Vegas Dragons - 5 career highlights... so far
There are many great things that have happened to me since creating Vegas Dragons. It is hard to put them all up but here are 5 of the great highlights in order of when they happened:
(1)*May 2003 - At one of the lowest points in my life, when all hope seemed lost, I picked up my guitar and wrote the song "One life only". That really summed up my feelings of life at the time. It basically says: this is it, I only have one life and in 2003 nothing was going right. I think writing that song really put me on a more positive path. It is just a simple song - (mostly chords G D A) but it is a song I am very proud of. It reminds me of how important it is to have a go and try to succeed.
(2)*Jan 2005 - I had worked my butt off for most of 2003 and 2004 and managed to accumulate a reasonable sum of money. This was by being frugal and working two jobs. Having worked so hard, I was left with some doubts about me trying to succeed in the music industry. It is very tough for anyone to make it. That is tough for most but it is the truth.
I had raised $25,000 in 16 months. The "SAFE" and sensible part of me was saying: buy a house. You probably won't make it in the music industry any way. Buy a house - play it safe. Marry a mortgage like so many of my friends.
Well, I didn't buy a house but I had convinced myself that maybe I was better going to study business at University. I had gone to Tafe for two full years in 1996 and 1997 and had a diploma in business. I thought maybe I should get a degree and at least I would have that to fall back on.
So I enrolled and bought all my books to study marketing, law, accounting etc etc as I had done before.
Some weeks before all this - the horrible tsunami had hit our Pacific friends causing so much destruction, death and heart break. I like many were very upset by it all. I donated, like many millions world wide. In Sydney, they decided to have a big concert called "Wave Aid" with some of Australia's biggest stars giving their amazing services for free.(John Butler Trio, Midnight Oil, silverchair, Pete Murray, Nick Barker, Missy Higgins, Powderfinger to name but some of the great Australian talent playing there!)
The day that tickets went on sale I was working my crappy job and remembered being so upset when I heard it had sold out only hours later. Without a ticket I had to listen to most of the day live on radio station Triple M in Sydney.
However come 7pm I said: "I'm going!" The day was nearly done but I felt that I had to go there. I got two buses to the SCG. There were no tickets around to be bought, so I waited and as a few people were leaving, I snuck in. (Yep, it was the wrong thing to do but I did fork out $1000 for 2 autographed posters - so I say we are even!)
I only managed to catch the final four songs of Midnight Oil that night but that was enough to make me realise that my destiny was to rock. I had to chase that dream at all costs. I HAD to give it a go. I had spent $700 on uni books but a week later I withdrew from my courses. If I had not seen the Oils that night, I would be in the final year of my degree now but I would not have 2 full length CDs... and every day it would be killing me inside. I would be thinking until the day that I died - maybe I could have made it, if I only had the guts to try.
(3)*May 2005- After working so hard to save up the money I was finally in a financial position to record. I was VERY lucky to work with super producer Phil Tweed (on the top line of Vegas Dragons top friends). I met him thanks to my best best mate Tiffany Gow (also on the top line of Vegas Dragons friends) If I had NOT met him, I am quite sure that I would not be so positive about the future right now.
Recording those 10 songs was one of the great highlights of my life. I had a smile on my face at all times when I was in the studio. I would commute from Sydney to Newcaste (approx 2 and a half hours by train) but it was the highlight of my week. It was such a thrill to be doing something IMPORTANT with my life. :) :) :)
(4)*February 2006 - I finished album one in October of 2005 and I was broke (again!!!) So I got right back into working 2 jobs again - in the kitchen at a boarding school, usually 7 days a week and as a waiter aboard a Sydney cruise ship.
Come February I had enough money to start promoting and touring the Vegas Dragons. However there was a big part of me that REALLY wanted to record again. I had so many great songs that were stuck in my head and refused to let go. While I was working, I was constantly singing them. They were torturing me.
Eventually they won and I called Phil Tweed yet again and asked him if I could record with him. That was a big step because I knew by doing that, I would sacrifice doing film clips and touring for that year. It was just not economically viable for me to do everything.
Most of my friends and family thought I was a joke. Here he is - just finished one CD and he is going onto #2. I guess I felt that way a bit too but something inside of me said it was the right thing to do.
I honestly believe looking back on it, that I did do the right thing. It was a huge project for me and it was draining on me:
*financially (my life savings are invested into Vegas Dragons - this is tough but somehow I MUST make this investment work),
*emotionally (there is always self doubt there. The music industry is such a long shot! It is so competitive that it is just impossible that everyone can succeed.)
*physically ( I was working full time and comuting 200km back and forth every time I went to Phil's studio - that was damn tough!)
However now that it is done, I am so VERY HAPPY and I would not trade those 11 recorded tracks for anything. I was also lucky enough to gain a great friendship with Phil Tweed and his family. This is a friendship I hope lasts forever.
(5)* November 11th 2006 - By sheer fluke I found out about a company called Sellaband. www.sellaband.com I believe God meant for me to find out about it. I believe it is my destiny to succeed on there.
For those who do not know what Sellaband is: it is a company based in The Netherlands that gives musicians the chance to record a $50,000 US album! You raise that money by finding investors through out the world on this website. It is amazing!
When I first found out about it, I was very doubtful so I researched it thoroughly. However after doing so, I was VERY impressed with what I found out about Sellaband.
Vegas Dragons joined up and I set about finding people to invest in our music. I became so addicted, so early on that I went out and got the Sellaband logo tattooed on my arm and had tattooed under it:
VEGAS DRAGONS TARGET REACHED -------------
there is a box left for the date to be filled in, when Vegas Dragons reach the $50,000.
On the same day that I joined Sellaband I signed up for Myspace and I love it! I have met so many wonderful people through this site and discovered some amazing music that I would probably never have discovered without it ("Drowning Pool" and "Poets of the Fall" spring to mind but there are hundreds more!)
As I write this on Saturday 20th Jan 2007 - I still can't believe it sometimes but Vegas Dragons are into the TOP 10 artists listed on the Sellaband site of over 1600 artists!
As of writing this Vegas Dragons have $7820 and are aprox 18% of the way to $50,000 and recording album #3 - that is exciting. We have investors from Latvia, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Australia, United States, Spain to name but a few.
Even more exciting is the friends that I have made during this amazing experience. Most of my top 24 Myspace friends are some how related to Sellaband. I have met so many loving and generous people in such a short amount of time. My dear friends Onno and Lucretia (both on the TOP line of my friends) are two examples of amazing human beings. I am eternally grateful to them.
They are Vegas Dragons guardian angels on the other side of the world.
I have not met them YET but I will one day and it will be a very happy day. Yet, it is not just them it is probably over a hundred people I would LOVE to meet from this site. They hail from all corners of the world and they are all wonderful people.
If you have a moment, maybe you would like to check out our page
www.sellaband.com/vegas_dragons/
I will be adding the song "One Life Only" there shortly and I would love to know what you think of it.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for being my friend.
Brian Taylor
Vegas Dragons