Tonight was a very surreal moment for me. To perform before Bon Jovi & Kid Rock at Solder Field was amazing. So many nice comments from so many good friends (old and new).. so Thank You for taking the time out of your day to even acknowledge this accomplishment. So many people asked my if I was nervous and honestly, I was not at all. In fact not only was I very comfortable on that stage, I didn't want to get off... I was having too much fun.
Growing up I was always amazed by the power of the arena rock bands. The fact that for one moment the crowd and the band connected and peak energy together. I notice everyone was in the moment, not worrying about hardships, relationships, jobs or health, but truly sharing a positive energy. It's this energy that I personally strive for every single show we play. Tonight I felt that energy to the highest degree one can feel that. I had goosebumps for hours and I still have not come down from that natural high.
A re-cap of our day.
11am we all met up at John Barleycorn to take the limo downtown. On the way down, Lenny (from NTD Records) calls Cara at the mix and asks her to mention the show.. Cara does, we all high-five each other. We arrive at Soldier Field about 12:20pm and the band got to see the stadium and stage and were blown away. ( I had seen it a day earlier with the crew after we shot the ABC segment ). The stage was about 120 feet wide and 60 feet deep and 12 feet high. It was MASSIVE.
Once we arrived, we met up with a bunch of cool people that were all very kind to all of us. Some of the security guys recognized us from our shows and even said "it's the band with picks".. LOL... We met up with Obie, who has been with Bon Jovi since the 80's. He was really cool to us and we rapped with him for about a hour. We went to our dressing room, which was the referees dressing room for the Chicago Bears Game. The room was far from the action and lame so none of us hung out there. Dino (our sound tech) comes up to me and says "If you can get the video guy a graphic of our logo in 5 mins., he'll put it on the big video screens for us". I think, where am I gonna find a logo right now.. and I realized, I put them on our "press" section of the website. So I go to grab the logo and I'm like wait a min. . I have the logo with out website address under it.. so I grab that one and they end up using it. We did a really fast sound check. Bon Jovi's crew is VERY efficient.. but then again the 7th heaven crew is great as well. In fact our crew really makes a major impact on the success of the band. To see these guys passion for that they do is incredible. We met up with John's brother Tony who said he could provide a 7 camera video of the whole show if we wanted if we took care of his guys for the effort. I made the choice to say yes and now we have a live video of the concert (yes I think we are gonna release this on DVD for you to see and experience).. I just watched it and it's amazing.
About a hour before the shows the 5 of us sat in the van (mainly because it had air conditioning) and discussed what we were about to do. I said to the four of them, just think about 80,000 people are at Soldier Field because of 15 guys.
15 mins. before show we all stood behind the stage and held our hands up and said "let's do this" and up we went.
We started playing and I felt at home. We are used to large crowds from the festivals, but when you look up and there's people all around you and above you, it's amazing. You feel a energy to a level that so high that it's hard to describe. We played an original set of songs off our "U.S.A.-U.K." CD and saw many of the fans who came out to support us. While I was playing I saw my mom and dad there. I wondered what they must be thinking as I made them loose hours of sleep as I practiced my guitar on school nights at 3am and kept them up and told them "one day I will play in a band". I saw my wife and thought "man I love that girl". I saw my best friend Matt and thought about the times I told him "I will not give up on 7th heaven", I have faith. I wondered what Tony Kees was thinking while we watched, he was our original band manager when we were 15. He used to tell us to perform to the crowd and not look at our instruments. Or Tony Labarbera who gave 7th heaven our first club show at the Thirsty Whale in 1985. It was cool to see Tony DiGiulio there (7th heaven's original singer), there was a moment where I had a flashback to all the years we went thru with the band and how it has peaked to this level. It was awesome to have Tony there, as he is like family to the band... I wrote more songs with him than any human being. We saw the "We love 7th heaven" sign and all the people who wore our shirts. So Thank You for that as well. It was cool to see how we would play a song and we could spot fans that knew our songs would be dancing and singing along with us and then by the end of that song, it was hard to tell as more and more people starting singing and getting into it. That is very gratifying.
We played Gravity, While You Dream, This Summers Gonna Last Forever, Cellophane, Better This Way, Save Your Life and Kill The Cycle. We were suppose to end with Undone, but the stage manager said we didn't have enough time. Bummer, because we had A LOT more in us.. we were just getting warmed up... (remember most of our shows are 90 mins to 3 hours). The band played like true professionals. The hundreds of shows we have done up to this point prepared us better that anything else could.. and under pressure, these guys shined. I never doubted them anyways, this is what we do.
