This Month's Topic: How To Get A Manager

Hey Kids, I hope you are having a great summer vacation. I also hope that you are still taking a little time to practice because it can be fun.

These notes are late because of my tour schedule and sometimes when I get home I am just trying to catch up on some rest and I lose track of things. But, don't think for one moment that I have forgotten about you because I have not. In my last note I requested some questions and I don't see any as of yet. I guess everyone either knows all they need to know or are you just waiting to see what profound thing I am going to come up with. If you are waiting for me be profound it could be a long wait. LAUGH!

Anyway, a little about what I have been up to, I have been touring a great deal this summer thanks to a great management team and a great booking agent. I am blessed. That is one of the things I want to touch on. I was talking to a young guitarist recently in my travels who asked me how to get a manager. Okay, first of all what do you think a manager is supposed to do for you? A manager is a person to guide and advise you about your career. It is not a person whose job it is to find gigs for you, that is the job of your booking agent. although, the way things are now, most managers have to wear both hats and do. The one thing to remember when you get a manager is that the manager works for you not the other way around.

Good managers are hard to find but they don't have to be professional managers, they just have to be someone who believes in you and your ability. They have to believe that you have the juice to make it and do all they can to help you achieve the success that you want. So, that person can be your mom or dad or both, an uncle, aunt or friend etc. - just someone who has your best interest at heart.. But, even more important is that you believe that you have the juice to make it because no one will believe in you if you don't.

One thing to remember is that when you are asking someone to manage you or book you they have to know that you are doing all that you can do to be the best that you can be. That means practice hard at your craft, be creative, be willing to take some constructive criticism (that was hard for me) ) LOL. Don;t think you know it all because if you did you would not need anyone to guide you. Always and I mean always give every gig your absolute best I mean leave it all on the stage. Because then your manager or booking agent can go into the next situation saying well let me tell you what they did the other night and mean it. Look, I don't know everything but I have been playing for at least two or three minutes out there, so I will tell you always be the best that you can be. Your audiences deserve that and you owe it to those who come out to see you whether it is a thousand or ten people in the audience - give them your all.

So much for that. Now, go out there and make some sweet sounds and I will bet there may be someone out there who wants to represent you.

Who loves you more than me.... NOBODY

Nico

P.S. Forward this newsletter to your friends or sign them up yourself by sending an email to jazz@nickcolionne.com. You can also sign them up on my MySpace page, www.myspace.com/nickcolionne. Adults welcome, too.