Transcript auto-generated by Apple Podcasts.

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ROBONZO: This is The Unstarving Musician’s Podcast.

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ROBONZO: The podcast features conversation for musicians of all types and genres, a curation of expertise intended to help all musicians be better at marketing, business, the creative process, and all the other things that empower us to do more of what we love, make music.

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ROBONZO: This episode is powered by The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, How to Get Booked and Paid What You’re Worth Over and Over Again, written by Roberto R.

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ROBONZO: Hernandez.

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ROBONZO: That’s me, yours truly.

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ROBONZO: Learn more about the book at unstarvingmusician.com forward slash book and on Amazon.

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ROBONZO: In this episode, I speak with longtime friend, George Brandau.

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ROBONZO: George is a super connector, a gigging musician and hair stylist extraordinaire, among many other things.

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ROBONZO: I’ve dropped his name on this podcast more than once, and he has connected me with more than one of my featured guests.

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ROBONZO: His band, Chrome Deluxe, is one of the best live acts in the San Francisco Bay Area, mixing blues, funk, swing, and dance into a blend of happiness you can only find in San Jose and surrounding areas or on their new CD, which you can hear at chromedeluxeband.com.

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ROBONZO: I invited George to the podcast because of his superpower for connecting others, but also to chat about his ongoing efforts to raise money for people in need, particularly people within his local community of Northern California.

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ROBONZO: With the help of his bandmates and other local musicians, George has raised thousands of dollars for the homeless, underprivileged children, and fire victims.

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ROBONZO: In our conversation, George shares a few of his secrets and tips for organizing and promoting benefit shows.

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ROBONZO: We also touch on his use of social media, print, and radio to market his band and gigs.

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ROBONZO: George and his band are great at pulling a crowd and putting on memorable performances, so I think he’ll get a lot out of this episode.

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ROBONZO: He is, perhaps most importantly, a consummate giver and humanitarian.

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ROBONZO: I hope you’ll enjoy this long overdue conversation with my dear friend, George Brandau.

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ROBONZO: Hey, George, welcome to the podcast.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Hey, Roberto, how are you doing?

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ROBONZO: I’m fantastic, thank you.

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ROBONZO: I’m doing this on the road today, as you know, but my listeners might be mildly amused by the fact that I’m not in Panama today.

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ROBONZO: I’m actually in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I just left your hometown and your home, as a matter of fact, in San Jose, California.

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ROBONZO: So just a little bit of fun for those of you that listen and maybe want to imagine what it’s like here.

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ROBONZO: I left Beautiful Weather in San Jose, and I came to Beautiful Weather in Texas.

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ROBONZO: So I’m a lucky guy that way, but really appreciate you taking time out today.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh, absolutely.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: It was fun having you at Casa Brandao.

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ROBONZO: It was always fun for us, and you guys are excellent hosts, you and your wife, Carrie.

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ROBONZO: George, there are a couple of reasons I’ve been wanting to have you on, one in particular, but this past weekend gave me yet another idea for having you on.

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ROBONZO: I mean, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to do it is you, much like me, are a geeking musician.

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ROBONZO: We’ve known each other since around 2001, I think.

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ROBONZO: You also are a drummer, and we share some musical interests and interests outside of music.

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ROBONZO: So that was one obvious reason, but one of the other ones is, in your name, I was hoping to get a laugh out of you, and maybe did, but your name has been mentioned a lot on the podcast.

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ROBONZO: So if you’d been listening, you would have known that.

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ROBONZO: You’ve introduced me to a few guests, and you tend to come up, partly because of the music you do.

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ROBONZO: So why don’t we actually dive into that part, and then we’ll get into something else I want to talk about.

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ROBONZO: But I know it’s important for musicians to get into the idea of getting connected all the time.

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ROBONZO: Always being connected and staying connected with people, because it opens a lot of opportunities.

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ROBONZO: Your gregarious guy, your career affords you, your daytime gig affords you the ability to meet a lot of people.

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ROBONZO: But can you tell me, were you always a connector?

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ROBONZO: Have you always been so sociable or something that you kind of came into, I don’t know, an adulthood?

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I think I pretty much have always been a connector.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I’ve always been social, kind of like you.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: When you’re a drummer, you have to be social.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: If you want to go out, you want to gig, you want to meet people, that’s part of the deal.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Though I do enjoy my alone and quiet time very much.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: But going out, going to clubs, or even when I was a kid in high school, trying to find out who’s in the game, who you’re going to play with, who are the musicians you want to vibe together with.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s just part of the whole fabric, I think, of being a musician, really.

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ROBONZO: I can relate to why you do this and this being you really like connecting people with each other, and you’re one of the best at it that I’ve ever met.

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ROBONZO: And I understand personally why that’s fun and gratifying, but can you elaborate for listeners why you do that?

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ROBONZO: It’s probably second nature and you don’t think about it, but is there, can you talk about how that makes you feel or what motivates you to connect people with one another when you know they can be of some possible help or benefit to one another?

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, honestly, I was talking to a client about this the other day.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s in my fabric.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Honestly, I don’t do it for the personal benefit.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I really do it because when people are talking to me, I’ll give you a little story.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: The other day I’m playing this show and a friend of mine shows up and he’s got this guy with him and this guy is an architect and he’s French.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And I sit down and when I meet this guy, the way my brain works, my Rolodex is rolling as I’m talking to this guy because he tells me he’s a French architect.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Well I have another friend who has got a master’s degree in art.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: He does this incredible abstract artwork.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: His name is Lou Birmingham and Lou does this incredible artwork and his pieces are huge and they go very well in museums and really big houses and corporate structures.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So when I meet this architect and he’s French, well Lou is French too.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I meet this guy and before I can even speak to him, I want to just say Lou Birmingham and that’s kind of the way my brain works.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I met this guy Pierre, we talked very quickly and I just told him immediately you have to meet my friend Lou Birmingham because you guys are just simpatico, you’re both French, you do architecture, you do beautiful, I looked at his website, he does incredible work and my friend Lou does this incredible art and I just thought here’s a marriage and a friendship that could last forever.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So that’s the way my brain just automatically works, I just do it.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I didn’t look at the end result, I just thought you guys two sitting at a table would get along so well.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And I did that with a friend of mine last week, Val King, who used to own King Amplification.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I got him in a relationship with this woman and it’s incredible to see how they interact together and they’re just like madly in love now.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And they were both in relationships that really sucked.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So to have, as I say, I use my minds like a Rolodex, I just go, wow, you two need to meet.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I don’t really do it with a personal agenda or any end result or any financial return.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s just part of who I am, honestly.

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ROBONZO: That’s great.

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ROBONZO: I’m just kind of laughing on the inside thinking that you maybe over the years have had these moments where you have to turn that off for a second so that you can genuinely listen to whatever this new person is saying.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, you’re absolutely right.

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ROBONZO: Well, the reason I brought this up, though, for anyone who might be wondering, and I talked about it in my book, I talk about it with guests all the time, and it often just comes up.

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ROBONZO: In fact, most times it comes up on the podcast.

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ROBONZO: I don’t really necessarily solicit that part of the conversation, but as musicians, especially if you want to play music or maybe you don’t want to gig, but you want to do recording work or you just want to join a band or expand your music network, obviously we have to tap into our gregarious side and get out and meet people.

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ROBONZO: You and I have talked about this a lot.

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ROBONZO: I know that gigging in and around the San Jose area hasn’t always been easy, especially when you have a new band or things are always changing.

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ROBONZO: And that’s true of any market where musicians are playing sort of the weekend warrior fashion and you have these limited number of venues, but getting out and getting FaceTime is so important.

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ROBONZO: So that’s definitely why I bring it up.

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ROBONZO: So your current day gig, I failed to mention.

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ROBONZO: So you’re a hairstylist by day, a caped crusader, drummer by night and other things too.

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ROBONZO: But you’ve been in a lot of careers prior to this long career as a hairstylist, where you were interacting with people and that seems to be where you, the kind of things that you gravitate toward.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, yeah, it’s part of the hustle, no matter what you’re doing, whether you’re building, trying to get the gigs or you’re self-employed and you’re, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a painter or whatever.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: If you want to get the gig, you got to hustle, you got to meet people, you got to hand your cards out, you got to shake hands, you got to tell people who you are and what you do and what you’re about and try and help them if you can.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: My philosophy is you got to give it away to keep it.

