3 - Piper Ferrari on Balancing Two Great Gigs in Vegas
May 30, 2023
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Graphic designer and musician Piper Ferrari shares her experiences balancing a band and a design job, discussing the challenges of the music industry, finding a niche in the DIY art scene, funny stories from shows, skepticism towards Instagram gurus, and upcoming projects with her band Roman Candle.
Making the right decisions in the music industry is crucial for maintaining artistic vision and integrity.
Labels can provide essential services like distribution and networking, but artists should be wary of outdated practices and potential exploitation.
Balancing a passion project with a job requires approaching each art form differently, finding fulfillment in both, and connecting with supportive communities.
Deep dives
The Challenges of Being a Freelance Graphic Designer and Musician
Piper Ferrari, a multi-talented graphic designer and vocalist for the band Roman Candle, discusses the challenges of balancing freelance graphic design work with her music career. She highlights the importance of making the right decisions in the music industry, such as turning down label offers that may not align with her vision. Piper explains that while design is her job and she sometimes takes on work she doesn't love, music is her passion project and she remains true to her artistic vision. She also emphasizes the sense of community in the Las Vegas music scene and how it has contributed to her success both as a designer and a musician.
The Changing Landscape of the Music Industry
Piper Ferrari delves into the dynamics of the modern music industry and the shifting roles of labels in the digital era. She discusses how distribution and networking are some of the key services that labels can provide for independent artists, but also expresses her concern about outdated practices and the potential exploitation of artists. Piper highlights the self-sufficiency that artists can achieve through platforms like Spotify and TikTok, allowing them to maintain artistic control and connect directly with their audience. She shares her perspective on the importance of maintaining artistic integrity and pushing back against industry norms.
The Intersection of Music and Design
Piper Ferrari reflects on the intersection of her love for music and design. While music comes from a place of emotion and self-expression for her, design is approached as a job to pay bills. She discusses the different creative processes involved, with music being more intuitive and design requiring a more methodical approach. Despite their differences, Piper finds fulfillment in both art forms and appreciates the sense of community and support she has found in both the Las Vegas music scene and the design industry.
Using TikTok to Boost Sales
The speaker discusses using TikTok as a platform to increase sales and revenue. They explain a strategy of creating design slideshows with trending sounds and hashtags, linking to a website where they sell their products. They highlight the success they've had with selling prints on TikTok during the holidays and emphasize the importance of leveraging the TikTok algorithm to reach a wider audience.
Stage Diving Mishaps at Shows
The speaker and their guest share funny and memorable stage diving stories from live shows. They recount instances where stage dives went wrong, resulting in injuries to themselves or others. They discuss the different experiences and expectations of crowd participation at hardcore shows versus larger venues, highlighting the importance of crowd awareness and safety during performances.
Ben and Ram sit down with graphic designer and musician Piper Ferrari about juggling a band and a design job at the same time, worrying about making the wrong choices early on, the point of record labels, touring, finding a niche, making art for your local music scene, living in Las Vegas, making connections, doing work you don’t wanna do, working for yourself, working for others, stage dives gone wrong, productivity vs. expression, when is a piece of art finished, bad social media advice, instagram extortion, and every single thing in between!
As always, our theme music is brought to you by the great @computrnerd.
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