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Interview
| INTERVIEW: UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH BOBBY BORG: MUSIC BUSINESS CONSULTANT, AUTHOR, AND MUSICIAN |  |
1) How many years have you been playing music professionally?
BB: At least 25 years. I started at a very young age.
2) Do you play any other instruments besides drums?
BB:I dabbled with tuned percussion (i.e., marimba and tympani), and off course, I fooled around with a variety of other percussion instruments.
3) Who were some of your musical influences growing up?
BB: Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, John Bonham, and Ginger Baker, to name a few.
4) What type of drums do you play these days?
BB: Pearl Drums, Rhythm Tech percussion, Sabian cymbals, Aquarian Heads, and a variety of other companies endorse me.
5) How did graduating from Berklee College of Music help you as a musician and as an industry consultant?
BB: Berklee helped me to be more open-minded to theory, ear training, harmony, notation, and songwriting. I think it is important that musicians and industry persons alike understand the theory behind music. It’s nice to be able to talk the language of your profession and articulate why something works or doesn’t work. After all, this is the business of songs.
6) You were a member of the bands Beggars Thieves, Warrant, and Left for Dead. How has this helped you on the biz side of your career?
BB: Without musicians, there would be no music business, yet many people in the industry really don’t know what it is like to be an artist—the insecurities, the sacrifices, the risks, the pressures from family and girlfriends to get a "real" job and "grow up," the challenges of not having insurance and a growing 401-K, the Top Ramen noodles and mustard sandwiches, the sleepless nights driving around the country in a van, and the years of honing your instrument with no guarantee that you’ll ever make a penny. I've experienced this all firsthand and lived through it. Many people have told me that I offer a valuable perspective to the business for having been on that side of the fence for so long—deep in the trenches so to speak.
7) Any regrets for pursuing a career as an artist?
BB: In contrast to the challenges mentioned above, as an artist/entrepreneur, I bought my own freedom with no one to telling me when I can eat lunch, take a vacation, or spend time working on my craft or researching the business. When you tour, you see the world—and also meet interesting, and beautiful, people. But even between and after my days touring, I was at liberty to move around between New York, Boston, New Jersey, and Los Angeles for monthly periods, teach, play one-off gigs, speak, write, think, create, and get paid just by virtue of people knowing about my career. There have been times where I would leave the country for a month and hang out with my Dad in Malta, Europe, sit on our roof with paper and pen, and watch the Mediterranean stare me in the face while I wrote. No regrets there…
8) What music are you enjoying these days and how is this (or was this) important to your career musically and in the business?
BB: The radio dials in my car are programmed to rap, classical, jazz, Latin, Indie, Hot AC, and alternative rock—you name it. As a versatile musician (at least competently versatile), I paid the bills playing everything from R&B to rock, and I basically never had to work a day job. Today, I consult with clients of all genres and can offer diverse and informed advice. I have many favorite styles, but it’s extremely important for fledgling musicians and industry folk to listen to absolutely everything for the aforementioned reasons.
9) Steve Vai, Mike Inez (Alice in Chains) and the late Randy Castillo (Ozzy Osbourne) are among the many musicians that have endorsed your book The Musician’s Handbook Revised, published by Billboard Books. Why?
BB: I think they liked the book because it was one of the first resources about the music business that presented complex issues in a style that is more practical to the layman (i.e., the musician, indie label owner, producer, manager, songwriter, booking agent, etc.). The Musician's Handbook is a good book to read before delving into others.
10) Will there be any follow up writing projects?
BB: I wrote How To Market Your CD and Create a Buzz: Putting Together an Initiating a Marketing Plan of Attack. The book focuses on zero to limited-dollar budget marketing strategies for independent artists—very practical do-it-yourself stuff. This is where I see the music business ending up in the future. More artists will learn to embrace the idea of selling their music themselves utilizing a variety of new promotional opportunities that exist.
11) Where are your books available?
BB: Bobby Borg.com (go to “Store”), Amazon, and major bookstores everywhere carry my resources. If you’re in a shop and don’t see The Musician's Handbook Revised, be sure to ask for it—its likely sold out.
12) What else have you been up to for the past years, what keeps you moving from day-to-day, and what are your future goals?
BB: I’m teaching at Musician’s Institute and UCLA; consulting with musicians, small entertainment industries, and educational institutions overseas; writing for a variety of magazines and Internet sites; teaching drums and also writing music books. I’m into running, staying healthy, and furthering my education in everything from comparative literature, to math, to computer sciences, to you name it. I’m also slowly, but surely, working on a Masters degree. Add up the hours for everything else that I do and there's barely enough time each day to have any real fun [laughing]. Thank god I truly love what I do. To paraphrase Confucius, when you can find work that gives your life true meaning, you’ll never work another day in your life.
By Robert Watts
Revised
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