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ROBONZO: So true.

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ROBONZO: And you mentioned something else interesting actually I wanted to talk about.

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ROBONZO: You said you enjoy your alone time.

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ROBONZO: I’ve heard this of a few people, it seems like recently it’s kind of coming into focus for me because I didn’t always think of myself as an introvert, but I do nowadays.

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ROBONZO: But most people see me as very extroverted and ham, which I am at times.

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ROBONZO: But I was listening to Arianna Huffington in an interview, she made a comment that she’s actually an introvert, and it came up because the person that was interviewing her talked about the way he’s seen her work a room just in terms of connecting people and creating a fascinating conversation and working a room in a really good positive sense.

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ROBONZO: But the little thing that really stuck out to me is that she knows she’s an introvert because, not her exact words, but she never has a fear or any anxiety about being alone.

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ROBONZO: She really cherishes alone time as well.

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ROBONZO: And you said that you do enjoy your alone time.

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ROBONZO: And this is probably sort of important to talk about because a lot of us, I suspect musicians or artists or whatever think that we’re introverts and it’s such a battle to get out there and are such a hard thing to get out there and meet and get face time and go make new relationships and try to do things for people.

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ROBONZO: And you say it just it’s part of your fabric.

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ROBONZO: It’s how it works.

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ROBONZO: Can you talk a little bit about what it is that you do enjoy about the alone time or cherish about it if you do and what kind of makes you in your own head anyway sort of switch to this mode where you love introducing people?

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I think we need that space in order to recharge in order to think about a deeper picture as to who we are and really what’s our purpose on the planet, not to get too out there on it but we’re in a world there’s so much noise out there constantly and when I come home, especially if I’m by myself, usually I don’t turn on music, I don’t turn on the TV, I try and unplug from the email and all the other stuff, just try and be quiet.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: My wife went away for a week.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: She went off to do a painting seminar.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I don’t think I turned on any media for a whole week and it was just that space to open up and think about life.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: We all have so much connectivity right now that I think it’s important to really step back and look at the whole global picture and see what part we can play and any good we can do in the world and part of that is connecting and disconnecting.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And I’m not saying, you know, I don’t watch TV or every now and then I do turn on the news and then I wonder why I turned on the news.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: But I don’t know, lately, it just seems like there’s just so much madness going on and I turn it off and try and do my part in the world to be positive and have that influence in the universe.

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ROBONZO: Yeah, and it seems like maybe this is where part of your urge to connect and be connected and get connected.

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ROBONZO: But I’m guessing that that alone time makes you think about what you can do to make a dent in the universe, as they say.

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ROBONZO: And I saw a nice example of that this weekend and one that afforded you an opportunity to bring a bunch of people together.

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ROBONZO: Maybe you met some new people through it, or perhaps maybe not the right word, but rekindle some relationships.

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ROBONZO: And the event or the thing that I’m referring to is during actually the eve of my arrival in the San Francisco Bay Area, what has turned out to be, I believe, the worst wildfires in California’s history, lit up in the what we call the North Bay Area and was centered in Santa Rosa where my wife, Sammy and I were going to start our trip and seeing a lot of my business people out there.

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ROBONZO: And anyway, those events brought you and us together just a couple of days ago for a benefit event that you orchestrated.

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ROBONZO: I’ve seen you do this before and I wanted to talk about this past one that you did, but also I’ve seen you do it, I think you do them at least two or three times a year for various causes.

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ROBONZO: And it occurred to me as we were watching or sitting together in the one just a couple of days ago to help out victims of the fire.

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ROBONZO: This also has a side benefit, maybe very small in the grand scheme of things, because you actually do these to help people, but a nice little side benefit, a side of bringing all the people together to see some fun music hopefully is that as a musician, you’re able to make a cause out of getting together and performing live or perhaps highlighting a performance that may have not initially been intended for some sort of cause and kind of a smaller picture thing, but it’s a great thing for you as a musician and a really wonderful thing that your fellow musicians get to participate in.

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ROBONZO: Can you tell me a little bit about how it came together in your head for this past weekend and then for other musicians, it would be nice to understand how you typically bring these types of things together every year.

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ROBONZO: And tell me if I’m wrong, I think I’ve seen you do it two or three times a year consistently for a while.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh yeah.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, this last gig in particular, I have family up there in the North Bay and I have a lot of friends in the North Bay and a lot of musicians.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, you got Charlie Musselwhite up there, you got Elvin Bishop and Ian Lamson and Randy Bermudez, guys like that, and they’re up there, they’re in it.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So anyway, we had this gig booked and talking to people over the texts and seeing all this crazy stuff on the internet, we had this gig booked and I thought, I don’t have it in my heart to do business as usual.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And quite honestly, I thought, who cares about this gig?

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, people lost their homes and everything.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s devastating.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I actually even have a home up there and it was four blocks away from the evacuation area.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So that really hit home and I just thought, I’ve got to do something.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I want to be a part of this somehow and help.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So I thought, well, hey, we got this gig this week, so why don’t I just make up a new poster and let’s spin this as a fundraiser and see what happens.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I usually do a lot more planning and try and get other people involved in this and that.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: But essentially, it was just down and dirty, hey folks, come here, put some money in the bucket and let’s do this thing.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I collected up all this stuff I had at my house, DVD collections and stuff I had around the house and we ended up auctioning them off.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, they were all in brand new condition, but we ended up raising 1200 bucks.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I was blown away.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: People were so generous.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And you were there.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, you saw the crowd.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: I was really stoked at what a great crowd we packed the house.

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ROBONZO: You did.

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ROBONZO: And I take it that’s not always the case on a Sunday.

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ROBONZO: I don’t know how often you play there on a Sunday.

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ROBONZO: And there was also an event, the venue you played at was in downtown San Jose for those of you listening, and not far from what is referred to as the SAP Center, which is a large event center for concerts and various other things, and there was an event going on that day.

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ROBONZO: So there are probably reasons for people not to get out, but they came out anyway and fought the parking.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

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ROBONZO: Yeah, you had a packed house and it did seem that people were very generous and got rid of all, you auctioned off all of the items, the cool items that you brought up there.

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ROBONZO: And clearly that was more people wanting to help out than they necessarily needed anything.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:16:10.542 –> 00:16:10.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: Some of it was comical, but hey, you know, it’s all for the cause and it was all good.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: So I’m just stoked at how that came together.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And that was down and dirty last minute, but we did do it.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: And I’ve got another event, another fundraiser next month at the same venue, the Poor House Bistro in San Jose, which is owned by Jay Madure.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s an awesome owner.

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GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s also a great musician, singer, and he understands us as musicians.

00:16:37.142 –> 00:16:52.962
GEORGE BRANDAU: So it’s nice to play at a venue where the owner actually is kind of invested and understands what it’s like to be a musician and gig, because you and I both have played in places where they don’t have a clue as to who we are, what we do, how much work it takes to go do a gig.

00:16:53.182 –> 00:16:54.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: Is there a stage?

00:16:54.042 –> 00:16:54.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: Is there lighting?

00:16:54.802 –> 00:16:55.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: Is there a PA?

00:16:55.662 –> 00:17:02.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: All of these kind of demographics you have to put together to be taken care of as a musician when you go to perform.

00:17:03.142 –> 00:17:06.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s nice to go to a venue where he’s got a stage, he’s got a sound system.

00:17:06.862 –> 00:17:12.002
GEORGE BRANDAU: He makes it really easy and really comfortable to go perform and it’s a great venue.

00:17:12.022 –> 00:17:15.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: So hats off to Jay Madurey at the Poor House, a little plug there.

00:17:15.782 –> 00:17:16.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: I hope you don’t mind.

00:17:17.262 –> 00:17:17.782
ROBONZO: Not at all.

00:17:17.802 –> 00:17:21.082
ROBONZO: And it’s the Poor House Bistro in downtown San Jose.

00:17:21.182 –> 00:17:26.442
ROBONZO: And for those of you who are afraid of downtown areas, there’s public transportation very close to it.

