Ivy Howell

Posted by Crystal Ca... on

Precious Sister... I feel you. I've been you. But you've got to leave that pity party & get busy if you want folks to take you seriously. You must first take yourself seriously. If you want to sing... SING!!! Baby Girl I do care about you. That is why I am going to tell you the truth from my perspective. I am nobody special as in rich & famous but I have been on this show biz road for a long time. It is a hard, dirty, cold hearted path best not trod unless you are willing to sacrifice a normal life to make it your life. Even then, it will pimp you, eat you up alive & spit you out with no remorse because everybody wants to be a Star. Hence, if you won't do what they expect & demand of you there are millions of others that will.

Hence, you should sing, write & do your thing because it makes you happy & learn to roll with the flow. It only gets harder the higher you go. Either you get harder too or you won't survive. So, be careful of what you ask for.

By all means follow your passion & learn to master your craft. As my dad always says, "Anything worth doing is worth doing right!" (smile) You have a lovely voice. But your voice works like any other muscle in your body. The more you practice, the stronger it gets. You need to learn how to breathe. Then you need to invest in creating presentable product.... meaning production quality. Always put your BEST foot forward. The days of record companies picking up unknown amateurs, training & then producing them are over, if it ever existed. That is a fantasy or requires a miracle. While miracles do happen... if you are serious about performing & making the big time then you best get about perfecting yourself & creating product that demonstrates that you are ready to hit the stage without costing them too much money. You see, the object is for you to make them money. As long as you are making them money they will love, indulge & promote you.

At this point in your career you are wasting your tears. Pull those awful videos & get into the recording studio. But first, strengthen your voice by practicing, taping yourself, listening to yourself, watching & perfecting your stage presence. Then find venues in which to perform. ie. church, local theater productions, bands, etc.

Where in Germany do you live? Do you have children? When I lived in Germany I performed in stage productions on base. From a musical "Purlie" I was discovered by a local band of service members that played the music & we recorded a sound track in case someone got sick. The band "Touche" liked my voice & asked me to join. I became the songwriter (lyricist) for the band. We toured & played all over. In Garmich I actually earned $600 per night. Then a German group asked me to replace their lead singer and front for their band. They actually tape their music TV shows live in the German & French clubs that play all over Europe. I even did radio commercials & voice overs for AFRTS. It was a dream come true.

There are talent agencies that can book you on USO tours all over the world.
The pay is great & you get to travel & live your dream. When I returned state side I decided to start my own band. So, using my education I got a day gig & invested in a state of the art P.A. System. Then came the grueling chore of building a band, basement rehearsals, demo tapes, auditions & finally playing the chittlin circuit of local bars & clubs where I had to fight/argue with greedy cheating club owners to get paid so that I could pay the band. A lot of musicians have huge egos & do not have much respect for female vocalists. Women are notorious for tearing apart a band. So, we have to pay the costs to be the boss. Even then, eventually you are bound to get screwed. Being a band leader means keeping a bunch of unruly, ungrateful sexist drunk &/or drug fiends together, often having to bail them out or their instruments out of pawn shops. Sometimes I even ended up buying their instruments. Hauling them & their equipment around, feeding them, clothing them (costumes), baby sitting them, paying them, booking gigs that ambitious buttholes, other vocalists or musicians will steal right out from under you... to include your most valued members. Grooming & refining a group is a thankless & arduous series of tasks that requires time, money, talent, dedication, great sacrifice & the patience of Job. But when the music comes together & the group jells into a finely tuned organization on stage that rocks the house... somehow... it was all worth it. As group leader you are responsible for their behavior in the workplace to include the venue, hotel rooms, limos, vans, equipment, how much they drink free & eat free of charge & whatever they break or steal. I once had an enormous Peavy SP 3 speaker vibrate off a table & go thru a giant plate glass window nearly injuring the folks seated out on the terrace in a swanky club on the 16th Street Mall in Denver. Needless to say, that was our last night. At exclusive ski resorts in the mountains or venues where you must travel out of state or countries, beware of thieving or hotel room wrecking members. In Germany we had gangsters actually come on stage with the intent to drag off & beat or kill our keyboard player over drugs. Talk about fast talking & coming up with the cash to pay them off. Oh Lord. I nearly had a heart attack. It was almost like a tragic scene from "Lady Sings the Blues". LOL

Oh hell... I guess what I am trying to say is that the music business is just that. A business. It is not all glamour & glory. Someone has to do the dirty work. I guarantee that your heart will be broken over & over again... so get used to it.
That is if, you want to be taken (as you said) "SERIOUSLY". You've got to work hard & invest in your own career. Studio time costs money. I guarantee you that the majority of musicians performing your original songs will insist on being paid upfront. Your basement/rehearsal hall will have "revolving doors" as you go thru a series of break ups & disgruntled egos walking out on you.
Meanwhile you've got a contract gig that must be played. So you have to have a serious roladex of replacements that can learn your set list quickly. Oh yeah & Rule No. 1 - Don't screw the help. Nothing will destroy a band or get you fired, divorced or killed quicker. I am on hubby No. 6. (smile) But thank God - NO KIDS!!!

Gee, I feel like Ann Landers. LOL But, I digress. No. I'm thru. I've said enuf. For any more, you are going to have to buy the book or pay my consulting fee of $25 per hour for Entertainment Forensics 101.I've just given you Part One: Paying Dues, for free..... Did I say, FREE??? Oh Lord! I must be slippin'. (smile)

Hope this helps you avoid some of the lessons that I had to learn the hard way.
BTW - Do yourself a favor & buy the book "This Business of Music". They should have it at the PX book store. If not, they can order it. While you are there it would be nice if you ordered mine too. "Immortal Obsession" & "Curse of the Vendetta Horror Trilogy". You will enjoy them. I promise or I'll buy them back. Be happy Baby Girl... as you pursue your dreams. May God bless & guide you in all your thoughts & deeds. Much Love & Respect, Your fan & friend, The Tattered Contessa, Crystal CARTIERX.