Where to Move to Pursue Music

[MelodyMan]

Sorry if this is the wrong section - please move it if it is.

Well, as I stated in an earlier post I am getting ready to graduate college and it's time for me start figuring out where I want to move to. I'll be working at home for a bit saving up money so I have some time to figure it out.

I know there are a lot of pro musicians on this forum that have tons of experience, so basically I want everyone's thoughts on where would be the best place to move to pursue music and for what reasons. I've been thinking of Chicago, but NY, LA and Nashville are big possibilities.

I'm more of a rock guy and love playing live but I would like to start recording my ideas as well.

So I guess what cities are best for what types of guitar-related work would be nice - thanks guys!

[DEADTUNES666]

New Jersey is nice, because you would be centrally located between NY and Philly, and there are several Recording studios that do big time work in NJ, as well as NY and Philly. Depending on where you are there is a lot of club work as well. But as far as the big time it's NY, LA, and Nashville....Those are the big three... NY and LA for rock though

You would get all kinds of work in NJ...rock, jazz, covers, country...It is the most densely populated state...

[Silver Sable]

Nashville is music city, but it seriously depends on what your ultimate goals are for working in the biz. If you want to be a great session guy, you can do that in any of the big three (though it is not so easy to get into that line of work). If you want to start a band and get signed, you can do that from anywhere in the world. If you want to be an engineer, producer, or other tech type of profession, then you can do that from anywhere that has a studio.

I do NOT recommend moving to a city without a job lined up and something real to get you stable. I can't tell you how many people come to Nashville with a guitar and dreams and end up on the streets or selling the guitar to eat... or worse, go back to where they came from.

Living in Nashville is WAY cheaper than NY or LA... but a great deal of the local work is country related. On the other hand most people would be surprised by what variety there is around this area. Not too bad honestly.

So yeah... do your research, set a clear plan of what you want to accomplish, then find employment in the right area that will help you live while you work on those goals.

Good luck to you!

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by Silver Sable

On the other hand most people would be surprised by what variety there is around this area. Not too bad honestly.

+1

Everyone always assumes it's all country. Granted, country is the main genre, but there are tons of other genres in Nashville.

[Ayrton]

Atlanta has the same problem in the sense that everyone outside of Atlanta thinks it is all "hip hop" music, when we have a decent rock/metal scene.

[MelodyMan]

Thanks for your help guys - here is some more information on what aspect of the business I'm looking to get into.

I love playing live and sharing the stage with other talented musicians. I love writing and composing, but really get off on playing stuff live. I'd love to start recording my own stuff as well. Being a session guy interests me, but not as much as playing in a touring band. What sounds like the best place for someone like that? I might just be thinking about NYC now, except it sucks that it's more expensive than Nashville, although that is to be expected.

As far as doing my research, what should that entail? Looking up clubs and places to play in each of the cities? See where the majority of artists in my genre got there start? What?

Once again, any help would be appreciated - thanks so much guys!

[DEADTUNES666]

Well...putting a band together will require musicians...a good place to find them is in the college areas. Check the universities and colleges to see what kind of music programs they have, and if they offer a degree in music. Music programs mean musicians, the better the programs the more musicians. Obviously NY has a ton of colleges but there are many smaller big towns with many universities. Do as much fact finding, and gathering of information as you can.

I live in a great small big town...Lots of college kids, lots of music and clubs, couple of arenas for live music and casinos at Mohegan Sun, but with a slower small town feel. That was what i was looking for. Either have money saved or employment lined up before you make the jump. Upstate NY and Philadelphia have potential too...

College towns also usually have good clubs, because the students frequent them. There are plenty of smaller towns you can live in that surround major markets where the cost of living is much less, yet still easily accessible to. As well as having a smaller crime percentage. North NJ is a great alternative for NY and the surrounding area of Philly has some inexpensive towns...Good luck with everything...Feel free to PM if you you'd like

[Silver Sable]

The first thing to do is just pick a city. Seriously, any city from Orlando to Seatle has had successful bands come from them. Perhaps you should check out some myspace pages to find great musicians that you jive with who are looking for a particular type of musician for their band.

Then, BEFORE you move anywhere, find a job and a place to live.

For your basic rock type of music, there is an audience in just about every major city. You don't have to move to NYC to put a rock band together... and honestly it would probably be very difficult seeing as there are about 100,000 other rock bands in that area to compete with.

Any city from Austin, TX to Pheonix, to LA, NYC, Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, Philly, Orlando, San Diego, St. Louis... just about anywhere has potential to get a good band started and develop a nice fan base.

[Paul Warren]

This is a bit of a different approach, but I would think any reasonably large city where you enjoy living is going to be ok. It's going to be what you make of it. I know a prodigy type player who is an excellent fiddle player (has done tons of studio work) who also is a beast on guitar, bass, drums and mandolin. He is an absolute natural who can jump into ANY situation and be the perfect bandmate and/or studio musician. In discussing with his parents where he should go, we really all agreed that it would be better for him to stay in the Raleigh area or someplace like it where his skills would be in more demand. If he moved to Nashville, there are monster players all over the place and he wouldn't stand out as much. Kind of the idea of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond is what I'm getting at. I understand the whole idea of being around a "scene" or other good players etc., but you're going to find good players if you're in a large enough city and you look hard enough. I've lived in L.A. and while I like many aspects of life there, it's one of the last places I'd choose to live because of the cost of living and the difficulty of getting around etc. It just wouldn't be worth it to me to struggle as a musician trying to pay rent and I think I would end up with a job that guarantees a lot more money than something musical would.

Studio work can be found in many, many places, but I think it comes down to proper networking more than just excellent guitar skills. I mean, Guthrie doesn't get that much studio work and is there anything he can't play? Studio work doesn't come to you. You have to be your own businessman and get connected and that's something you'll have to do in any city. The bigger the city and its "scene", the bigger the competition for such work. I know that it certainly can be done in the largest cities, but I'm just throwing out some other things to consider.

My 2 cents.....best of luck with your decisions!