00:17:26.462 –> 00:17:27.302
ROBONZO: And he has parking.

00:17:27.322 –> 00:17:27.842
ROBONZO: It’s great.

00:17:27.862 –> 00:17:28.602
ROBONZO: The food’s nice.

00:17:29.102 –> 00:17:30.202
ROBONZO: The staff is great.

00:17:30.482 –> 00:17:30.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yes.

00:17:31.282 –> 00:17:39.262
ROBONZO: It looked like to me that you did a little bit of coordination with a nonprofit organization so that you could funnel the proceeds.

00:17:39.362 –> 00:17:43.062
ROBONZO: And can you talk about who they are, how you did it, and what the relationship is?

00:17:43.322 –> 00:17:45.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: I saw a post a friend of mine did up there.

00:17:45.182 –> 00:17:48.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: She’s actually a 911 operator, her name is Meg Dixon.

00:17:49.242 –> 00:17:50.602
GEORGE BRANDAU: Love her family dearly.

00:17:50.622 –> 00:17:53.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: And she’s ended up there doing the 911 calls and stuff.

00:17:53.822 –> 00:17:56.742
GEORGE BRANDAU: So she’s posting things on Facebook.

00:17:57.122 –> 00:18:05.442
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I saw this one post, and it was put together by the Press Democrats and Senator McGuire.

00:18:05.842 –> 00:18:10.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: The main people organizing it were Redwood Credit Union up there.

00:18:10.922 –> 00:18:12.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: So they opened up this fund.

00:18:12.882 –> 00:18:17.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: It would go directly to any county or all counties, whatever you decide.

00:18:17.742 –> 00:18:19.882
GEORGE BRANDAU: So they had numerous ways to donate.

00:18:19.962 –> 00:18:22.382
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I thought, you know what, I’m just going to go right to that source.

00:18:23.022 –> 00:18:24.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: And that’s where our money’s going to go.

00:18:24.882 –> 00:18:27.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: I was hearing a lot of good things from a lot of local people.

00:18:27.622 –> 00:18:29.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I thought, all right, well, here’s a big gun.

00:18:29.602 –> 00:18:31.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: We’ll just latch on to that and go for it.

00:18:31.862 –> 00:18:34.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: It really, honestly, it was not anything deeper than that.

00:18:34.922 –> 00:18:36.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: It was pretty straightforward.

00:18:37.002 –> 00:18:40.482
ROBONZO: And did you work directly with Redwood Credit Union?

00:18:40.562 –> 00:18:43.842
ROBONZO: And did they make it super easy for you to send money to?

00:18:43.942 –> 00:18:49.542
ROBONZO: Can maybe you describe that a little bit because myself included, I know a lot of musicians have never put together something like this.

00:18:49.562 –> 00:18:53.642
ROBONZO: And so it would be kind of interesting to know a little bit of the minutia of how you worked with them.

00:18:54.002 –> 00:18:54.342
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:18:54.402 –> 00:19:00.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, quite honestly, it’s just you go to their website, which is, I think, Redwood Credit Union, or you Google them.

00:19:00.942 –> 00:19:02.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: They have it right on their page.

00:19:02.302 –> 00:19:04.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: How to donate four different ways.

00:19:04.182 –> 00:19:10.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: You can bring cash in, which is what we’re going to do, or checks, which again is what we’re going to do because we got cash and checks.

00:19:11.422 –> 00:19:12.702
GEORGE BRANDAU: You can donate online.

00:19:12.782 –> 00:19:15.042
GEORGE BRANDAU: So they made it very easy to work with.

00:19:15.062 –> 00:19:18.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: I didn’t go to them and say, hey, I want to do this thing.

00:19:18.542 –> 00:19:19.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: Can I get your OK?

00:19:20.222 –> 00:19:21.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: I just figured, hey, money is money.

00:19:21.922 –> 00:19:25.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: And we’re doing this out of the goodness of our own hearts.

00:19:25.442 –> 00:19:30.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I’m sure when I do go there tomorrow with all that money, they’re not going to turn me away.

00:19:31.002 –> 00:19:32.222
ROBONZO: You told me a story once.

00:19:32.242 –> 00:19:33.922
ROBONZO: This reminds me of a four year old member.

00:19:33.942 –> 00:19:40.322
ROBONZO: But I think it was for a toy drive for the holiday season, Christmas or whatever.

00:19:40.342 –> 00:19:48.242
ROBONZO: And you did something similar, only the organization, I guess they weren’t set up to just receive a walk in donation.

00:19:48.262 –> 00:19:55.942
ROBONZO: You’d collected a lot of, I don’t know if it was money and or toys, and you walked in and there was a little bit of deer in the headlights from the representative of the organization because they didn’t know what to do with it.

00:19:56.022 –> 00:19:56.822
ROBONZO: Do you remember this?

00:19:57.442 –> 00:20:03.562
GEORGE BRANDAU: My first journey of doing fundraisers was around, I think it was late October, this was a few years ago.

00:20:03.582 –> 00:20:06.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I thought, you know what, let’s see if we could raise some food.

00:20:06.462 –> 00:20:11.042
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I hooked up with the Second Harvest Food Bank, got them to deliver the cans.

00:20:11.222 –> 00:20:15.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I hooked up with a restaurant owner and said, hey, I’m going to bring you all these people on a weekend.

00:20:16.442 –> 00:20:18.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: Here’s the barrels and can we do this?

00:20:18.942 –> 00:20:20.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: And anyway, it all worked out.

00:20:21.322 –> 00:20:26.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: It was actually too successful because there were people standing outside the building.

00:20:26.922 –> 00:20:28.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: They had all this food they wanted to bring in.

00:20:28.962 –> 00:20:32.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: Barrels were overfilling with food, which was very joyous.

00:20:32.262 –> 00:20:33.982
GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, I was like, wow, look at this.

00:20:34.002 –> 00:20:34.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: This is incredible.

00:20:35.382 –> 00:20:37.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I called some friends of mine, like JC.

00:20:37.862 –> 00:20:38.342
GEORGE BRANDAU: Smith.

00:20:38.362 –> 00:20:39.562
GEORGE BRANDAU: He came and performed.

00:20:40.222 –> 00:20:43.182
GEORGE BRANDAU: Then Chrome Deluxe performed, and it was a great thing.

00:20:43.642 –> 00:20:49.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: But at the end of the gig, the owner’s looking at me like, okay, what do I do with all this food?

00:20:49.182 –> 00:20:51.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: I can’t have all these barrels sitting around all day.

00:20:51.882 –> 00:20:55.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: So that was a little chaotic, but I worked it out.

00:20:55.242 –> 00:21:03.362
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then the following year, I worked with a friend of mine who decided he would like to have Chrome Deluxe host a toy drive.

00:21:03.822 –> 00:21:14.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: And we did the toy drive, but unfortunately, I don’t know where it got lost in translation, but the toy drive people did not realize the significance of what we were about to do.

00:21:15.782 –> 00:21:19.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: And we got just a boatload of toys.

00:21:19.822 –> 00:21:24.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: And at the end of the gig, it’s like, well, where are these people from the toy drive?

00:21:24.362 –> 00:21:34.342
GEORGE BRANDAU: Nobody showed up from the organization, which personally, when you’re given your all to something, and the people that you’re doing it for don’t even show up.

00:21:34.482 –> 00:21:41.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’m not real jazzed on doing this again for them, quite honestly, because I just felt that that was very disrespectful.

00:21:41.262 –> 00:21:44.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: So that was a hard time at the end of that gig.

00:21:44.602 –> 00:21:48.722
GEORGE BRANDAU: You’re working a room, you’re playing the show, you’re trying to MC, you’re doing all these things.

00:21:49.242 –> 00:21:56.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: And at the end of the gig, you have carloads full of toys, and everybody’s looking at each other going, well, who’s taking the toys?

00:21:56.422 –> 00:21:57.362
GEORGE BRANDAU: Where are the toys going?

00:21:57.682 –> 00:21:58.702
GEORGE BRANDAU: Nobody knew anything.

00:21:58.722 –> 00:22:07.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I had people from the Silicon Valley Blues Society literally putting them all in their cars, because I couldn’t fit any of my cars.

