John Taglieri is an independent recording artist and a successful DIY Indie artist. John released his 12th CD, entitled ‘Days Like These’ in August of 2014. He’s charted on Billboard as well as overseas, he’s had a #1 single on Amazon as well as two Top 5 CD releases.
John has been in the music biz for 15 years, the last 10 years completely full time. He plays between 220 to 240 shows a year and he’s opened for many national acts–all while running his own record label, publishing company, and recording studio.
Table of Contents
6:02 – If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
9:38 – How did you get started in the music business?
16:20 – Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
20:32 – What’s been one of your biggest failures?
29:26 – Three things artists should be doing today to grow their fan-base and move their careers forward
If you had to describe yourself as a band, song or genre, what would it be?
That is an awesome question, no one has ever asked me before. Tenacious D! I’m a 13 year old–and I’ve met a lot of grown-ups that are very angry people and that don’t like their lives. I’m an adult, I run my company, and I’ve had upwards of 25 employees over the course of my career. I run a great business. I have everything in life anyone could want. I’m very adult about my responsibilities.
Put all of that to the side: I will never grow up. I get to get onstage everyday and play guitar, act like an idiot, and make people do stupid things. They pay me for that. Think of Jack Black and Tenacious D–I’m a 13 year old moron with a guitar. Make no bones about it.
How did you get started in the music business?
I started playing guitar when I was five years old. My parents decided that I needed a hobby, so they sent me off to play guitar. I don’t have a memory of life that doesn’t involve music. Everything about me is music. So I knew very young that this was going to be what I did, but it took me a long time to figure out how I could get it to happen.
Part of the challenge was that I spent too many years trying to serve my ego. Let me tell you what I mean by that: I think you need to sit down and become the greatest musician you can possibly be. That being said, I’m a good musician, but I’m never going to be a virtuoso. I play nine different instruments, and I’m proficient at every one of them–but I’m not “oh my God” on any of them. There was a point where I was so focused on being a musician, that I didn’t learn how to run my business. So I spent my twenties flailing because I didn’t understand what running a business meant.
Looking back at your career, what stands out to you as your proudest moment?
A few years back, my old band and I, we raised a lot of money and did a lot of charity work for the leukemia and lymphoma society, and I won their New Jersey Man of the Year. It was all for raising awareness for children’s leukemia and cancer. Standing there and receiving that award will always be something that I’m proud of.
On the other side, I’ve toured with and opened for everyone I’ve ever idolized in this business. And there were a few moments where I was like “this can’t be real.”
What’s been one of your biggest failures?
I say all the time that I’ve never failed. I’ve had a lot of learning experiences along the way, but I’ve never failed. If you are trying your hardest, you are never going to fail. You are going to learn to do better.
But do I get everything I go for? Absolutely not. Do I set lofty goals, oh yeah. My managers have had people say to them: “Does this guy realize who he is not?” And their response has always been: “Yeah, he knows, and he doesn’t care.”
Three things artists should be doing today to grow their fan-base and move their careers forward:
- Practice and become the greatest musician you can be. Be a great musician.
- Learn your business. Be a great business-person.
- Make your show something people will remember. Be a great entertainer.
The best ways to reach John:
On the web:
http://johntaglieri.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/JohnTaglieriMusic
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JohnTaglieri
ReverbNation:
http://www.reverbnation.com/JohnTaglieri
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/leapdog
Outro Music:
Days Like These (Title Track)
John Taglieri
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