The only thing worse than a terrible band with a terrible web site is a great band with a terrible web site.  This is unfortunately all too common, since most musicians aren’t Internet professionals and they don’t have the budget to hire a webmaster.  Volunteer webmasters often can only count their blinged-out MySpace page as relevant experience.

Without proper guidance, a band’s web site can turn into a cluttered, useless nightmare that turns off people  seeking more information and drains energy from the volunteers who maintain it.  While it’s true that a web site only gives back as much as you put in, a smart and focused approach means you get the most bang for your buck.

Where to begin? In this world of infinite online possibilities, ways to interact via the web, and demands from fans, labels, and everyone in between, it’s easy to be overwhelmed.  However, no matter what musical style, signed or unsigned, famous or obscure, the Golden Rule of band web sites is this:

The purpose of a band’s web site is to market the band.

If you do not market your band, your fan base will not grow.  If you do not market your band, you will not be profiled in the best possible ways.  If you do not market your band, you will not make the most of any media attention you receive.

Come back to this Golden Rule any time you question the direction of your band’s web site, and you will never be led astray.

How To Build Your Band’s Web World

Think of a web site as having layers,  like those models of the Earth we all saw when we were kids in school.  There is the solid inner core,  layers of padding around the core, and the crust is a thin layer of pretty, fancy stuff that gets most of the attention.  The crust, however, would be useless without the layers supporting it.

We will focus first on the essentials of a good band web site – our model’s Inner Core.  Every band web site should not only have an Inner Core, but the site’s focus should be the Inner Core.  A site that does not have this focus is wasting valuable time, energy, and web space.

The Inner Core

Talking about the look of a web site may seem more like Crust material.  However, keeping in mind the Golden Rule, it’s a fact that first impressions are crucial.  A band’s web site needs to set forth the band’s identity from the moment a visitor arrives.  A good, current photo of the band and a logo or album art are the best options for graphics.  Avoid cluttering the site with unnecessary skulls, crosses, naked girls, or anything else that might distract from the Golden Rule.  You want people to hit YourBand.com and know immediately they’ve come to the right place.

The Inner Core consists of only four pages.  Craft these pages with care and attention to quality and you will be in control of your band’s image, message, and web presence, as well as have a solid foundation for other web site features.

1. The Home Page

This page should load quickly, be easy to read, have valuable information right at the start, and have an obvious navigation.  Two Home Page essentials are “latest news” and tour dates.  Let people know what’s happening with the band and where they can see you next.  Link tour dates to venue and ticket information.

Make sure your navigation is easy to find and the items are clear (Don’t call the link to your music page “Da Toonz” – keep it simple and call it “Music”).  You don’t want language barriers to get between your visitors and your information.

No-nos: movies or songs that automatically play, splash pages, and huge flash animations.  You don’t want people to be so annoyed by your Home Page that they click away before it’s even loaded.

2. Band Info

You want media, industry professionals and fans to get a good sense of who you are and what you’re about in one click.  Your “About the Band” page should include a brief history of the band, a description of the band’s sound and influences, and basic information about each member (name, instruments, any other notable contributions).  Include one or more current group photos.  It’s also helpful to have small individual photos of each member, so visitors will be able to put names to faces.  Spend a lot of time on this page, and make sure it’s done right – it’s the virtual equivalent of a press kit, and it’s time well spent.

Venues, blogs, and other sites that want to feature or link to your band will often take band photos and information from this page, so you want it to be as accurate as possible.  You don’t want your listing for your next show to include a two-year old band photo with your ex-guitarist and your lead singer’s pre-makeover mullet.

Bio-inspiration: Think about how you want others to describe your band or what you would want to read in an article in a music magazine.  If your band has an interesting story about how the members met, include it.  If you’ve faced an inspiring challenge, describe it.  Use colorful, powerful language to describe your sound. (Hint:  read how bands that have influenced you have been described.)   This will be helpful for fans or writers who are looking for just the right words to describe your band to others.

3. Music

Make it easy for visitors to preview and buy your music.  Make use of sites like MySpace, PureVolume, or Last.FM to stream a couple of your songs.  If you have music for sale on iTunes or another online music store, provide links.  If you have CDs for sale, provide links to your online store.

Keeping it Simple: Having all of this information on one page makes it easy to find and pass on the link.

4.  Contact Info

List who to contact for booking, who to contact for media inquiries, and where fans can send fan mail.  Give names, email addresses, snail mail addresses, and phone numbers.  If this is all the same person and email address (not necessarily a good idea), then say as much.  People are much more likely to contact you if they feel confident they will be reaching a real person and they know who that person is.

Sign Here Please: If you have an automated mailing list for people to sign up for more information, you will want to include it on the contact page, as well as feature it on the Home Page.

But what about Message Boards, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and, and, and…?

