For years, millions of musicians have aspired to a career performing professionally as Sidemen. They've dreamed of going on the road, recording hit records, and playing sold-out shows. It seems like only a precious few get to live the dream, while the vast majority fail to solve the mystery of simply getting started in the music industry. From Zero To Sideman is a no-nonsense book that keeps it real and takes the mystery out of making it happen. Everything from deciding to go pro, buying gear, getting educated, making a demo, to self-promotion is covered here in easy to understand language. If you've ever asked questions like: Should I move to a major music city? Should my demo be a video or a CD? I'd like to tour, but where do I start? Who should I give my demo to? Should I learn to read music? How can I get more work? What should I put on my demo? Why did 'That Guy' get the gig? From Zero To Sideman offers proven solutions and concrete answers, backed up with real-world experience. For the price of a one-hour private lesson, it's your definitive guide to starting and maintaining a viable career as a working musician. Mel Brown (www.melbrown.net) is a Grammy Award winning bassist and Self-Promotion pioneer. He's been featured in Bass Player, Bassics, Global Bass, and Gibson's Amplifier magazines. A versatile player, Mel has performed with virtuosos like Michel Camilo, Joey DeFrancesco, and Brian Bromberg - and superstars like Marc Anthony, Brian McKnight, and Eddie Murphy. He was the first musician in the world to use an Enhanced Multimedia CD as a business card, successfully introducing himself to the Los Angeles music scene and landing a major touring gig with Gladys Knight in lessthan a month. Mel has recorded on dozens of top-ten Smooth-Jazz projects (including five #1 singles and three #1 album projects) and continues to record Smooth-Jazz hits from his home studio in Arizona with artists like Dave Koz, Wayman Tisdale, Marion Meadows, George Benson, and others.