We all hung out and watched Kid Rock and Bon Jovi, which were both really good. I am 100% convinced record labels and radio stations are WAY out of touch with the consumer, as they think rock is dead. I strongly disagree.. and about 150,000 people in Chicago agree as the shows is filled for 2 nights.
At 11pm we all loaded back into the limo and headed back to John Barleycorn to so show #2. HiFi Superstar were kind enough to entertain the crowd before us. We arrived and the room was ready to rock. We played for a little over a hour.
I had a great night and I am so appreciative to all the people who support this band. It motivates me to work harder and harder to make 7th heaven an experience we can all share.
Thanks for helping me live my dream
Richie Hofherr - 7th heaven
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU:
THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU:
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator. 2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier. 3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have. 4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it. 5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway. 6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy. 7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too. 8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather. 9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet. 11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms. 12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.. 13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)
14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook. 15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors. 16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature. 17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it? 18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets. 19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.
20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.
21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
Protection for you and your home:
If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you. I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat. Wasp Spray
A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead. The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection... thought this was interesting and might be of use.
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator. 2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier. 3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have. 4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it. 5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway. 6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy. 7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too. 8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather. 9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet. 11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms. 12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.. 13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)
14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook. 15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors. 16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature. 17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it? 18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets. 19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.
20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.
21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
Protection for you and your home:
If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you. I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat. Wasp Spray
A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead. The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection... thought this was interesting and might be of use.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Apple Stock
Remember when I said to BUY this at $39 and then again at $75 and again on earlier posts.....
I would still BUY Apple Stock.....
Mad Money’s Jim Cramer: Time’s running out to own Apple stock
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 12:05 PM EST
"If you don’t own Apple yet, Cramer said Thursday, you might want to buy it now," Tom Brennan reports for CNBC's Mad Money. "Reports are saying that as soon as next week the iPad, Apple’s touch-screen tablet computer, will be available to train store managers on its use," Brennan reports. "Also, the company’s ad campaign will roll out two weeks from now. But the public won’t get its hands on the product until maybe April, leaving plenty of time for more hype to build. AAPL has ramped up before similar releases, and Cramer is guessing it’ll happen again. 'You need to be in ahead of that,' he said." Brennan reports, "Cramer said AAPL is still cheap. He subtracted the $43 a share in cash on the company’s balance sheet, figured in the $13.50 a share that analysts think Apple can earn and came up with a 13 multiple for this stock, excluding the cash. That “seems wrong to me,” Cramer said, citing Apple’s growing momentum in the personal-computer space, its market share among MP3 players, the devotion of iPhone users and the money coming in from iTunes. Cramer urged viewers to buy AAPL now, before the share price takes off." Full article here. MacDailyNews Take: Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are currently up $7.79 (3.70%) to trade at an all-time high of 218.50.