00:22:07.962 –> 00:22:09.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: That just didn’t set well.

00:22:09.222 –> 00:22:11.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: So we’re going to do another one next month.

00:22:11.762 –> 00:22:14.082
GEORGE BRANDAU: And again, this is going to be at the Poor House Bistro.

00:22:14.902 –> 00:22:17.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: My friend wanted to do the toy drive again.

00:22:17.142 –> 00:22:18.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I just said, you know what?

00:22:18.622 –> 00:22:19.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: I got to take a stand here.

00:22:19.962 –> 00:22:23.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: I said, my heart is with the North Bay Fire victim still.

00:22:23.802 –> 00:22:33.422
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I said, and I would rather get a bunch of toys for the kids up there or food or do something for those people than just do it for the valley here.

00:22:33.442 –> 00:22:37.622
GEORGE BRANDAU: That we don’t have very many problems in this valley, I don’t think, with all the money here.

00:22:37.642 –> 00:22:40.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: Though we do have homeless, we’ll do some stuff for them.

00:22:40.282 –> 00:22:48.422
ROBONZO: But I have something that might make you feel a little better about the toy people, even though I completely respect you for sticking with causes that resonate with you.

00:22:48.442 –> 00:22:51.182
ROBONZO: And I steal this from someone else using a different pair of words.

00:22:51.202 –> 00:22:55.742
ROBONZO: And the suggestion is not to confuse disrespectful with incompetent.

00:22:56.022 –> 00:22:56.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, touche.

00:22:57.042 –> 00:22:58.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yes, there you go.

00:22:59.682 –> 00:23:00.962
ROBONZO: I probably didn’t mean to do it.

00:23:02.002 –> 00:23:02.722
ROBONZO: But that’s great.

00:23:02.882 –> 00:23:13.042
ROBONZO: So while it can be relatively easy to connect with the organizations by simply doing a Google search, sometimes it sounds like you don’t even have to talk to anyone.

00:23:13.062 –> 00:23:14.182
ROBONZO: You can do things online.

00:23:14.202 –> 00:23:24.162
ROBONZO: And maybe as in the case of the fundraiser you most recently did, you’re able to drop off funds collected at the sponsoring financial institution.

00:23:24.182 –> 00:23:28.682
ROBONZO: In this case, I know you’ve done toy drop offs before, maybe during that same instance there.

00:23:28.702 –> 00:23:31.942
ROBONZO: So maybe not as hard as it sounds, just a little coordination and passion.

00:23:32.342 –> 00:23:40.022
ROBONZO: I think many musicians need to get a handle on, or be better at, or get new ideas at promoting something like this.

00:23:40.042 –> 00:23:51.402
ROBONZO: So you and Chrome Deluxe, who we need to talk about a little bit too, but you and Chrome Deluxe have done a good job of building a great fan base at the gigs.

00:23:51.522 –> 00:23:56.022
ROBONZO: And then I suspect largely by your own doing, these things are well promoted.

00:23:56.042 –> 00:23:57.662
ROBONZO: I know you use Facebook.

00:23:57.982 –> 00:24:01.822
ROBONZO: You mentioned posters, which I really also love to talk about for a second.

00:24:01.842 –> 00:24:04.082
ROBONZO: That’s kind of a little bit of a lost art to me, it seems like.

00:24:04.742 –> 00:24:09.502
ROBONZO: And then you’re probably talking about, but how does your promotional effort start for these kind of things?

00:24:09.842 –> 00:24:14.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, I usually, for the posters, quite honestly, I would rather not do my own posters.

00:24:14.942 –> 00:24:19.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’d rather have somebody do them, but I don’t have any good graphic artists that want to work for free.

00:24:19.802 –> 00:24:26.382
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I usually make them and then I’ll go deliver them to the venue if I can, or I’ll email them a JPEG.

00:24:27.102 –> 00:24:30.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: The venue so they can put it up or print it or do whatever they want to do.

00:24:31.262 –> 00:24:38.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then as far as PR, I built our own email base, which I’ve got, I use MailChimp for that.

00:24:38.202 –> 00:24:40.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’m relentless with the PR, quite honestly.

00:24:40.782 –> 00:24:46.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’ll send an email two weeks prior, one week prior, three days prior, and then the day of.

00:24:46.522 –> 00:24:51.982
GEORGE BRANDAU: So people are quite tired of getting Chrome Deluxe emails by the time we’re going to do the show.

00:24:52.842 –> 00:24:55.902
ROBONZO: But if they missed one, they’re going to know you’re playing probably if they missed the first one.

00:24:56.482 –> 00:24:57.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: Absolutely.

00:24:57.402 –> 00:24:58.982
GEORGE BRANDAU: That’s why I do one the day of.

00:24:59.082 –> 00:25:04.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: Because people, you send an email and then you see somebody on the street and they go, Oh, yeah, aren’t you playing?

00:25:04.122 –> 00:25:06.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: Didn’t you play last week or this week?

00:25:06.102 –> 00:25:06.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: They have no idea.

00:25:07.482 –> 00:25:08.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: But I do that.

00:25:08.242 –> 00:25:12.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: I also do, believe it or not, I do Nextdoor for the neighborhood.

00:25:12.782 –> 00:25:17.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, there’s thousands and thousands of people within my whatever region.

00:25:17.302 –> 00:25:20.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: If I’m playing kind of in my own neighborhood, I’ll use nextdoor.com.

00:25:21.362 –> 00:25:23.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I’ll also use Meetup.

00:25:23.362 –> 00:25:27.882
GEORGE BRANDAU: There’s a particular type of group in the Meetup that I usually send out.

00:25:28.182 –> 00:25:29.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: That’s where we’re playing.

00:25:29.222 –> 00:25:31.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: And the Meetup people seem to like it.

00:25:31.962 –> 00:25:33.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I’ve got those three venues.

00:25:33.522 –> 00:25:37.962
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I like working with the local radio stations, you know, in this area.

00:25:38.222 –> 00:25:40.182
GEORGE BRANDAU: KSCU is really supportive.

00:25:40.202 –> 00:25:42.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: I mean, they played our CD before the show.

00:25:42.982 –> 00:25:45.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: One of the DJs there almost played the whole CD.

00:25:45.242 –> 00:25:46.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: I was so blown away.

00:25:46.982 –> 00:25:50.002
GEORGE BRANDAU: So he PR’d the gig, which was fantastic.

00:25:50.022 –> 00:25:53.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then you got other places like KFAT and KKUP.

00:25:53.942 –> 00:25:58.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: Guild de Leon is really supportive and local music as well.

00:25:58.522 –> 00:26:01.562
GEORGE BRANDAU: I just try and blast it out to as many people.

00:26:02.462 –> 00:26:03.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: You tag them all on Facebook.

00:26:03.962 –> 00:26:08.042
GEORGE BRANDAU: I learned how to do that through a friend of mine, Clifford White, who’s a PR guy.

00:26:08.062 –> 00:26:09.382
GEORGE BRANDAU: You might know Clifford, I think.

00:26:10.222 –> 00:26:12.422
GEORGE BRANDAU: So you just learn these things as you go.

00:26:12.442 –> 00:26:14.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: I didn’t know any of this stuff.

00:26:14.262 –> 00:26:16.442
GEORGE BRANDAU: And you use it and it’s advantageous.

00:26:16.462 –> 00:26:18.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: And pretty soon people start showing up.

00:26:18.322 –> 00:26:21.182
GEORGE BRANDAU: And you go, wow, how did you know about this gig?

00:26:21.202 –> 00:26:22.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: It’s like, well, hello.

00:26:23.882 –> 00:26:25.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: You sent me an FPR about it.

00:26:25.742 –> 00:26:27.242
ROBONZO: Yeah, that’s great.

00:26:27.402 –> 00:26:31.142
ROBONZO: So you’re kind of starting about three to four weeks out to promote any given gig.

00:26:31.162 –> 00:26:38.402
ROBONZO: And I know this fundraiser was a little last minute, but it sounds like it flowed right into your normal marketing scheme.

00:26:38.762 –> 00:26:46.902
ROBONZO: And I’m guessing that when you normally do, when you have a fundraiser event or gig that you are actually planning ahead, it’s much the same as any gig.

