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Miguel de Maria -> RE: STAGE NAMES... (Feb. 24 2006 4:31:33)
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In my case, the stage name is a part of the overall marketing plan. This may seem a cold-blooded way to go about being a musician, but ya gotta make a living. The truth is that people don't just want a guy that plays well, they want a guy who looks like their image of a musician, who plays well, who dresses well, and who has a name that, if not evocative of the type of music they like, does not clash with it.
There are exceptions...for example, Ottmar Liebert. He has been very commercially successful with an Engelbert Humperdink kind of name.
If you want Spanishy music, you are going to look for a Spanishy name. As a musician, you may not place as much emphasis on looks or name or image, but most non-musicians do. It's a fact of life, to be ignored at your peril if you want work.
My name came about in a pretty obvious way. My name is Michael, the English form of Miguel. My favorite guitarist was Paco de Lucia, so I adopted the same format as his name. My mother's name is Mary. Voila! Instant stage name. I asked some people what they thought, got good responses, and there you go. By the way, I didn't ask people on internet forums, I asked people similiar to my prospective clients.
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