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Apple shares rocket from iPad to hit new all-time intraday, closing highs
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 04:20 PM EST
Shares of Apple Inc. today rose $8.24, or 3.91%, on heavier than average volume of 30,602,258 shares to set a new all-time closing high of $218.95. Apple's previous closing high was $214.38, set on January 5, 2010. Apple's all-time high (intraday) stands at $219.70, set during trading today. Apple's 52-week low was $82.33, set on March 6, 2009. At market close, Apple's market value stands at $198.54 billion or, as Eric Savitz notes for Barron's, "Financial sites all use the latest published share count for Apple, at 906.8 million shares outstanding as of January 15. In fact, Apple’s diluted share count, per its latest 10-Q, was almost 920 million shares, which would give the company a market cap of roughly $202 billion." MacDailyNews reader "aapl_investor" did the math exactly: AAPL diluted shares: 919.783 million. Closing price: $218.95. AAPL market cap: $201.39 billion. For reference, the top five U.S. publicly-traded companies, followed by some selected companies' current market values: 1. Exxon Mobil (XOM) - $314.20B 2. Microsoft (MSFT) - $250.73B 3. Wal-Mart (WMT) - $206.00B 4. Apple (AAPL) - $201.39B 5. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) - $194.25B • Google (GOOG) - $179.41B • IBM (IBM) - $165.30B • Cisco (CSCO) - $144.34B • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - $122.69B • Intel (INTC) - $114.84B • Disney (DIS) - $64.43B • Amazon (AMZN) - $57.31B • Nokia (NOK) - $52.40 • Research In Motion (RIMM) - $38.72B • Sony (SNE) - $36.47B • Dell (DELL) - $27.16B • Yahoo! (YHOO) - $22.76B • Adobe (ADBE) - $18.43B • Motorola (MOT) - $16.07B • Palm (PALM) - $956.96M • RealNetworks (RNWK) - $699.84M
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Apple shares rocket to new all-time high ahead of iPad release
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 12:22 PM EST
"Apple Inc. paced a broad tech advance Friday, with its shares hitting an all-time high, after the company set a release date for its highly anticipated iPad touchscreen tablet computer," Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch. MacDailyNews Take: Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are currently up $7.85 (3.73%) to trade at $218.56. Apple's market value currently stands at $198.19 billion. Crum reports, "Before the market opened, Apple said the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. on April 3, with pre-orders being taken beginning March 12." "The daily gain was the biggest one-day move since Apple shares gained 4% on Jan. 19, according to FactSet," Crum reports. "With Apple in the lead, tech stocks rose across the board. The gains were helped by positive reaction to the latest jobless-rate report, which said the U.S. unemployment rate in February held steady at 9.7%." Full article here. James Rogers reports for TheStreet, "The consumer technology giant said that Wi-Fi models will be available on April 3 and Wi-Fi + 3G will be available later in the month. U.S. consumers will be able to pre-order the devices a week from today, on March 12, or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up at an Apple retail store on April 3." "Apple's shares surged $7.40, or 3.51%, to $218.11 by late morning on Friday, as investors responded to the iPad news," Rogers reports. "The company's stock easily outpaced the broader technology market, as the Nasdaq gained just 1.12% over the same period." Rogers reports, "Analyst firm Goldman Sachs forecasts that Apple will sell 6 million iPads during calendar 2010, although Wall Street consensus is around the 5 million mark." Full article here.
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I would still BUY Apple Stock.....
Mad Money’s Jim Cramer: Time’s running out to own Apple stock
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 12:05 PM EST
"If you don’t own Apple yet, Cramer said Thursday, you might want to buy it now," Tom Brennan reports for CNBC's Mad Money. "Reports are saying that as soon as next week the iPad, Apple’s touch-screen tablet computer, will be available to train store managers on its use," Brennan reports. "Also, the company’s ad campaign will roll out two weeks from now. But the public won’t get its hands on the product until maybe April, leaving plenty of time for more hype to build. AAPL has ramped up before similar releases, and Cramer is guessing it’ll happen again. 'You need to be in ahead of that,' he said." Brennan reports, "Cramer said AAPL is still cheap. He subtracted the $43 a share in cash on the company’s balance sheet, figured in the $13.50 a share that analysts think Apple can earn and came up with a 13 multiple for this stock, excluding the cash. That “seems wrong to me,” Cramer said, citing Apple’s growing momentum in the personal-computer space, its market share among MP3 players, the devotion of iPhone users and the money coming in from iTunes. Cramer urged viewers to buy AAPL now, before the share price takes off." Full article here. MacDailyNews Take: Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are currently up $7.79 (3.70%) to trade at an all-time high of 218.50.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apple shares rocket from iPad to hit new all-time intraday, closing highs
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 04:20 PM EST