00:26:47.182 –> 00:26:47.702
ROBONZO: Is that right?

00:26:47.922 –> 00:26:48.322
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:26:48.462 –> 00:26:53.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, when you’re planning a fundraiser, you usually try and want to do things like have things to auction.

00:26:53.982 –> 00:27:01.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: Because you’re trying to either raise as much money as you can for the cause or get as much food or get as many toys or whatever it is.

00:27:01.582 –> 00:27:07.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: So the more PR you do and the more people you tell and the more you blast it out, the better results you’re going to have.

00:27:07.842 –> 00:27:13.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: Because there’s nothing worse than trying to do something half-assed and then you show up and there’s no people there.

00:27:13.482 –> 00:27:17.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: And you all kind of look at each other like, what happened here?

00:27:17.342 –> 00:27:20.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: And really, what happened was somebody dropped the ball on the PR.

00:27:20.462 –> 00:27:21.762
ROBONZO: Wow, I just learned some things though.

00:27:21.782 –> 00:27:27.062
ROBONZO: And it’s so funny you mentioned Meetup and Nextdoor, both platforms that I’m familiar with.

00:27:27.082 –> 00:27:38.462
ROBONZO: Well, they don’t have Nextdoor in Panama, believe it or not, but when we were using nextdoor.com there in the San Francisco Bay Area, I didn’t even recall that you could do things like announce a local something.

00:27:38.482 –> 00:27:47.822
ROBONZO: And then Meetup is I use in my business world regularly and it hadn’t occurred to me to use it for doing gigs, so I think that’s a really good tip for people.

00:27:47.842 –> 00:27:48.662
ROBONZO: And then the radio.

00:27:48.902 –> 00:27:52.362
ROBONZO: So I want to ask a question and plug a friend of mine in the process.

00:27:52.842 –> 00:27:54.082
ROBONZO: There’s a guy named D.

00:27:54.102 –> 00:28:03.822
ROBONZO: Grant Smith who was one of my early guests on the podcast in episode five, and he’s the host and creator of the Appetizer Radio Show and he focuses on indie albums.

00:28:04.462 –> 00:28:06.862
ROBONZO: But he has a book that I think is worth mentioning.

00:28:07.462 –> 00:28:11.642
ROBONZO: It ties into the radio mention you had, and I’d love to ask you a couple of things about that.

00:28:11.722 –> 00:28:19.402
ROBONZO: So his book is the DIY Musician’s Radio Handbook, How to Growth Hack Your Fanbase and Build Stronger Networks Using Indie Radio Airplay.

00:28:19.862 –> 00:28:23.722
ROBONZO: It’s a super reasonably priced book and a quick read.

00:28:23.742 –> 00:28:24.242
ROBONZO: I loved it.

00:28:24.282 –> 00:28:26.642
ROBONZO: And then he’s got a free ebook to get radio ready.

00:28:26.782 –> 00:28:27.382
ROBONZO: That one’s free.

00:28:27.402 –> 00:28:32.982
ROBONZO: And you can find links to both of those on the unstarvingmusician.com page for the podcast.

00:28:33.102 –> 00:28:37.142
ROBONZO: So did you work with two radio stations, you said, for this past event?

00:28:37.242 –> 00:28:37.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:28:37.762 –> 00:28:38.082
ROBONZO: Okay.

00:28:38.122 –> 00:28:40.602
ROBONZO: And how did you go about getting relationships with those guys?

00:28:40.882 –> 00:28:42.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: KSU has been very supportive.

00:28:42.702 –> 00:28:44.622
GEORGE BRANDAU: They actually have a blues show.

00:28:45.382 –> 00:28:47.282
GEORGE BRANDAU: And we’re blues oriented.

00:28:47.302 –> 00:28:50.502
GEORGE BRANDAU: I don’t hate to call our my band a blues band.

00:28:50.782 –> 00:28:54.082
GEORGE BRANDAU: We mash it up with swing and funk and all that.

00:28:54.102 –> 00:28:55.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: So to stick us in a box.

00:28:56.162 –> 00:28:57.362
GEORGE BRANDAU: I don’t really like to do that.

00:28:57.402 –> 00:28:59.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: But nonetheless, we’re considered a blues band.

00:29:00.482 –> 00:29:04.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: So the KSU blues program, the guy that runs that is Jake.

00:29:05.342 –> 00:29:07.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: And Jake comes out and sees us all the time.

00:29:07.242 –> 00:29:08.742
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s been so supportive.

00:29:08.762 –> 00:29:09.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s an awesome guy.

00:29:09.802 –> 00:29:14.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I’ve ended up meeting a lot of the DJs through there, and they play our CD all the time.

00:29:14.662 –> 00:29:17.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: And it’s just a great bunch of love from those guys.

00:29:17.082 –> 00:29:20.982
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I always reach out to them and let them know where we’re playing, what we’re doing.

00:29:21.082 –> 00:29:25.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: And if they have any fundraisers or anything I can do for them, I try and do that.

00:29:26.482 –> 00:29:33.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then there’s also KKUP, which is another local radio station that supports a lot of local music.

00:29:34.262 –> 00:29:39.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: And so I always just reach out to them, send them a flyer or let them know we get on their calendar somehow.

00:29:40.062 –> 00:29:43.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I just send them a message the day of the show.

00:29:43.662 –> 00:29:44.722
GEORGE BRANDAU: Hey, we’re doing this thing.

00:29:44.962 –> 00:29:45.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: Can you help us out?

00:29:45.902 –> 00:29:46.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: And they usually do.

00:29:46.802 –> 00:29:51.642
ROBONZO: It sounds like you always kind of lace those messages with love you guys.

00:29:52.162 –> 00:29:55.222
ROBONZO: And if there’s anything we can ever do for you, help you out, please let us know.

00:29:55.242 –> 00:29:57.302
ROBONZO: And that is something that D.

00:29:57.322 –> 00:30:10.822
ROBONZO: Grant talks a lot about because as a radio host, he talks a lot about people that send him stuff in very much the wrong way, where they don’t know him or the station and they haven’t taken the time to even pretend like they know him.

00:30:11.262 –> 00:30:13.702
ROBONZO: So those kind of go to the File 13 or whatever.

00:30:14.122 –> 00:30:23.702
ROBONZO: Whereas people that take the time to get to know who they are and develop a relationship, and are obviously, you know, good artists end up on his show and many others like yours have.

00:30:24.262 –> 00:30:26.722
ROBONZO: So Chrome Deluxe, we should talk about them before you run out of time.

00:30:26.902 –> 00:30:28.602
ROBONZO: How long has the band been going?

00:30:29.042 –> 00:30:31.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh, well, let’s see, which iteration?

00:30:31.982 –> 00:30:32.502
ROBONZO: Oh, I know.

00:30:32.502 –> 00:30:37.462
ROBONZO: So on that, I was realizing it’s been an interesting metamorphosis.

00:30:37.482 –> 00:30:51.542
ROBONZO: I guess I was talking to someone in the audience that the current lineup, I wasn’t even sure if anyone other than your guitarist John Truitt had been involved in the original lineup besides yourself and that you were the inception of the band.

00:30:51.542 –> 00:30:55.302
ROBONZO: And I mentioned one other member that were mutually acquainted with who had been in there.

00:30:55.322 –> 00:30:56.382
ROBONZO: But yeah, when did it start?

00:30:56.402 –> 00:30:57.502
ROBONZO: What’s the evolution been like?

00:30:58.042 –> 00:31:01.342
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, honestly, it started about nine years ago.

00:31:01.742 –> 00:31:07.002
GEORGE BRANDAU: And my first inception, it took me about 20 minutes to put the band together.

00:31:07.022 –> 00:31:08.082
GEORGE BRANDAU: It was kind of ironic.

00:31:08.742 –> 00:31:12.662
GEORGE BRANDAU: I was sitting, funny enough, at the Poor House Bistro with my wife.

00:31:13.142 –> 00:31:20.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I was watching, I’m not sure if it was the School of Blues or back then Aki Kumar had a band called Tip of the Top.

