When you submit a demo of your band or your solo act, it’s important to submit a well put together package that’s going to increase your chances to be considered. Here are a couple of mistakes to avoid when submitting your material.

1. Don’t submit a type of artist or band that we’re not looking for

The type of entertainers that we describe on the Jobs & Auditions page on our site are the ones that we’ll be able to find jobs for. It is thus a waste of your time and resources to submit entertainers that don’t fit any of the descriptions on our site. You can always email us with questions about this before you send out your stuff.

2. Don’t forget to include contact information

3. Don’t submit inadequate video

A lot of the video demos we receive are either not current, put together in a hurry, or of low quality. Make sure that you submit video of the exact personnel that you’re planning to bring on a ship, taylor your video exactly to the needs we’ve listed, and send us good, high-quality video. Some send us only a song or two even though we ask for 10-12 short samples. Someone that submits an out-dated package, sends the message that they’re not willing to make an extra effort to put together an up-to-date package which doesn’t speak for his/her determination to land a job.

We have an easy way for you to upload your movies to our server. Contact us for details when you’re ready to submit yours.

4. Don’t forget supporting material

A great video demo must be accompanied by an extensive repertoire list (categorized by style of music), bios, and headshots (for soloists) or band photos (for bands).

]]> http://www.oceanbound.com/mistakes-to-avoid-when-submitting-demo-material/feed/ 0 http://www.oceanbound.com/musicians-bands-needed/ http://www.oceanbound.com/musicians-bands-needed/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:43:30 +0000 marco http://www.oceanbound.com/?p=3493 We are currently looking for the following:

- Good cover bands (4, 5 and 6-piece)
- Dance bands (4-piece), light top 40, ballroom dance music and jazz standards.
- Guitar/Vocalists
- Piano/Vocalists
And, we’re always looking for good orchestra musicians with excellent sight-reading skills.

Please visit this page on our site to learn how to apply for these jobs.

The answer may lie in the fact that “successful” may mean something different to the band than it does to the cruise line.

As musicians we often focus on the musical aspect of our performance and may neglect the entertainment value, both of which are entirely different. Let me give you an example that may illustrate this difference.

During one of the recent Montreal Jazz Festivals, my girlfriend (a non-musician) wanted to go see Jamie Cullum the popular singer, while I (a musician) wanted to go see Jeff Beck the legendary guitarist. I picked the latter because I wanted to see musicians that have achieved extreme levels of technical and musical competence, while my girlfriend wanted to hear the songs she heard on the radio. So, we went to see both and first up was Jeff Beck. I was dazzled by their technique and overall mastery for the first 15 minutes, but to my surprise, I got bored rather quickly. It was very apparent that these musicians cared more about displaying their skills, rather than making sure the crowd was entertained.

Jamie Cullum, on the other hand, was just the opposite. None of his musicians’ skills came even close to those of Jeff Beck’s musicians, but Jamie Cullum’s stage presence, and the fact that people knew and loved every single song of his, made this show fun and very entertaining. We were humming and singing along, and we were dazzled by his showmanship.

It might be a good idea to consider the lounge that you’re performing in, your own business. Just imagine you’re the owner of this club and you have to make this business work. If you think about your job in this manner, you may see that the importance is to attract people into your lounge, and keep them there for as long as possible. This way, food & beverage managers will sell way more drinks and they’ll love you for it.

How do you attract guests and keep them in your lounge? For starters, you must have a large repertoire to pick from and you must somehow figure out which of the songs attract and entertain your guests. There are several ways to do this. One way is to ask your music manager and cruise director, as they have obviously learned from previous bands. They have to fill out cruise reports after each cruise, and thus are well aware of what works and what doesn’t.

You can also flat out ask some of your guests what they want to hear. Being able to fulfill song requests is a great way to win them over. If your band doesn’t know a song that’s being requested, just let the person know that you’ll learn it and play it the next night.

Be attentive to the songs that get people to the dance floor and play more of that style of music. Make sure that your band looks like they’re having as much fun as the guests and interact with the latter to keep them interested. Talking to the passengers even when you’re not on the band stand can also reinforce your relationship with them and bring them back to your lounge the next night.

The above tips are just a few of the things you can do to be successful on a cruise ship. The important thing is to focus on entertainment value rather than musical extravagance. Let’s hope some of these things will get you a job and keep you employed for a long time.

