Author: Chris Jones

Quite some time ago (I think it was just after the breakup of Flatt & Scruggs and the Beatles) I made a list of the important things that any new bluegrass band needs to accomplish to get off to a

I’ve devoted the previous several columns to the subject of band self-management. There won’t be many more, I promise, because let’s face it: all this management gets tiring after a while. Sometimes you just want to go play the show. Let’s

This has turned into a lengthy series on bluegrass band self-management, which is fitting because we live in a do-it-yourself era, from self-service gas pumps to self-checkout at grocery stores. I’ve even recently learned to eat meals without professional assistance.

Somewhere deep in my list of items that are on a new bluegrass band’s to-do list was this little, seemingly trivial task: “Book a gig.” I think it was somewhere after selecting stage clothes and seeking endorsement deals. Many—though by no

I hope the holiday season has treated you well, that the relatives who gave you that sweater that was two sizes too small saved a receipt, and that you didn’t get sick of Christmas Times a-Comin’ before Christmas time actually

Several weeks ago, I compiled a list of things that a newly-formed bluegrass band needs to do to get off the ground. I don’t have that list in front of me, and I’m too lazy to actually look for it

We’re in the midst of a series on band self-management, and one of the more difficult—and for some, tedious—jobs facing a new band is the writing of your first promotional material. For many musicians, the idea of selling yourself to

Having made the mistake of starting on the touchy subject of band personnel changes, their motives, methods, and possible prevention, I guess I have no choice but to finish the job, especially since last week I promised to go into

In the previous column, I attempted to put the important steps any new band has to take into some kind of logical order. It’s not my intention to cover each one of these step-by-step, which is probably a good thing

Now that we’ve thoroughly exhausted the subject of band names, and you’ve arrived at your own, whether it be “Sausage: A Very Acoustic Band” or “Blue Ridge Railroad,” I thought we’d continue this series on band self-management, more-or less in