Shares of Apple Inc. today rose $8.24, or 3.91%, on heavier than average volume of 30,602,258 shares to set a new all-time closing high of $218.95. Apple's previous closing high was $214.38, set on January 5, 2010. Apple's all-time high (intraday) stands at $219.70, set during trading today. Apple's 52-week low was $82.33, set on March 6, 2009. At market close, Apple's market value stands at $198.54 billion or, as Eric Savitz notes for Barron's, "Financial sites all use the latest published share count for Apple, at 906.8 million shares outstanding as of January 15. In fact, Apple’s diluted share count, per its latest 10-Q, was almost 920 million shares, which would give the company a market cap of roughly $202 billion." MacDailyNews reader "aapl_investor" did the math exactly: AAPL diluted shares: 919.783 million. Closing price: $218.95. AAPL market cap: $201.39 billion. For reference, the top five U.S. publicly-traded companies, followed by some selected companies' current market values: 1. Exxon Mobil (XOM) - $314.20B 2. Microsoft (MSFT) - $250.73B 3. Wal-Mart (WMT) - $206.00B 4. Apple (AAPL) - $201.39B 5. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) - $194.25B • Google (GOOG) - $179.41B • IBM (IBM) - $165.30B • Cisco (CSCO) - $144.34B • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) - $122.69B • Intel (INTC) - $114.84B • Disney (DIS) - $64.43B • Amazon (AMZN) - $57.31B • Nokia (NOK) - $52.40 • Research In Motion (RIMM) - $38.72B • Sony (SNE) - $36.47B • Dell (DELL) - $27.16B • Yahoo! (YHOO) - $22.76B • Adobe (ADBE) - $18.43B • Motorola (MOT) - $16.07B • Palm (PALM) - $956.96M • RealNetworks (RNWK) - $699.84M
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Apple shares rocket to new all-time high ahead of iPad release
Friday, March 05, 2010 - 12:22 PM EST
"Apple Inc. paced a broad tech advance Friday, with its shares hitting an all-time high, after the company set a release date for its highly anticipated iPad touchscreen tablet computer," Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch. MacDailyNews Take: Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are currently up $7.85 (3.73%) to trade at $218.56. Apple's market value currently stands at $198.19 billion. Crum reports, "Before the market opened, Apple said the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. on April 3, with pre-orders being taken beginning March 12." "The daily gain was the biggest one-day move since Apple shares gained 4% on Jan. 19, according to FactSet," Crum reports. "With Apple in the lead, tech stocks rose across the board. The gains were helped by positive reaction to the latest jobless-rate report, which said the U.S. unemployment rate in February held steady at 9.7%." Full article here. James Rogers reports for TheStreet, "The consumer technology giant said that Wi-Fi models will be available on April 3 and Wi-Fi + 3G will be available later in the month. U.S. consumers will be able to pre-order the devices a week from today, on March 12, or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up at an Apple retail store on April 3." "Apple's shares surged $7.40, or 3.51%, to $218.11 by late morning on Friday, as investors responded to the iPad news," Rogers reports. "The company's stock easily outpaced the broader technology market, as the Nasdaq gained just 1.12% over the same period." Rogers reports, "Analyst firm Goldman Sachs forecasts that Apple will sell 6 million iPads during calendar 2010, although Wall Street consensus is around the 5 million mark." Full article here.
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Q&A I did for a college kid majoring in music
Q&A I did for a college kid majoring in music
1. What do you like the most and the least, about what you do?
The most - I like to achieve goals I make for myself
The least - When I come across self-centered people
2.What about the Music Industry most appeals to you right now and why?
Potential - The biz can be what you make of it. It's full of opportunities.
But you need to not only find, but create opprtunities.
3. Is your job a life-long career or a stepping stone to other paths?
After 25 years, I would have to say it's a life-long thing for me.
4.What difficulties do you run into with, the other band members abilities in scheduling gigs? - their vacations, work or family time....etc?
We have to make a pack that in the end this is OUR business and approaching it in lazy convenient way only hurts us all and
hurts the business. If you want a band to replace a day job, then the responsibilities associated with that must be respected as
if you had a day job. If you put more respect and time into a day job, then that's where you will be. If you will put more effort and respect
towards your business, then in time you should be able to create something.
5. How do you resolve conflicts and keep the band together and focused?
Create goals and stick to the game plan. When someone isn't on the same page of something we agreed we would be
working towards, then everyone else will tell the person to get on the same page. Each year we discuss our goals for the year.
We make small, medium and large goals and how we will work towards those. We also make sure we have realistic goals.
6. How much practice time is required and how far out is it scheduled?
We practice in the winter more than the summer. We build up a catalog to choose from and then get into gig mode and execute.
7. Who would you consider is your biggest influence in music?
Hmm.. to me that's a multi-part question.
In terms of music itself, I love Def Leppard (arena rock) and Rick Springfield (good pop songwriter)
In terms of music business I like Gene Simmons of Kiss on well he "brands" his band.
In terms of songwriting I like Diane Warren
In terms of Producing I like Mutt Lange
In terms of Business (not music, but business is related to music) I like Steve Jobs of Apple.
