Like most musicians living in NYC, I am not from NYC. I am from elsewhere. Not elsewhere like the West Coast type of elsewhere; I am from the South. No, think further south. Further again. You’re close! Now think: the place next to the place where Lord of the Rings was filmed. You got it! Right, the place with the kangaroos and where men wrestle crocodiles on their lunch break (form an orderly line, ladies). However deluded my sense of manliness might be, I am nonetheless in a similar situation as musicians from a closer “elsewhere”: moving to NYC as an outsider to make a living and carve a niche in the NY scene. And a question I am often asked is, “How did you get started as a musician in New York City?”
So I thought I'd divulge for the inquisitive readers of The Syncopated Times a simple “how to” guide for making it in New York.
Rule #1: You've got to be good—and if you're not, you'd better get good fast or you're broke and on the next plane home. As soon as you step off that plane, you're competing with the best in the world. These are the guys you grew up listening to!!
Rule #2: Check out as much music as you can. If you see a band you like, ask if you can sit in.
Now this is IMPORTANT: you've got to be confident in your abilities. You can imagine: if you run a band and a stranger comes up to you with a saxophone asking to sit in, you need to size him up
