written comments if you wish, http://musicians.riffage.com/bigredandthebus . You can listen in real time using RealPlayer (or other audio programs, details are available at the site), and you can even download a higher quality MP3 version if you want. There is an area to post your own review comments, and you can read what others have posted, too. Here is your chance to be a music critic and record producer! We need your help to make us sound better. Go ahead, tell us what you like, do not like, suggest a change, turn up the bass, turn down the bass, whatever.
Posting the songs prior to the completion and release of the CD is definitely a non-traditional technique in the music business, but one we feel whose time has come. You have to have a thick skin, since there is always the chance for bad reviews, publicly posted right there for the world to see. Bassist/singer Zoot has a different concern, "One worry is the potential for our songs becoming 'homogenized' or bland if we try to accommodate everyone's comments. The good news is that we can be the judge of what comments we keep and don't keep. This is a highly experimental process for a band. We want to see if it will result in some valuable suggestions"
Hopefully, more bands will use this approach prior to releasing a CD. The web site posting at riffage.com is free for bands, so what do you have to lose?
About the author: Steve Bussey is a singer/songwriter/guitarist and is currently the owner and general manager of GeoSynchronous Records (http://www.pan.com/geosync, Listening Line 800 235 9193, ask for a free catalog), an indie label handling artists such as Les Dudek, Mike Pachelli, Bong Water Taffy, and Big Red & The Bus. Prior to this, Steve earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Acoustics from Georgia Tech, designed sound equipment and guitar amps for Fender, and supervised design of communication systems for the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center.