00:31:20.962 –> 00:31:22.422
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I was new in that whole scene.

00:31:22.442 –> 00:31:23.562
GEORGE BRANDAU: I didn’t know anybody.

00:31:23.582 –> 00:31:28.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: I didn’t know what was going on, but I was sitting there watching this Indian guy, Aki, blow harp.

00:31:28.962 –> 00:31:29.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s killing it.

00:31:30.082 –> 00:31:32.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I’m thinking, I want to put a band together.

00:31:32.262 –> 00:31:34.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: I want to sing her and I want to have some harp.

00:31:34.122 –> 00:31:35.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: I got to have some harp in the band.

00:31:36.682 –> 00:31:40.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: And my wife leans over and goes, you need to play with that guy.

00:31:40.862 –> 00:31:42.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I thought to myself, you know what?

00:31:42.862 –> 00:31:43.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: She’s right.

00:31:43.902 –> 00:31:45.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: I wonder if he’d be open to that.

00:31:46.162 –> 00:31:48.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: So she actually got his card.

00:31:48.262 –> 00:31:51.342
GEORGE BRANDAU: She was waiting in line inside the restaurant and he was standing there.

00:31:51.902 –> 00:31:54.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: And she came back to me and I kind of left.

00:31:55.582 –> 00:32:03.622
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I was sitting there thinking, you know, I don’t want to do business as usual and play all the same stuff everybody else is playing in all these blues bands.

00:32:04.642 –> 00:32:07.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I started making phone calls.

00:32:07.242 –> 00:32:08.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: Aki was my first call.

00:32:08.502 –> 00:32:11.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: I said, hey, I’m going to put this band together called Chrome Deluxe.

00:32:12.062 –> 00:32:13.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: Would you be interested?

00:32:13.082 –> 00:32:14.602
GEORGE BRANDAU: And he said, yeah, sure.

00:32:14.622 –> 00:32:21.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I called my guitar player, John Truitt, that I played with, gosh, for 30 plus years.

00:32:21.542 –> 00:32:22.702
GEORGE BRANDAU: He wasn’t doing anything.

00:32:23.062 –> 00:32:27.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: I called him and I said, hey, man, you’re way too good of a guitar player to be laying on the couch.

00:32:27.142 –> 00:32:28.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: So he said, yeah, okay, I’ll do it.

00:32:29.422 –> 00:32:40.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then there was this other kid that I played with named Phil Benson, and he was only 17 at the time, just this smoking hot kid that was tore it up on guitar.

00:32:40.322 –> 00:32:42.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I thought I’d have two guitars, bass, drums.

00:32:43.422 –> 00:32:45.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: So Aki Kumar, vocals, harp.

00:32:46.302 –> 00:32:51.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then I called my buddy Steve Mesa, who we were both playing in the School of Blues at the time.

00:32:52.062 –> 00:32:54.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I put that band together, honestly, in about 20 minutes.

00:32:54.842 –> 00:32:58.482
GEORGE BRANDAU: Everybody I called very quickly said, oh, yeah, sure, I’ll do it.

00:32:58.902 –> 00:33:03.962
ROBONZO: Do you think that was partly because they, well, John, your guitar player knew you from a previous musical life.

00:33:03.982 –> 00:33:06.482
ROBONZO: The other two guys, did they both know you from the School of Blues?

00:33:06.802 –> 00:33:07.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: They did, yeah.

00:33:07.922 –> 00:33:18.122
ROBONZO: So the School of Blues, for a lot more about it than I do, but for those who were listening, it was kind of a camp for blues players, and in George’s case, he became an anchor for drums there.

00:33:18.322 –> 00:33:19.962
ROBONZO: For whatever reason, I’ve never understood it.

00:33:19.982 –> 00:33:25.582
ROBONZO: There seems to be no shortage of good drummers in San Jose, yet there’s a shortage of good drummers in San Jose, apparently.

00:33:25.602 –> 00:33:30.882
ROBONZO: But you met a lot of people, and actually have introduced me to a lot of people through that organization.

00:33:31.042 –> 00:33:44.022
ROBONZO: You probably worked with them for three or more years, and you were, I guess, enrolled as a student of the program, and then you were just always sort of one of these supporters going to play drums at some of the shows.

00:33:44.082 –> 00:33:52.762
ROBONZO: You met all these people, they saw, and my point is that they got to know you, see you’re a quality guy, you play well, and so they were quick to join.

00:33:52.782 –> 00:33:53.962
ROBONZO: So anyway, the story continues.

00:33:53.982 –> 00:33:55.522
ROBONZO: You got them all signed up in 20 minutes.

00:33:56.242 –> 00:33:59.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, and that was the very first iteration of Chrome Deluxe.

00:33:59.842 –> 00:34:01.802
ROBONZO: It’s amazing, and none of those guys are in the band today.

00:34:02.822 –> 00:34:05.222
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, they all told me to go pound sand, except John.

00:34:05.282 –> 00:34:06.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: No, I’m kidding.

00:34:06.422 –> 00:34:07.362
ROBONZO: Oh, that’s right, John’s there.

00:34:08.082 –> 00:34:08.442
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:34:08.962 –> 00:34:11.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: People had other obligations, and even Aki.

00:34:11.702 –> 00:34:16.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: I really wasn’t in the scene, so I didn’t realize what a commitment he had with his own act.

00:34:17.362 –> 00:34:21.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: So anyway, we did one show, and I got to say, it was crazy.

00:34:21.782 –> 00:34:26.922
GEORGE BRANDAU: Their first show was The Line Around the Building, and it was absolute madness when we played.

00:34:26.922 –> 00:34:32.382
GEORGE BRANDAU: It was really cool, but it blew my mind because I was not ready for that amount of success.

00:34:33.022 –> 00:34:38.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: So people ended up going their own ways, and John and I, I found other guys.

00:34:38.862 –> 00:34:40.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: I called Baxter Robertson.

00:34:40.222 –> 00:34:40.962
GEORGE BRANDAU: I hadn’t seen him.

00:34:40.982 –> 00:34:43.282
GEORGE BRANDAU: I did an album with him back in 88.

00:34:44.082 –> 00:34:47.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: John and I, we were in another band called Cuckoo La Rue.

00:34:47.422 –> 00:34:54.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: Anyway, I found Baxter in a nightclub, and we lost touch for many years, and then I found him on Facebook, and he wasn’t doing anything.

00:34:55.322 –> 00:34:57.762
ROBONZO: And he is a fantastic musician and a…

00:34:57.882 –> 00:34:58.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, stellar.

00:34:58.942 –> 00:35:03.062
ROBONZO: He’s really got his mind and heart wrapped around music theory too, which lends itself to a good gig.

00:35:03.742 –> 00:35:04.962
GEORGE BRANDAU: Well, he’s a real musician.

00:35:04.982 –> 00:35:07.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s got a degree in composition and he teaches.

00:35:07.982 –> 00:35:09.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s the professor of the band.

00:35:09.782 –> 00:35:11.102
ROBONZO: What a beautiful thing to have him there.

00:35:11.322 –> 00:35:13.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh yeah, and he’s the sweetheart of a guy.

00:35:13.222 –> 00:35:14.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: Again, he wasn’t doing anything.

00:35:14.842 –> 00:35:20.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: I saw him on Facebook and said, hey, would you be interested in Subban for a guy we had at the time?

00:35:20.802 –> 00:35:23.702
GEORGE BRANDAU: And he’s like, well, I don’t really do this kind of music, but sure.

00:35:24.022 –> 00:35:24.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: And he showed…

00:35:24.782 –> 00:35:27.042
ROBONZO: He had never played blues or hadn’t very much anyway.

00:35:27.342 –> 00:35:32.602
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah, he wasn’t that into it, but I’ll tell you what, he showed up and absolutely annihilated it.

00:35:32.622 –> 00:35:35.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: And everybody in the band was looking at me like, where did you get this guy?

00:35:37.482 –> 00:35:38.402
ROBONZO: He hit pretty amazing.

00:35:38.402 –> 00:35:39.482
ROBONZO: What about the bass player?

00:35:39.502 –> 00:35:40.342
ROBONZO: Where did you find Doug?

00:35:40.782 –> 00:35:42.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: I found Doug at a jam.

