SaskMusic

Skills Lab Series

Held at SaskMusic, Saskatoon (202-226 20th St West) and Regina (1831 College Ave.) offices

All Skills Labs events are free for SaskMusic youth/individual/band/corporate members, or $20 each for non-members. All participants must pre-register as space is limited.

Register online by clicking the button on this page or by calling 1-800-347-0676. 

SaskMusic’s Skills Lab Series focuses on developing the fundamental tools that artists and music professionals need to build their careers. We tackle one specific topic each session in a friendly, hands-on learning environment. It’s an opportunity to learn or practice business skills that are key to the ever-changing music industry, in an intimate and comfortable atmosphere where we can offer peer-to-peer mentorship and networking.

HOW TO BOOK YOUR OWN TOUR

with Tyson McShane

Wednesday June 15, 2016, 7pm - Saskatoon
Thursday June 23, 2016, 7pm - Regina

You’re itching to hit the road and share your tunes with the world, but where do you begin? In this lab we will be taking a look at logistics and strategies to help you put together a tour from scratch. Whether you are a weekend warrior, looking to book a cross-Canada tour, or breaking into new markets overseas, Tyson will break down the steps, from initial research to backline to routing to settlements. We will talk about how to go from putting together little four-show tours, to spending multiple weeks on the road.   

Presenter Bio:

Tyson McShane (songwriter for Slow Down Molasses) grew up in Prince Albert, a town where there was precisely one all-ages punk rock concert a year (and it usually ended in a mini-riot). After moving to the ‘big city’ of Saskatoon to attend University, McShane became immersed in that city’s thriving music and art scene, playing in bands, promoting shows, and hyping the local scene every step of the way. With his band Slow Down Molasses, Tyson has released three albums and two EPs (with another album on the way in September 2016); and toured Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands, playing shows at some of the most exciting new music festivals (End of the Road, Sled Island, Reeperbahn, Incubate, SXSW, CMJ, NXNE, Nouvelle Prague, The Great Escape, Liverpool SoundCity etc. etc.). Outside of his time with Slow Down Molasses, Tyson has played and records with sludge-pop fuzz merchants Jeans Boot, and weirdo noise-niks The Eyebats, co-curated Saskatoon’s newest music festival MoSoFest, and secretly/not-so-secretly holds down day job as a City Planner/Urban Designer. 

Past event:

HOW TO BUILD AN EPK
with Susan Busse

Monday May 9, 2016, 7pm - Saskatoon
Wednesday May 11, 2016, 7pm - Regina

Your first contact with media and industry is often your press kit. A well-organized and informed press kit can make the difference between landing that front page spread, and getting an honorable mention at the back of your local paper. It should reflect the personality of your band while still being convenient and easy to navigate. While some individuals still prefer to receive their information in hard copy format, more often than not, this information is being shared digitally through an EPK (electronic press kit). In this lab we will look at what goes into a good press kit, how to organize it and upload it, and how to go about sending it to new contacts. If you attended our “How to Write a Killer Bio & One Sheet” lab in September, you can use the pieces discussed there to build your kit; or if you are starting from scratch, we’ll chat about what pieces you will need to develop to flesh out your press kit.

About the Presenter:

Susan Busse is an independent publicist in Saskatoon who creates local and national public relations campaigns with artists and entrepreneurs. She has a business background in marketing, sales, and finance and a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. She is grateful to have recently worked with music clients such as Rosie & the Riveters, Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, League of Wolves, Alexis Normand, Crestwood, Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Regina Folk Festival and more, with television clients such as Quizzine, The Neighbors Dog and Space Stretch, with fashion client Saskatoon Fashion & Design Festival, with Saskatchewan Craft Council in providing marketing workshops, and with corporate clients such as Saskatchewan Institute of Medical Simulation, TAP Communications, and The Two Twenty. She currently serves as Treasurer of the Board for SaskMusic and as a regular juror for Creative Saskatchewan, CARAS, FACTOR, WCMA and the CCMA. Previous roles include modelling, acting in music videos, voiceover, radio tracking for OnRamp Records, producing CMT music videos for Fahrenheit Films and freelance writing for Saskatoon Express.