8. When did you know this was the career you wanted to pursue?
In 1984 when I was 14. But I admired music since I was 2 and wanted to play guitar since 7 or 8 years old.
9. What do you think the biggest change your band has experienced and how that impacted it in a positive or negative way.
Learning how to grow the brand faster and faster. Sticking to a game plan has helped us thru rough times.
Communication is critical to anything that has a group of people working for one common task.
10. How do you deal with each band members commitment and each one doing "their fair share"?
(Do some have more responsibilities than others and are they compensated appropriately?)
I handle all business for 7th heaven. I am a control freak, because I know how I want something done and I will
make the sacrifices that others would not make. All I ask of my band and crew is show up with a positive attitude and
do your job. Be on time. Know your parts. The band is only as good as it's weakest member.. so let's not have a weakness.
A good team hides weakness's and exemplifies strengths.
11. Did it take much trial and error, determining the instruments and equipment that worked out best for you and the band?
Not really. As a writer I like to write a lot of parts. I wish we could have 12-20 people on stage to play all the parts, but we can't.
We'll use a sequencer on songs that need more parts than we can humanly perform. (about 1/2 - 2/3 of our show)
12. How many hours a week, do you spend on all the related facets of your profession?
60-80 hours a week on average. More when we are doing a CD, video or booking.
13. What advice would you give to other bands starting out?
Make realistic goals. Don't be lazy. Put forth a effort. Understand no one will ever care more about your band/business
than you will, so don't wait around for the band ferry to come out and make your band/brand a product that people want
to buy into. Make friendships with people as you will need them to help you in various ways along your path.
Leave the ego at home. Be a team player in the business you are involved with.
Richie - 7th heaven
1. What do you like the most and the least, about what you do?
The most - I like to achieve goals I make for myself
The least - When I come across self-centered people
2.What about the Music Industry most appeals to you right now and why?
Potential - The biz can be what you make of it. It's full of opportunities.
But you need to not only find, but create opprtunities.
3. Is your job a life-long career or a stepping stone to other paths?
After 25 years, I would have to say it's a life-long thing for me.
4.What difficulties do you run into with, the other band members abilities in scheduling gigs? - their vacations, work or family time....etc?
We have to make a pack that in the end this is OUR business and approaching it in lazy convenient way only hurts us all and
hurts the business. If you want a band to replace a day job, then the responsibilities associated with that must be respected as
if you had a day job. If you put more respect and time into a day job, then that's where you will be. If you will put more effort and respect
towards your business, then in time you should be able to create something.
5. How do you resolve conflicts and keep the band together and focused?
Create goals and stick to the game plan. When someone isn't on the same page of something we agreed we would be
working towards, then everyone else will tell the person to get on the same page. Each year we discuss our goals for the year.
We make small, medium and large goals and how we will work towards those. We also make sure we have realistic goals.
6. How much practice time is required and how far out is it scheduled?
We practice in the winter more than the summer. We build up a catalog to choose from and then get into gig mode and execute.
7. Who would you consider is your biggest influence in music?
Hmm.. to me that's a multi-part question.
In terms of music itself, I love Def Leppard (arena rock) and Rick Springfield (good pop songwriter)
In terms of music business I like Gene Simmons of Kiss on well he "brands" his band.
In terms of songwriting I like Diane Warren
In terms of Producing I like Mutt Lange
In terms of Business (not music, but business is related to music) I like Steve Jobs of Apple.
8. When did you know this was the career you wanted to pursue?
In 1984 when I was 14. But I admired music since I was 2 and wanted to play guitar since 7 or 8 years old.
9. What do you think the biggest change your band has experienced and how that impacted it in a positive or negative way.
Learning how to grow the brand faster and faster. Sticking to a game plan has helped us thru rough times.
Communication is critical to anything that has a group of people working for one common task.
10. How do you deal with each band members commitment and each one doing "their fair share"?
(Do some have more responsibilities than others and are they compensated appropriately?)
I handle all business for 7th heaven. I am a control freak, because I know how I want something done and I will
make the sacrifices that others would not make. All I ask of my band and crew is show up with a positive attitude and
do your job. Be on time. Know your parts. The band is only as good as it's weakest member.. so let's not have a weakness.
A good team hides weakness's and exemplifies strengths.
11. Did it take much trial and error, determining the instruments and equipment that worked out best for you and the band?