I think it’s safe to say that most musicians are naturally driven to play as best they can. No one in their right mind would go on stage and embarrass themselves on purpose. We thus practice individually and rehearse in groups, to get the overall music to sound as good as possible.
However, tangible factors such as amount of practice or talent, and the experience of the individual are not the only ones affecting a musician’s performance. A much more unlikely factor may have a much bigger impact on a performance than we would like to acknowledge sometimes. The musician’s confidence level.

A lack of confidence can be a horrible feeling. You feel unprepared, unsure of yourself, you can feel inferior and out of place, nervous, anxious etc. In other words, it’s not much fun and it certainly doesn’t do any good to the overall level of performance.

It is thus imperative that we, ourselves, work on our confidence level. Fortunately, there are a number of things we can do. For one, try to put yourself in situations that are well-suited for you. In other words, ask yourself if you’re the right person for a gig before you accept or decline it. Ask yourself if you truly master the skills required for the particular gig, if you like the people you’ll be working with, and if you believe this would be a situation that you would feel comfortable in.

Next, practice, practice, practice! I believe that the better you are as a musician, the more unlikely it is that you’ll be totally overwhelmed by what you’ll have to play at the gig. By practice, I mean of course, to fine tune all aspects of music including all technical, theoretical and musicianship skills.

Ask questions about the gig, show up early, be in a healthy physical and mental condition, and have a positive attitude.

But there is only so much you can do to be reasonably sure that you’ll have some confidence going into the gig. By far the more important point of this article is that we need to make sure that we don’t squash a musician’s confidence through poor communication.

It is all too often that a newcomer’s confidence is destroyed the minute a musical director or bandmate makes a negative comment. It is amazing how quickly this can happen and in most cases it will be very difficult if not impossible for the musician to gain back the confidence that took him months, even years, to build up.

I, thus, believe it is absolutely necessary for any musician who works in ensembles to practice proper communication skills. If you believe that the band only sounds as good as its weakest member, that you will inevitably sound better if the others in your band sound better, then it goes without saying that you should work with them, not against them.

A bandmember that has difficulty with a particular part needs help and support, not ostracizing and ridicule. Besides, if you’re trying to help, you’ll feel better about yourself in the end. Of course, this is especially true for anyone in a supervising role such as the Musical Director. As the Musical Director, you’re supposed to be a role model, you’re supposed to handle difficult situations professionally and in a way that maximizes the chance for a positive outcome. You’re supposed to get the best out of your band and that’s much easier if everyone’s confidence level is up.

So the bottom line is that I believe it is to everyone’s benefit if we consider confidence. Try to get your own confidence up and try not to destroy other’s confidence levels through poor judgement and/or communication.

Then view our video and contact us soon to set up your audition.

However, I believe that there is one important aspect that a lot of us neglect, even though it may very well be a deciding factor in determining the success of your career. I’m talking about a professional attitude.

With a small amount of effort, the right attitude can potentially give a huge boost to a musician’s career. You may be hired for a gig over a better player simply because you’re a pleasure to work with. On the other hand, an excellent player may not get the gig because no one can stand him/her. Musical excellence is not a substitute for a professional attitude.

I believe this is especially true for musicians that have realized that music is not about proving something, but about enjoying the music you make and the people you play with.

Here are some qualities that I believe make up a professional attitude. Feel free to let me know what I’ve missed.

• Respect – It pretty much goes without saying that one should show respect for others. We all have a right to play music, even those that aren’t as good yet. So if you encounter a musician that’s not as good as you, help them out instead of being hard on them. A weaker member in your band can make your performances sound worse, so helping them out and giving them confidence in what they do is ultimately going to improve the overall performance, from which you will benefit.

• Accepting criticism – Remember that other musicians may have learned a lesson or two you have not yet learned, even if you’re a better musician overall.

• Integrity – If there’s something you can’t do, admit it, have someone else do it, or ask for help so you can get the problem fixed quickly. I’ve seen people accept job offers that they simply weren’t qualified for. You may argue that if a company asks you to fill a certain position, they must believe that you can do the job. I say, however, that the one person that knows you the best, the one person that is best positioned to decide whether you are qualified for a given job, is none other than you. So, although you may be flattered and your ego may love the attention it would be getting in this new position, pause for a while, figure out what this job entails, ask yourself if you’re capable of handling every single aspect of the job and answer these questions honestly. Then have the guts to say no. Imagine how much it’s going to hurt your reputation if you’re in a position you can’t handle. It’s wiser to say no, learn and observe and slip into the position when you are ready.

