Be the audience member you'd like to have

We recently had a fellow musician attend one of our shows, and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth about them - which was disappointing, because I had admired them before they came to our show. Let me back up.

If you're in a scene for any length of time, you will come to know other musicians, and you'll attend their shows, and they'll attend yours. Hopefully some of those other artists will become (if they weren't already) actual friends!

Okay, well, that's not -- whatever. Sure. Friends.

Everyone tells you networking is really important. What no one tells you is that no matter how much you like other artists, you'll always feel a certain amount of competition with them. That competition can be motivating and provide an opportunity to learn from what others are doing and grow as an artist, or it can ruin your relationships.

If you allow it to be toxic, you'll find yourself jealous of the gigs they play, trying to find fault with their performance, hoping they'll fail. This is a shitty way to feel and to be, for you and for them.

But it's also probably not realistic to say that you should be hoping all the other bands you know will be super successful even if you're not. You're working hard. You believe in your product. You want to be successful. Hoping for someone else's success when you're getting nowhere may be very Jesus-like, but it's probably not very human-like.

New music for a new year

It's a lovely winter here in beautiful Austin, Texas. We've had a few cold snaps, but mostly nice, mild weather that's allowing us to play our outdoor gigs. But we've managed to get some important work done indoors. By that, I mean that we're releasing a new CD!

We've been hard at work the last few months, recording some new material and pulling together the singles we've released since our last CD. The result is a brand new disc called "Wait It Out."

Wait It Out will drop worldwide on all major digital platforms on Feb. 3. We received the hard copies this week and are working feverishly putting together both a radio campaign and a CD release show. It's requiring a little more hands-on preparation of the merchandise than usual.

But we're really excited about it all! So if you're interested in buying a physical CD, stay tuned to our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for more information.

And our radio campaign will kick off in mid-February. So, if you hear us on a radio station in your area, let us know!

RADIO TIME!

Off we go, 2017!

The Year in Review - 2016

Well, we did it! We made it through 2016! What a year for losing some of our musical and artistic icons, eh? I told Johnny recently that if 2017 is like 2016, our entire cover catalog will be dead people. Not okay, 2016. Not okay.

Our year was a little less eventful (no one died), but we did have our ups and downs. We landed some gigs at some new lucrative venues, but we also lost some of those gigs.

Those gigs helped make this our most successful year yet financially, but we also found that the heavy load of gigs coupled with our other pursuits outside The Staylyns brought us dangerously close to burning out.

But in the end, the good far outweighed the bad for us. We got a new band van, allowing us to dip our toe into the RV world.

You Don't Know - new old music

In my last post, I talked about how our gig schedule had slowed down, and we were glad because we were getting more rest and actually enjoying shows again, as well as starting to play more private gigs.

Those have both been really big positives, but there's one more. With us spending less time on the road, we've been able to work on new music.

I know, right? We're psyched, too!

We've got three new songs in the works - two of which we've recently started playing at shows. And today is the worldwide premiere of our latest single, "You Don't Know."

Longtime fans know this song already from our Johnny Austin days, but we decided to re-release it with The Staylyns sound, and we're pretty confident that this will be THE version of this song for time eternal. Don't want to read one more word until you hear it? Here ya go!


For those who stream music, the player above is courtesy of Spotify, so if you like You Don't Know, please add it to your playlist. If you don't stream, and/or you love it, you can buy a download of it from all the major platforms (iTunes, Amazon, etc.). The service we get the best payout from (at the same price to you), though, is CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thestaylyns9.

We're so pleased with how You Don't Know came out, and we're really excited to crank out a few more singles in the coming months. We normally give ourselves permission to be lazy during the holidays and winter months, but we've got such great material keeping us inspired that we're going to keep the studio fired up.

So be on the lookout for new stuff to warm up your new year. What's comin'? You Don't Know! (Actually, that's already here - I was just trying to do a play on words. You get what I was doing there, right? Okay, then. Enjoy the new single.)

Why getting fired is sometimes a relief

Fall is here! It was a ridiculously busy spring and summer, but things have finally slowed down for us as the year skids into its final few months. We're glad, though I'll admit, it wasn't necessarily our choice.

In late August, we showed up for one of our Waco gigs, and at the end of the night, as the club owner paid us, he told us they were "going in another direction" and that our services wouldn't be needed going forward.

It was a bit of a shock, considering at our previous gig there, the manager on duty told us we were the staff's favorite band, and she even called her boyfriend and friends to come hang out and listen to us while she finished up her shift. So, we weren't sure what had changed in two weeks, but as we climbed into the van to come home, we all admitted that while our egos felt bruised, and we'd miss the steady money, we were relieved that we wouldn't have to drive to Waco *every* weekend anymore.

Still wondering what had happened, though, I did a little digging in the days following, and I did find out more information. It seems that in the week prior to our gig, a new general manager had been hired at the venue, and within days of being hired, he was putting up ads asking for new bands to contact him if they wanted to play the club. So, he had never heard us or met us, but had already decided to change up the bands.

We later found out that we were one of the lucky bands. We at least got to play our gig, get paid, and get fair warning before our next gig there. Apparently, this new manager didn't feel it necessary to check the upcoming schedule of bands and contact the bands he wanted to replace. He just booked over them. So several bands showed up, ready to play for gigs that had been booked well in advance, and they were told that someone else was playing that night. Those bands didn't get to play, had no opportunity to find an alternate gig for the night, and promoted for what turned out to be someone else. Realllllll professional, pal.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only change for us in Waco, though.

Five Things You Only Hear in a Home Studio

We've been busy in the studio lately, and we're hoping to have a new tune for you by the end of the month.

This is what music looks like.

Over the years of recording our own music, I've heard a few things said here and there that I'm pretty sure you'd never hear in a paid studio. And they're what make recording in our home studio so awesome! So, for those who have never recorded in both, here are...

Five Things You'll Hear in a Home Studio that You Won't Hear in a Pro Studio

1. I think we should leave the cat's meow in there.

2. Can you turn off the dishwasher?

3. Can you turn off the air conditioner?

4. Take your time. (Do you have any idea how expensive professional studio time is?)

5. I'll put on pants later. All my shorts are in the washer.

Yup. All of those are actual things we've said when recording at Staylyn Studio. Makes me wanna get back to it and finish up this new song!

The newest member of The Staylyns

Exciting times are afoot at Staylyns HQ. For some time now, Johnny has been wanting to upgrade the band van to an RV. You can only change clothes in so many bar bathrooms and watch your bandmates nap in so many awkward positions before you say to yourself, "There must be a better way." Well, there IS a better way, and June of 2016 has brought it to us!

Ladies and gentleman, please welcome the newest member of The Staylyns - Riggy Martin (props to Joe Kraft for naming her)!

I like it.

Thanks, Rick!

Riggy is a 1997 Dodge American Cruiser. She's a 20-foot Class B RV and has *almost* all the bells and whistles we want: 3 comfy captain's chairs, a marine toilet, a closet, a bed and/or seating area in the back (which will be filled most of the time with our gear), an a/c unit (separate from the truck's a/c), and a kitchen with refrigerator, cook top, sink and microwave. It's pretty sweet. Check it out: