How much "tapping" should be in your promo?

[FATHER]

My question is: For a rock/pop band focusing on commercial success, is it beneficial to advertise the fact that one of the main melody instruments is a tapping instrument?

We encountered this problem when we first started booking shows. Our band descriptions and promo-materials always focused on the fact that the main melody instrument was a tapping instrument. Phrases like "unusual instrumentation", "one player takes over both bass and guitar lines" etc. sparked interest on one hand but also may have prevented us from being booked for certain shows. Most club owners or booking agents have most likely never heard of a Mobius, Warr, or Stick etc. Fearing that it would be something that the general public/ the usual night-club crowd may not like (or that they are booking some sort of circus act), owners and agents may decide to book a band with a classic rock instrumentation instead.

After a show, a club-owner in Montana told us that he almost decided not book us because he expected "one of those weird New Age bands" (our promo-pack clearly portrayed that we are a rock band), but the fact that we came from Seattle made him think that we would draw a good size crowd anyways.

The tapping instrument should definitely be mentioned as being part of a band's sound, but I have learned that if you are approaching your career goals via a commercial route it is not necessarily beneficial to focus on the fact that you are playing a tapping instrument. In my opinion focusing on style and finding the most accurate description of your band's music will help you the most in your search for deals, shows and radio play. On the radio, most of the time nobody cares whether the melody lines are played by one instrument or three instruments, as long as it sounds good and makes you want to listen to the song again.

On stage the focus will automatically be on the Tapper because he or she is doing something new, interesting and cool. We have not had had one show where somebody has not yelled something like "What the heck is that you are playing there?" I usually tell the audience about the instrument and after shows there are always a number of people that want to know more about what they just saw.

Best,

FATHER

[rockola]

I am not a recording artist, so I can't offer any experiences. I am, however, an avid music consumer, with a quite large collection of CD's featuring tapping instruments.

If you're trying to reach an audience, you should focus on delivering what they want. What is it then? In the case of a rock/pop band the answer is simple: music. The average music consumer will not care whether you produce your music using kazoos or ocarinas, as long as it sounds good. (Insert sarcastic comments about the power of marketing here.) The listener will not even know that you're playing a tapping instrument by just listening to your CD. The only ones who will care about the instruments used are those who play themselves.

OK then, if you do emphasise the fact that your band has a tapping instrument, who will care? Other tappers. If that's your intended target audience, fine, no problem. But commercial success is hard - I'll be blunt and say impossible - to achieve with such a narrow demographic.

Other people may notice that there's something different about your band, and different is always interesting. But that will get you only so far, and there's a danger lurking. If your main claim to fame is a strange instrument, you are in the same position as the dancing bear in a circus. It certainly is interesting to see once, but would you like to see the bear in a Chekhov play? Probably not.

Playing live, the situation is different. Live shows are about showmanship, and there you should use every advantage you have. Rockets shooting out of your tapping instrument would certainly make a memorable gig. But the bottom line is, if the music's no good, nobody will come to see you, weird instrument or not.

Returning back to the first paragraph, I have quite a few tapping instrument CD's where the main point seems to be: "Look at me! Aren't I clever when I can play this strange instrument, using both hands!" That approach is missing the point by a parsec. There are also many CD's where the instrument is very well integrated in the band, and those tend to be the better and more memorable ones.

[jamsire]

It is so important to remember that you "tapping instrument" is in fact that - an instrument. Would you advertise that you have a mountain dulcimer if you were rockin' it hard? No you would not.

I always fear that tappers INTENTIONALLY make a bigger deal about their instrument than they should - it's an instrument you have chosen to express yourself. Not a novelty thing to hold so that people scrinch their eyes, frown and ask "what's that?"

Just play! Be funky - always, and let the music be your expression. Selling your band with a "lead tapping" instrument - doesn't serve the betterment of the band.

IN MY OPINION!!!!!!:mad:

[wmlusk]

I have to agree with Jamsire; the music comes first.

While advertising as a band with a tapping instrument may draw the musicians out, I think you have to decide what is your ultimate target audience.

Think about all those speed-guitar bands of the 80's that rested their success on the shoulders of a single musician playing a single style. Where are they today?

[Daniel Schell]

1 Bjork from Island.
2 Tabla from India
3 Tap-guitar?