JOHN TAGLIERI – Rockin and Rollin

1) Hello John, this is your first visit in Europe, right? What are you going to do here?

Hey! Thanks. I’ll be touring for the US Navy, playing for the troops in Souda Bay, Crete, Naples, Italy, and Sigonella, Catania, Sicily. I get to travel to some of the most beautiful places, and play music for the troops and do my best to bring a little piece of home to them for a little while.

2) Please introduce yourself to the public and let us know about your bio.

Well, my name is John Taglieri! I’m an indie singer/songwriter from NJ. I have eight CDs out, have toured all over the United States and now Europe, and get to make music for a living! I have toured and shared stages with folks like Rik Emmett, The Gin Blossoms, Edwin McCain, Sister Hazel, and many, many more. I play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, since, own my own record label, and have made a living at playing music for a while now!

3) What are the main differences between having a regular job and playing music for the audiences?

Being my own boss and folling my own path in life. I’m not someone who is good at ‘following the plan’ so to speak. I like the fact that my life is ever changing, always exciting and unpredictable! It keeps it fresh and new all the time. I have had day jobs where I was at my desk everyday and I get bored very fast doing that. There’s an energy to what I do and also getting to travel and meet SO many people and see so many new and exciting things all the time just cant be beat.

4) You have a new album with TAG, would you like to talk about the process of the recordings and the new album in general?

Well, the songs were written by me and my former guitarist, Brad Whitley. We were together for about five years and had a great chemistry. We recorded most of the songs in my studio with some work done in outside studios as well. Brad would generally come in with a bunch of riffs and we’d go through them until one hit us. We’d then start writing around the riff, creating the song. Generally, I wrote the lyrics and we wrote the music together. The recordings were really fluid and easy. We didnt do any preproduction on them. We just went in and played and let the songs speak for themselves on how things should pan out. Everything on the CD was done in 1-2 takes. We wanted to keep the energy and life to the songs and not beat them to death working out parts in advance. I’ve done that before and wasnt happy with the results. So thats about it. We wrote until we had the songs we wanted and then went in and recorded almost in a totally live feel and flow. It was really kinda cool and I’m gonna work this way in the future as well.

5) You are a workaholic person and play almost every 2 days when other bands play one show per month. How do you manage to do this and do you believe that this schedule could be cost worthy or you may lose money?

It’s definitely a busy calendar. I played 225 shows last year all over the US. I’m on the road about 5 days a week on average. It’s crazy. I manage it simply by doing it. It’s a lot of work. It’s what I get to do for a living. I’m a musician. I’m lucky beyond crazy to get to make a living as a musician these days and I am very grateful for it. The schedule has definitely been cost worthy for me as I have watched my career grow year by year with everything thats going on. I’m a workaholic when it comes to what I love to do and music is all I know. So I dont have an off switch when it comes to it. I’ve done things like be up for 3-4 straight days due to the way my calendar has fallen at times, but I look at it this way, I get to see a LOT more life than most! So it’s all good!

6) Which are the advantages and disadvantages as a DIY musician and not under the umbrella of a label?

FREEDOM…plain and simple. I get to do what I want, when I want, and how I want. I dont have to deal with people who dont know about music, telling me how to make it. I was on a label early in my career, and I can say that owning my own label and being indie and DIY is far better in todays musical climate. I can change direction fast, promote as I see fit and hire the people I think are best at the jobs I need them for such as promo and PR. Its a great way to be today and honestly, being on a label today is a stupid, stupid thing to do and I’ll argue that simple fact with anyone.

7) Any funny stories from the road that you want to share with us?

Man, too many! LOL. None that would translate all the well to reading them, but when you play 220 shows a year, things happen. I get to go to Key West for Fantasy Fest, Panama City Beach for Spring Break, and more. The band and I get to see things you wouldn’t believe! LOL…and it all helps to make some of the best me memories I could ever hope to have.

8) I have noticed that you are into the vision side of music by uploading YouTube videos, photos with fans, tour diary, etc. How does social networking and vision help you build your fanbase?

IT’s how my career was able to start, grow and survive. Back to the DIY thing we talked about earlier, social media and social networking is KEY to what indie musicians do today. I’ve learned most of what I know about this all from my Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity. She is THE GURU when it comes to that. I’ve worked for her, and she’s been my Cyber Publicist throughout my career and instilled the sheer importance of social media in me. I work hard on Facebook,  Youtube and all the other outlets to stay in touch with my fanbase, help grow it and keep the wheels of the career in motion. It’s vital today to have a strong social medial presence and think out of the normal box. I also work regular press and media as well. I try to cover every angle I can to help establish my name and brand and have felt that I’ve been doing well at it all.

9) What is the secret for staying alive in the music biz?

WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK….then work some more. There are no longer barriers for musicians. The only thing that holds a musician back from having a career these days is their own laziness. Thats it. Put a plan together, and run your career like a business. Too many artist run their career with their Ego and thats the biggest mistake you can possibly make. Run it like a business, make a plan, and always evolve and dont be afraid to make mistakes along the way. Those are the best way to learn. 

10) What are your next plans?

I’m working on a new TAG band CD, and I’m also putting a sort of ‘Best Of’ of my solo material together as well. It’s exciting. I’m also touring more and more, and breaking into some new markets. I just want to keep growing as an artist, as a business and as a musician.

Please stop and see me at my websites!
http://JohnTaglieri.com
http://TAGTheBand.com
http://Facebook.com/JohnTaglieriMusic

Thanks for taking the time to do this! I truly appreciate it!