The road life, the groupies, the glamour...if you have basic proficiency with an instrument and a desire to strut your stuff on a stage in front of adoring fans, you might be wondering how to become a rock star. This page will outline the basic steps you need to take to set you on your way to fame and fortune.

Are you curious whether you already have characteristics in common with rock starts that are successful and doing well for their entire career not just a shot in the dark or a brief flame that burns out? Take our quick quiz below to see if you are getting there!

What Do You Have In Common With A Rock Star?

1. Do you like to travel for most of the year every day or other day with sometimes no breaks for weeks?
2. Can you sleep well in a different city each night or on a plane or bus while travelling?
3. Can you sing and play at least one musical instrument well?
4. Do you have almost infinite patience to do record tracks over and over for months?
5. Can you get along well with a dozen or more people stuck in a bus or plane for most of the year?
6. Can you resist the daily temptations of what are defined in the Bible and the law books as sins or illegal for years and years and years? That is do you have a strong religious, spiritual, or moral background that will not let you slide downward likely toward an early death?
7. Do you have physical stamina to work 10, 12 and sometimes 24 hour workdays until an album is completed to deadline or a concert is completely rehearsed and learned before the tour date?
8. Do you love performing more than anything and can work with endless energy for long hours regularly and not notice the time passing?
9. Are you willing to do what it takes to become a rock star, including paying your dues and touring in small bars, cafes, restaurants, and dinner theatres for up to 20 years or more until you "make it overnight" if you do one day - and enjoy every day of the journey?

Well, if the answer was yes to most or all of the above, you just might have it in you to get there and make it. For more tips on success as a musician check out How to Succeed as a Band and perhaps How to be Successful in Work.

1. Read about and watch films about the lives of other rock stars covering both the advantages and disadvantages as well as talk to rock musicians if you can, so that you can benefit from their experience in advance when deciding about this potential career.
2. Stars are not usually made overnight but need to pay their dues and work at lower levels in similar jobs. Check out whether there are any volunteer, paid, full-time, part-time, or on call fill in jobs within the music performing and recording industry to gain experience and really decide whether this field is right for you. You may find that you like the idea of being a rock star but cannot tolerate 9 months of concert travel in a different city each night and may want to explore related fields with some of the benefits you desire EG. How to Become a Blues Musician, How to Become a Professional Musician, Worship Leader, How to Become a Travel Writer, How to Become a Travel Agent Videos, How to Become a Certified Personal Trainer, How to Become a Tour Guide, How to Become a Jockey, How to Become a News Anchor, How to Become a Playwright, How to Become a Fashion Designer Videos How to Audition for Cirque du Soleil, or How to Become a Sports Agent Videos are a few examples of other career options.
3. Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you will become a rock star - similar to trying to become a film or television star or best selling author, so have good alternative plans in motion and "don't quit your day job" too early.

• Rock music has a number of sub-genres. The first thing you need to do if you're looking to become a rock star is to pick your genre, and stick to it. Focusing your work specifically in one area will increase your chances of developing a loyal fan base, which is crucial to becoming a rock star.

• There are thousands of garage band musicians all hoping they will hit the big time. The tips on this page will give you an advantage over the amateurs as you work to become a rich and famous rock and roll star.

• In order to stand out from the crowd, you need your own persona. The hair, the clothes, the mannerisms all combine to create your image. Think carefully about how you'd like to present yourself, and create a plan. You are your product, and you need to be sure you're packaged well!

• The difference between the lonely garage band musician and the famous rock star is the number of people who will pay to see them play. Fans are the name of the game. Once you have enough, you'll be a rock star.

1. Schedule regular performances in your practice site, and invite people to hear you play.
2. Record demo CDs and distribute them for free.
3. Upload music videos to YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook.
4. Set up online fan groups.
5. Volunteer to perform at local dances, fundraisers, and charity events.
6. Compete at Battles of the Bands.
7. Collect the email addresses of everyone who comes to hear you play, and put together a distribution list you can use to publicize your appearances.

• Don't give up your day job until you've made it big. While most aspiring rock stars won't make it, the journey itself can be fun and exciting. And who knows, maybe you'll be the next big thing!

• There is usually more than one way to reach a goal, so consider other methods or related options or fields that begin below. Also consider the role of networking, mentoring, and finding a record company/music management company that has a training program for new musicians. For example Sean Combs who is also known by many other names including P. Diddy has a music production company and is a music manager for other individuals or groups as proteges. He has a television show where he stars his proteges and shows how he trains them. He can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/iamdiddy . Also some bands have done very well by applying to be backup bands that introduce a larger name act on tour. Other musicians have started off from getting training working at a music recording studio in some capacity including a fill in musician on call for background playing on tracks. So think outside the box and explore all your options and find even more on your own - researching which options have worked for other to reach their goals, and how did others start out who are where you aspire to be - youtube videos, Mahalo pages, books, televison shows, your local library librarian, movies - your answers could be anywhere out there - and good luck!

• Research what you choose to do thoroughly outside of Mahalo. Consider that neither Mahalo nor the page contributors are responsible for anything that may happen as a result of using this information. Mahalo is mostly for entertainment and to start you on your way. Consider this and any other career choice very seriously. Read about the positive and negative side of each choice before you decide. Remember how may rock musicians you have read about that have shorter livespans for example due to problems like drugs or alcohol addictions or diseases like Aids. Consider the logistical difficulties in being on tour all the time in different timezones and countries while a spouse may be at home alone with children for nine months at a time each year while you tour. Some Twitter musicians that tweet frequently and tour constantly are John Mayer http://www.twitter.com/johncmayer and Pete Wentz http://www.twitter.com/petewentz so you can see what that lifestyle is like to start on the road, but John Mayer has no family yet as he is not married and Pete Wentz has a wife and young child at home that he does not mention them often instead focusing on how he is feeling. For more in-depth insights follow Hillsong United tweets here http://www.twitter.com/hillsong-united and also check out Brian Houston http://www.twtter.com/brianchouston for insider info on band life - he retweets insider tweets from the band as father of band member Joel Houston and babysitter of his grandson often while on tour and also part of the organizational administration overseeing the band, the college that trains band members, the record company that produces their albums, the church that co-produces some albums, as well as on tour conference participant etc. so he is REALLY connected and shows all aspects of a professional band. Also find your own best research tools and really find out the information you need to make good decisions for yourself eg. find tweets from the spouse or insiders of other bands eg. http://www.twitter.com/nicoleritchie has 2 children and is at home while Good Charlotte band member Joel Madden tours with his brother.

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1. Christian Rock Musician: called a Worship Leader : See free music download links and youtube videos on the following pages for many free live performance examples. Be a rock star for God! Perform and write music for adoring crowds for a cause greater than yourself, in the service of God. http://www.mahalo.com/worship-leader Click on hilighted linked words. A great example of this is job is Hillsong United and also top ranked albums produced by Hillsong Church where the Hillsong United band also is featured. Worship Leader programs are available at Hillsong International College, links from Hillsong Church page. For other worship leader or religious studies programs check out Bible colleges or universities such as Redeemer University College . To gain free exposure for your work try cable, specialty and other local or religious television programs on a volunteer basis such as 100 Huntley Street , which helped to launch former male nurse Paul Brandt's music career - they also have a show hilight Youtube Channel.

2. Cirque du Soleil : You love performing in front of large audiences and you love to travel and have at least one or more special skills, you are musical but not perhaps enough to carry a large-scale show all by youself or just music is too limiting for you - consider this: Cirque Du Soleil hires performers that have special skills as Actors, Circus performers, Clowns, Dancers, Musicians, Singers, Sports, Extreme sports, Martial arts and other special skills. See How to Become a Cirque du Soleil Performer for more details, How to Audition for Cirque du Soleil for application process and Cirque Du Soleil Training to see their state of the art acrobatic training facility.

3. Mahalo has a huge collection of music and other career and skills information to start you off in its pages and also in its Answers pages http://www.mahalo.com/answers . To start you off on your research here are a few more How to Succeed in a Band , How to Play Bass Guitar Videos , How to Become a Professional Musician , How to Become a Better Drum Major , How to Breakdance , Acoustic Guitar , How to Read Music Videos , Ballroom Dancing , How to Dance the Jive , How to Dance the Viennese Waltz , How to Dance with a Partner , How to Freestyle Rap , How to Dance the Samba How to Swing Dance Videos and there are thousands of pages of examples of people who are doing this EG. LL Cool J for rap, Andrea Bocelli for opera and popular, covering all musical genres.

4. See MAHALO RELATED PAGES in the right hand column, where I have gathered a large selection of Mahalo music related pages. Also click on various CATEGORIES to scroll through even more pages, do searches in the searchbox for Mahalo or Answers as selected by the button at top, and GOOD LUCK!

• Introduction
• Step 1: Select a Genre
• Step 2: Develop Your Persona
• Step 3: Acquire Fans
• Conclusion