00:35:42.342 –> 00:35:44.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: There used to be a place called the Grand Del Saloon.

00:35:44.602 –> 00:35:51.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: Aki Kumar actually hosted these great jams where all these musicians from the whole Bay Area would show up.

00:35:51.862 –> 00:35:54.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I saw this guy playing bass.

00:35:55.042 –> 00:36:01.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: Anyway, they called me up to play with him on stage and we’re playing together and I’m looking at him like, hey, man, you’re all right.

00:36:01.142 –> 00:36:03.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: And he’s looking at me like, hey, you’re all right too.

00:36:03.262 –> 00:36:06.582
GEORGE BRANDAU: So after we played, I mean, I didn’t know who he was.

00:36:06.602 –> 00:36:07.502
GEORGE BRANDAU: He didn’t know who I was.

00:36:07.522 –> 00:36:11.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: I was talking to him and I said, hey, you know, I got this band Chrome Deluxe.

00:36:11.922 –> 00:36:15.882
GEORGE BRANDAU: We could use a bass player because my guy Steve Mesa had moved to North Carolina.

00:36:16.782 –> 00:36:19.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: And Doug looks at me and kind of goes, yeah, I don’t have an amp.

00:36:20.182 –> 00:36:21.602
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I said, oh, I have an amp.

00:36:21.822 –> 00:36:25.322
GEORGE BRANDAU: He goes, my bass is in the shop.

00:36:25.882 –> 00:36:28.402
GEORGE BRANDAU: He made some excuse and I said, I got a bass.

00:36:29.062 –> 00:36:31.602
GEORGE BRANDAU: And so I could tell he was a bit hesitant.

00:36:31.622 –> 00:36:33.762
GEORGE BRANDAU: I said, I’ll tell you what, I’ll send you a couple of songs.

00:36:33.782 –> 00:36:34.802
GEORGE BRANDAU: You can hear what we do.

00:36:35.302 –> 00:36:38.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: And then he found out Baxter was in the band and him and Baxter go way back.

00:36:38.562 –> 00:36:40.822
GEORGE BRANDAU: Then, of course, yeah, he showed up for an audition.

00:36:40.842 –> 00:36:46.202
GEORGE BRANDAU: And as soon as he heard John Truitt’s guitar playing and Baxter, he was like, OK, I’m in.

00:36:47.002 –> 00:36:48.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: And as it turns out, Doug plays harp.

00:36:48.902 –> 00:36:51.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: He plays bass and harp at the same time.

00:36:51.542 –> 00:36:52.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: And he sings.

00:36:52.462 –> 00:36:54.082
GEORGE BRANDAU: So he’s like a one stop shop.

00:36:54.482 –> 00:37:00.002
GEORGE BRANDAU: He’s an incredible musician and all the guys are just super, super sweet guys.

00:37:00.022 –> 00:37:01.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: And I’m quite honored to play with them.

00:37:01.662 –> 00:37:03.462
GEORGE BRANDAU: I am the weakest link in the band.

00:37:04.562 –> 00:37:06.302
GEORGE BRANDAU: I do the booking so I can get away with it.

00:37:06.582 –> 00:37:07.922
ROBONZO: George, you are the band.

00:37:09.982 –> 00:37:10.982
ROBONZO: Yeah, you guys are great.

00:37:10.982 –> 00:37:14.562
ROBONZO: I’ve actually mentioned the band on the podcast too.

00:37:14.842 –> 00:37:20.242
ROBONZO: And I said it at your gig to the audience when you let me up there to the mic to auction some stuff.

00:37:20.262 –> 00:37:23.222
ROBONZO: But you guys are the best kept secret in San Jose, California.

00:37:23.602 –> 00:37:24.282
GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh, thank you.

00:37:24.582 –> 00:37:26.282
ROBONZO: Yeah, you’re really great performers.

00:37:26.302 –> 00:37:27.242
ROBONZO: You’re fun to watch.

00:37:27.302 –> 00:37:28.282
ROBONZO: You have an EP out.

00:37:28.382 –> 00:37:28.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yeah.

00:37:28.782 –> 00:37:29.522
ROBONZO: It’s quite nice.

00:37:29.542 –> 00:37:31.042
ROBONZO: It’s a mix of originals and covers.

00:37:31.062 –> 00:37:31.562
ROBONZO: Is that right?

00:37:31.962 –> 00:37:32.382
GEORGE BRANDAU: Correct.

00:37:32.482 –> 00:37:34.102
GEORGE BRANDAU: I think we got four originals on there.

00:37:34.262 –> 00:37:39.182
GEORGE BRANDAU: And the rest are kind of obscure covers, not your typical fanfare for blues.

00:37:39.662 –> 00:37:47.762
ROBONZO: I’ve been struggling as I think about you guys, because we’ve talked about some of the venues that you’ve wanted to book the band at, most of which I think you have by now.

00:37:47.782 –> 00:38:00.482
ROBONZO: But as lovely as the blues scene is in San Jose, there’s not a stigma, but you get stereotyped when you approach certain venues and they shy away from bands that they consider to be blues bands.

00:38:00.502 –> 00:38:03.942
ROBONZO: And it’s fair enough for anyone to consider Chrome Deluxe a blues band, but you’re kind of more.

00:38:03.962 –> 00:38:06.802
ROBONZO: And we’ve been, not just me, I think, but you and I have talked about it.

00:38:06.822 –> 00:38:15.442
ROBONZO: I talked about it with one of your bandmates, as far as the genre that we should coin for your band that perhaps encompasses the word blues, but adds something that lets people know you’re so much more.

00:38:15.462 –> 00:38:16.682
ROBONZO: But yeah, wonderful band.

00:38:16.942 –> 00:38:24.162
ROBONZO: As we get close to the hour, I want to go ahead and ask you this, lest I forget, but where can people find the band online and find your CD?

00:38:24.382 –> 00:38:26.902
GEORGE BRANDAU: They can find the CD by…

00:38:27.782 –> 00:38:28.642
GEORGE BRANDAU: You can email me.

00:38:28.822 –> 00:38:29.502
GEORGE BRANDAU: We’re terrible.

00:38:29.502 –> 00:38:30.882
GEORGE BRANDAU: We don’t have any of that stuff.

00:38:31.002 –> 00:38:37.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: Actually, if you want to hear it online, just go to our website, which is chromedeluxeband.com.

00:38:37.662 –> 00:38:44.262
GEORGE BRANDAU: We’ve got, I think, five or six of our songs on the CD, actually, on the website you can hear.

00:38:44.682 –> 00:38:49.702
GEORGE BRANDAU: If you want to buy one, just shoot me an email through their website, and I’ll make sure you get one.

00:38:51.182 –> 00:38:54.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: Or we also have them at Streetlight Records.

00:38:55.302 –> 00:38:56.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: You can go there and buy one.

00:38:57.002 –> 00:38:58.002
GEORGE BRANDAU: That’s in San Jose.

00:38:58.262 –> 00:39:03.502
GEORGE BRANDAU: Anybody want a CD, just contact me personally from our website, and I’ll get right back to you.

00:39:03.522 –> 00:39:04.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’m happy to do that.

00:39:04.822 –> 00:39:06.142
ROBONZO: And you guys are on Facebook too, right?

00:39:06.262 –> 00:39:06.582
ROBONZO: Oh, yeah.

00:39:06.762 –> 00:39:09.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: Chrome Deluxe on Facebook.

00:39:09.162 –> 00:39:11.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: We got a Facebook page as well.

00:39:11.342 –> 00:39:12.782
ROBONZO: And I’ll put all that in the show notes.

00:39:12.802 –> 00:39:14.082
ROBONZO: Maybe we’ll help you sell a CD or two.

00:39:14.102 –> 00:39:15.262
ROBONZO: It is actually a great listen.

00:39:15.482 –> 00:39:19.722
ROBONZO: And it was done, correct me if I’m wrong, at Greaseland Studios, right?

00:39:20.142 –> 00:39:20.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: Absolutely.

00:39:21.002 –> 00:39:23.142
GEORGE BRANDAU: Kidd Anderson, the engineering helm.

