Journelism

Beyond the Struggling-Musician Cliché: Ernie Halter Makes It Work On His Own Terms

Upon graduating from the Berklee School of Music, Ernie Halter, at age 34 has taken charge in Los Angeles, finding an ideal record label and making music his way. His soulful melodies have charmed fans worldwide through iTunes and online webcasts, selling 15,000 copies of three albums, with a fourth on the way.

Although people may think of Orange County as the place to be, Ernie Halter found it a bit boring. Growing up there, he spent much time locked in his room learning to play the guitar. His talent for music first developed when his parents forced him to take piano lessons, something that he despised at the time, but came to be grateful for. His brother exposed Ernie to artists such as the Beatles and The Who, a group that later influenced his music. He would replay songs repeatedly to learn their riffs and chords, and fell in love with the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. He recorded himself playing, trying to imitate their soulful notes, and worked until he achieved the right sound. In his high-school senior year, Ernie joined a jazz band and began to pursue music seriously.

Ernie decided to be a professional musician during a week-long program in Los Angeles hosted by Boston’s Berklee School of Music, where he met other musicians and interacted with professional music teachers. He had not previously met anyone who shared his passion and dedication for music; suddenly he was surrounded by them. Although a self-taught guitarist, he discovered a school dedicated to teaching people like him. It was also the first place he tried singing and was surprised at the delighted reactions (especially from women). The program changed his life; music became his future and he wound up attending Berklee.

Ernie spent two years there, studying and improving his skills. The one thing he regrets not doing while there was putting himself out into the world. He did not think ahead and had no idea about his future. “It’s way better to start and fail then just to wait for the right moment to start. It’ll never be perfect, so you might as well just start now.” He moved back to his parents’ house in Orange County until he could figure out the next steps.

Life became comfortable. An old friend put Ernie in contact with a booking agent who landed him a few coffeehouse gigs, where he played mostly covers, as he did not then write his own music. He remembers the first show, where he brought his home stereo and rigged it as a guitar amp. “It was bad,” he recalls. Although life was simple, he knew he could not advance his career without focused action. According to Ernie, he gets in his own way, among his biggest setbacks. Today he believes that there is no such thing as luck. “If you work hard and network enough, that will put you in the places where ‘luck’ happens.” It was time to get out of his own way and put himself at the industry’s center.

“People are area-code snobs,” recognizes Ernie, a lesson well learned when he moved to the Los Angeles area. He found that people looked down on him for not living in the “right” part of the city, which does not make promoting oneself easy. “I recommend people move to the area where the action is happening, or at very least get a cell number with that area code, possibly a PO box, and network there as much as possible.” Regardless of snobbery, he now had exposure to opportunities not available in Orange County; he created jingles, had studio session time, and did work on television shows such as Gilmore Girls and Frasier. A musician for hire.

Around this time, Ernie began writing his own music and started work on his first album. Although without money to record, he had earned favors and the album slowly came to life. He believes that a great demo is not based on the quality of the recording, but the that of the artist. Recorded in his bathroom, the demo later became his first album, Lo Fidelity. He used this demo to find a record label, but instead of sending it to different companies, he chose carefully: Rock Ridge perfectly matched what Ernie looked for, a label that would help him develop as an artist and create the sound he wanted. He had previous experience with companies that wanted to remake Ernie, and demonstrated little interest in conforming to their ideas.

Overall, Ernie has sold 15,000 albums with Rock Ridge, with another album on its way in early 2010. He does his best to keep in contact with fans, and encourages everyone to join his mailing list, which alerts them to show dates and locations. In addition to his own website, he has pages on Myspace, Twitter and Facebook. In a clear message to musicians, he says, “go out and find your fans; do not wait for them to find you.” The only way to be successful and sign a record deal is to get your voice out there.

Despite his productivity and measurable success, and loving every bit of the journey, Ernie reflects upon what “making it” entails. “I don’t think there is such a thing, because if you do, you stop trying. Even if you ‘make it,’ it’s only temporary.”