Category Archives: Thinking About Media
Why Cassettes Rule if You’re in a Band
Out here in 2022, we’re about 15 years into the ostensible Cassette Revolution* – well past the point where it could reasonably be considered a “revolution.” Tapes are just part of what we’re doing now, as a culture, or whatever. … Continue reading
Bad Advice Musicians Hear, Part 5: Does “Getting Signed” Change Everything?
It’s a slow Thursday night at your neighborhood rock club, and you’ve just stepped offstage after an admittedly killer set by your Promising Local Band. You’re trying to suss whether that’s just your ego talking or if you’ve actually managed … Continue reading
Bad Advice Musicians Hear, Part 3: Can a PR Rep Fast-Track You to Fame?
Today, we’re going to get into this not-so-great piece of advice: If you hire a PR rep, you’ll fast-track your band’s rise through the ranks. When I was about 21, I asked an acquaintance of mine who was already in … Continue reading
The Thing About the Mountain Analogy
I spent my late teens and half of my 20s as a serial monomaniac. I wanted to be a professional musician. I wanted to publish books of fiction and poetry. Basically, I wanted to be an “artist,” and I really … Continue reading
It’s Brian LaRue, the Blog: The Relaunch
All right, so I took a six-year break from this blog, but now I’m back. Man, a lot can happen in six years. In mid-2015, I was living in a converted warehouse, throwing rock shows. I hadn’t met my partner … Continue reading
Three Alt-Weeklies, My Own Salad Days and One Long Goodbye to Them All
This morning, the final editions of the three alt-weekly newspapers that serve Connecticut — the New Haven Advocate, Hartford Advocate and Fairfield County Weekly — all hit newsstands. The Hartford Advocate, which I discovered on the floor of my high … Continue reading
I FIGURED OUT THE FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
I GOT it. FINALLY. It’s so SIMPLE. All of my problems are solved.
On Staying Out of the Comments in 2023
I’m taking a few seconds right now to consider how my social media habits have changed over this past year. Of course they’ve changed, because the discourse on pretty much all of the major social platforms has been changing. You … Continue reading →