00:39:23.302 –> 00:39:24.362
GEORGE BRANDAU: Fantastic guy.

00:39:24.842 –> 00:39:27.742
GEORGE BRANDAU: One of my dear, dear sweet friends I love very much.

00:39:28.022 –> 00:39:30.362
ROBONZO: Yeah, Kidd has also been on the podcast.

00:39:30.382 –> 00:39:31.302
ROBONZO: He was a lot of fun.

00:39:31.322 –> 00:39:32.242
ROBONZO: He was my one…

00:39:32.302 –> 00:39:38.402
ROBONZO: You were almost my second in-person interview for the podcast, but I didn’t manage to work it out before I left town.

00:39:38.802 –> 00:39:41.302
ROBONZO: He’s been my one and only in-person interview.

00:39:41.322 –> 00:39:43.042
ROBONZO: I got to do it at Griesland Studios.

00:39:43.222 –> 00:39:52.282
ROBONZO: And if you are a recording artist, particularly if you are doing something that sounds a little throwback, you should check out Kidd Anderson.

00:39:52.302 –> 00:40:03.902
ROBONZO: You can find out all the information you want about him if you just look on unstarvingmusician.com and search for Episode 3 with Kidd Anderson, and there’s some links to where you can find him in his studio, and you can also hear our conversation there.

00:40:04.282 –> 00:40:04.942
GEORGE BRANDAU: Absolutely.

00:40:05.262 –> 00:40:07.462
ROBONZO: We can probably wrap up on this, but I wanted to ask you about…

00:40:07.522 –> 00:40:09.042
ROBONZO: Go back to the benefits one more time.

00:40:09.382 –> 00:40:12.962
ROBONZO: You mentioned guest performers may be one of your first benefits.

00:40:13.222 –> 00:40:26.102
ROBONZO: This might be fun for people to know about from kind of a marketing tactic or idea for putting together events that can help people in this benefit format and can also get your band and your music out there.

00:40:26.222 –> 00:40:33.302
ROBONZO: Are there any tricks or tips that you could give to people who want to pull in quality guest performers to participate in a benefit type show?

00:40:33.362 –> 00:40:33.862
GEORGE BRANDAU: Oh, sure.

00:40:33.882 –> 00:40:35.522
GEORGE BRANDAU: All you have to do is pay them a lot of money.

00:40:39.982 –> 00:40:47.322
GEORGE BRANDAU: No, that is just a personal connection I’ve had with particular artists where you just call them and say, Hey, I’m doing this thing.

00:40:47.382 –> 00:40:48.682
GEORGE BRANDAU: Can you come give us an hour?

00:40:49.382 –> 00:40:54.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: You scratch their back, they scratch yours, and you have that common bond.

00:40:54.362 –> 00:40:56.542
GEORGE BRANDAU: And a lot of times people will just help you out.

00:40:56.802 –> 00:41:00.282
GEORGE BRANDAU: If I could, I would love to pay everybody to do everything, but we can’t.

00:41:00.722 –> 00:41:12.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: Plus, I think, especially in the blues community, I find that there’s a sense of giving and just sincerity and love that I haven’t found in a lot of different musical circles, to be honest.

00:41:12.722 –> 00:41:14.242
GEORGE BRANDAU: Sometimes you just gotta ask.

00:41:14.322 –> 00:41:15.662
GEORGE BRANDAU: That’s what I tell a lot of people.

00:41:15.682 –> 00:41:17.022
GEORGE BRANDAU: They’re like, wow, how did you do that?

00:41:17.042 –> 00:41:18.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: How did you do that?

00:41:18.422 –> 00:41:20.842
GEORGE BRANDAU: You just ask people, hey, can you help me?

00:41:20.862 –> 00:41:26.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: A lot of times I do, and if they don’t, hey, move on to somebody else.

00:41:26.362 –> 00:41:34.162
ROBONZO: Yeah, I realized as I was asking you the question that people largely do this for you because they know you and you’re such a nice guy.

00:41:34.182 –> 00:41:37.702
ROBONZO: But you said something really important, and that was just ask if they can help you.

00:41:37.722 –> 00:41:43.202
ROBONZO: And people, as I’ve said in many before me, people love to help their friends or anyone in need.

00:41:43.222 –> 00:41:46.162
ROBONZO: So it is true sometimes if we just ask, these kind of things happen.

00:41:46.462 –> 00:41:47.122
GEORGE BRANDAU: Absolutely.

00:41:47.342 –> 00:41:50.062
GEORGE BRANDAU: I’m going to ask some people for the benefit we’re going to do next month.

00:41:50.422 –> 00:41:54.422
GEORGE BRANDAU: So I’m trying to pull up my Rolodex and think, hmm, who could I ask?

00:41:54.562 –> 00:41:56.782
GEORGE BRANDAU: I think Kit Anderson is on the tip of my tongue.

00:41:59.242 –> 00:42:00.322
ROBONZO: He’s a nice guy.

00:42:00.702 –> 00:42:04.082
ROBONZO: I got a note back from Lisa Leshner Anderson.

00:42:04.362 –> 00:42:07.402
ROBONZO: She’s going to be on the podcast soon.

00:42:07.482 –> 00:42:24.722
ROBONZO: And the reason, for those of you that are listening, in case you want to check it out before she actually makes it on to the airwaves of the interwebs, Kit Anderson, who you can find on Facebook, especially if you kind of look for Griesland Studios, he and his wife Lisa, these days, hopefully they’ll keep doing it, have been doing something very cool called bedtime jams.

00:42:25.042 –> 00:42:32.142
ROBONZO: They’re doing some sort of late evening, impromptu music performances with people that happen to be hanging out at the studio with them.

00:42:32.722 –> 00:42:35.342
ROBONZO: They’re lovely people and fun to watch and great to listen to.

00:42:35.522 –> 00:42:37.042
GEORGE BRANDAU: Yes, love the bedtime jams.

00:42:37.062 –> 00:42:39.742
GEORGE BRANDAU: I think the first bedtime jam they did was actually in bed.

00:42:42.082 –> 00:42:43.342
ROBONZO: How funny, that’s great.

00:42:43.362 –> 00:42:45.302
ROBONZO: Well, George, thank you so much for your time.

00:42:45.322 –> 00:43:04.062
ROBONZO: I know that you were wondering to yourself, wrongfully so, what you could possibly contribute to this podcast, but I think that you have done some really remarkable and kind of heartwarming things in the music community locally there, and I know that people will benefit from hearing the things we talked about today, so I really appreciate it.

00:43:04.362 –> 00:43:06.162
GEORGE BRANDAU: I appreciate being a part of it.

00:43:06.322 –> 00:43:07.002
ROBONZO: You got it, man.

00:43:07.002 –> 00:43:08.082
ROBONZO: Well, I’ll talk to you again soon.

00:43:08.742 –> 00:43:09.882
GEORGE BRANDAU: Okay, brother, take care.

00:43:10.062 –> 00:43:10.582
ROBONZO: You as well.

00:43:16.816 –> 00:43:19.636
ROBONZO: Hey, this is Robanzo, thanks so much for listening.

00:43:20.016 –> 00:43:25.416
ROBONZO: If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.

00:43:25.776 –> 00:43:28.176
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00:43:28.536 –> 00:43:42.136
ROBONZO: This episode was sponsored by The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, How to Get Booked and Paid What You’re Worth Over and Over Again, available on Amazon and in audio format as The Unstarving Musician’s Guide Podcast.

00:43:42.656 –> 00:43:49.896
ROBONZO: You can also learn more about the book and companion podcast at unstarvingmusician.com forward slash book.

00:43:50.596 –> 00:43:58.656
ROBONZO: Are you a geeking musician, recording artist, songwriter, or touring professional, perhaps struggling to get your music out to the world, struggling to get the gigs you want?

00:43:59.116 –> 00:44:02.936
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00:44:03.296 –> 00:44:14.016
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00:44:14.736 –> 00:44:18.296
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00:44:18.596 –> 00:44:19.576
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00:44:19.816 –> 00:44:23.556
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00:44:23.976 –> 00:44:36.256
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00:44:36.796 –> 00:44:40.136
ROBONZO: With much gratitude, peace, love, and more cowbell.