Not really. As a writer I like to write a lot of parts. I wish we could have 12-20 people on stage to play all the parts, but we can't.
We'll use a sequencer on songs that need more parts than we can humanly perform. (about 1/2 - 2/3 of our show)
12. How many hours a week, do you spend on all the related facets of your profession?
60-80 hours a week on average. More when we are doing a CD, video or booking.
13. What advice would you give to other bands starting out?
Make realistic goals. Don't be lazy. Put forth a effort. Understand no one will ever care more about your band/business
than you will, so don't wait around for the band ferry to come out and make your band/brand a product that people want
to buy into. Make friendships with people as you will need them to help you in various ways along your path.
Leave the ego at home. Be a team player in the business you are involved with.
Richie - 7th heaven
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Things
So I have been crazy busy this past 2 weeks in the studio working on a bunch of new things.. I can't wait to get it al done and share it with the world.
Lenny & I met with a major promoter last week, hopefully something comes of that. Lenny works with me at NTD Records and NTD Management.
Did you buy Apple stock? It's over $205 now... and growing... I estimate it to hit 250 by Jan 2010.
I heard Grape Pop Tarts are coming back!!!! Vanilla Flavored Cookie Crisp is back and now Grape Pop Tarts.. I'm in 7th heaven...
Wait.. I really am in 7th heaven
Ok, back to work
Richie
Lenny & I met with a major promoter last week, hopefully something comes of that. Lenny works with me at NTD Records and NTD Management.
Did you buy Apple stock? It's over $205 now... and growing... I estimate it to hit 250 by Jan 2010.
I heard Grape Pop Tarts are coming back!!!! Vanilla Flavored Cookie Crisp is back and now Grape Pop Tarts.. I'm in 7th heaven...
Wait.. I really am in 7th heaven
Ok, back to work
Richie
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Buy Apple Stock
Buy Apple Stock... trust me on this
back in june i said to do this and it was $130
it closed today at $175
it is on track to get to $250
this stock is a solid buy
back in june i said to do this and it was $130
it closed today at $175
it is on track to get to $250
this stock is a solid buy
Sunday, September 13, 2009
VMA's
So I didn't even watch this year MTV Music awards shows, a.k.a. "VMA's", but my inbox blew up over how rude Kanye West was to Taylor Swift. ( http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621406/20090913/knowles_beyonce.jhtml )
I can't believe how rude this guy is. Everyone has a opinion, but in this case Kanye needs to learn to keep his opinion to himself. This was Taylor Swfit's moment to take it all in and that jerk stole it from her to serve his overblown ego.
I think the same people who brought this guy up should take him back down to earth a little. Don't buy his CD's, don't support his music.
It's bad enough that we live in a world where leaders of countries go to war. Where people fight over religion. And we have a form of entertainment, which is suppose to give us a form of escapism and be a positive influence. When I see egos and greed enter the music business it makes me so angry. Would Kanye be this kind of jerk if he was homeless and broke trying to get someone to hear his demo tape? I bet not. So when you're rich and famous remember the frame of mind of being humble. There's no need for jealousy of others, or who others have voted their favorite.
Every major artists in the history of music has had their 15 mins. of fame. Some longer. But when it's someone else's moment, then leave it be.
Don't support jerks.
Congrats Taylor Swift, I don't know you, but I respect your professionalism.
Richie - 7th heaven
I can't believe how rude this guy is. Everyone has a opinion, but in this case Kanye needs to learn to keep his opinion to himself. This was Taylor Swfit's moment to take it all in and that jerk stole it from her to serve his overblown ego.
I think the same people who brought this guy up should take him back down to earth a little. Don't buy his CD's, don't support his music.
It's bad enough that we live in a world where leaders of countries go to war. Where people fight over religion. And we have a form of entertainment, which is suppose to give us a form of escapism and be a positive influence. When I see egos and greed enter the music business it makes me so angry. Would Kanye be this kind of jerk if he was homeless and broke trying to get someone to hear his demo tape? I bet not. So when you're rich and famous remember the frame of mind of being humble. There's no need for jealousy of others, or who others have voted their favorite.
Every major artists in the history of music has had their 15 mins. of fame. Some longer. But when it's someone else's moment, then leave it be.
Don't support jerks.
Congrats Taylor Swift, I don't know you, but I respect your professionalism.
Richie - 7th heaven
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