The importance of a big set list

We recently had someone comment on how large our catalog is - how many songs we know. We've got about 120 songs in our catalog (and still growing), which is less than some bands but more than many. Having that many songs in our repertoire has been a real advantage in getting shows since we can fill so much time without repeating songs.

Some bands that know more songs than we do don't actually know the songs, meaning they have them memorized. They use iPads or song binders to tip them off about chords and lyrics. That can be a good way to help you build enough material to fill time especially when you're starting out, but if you do that, make sure you get a stand of some kind to hold your binder/tablet.

But we don't use reminder devices, other than each other, which sometimes leads to awkward moments of brain freeze or one of us stumbling through a song that we've played a million times because all of a sudden your mind and fingers just aren't cooperating. But we figure that's part of the fun. We're flying through the air without a net, y'all!

Still crazy (about this band) after all these years

Most bands have a lot of turnover. Even at the highest levels you can have some musical chairs (Van Halen to Van Hagar back to Van Halen anyone?), but at the bar-scene level, it's a given.

It's not awkward at all!

People's lives get busy. People get bored. Someone has a baby. Someone moves away. Band members fight. It's rare that a band holds a steady lineup of musicians for longer than a year or so - and sometimes even that's an accomplishment.

That's why I'm all the more grateful for the stability of The Staylyns. It occurred to me the other day that we have actually been together with the same three people since March 2010. That's longer than some marriages!

The first few years, when we were still a band (not just a frontman) named Johnny Austin, there was some shape-shifting. First, in 2008, it was Johnny on guitar and his longtime friend and occasional bandmate Scott (aka TS Mothership) on drums - a duo. Then Johnny added a lead guitar with the handsome and talented David (aka Davey H).

Bypassing SXSW...and record deals

When you're a musician in Austin, everyone automatically assumes you participate in SXSW. After all, it's your hometown festival. Surely you've lined up showcases for every day, right?? Not necessarily.

Lots of Austin artists do exactly that. Some people even play multiple slots per day. And we have played several showcases over the years. In 2012, I wrote about our participation in the Fiesta Red Indie Fiesta - an unofficial showcase held in conjunction with SXSW. There are probably more unofficial showcases and events than official ones!

But over the years, we've realized that SX is not really our thang. I wrote in 2012 about what a hassle it can be, but more than that, it's a question of what you want to get out of it. When it started, it was an opportunity for local bands to get in front of industry tastemakers to try to get a record deal. Now tons of bands come from all over the world to play, and many of them already have record deals.

It's still an opportunity to get discovered, but without already having some connections, it's not terribly likely. And not only will you not get paid for your performance, if you're from out of town, it's probably costing you quite a bit in travel expenses. If you get a golden ticket from it (i.e. a record deal), the cost may be worth it. But that's a reeeeeeeally long shot.

Look out, Charlie. That golden ticket might be
more like gold-plated handcuffs.

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.)