Trying out the Cinchcast system here. I forgot to mention there was a trumpet player in the band too!

Find out more info about the band here

For more Balkan shows in Toronto this year, check out the Wild East parties

I often have a tough debate between whether I should go out to events or stay home and work on music.

It’s easy to think that when you’re going to other people’s parties that you’re working on their dreams rather than yours. And on some levels this is true, because without you (and many others) being in attendance, the party flops and the promoters might even lose money.

But it’s also nice when you can treat these outings for what they are: a good chance to hear some new music, meet new people and maybe grab a drink or two to unwind from your daily work.

I’m not one for networking in the traditional sense. I rarely go to an event with the intention of making an impression on a performer or promoter, but no one can deny that once in a while it’s part of the process.

One thing’s for sure though, when you’re starting out you can’t turn your nose to the outside world and think you’re getting ahead of everyone. Finishing off a recording or a new section of your website on a Saturday night is only a small piece of the puzzle here.

One tip I have is to try to spread out the need to work on your career throughout the the week so your weekend isn’t such a balancing act. You have more than two opportunities to make a beat or go hear music in a seven day span. Find them.

How do you balance these things?

Rapportive is a really cool new service that adds what i’d describe as a periscope into your gmail. This is useful if you’re emailing with someone because it lets you check them out on other networks, or even write notes about them.

Networking is a big part of getting out there as a musician, so this tool could be really useful. I suggested to the team that they add profiles like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, and they were happy to entertain my request.

Then they asked if there were any other sites that I would want to see, so I came up with some services like: reverbnation, hype machine, blip.fm, mixcloud, boomkat, and thesixtyone. They added all of them to their list of services.

Well there you have it, if you’re looking to give your gmail account a bit of juice, then this is it. Bravo Rapportive!

Here’s an interesting tip to consider. Many psychologists believe that it takes 28 days repeating anything before we turn actions into habits. This can be things like running more or quitting junk food. So every day, for 28 days, why not try to make a habit of working on music?

Try this when you get up in the morning, or when you get home from work. But either way it’s best to pick a time of day that you know you’ll be able to get this done as a consistent schedule will help re-inforce this even more. 

You don’t have to work on a full track: it can be a beat, a synth loop, warping a classic track, putting together fx presets, anything that has you loading up the DAW and doing something. 

Want to kick it up a notch? Attach whatever you’ve made each day to an email, and send it to a Posterous. Set it to private if you’re shy, but at the end of the 28 days go check out all the work you’ve done. 

Are you going to try this?

It’s summertime here in Toronto, and with all the festivals and happenings going on this time of year, I thought i’d be nice to share with everyone some info about our city and what goes on here. Think of this is as Mr. Tunes’ mini guide to Canada’s largest city.

As you read through, i’d love to hear your thoughts on how your city is similar or different. Also if you do happen to come up here some time, be sure to contact me at the bottom of the site and i’d be happy to let you know what’s good to check out while you’re here. Heck I might even join you for the day!