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Along with the music and the photo, the biography is the unofficial third part of the holy trinity of band promotion. However, it is often the most overlooked or neglected part. This is unfortunate, knowing how, just as easily as a poorly recorded song or misrepresenting picture can sour an individual on an act, so can a lackluster biography.
Now more than ever, a well-written biography is absolutely essential with sites such as MySpace, Facebook and the like, and the listen/look/now-on-to-the-next-profile, culture they have created. So this month your ‘Indie Insider' will be taking you inside the band biography, and outlining a few points that bands have to keep in mind, and a few they should avoid, when writing a proper bio.
1. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Short and Sweet. This is the rule. The exception is, of course, if you are KISS! Then you're trying to cram 35 years into one page, and heaven knows that's gotta be tough. The temptation is to go on and on about that gig you played back in July where fill in the blank got so fill in the blank again that they fill in the blank one more time, however no one wants to read all the shocking details about a band if you haven't yet sold a couple million records or released a sex tape with a Playboy Playmate. So keep it clean and tidy, no ‘dirt'. New bands, four or five paragraphs and you should be okay.
2. We Don't Sound Like Anyone. Well then best of luck to ya', because you're gonna need it! Ya' see, this is not the right thing to say for a few reasons. First of which is that millions of bands think and say this, which immediately lumps you in with EVERYONE, negating what you were trying to accomplish in the first place. Then there is also the fact that people like to know what they're getting themselves into ahead of time. Are you a bluegrass pop band? Jazz death metal? Biohazard meets Barney? Don't be shy, let everyone know. It'll help in the long run.
3. To Hype Or Not To Hype? That is not the question. Under no circumstances should you ever try to make you or your band sound larger than life, or even larger than it is. Don't even think about not telling the whole truth and nothing but. This kind of thing will come back to haunt you big time when people find out that you didn't really share a bill with The Killers in '06, you just got your picture taken with them backstage. Credibility and accountability is key here and something which, if you lose, is very difficult, if damn near impossible, to get back. See Vanilla Ice.
4. What's The Story, Morning Glory? What IS the story anyway? If your band has an interesting account of how you got together, stayed together, etc. this is a great place to make that known. What you want to do here is give the reader a little more insight into members' personalities. Is anyone successful in another field, i.e. acting, sports? Is anyone related? Brother and sister? Husband and wife? Whatever. Any of these can make for an interesting story. Think The White Stripes. Or better yet, Oasis. The brother thing pulls you in immediately. Now add that half the time they can't stand each other. And on top of that, how one writes the songs, and the other sings ‘em. Makes for a good read!
5. Great Shot, Kid. Don't Get Cocky! Resist the temptation to use your band bio as a forum to tell all who will listen how you are the next Nirvana and will be single-handedly rescuing music from the depths of despair. No one wants to hear that, much less believes it. This will do nothing except turn anyone off before you get the chance to turn them on. That's not to say you shouldn't come across as confident, just try not to be arrogant, or boastful. And never, ever, put down another band or a particular style of music in your bio. "We're like a better version of Fall Out Boy . . . not that we really like those kinds of bands anyway!" Although one style of music might not be your thing, that doesn't mean it isn't someone else's. And that someone else may have dug your stuff too, before you dug your own hole that is. A little modesty never hurts. Or a little humor, if the band or music warrants it. Thinking about it, Nirvana's first bio was probably written on a cocktail napkin at the bar of an empty club in Seattle . . . with a few stick figures drawn in for laughs!
6. And The Award Goes To . . . Any accomplishments or awards you have achieved can and should be mentioned in the bio. Briefly. Won a songwriting contest? Battle Of The Bands? Sold a few thousand CDs on your own? Charted on radio somewhere? Opened up a few weeks of shows for Butch Walker? These are cool things that need to be mentioned and what people in the industry look for when deciding where to devote some of their time and energy. It shows that you are not afraid of hard work and are willing to invest in your career more than just the typical rehearse/gig/put four songs up on a player, type of thing. Additionally, anyone with a ‘name' in the industry who has worked with the band, be it a producer, songwriter, whoever, could also be mentioned and perhaps provide a quote.
7. Music Is A Contact Sport . . . Address Accordingly! Making and maintaining contacts is everything. So it is absolutely necessary that you have all of your contact information somewhere in or on your biography. This is a good idea for a couple of reasons. One, in case the bio gets separated from the rest of your package. Two, if someone reading online is interested and would rather not search endlessly on another part of your page. Most people today don't have time to search around for things like an address, phone number, website, e-mail, etc. They may get frustrated looking for it, which could cause you to be looked at in a less-than-desirable way, negating the bio altogether.
I've left out few things that should be obvious, such as listing the band members, stating where the band is from, but you get the picture. So the next time you're reading a band bio, and are or aren't that enthused, perhaps it's because some of these points are or aren't being exploited. And ultimately, like any artist, a biography is a work in progress. It should be treated as such and allowed to grow and evolve reflecting the change in the art itself.
Oh yeah, and if you're writing one, just make sure all this growing and changing and reflecting has been vigorously proofread. In the name of the music, the photo, and the spell-checked bio. Amen. And good luck!
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