• Honesty – Be honest about what you can do and what you can’t do. A good example are all those people that talk up their resume only to fail miserably when they face the music. You’re actually doing yourself a disservice this way. How nice would it be to over-deliver during the gig! This is a lot easier when you keep quiet about your resume. Besides, if you’ve really played with Chick Corea, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane and boast about it, chances are that you’re just intimidating your band-mates, ultimately leading to an inferior performance, which also affects you.

• Be prepared – A big part of having a professional attitude is to show up, do the gig well, and go home. This is only possible if you’re prepared. Some guys may want to show up for a gig and ‘wing’ it. If you wing it, and you’re able to do the gig, imagine how much better you could’ve done it if you’d prepared. In most cases, however, it’s a stupid stunt that ends up in a train wreck or two. Also, consider the confidence people will have in you if they can see that you’re prepared – and confidence leads to better performances.

• Apply proper inter-personal communication skills – This is really important. Tensions arise often on the bandstand. When this is the case, it is imperative for people to communicate in a way that leads to an effective resolution of the problems so that the show can go on without a hitch. Furthermore, with proper communication you’ll be able to come out of a tricky situation without offending anyone.

• Proper appearance – Look the part

• Punctuality

• No drugs – Now, that seems pretty self-explanatory. Yet time and time again some of our guys get fired (and mess up their future careers with their employers) for smoking weed. I’m not suggesting to anyone to give up their drug habits but I believe there is a time and a place for it. Cruise ship gigs and drugs simply don’t go together.

• Consistency – When your gigs become repetitive, the challenge wears off and you feel your motivation and concentration slip, your performance may suffer. Coming up with extra motivation and setting personal challenges may help you to keep up your performance level, which will once again lead to better performances by the group.

As you can see, there are a number of ways we can improve our personal performance dramatically, outside of the many different music-related skills I mentioned in the introduction. Some may find that they’re naturally applying some of the qualities I’ve talked about, while others may struggle a bit more with their attitude. I’m absolutely convinced that working on these points will make your career more enjoyable for yourself and those you play with.

I’ve found that there is one sentence that has helped me stay on the right track:

“Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem”

To work on a cruise ship you must pass a medical exam. How detailed this exam is depends on the cruise line that has offered you a job. Some include detailed blood analysis, drug tests, chest x-rays, detailed medical questionnaire and more. Some cruise lines require that your Body Mass Index (BMI) is below 35.

Being in good general health is thus important and we want to make sure our clients are aware of this policy so they won’t be surprised later.

Some musicians are asking whether they can get a medical exam done before they are offered a job. This, however, does not make much sense since all of these cruise lines have different medical exam procedures. Wait until you’ve been offered a job to get a yours done. At that point we’ll be able to give you detailed instructions and provide you with the correct forms.

Once completed, the medical results are typically valid for 2 years.

It’s also important to note that the exams are at your cost. Some cruise lines reimburse a part of the costs to you once on board the ship, some don’t.

If you have any questions about medical exams, let us know.

Here’s another question we get asked a lot. When should I apply?

You should apply as early as possible. Most cruise lines book several months in advance to make sure they’ve got all their entertainment needs filled. Cruise gigs are in high demand at the moment. There are way more musicians applying than there are jobs for. So, if an opening comes up, doesn’t mean you’ll get it. So, a couple of months may pass before a gig is assigned to you because you’re the next best guy on the list.

It’s pretty typical to have to wait several months before you’ll get a gig.

Once you’ve successfully passed your audition, you’ll on the roster of musicians or groups that we consider for placement, and that doesn’t change unless you tell us you’re no longer looking for work. Take your time to make sure you’re properly prepared for the audition, this ensures that you put your best effort forward. Then, go ahead and audition, even if you’re not planning to head out for a cruise gig for several months.

For groups, it’s important to update your information with us while you’re waiting for a job. Considering that it can take several months before you get a gig, the lineup of your band may change, or you may put together a better video. If that’s the case, make sure you get this information to us so that we also show the cruise lines your latest and best material.

Hope this helps.

As we’re heading into the new year, we are working hard on updating your records to make sure we know who’s looking for work and when they are available. So, if you read this message, send us a quick note to info@oceanbound.com to let us know what’s new.

Also, if you have updated photos, videos and repertoire lists of your project, send it to us.