Relax.  We’ve only covered the first layer here.  Once the essentials of the web site are in place, the band can focus on adding extended content, which tends to cater to existing fans.  A band will always want to please its fans and offer them chances to interact, get more information and help promote, but it’s essential that you not lose sight of the Golden Rule.  Too many band web sites become fan sites that are more focused on promoting the fans than promoting the band.  We know you love your fans, and your fans know you love them.  But the band’s web site is first and foremost for the band – not the fans.

Check back to Music Musing as we continue our Journey From The Center of the Web World to the Outer Core, which will cover how to incorporate social networking tools into your Web World while still following the Golden Rule.

I also am interested in your favorite (or least favorite) band web sites.  Who has a rock-solid core, and who desperately needs to remember the Golden Rule?  Let me know in the comments!

I’ll get around to writing my thoughts concerning the mind-boggling American Idol finale with all of its… let’s just call it “eccentricity,” but there is something that’s been bothering me since last night.

I’m tired of being made to feel guilty for liking and voting for Lee DeWyze. I consider myself a liberal woman who believes in supporting non-mainstream artists and empowering women. Yet to hear many of my peers talk, because the contestant whose music, story, and personality I liked most happens to be a white male that means my vote is a stamp of approval on the patriarchal, misogynistic workings of American pop culture.

Unless I understood wrong all along, American Idol is a show about choosing who you like best. If it was purely about who was best talent-wise, they wouldn’t be asking America. We don’t know how to judge talent. We know how to judge what we like. If it were all about talent, the judges would be deciding, and we’d just be along for the ride.

The thing is, even though Lee won the “popular” vote, that doesn’t mean he’s going to have the best career, and everyone knows it. He’s now had opportunities opened to him, as has Crystal, and Casey, and everyone on down through Tim Urban. What they do with those opportunities will say a lot more about them than what a few million phone votes do.

Likewise, the only thing my few dozen phone votes say about me is that I happen to have a soft spot for shy guys from Chicago with raspy voices. Is that really a crime?

I don’t feel like going into great detail about American Idol last night. I was not surprised by anything that happened.

Crystal and Casey both immediately ran home to their comfort zones when it came to their song picks. Casey’s sounded like any number of generic bluesy songs that get sung in bars. The judges made a good point about it being unwise for Casey to choose a song that the audience likely wouldn’t know. It’s hard to endear yourself to them when they’re trying to figure out whether or not they even like the song. Crystal’s take on “Come To My Window” was fairly typical for her.

The thing about Crystal to me is this: yes, she’s an excellent singer. She has wonderful pitch and knows how to perform. There’s just very little that feels new and exciting about her after a while. I feel like after I’ve seen her perform one song, I’ve seen everything. There’s no reason to hang around for more.

That is what sets Lee above the others to me. Because he’s continued to grow, continued to take risks, and continues to try to inject some life into what he does, he comes across as more interesting to watch. He holds my attention, where the others can’t. Even when he’s a bit out of tune or makes a misstep in song choice, at least you know he’s not going to give the “same old, same old” every time. I found his Skynyrd song to be interesting and likable. Again, something I could hear live or on the radio.

The judges’ choices songs were a bit better. Casey’s vacant expression during John Mayer’s “Daughters” pretty much sealed his fate, I’m afraid. Kara was trying to force him to have a “moment,” and he just wasn’t up to it. I’m not entirely sure he really operates on that level. I’m not sensing a lot of sensitivity in Casey’s makeup. Her defensiveness at Simon’s criticism of the arrangement was more interesting and entertaining than Casey’s entire performance.

I was excited to hear Crystal sing “Maybe I’m Amazed,” because it’s one of my favorite love songs. I think it was an inspired choice by Ellen, and Crystal just about had it. I think it was a solid take – I just wish the arrangement had focused more on the tender lyrics of the verses, rather than the screamy chorus. I can see why they did it; they wanted Crystal to take her voice to new places and really let loose. She did do that, and I think she was far more convincing than Siobhan Magnus was with her screams. Too bad Siobhan rather ruined that route for us before. I’m looking forward to hearing the studio version of this.

Lee’s take on “Hallelujah” was what he’s been looking for all season, the culmination of this journey. You could tell he was confident going into it – I think whatever work Simon did with him really helped boost him. He looked like he was enjoying himself, and he sang with emotion and expression. He had clearly moved to a new level with his musicianship and performance.

I was getting choked up listening to it… and then the choir came in. WHY did they feel the need to ruin what was already a sensitive and amazing performance with that stupid choir? It was distracting and unnecessary. It felt like the producers were going to make SURE Lee had his “moment,” whether he was actually up to it or not. Guess what, people? He was. Lee sealed the deal, and proved why he is head and shoulders above the other two. He may have the worst tone quality of the three, but he makes up for it with all his other qualities. Casey is passionless, and Crystal is arrogant. They’re both boring. Lee is humble, sensitive, has a vulnerable quality to him, and is obviously passionate. That should be enough to endear him to America.

I think that’s why I find it hard to resent the fact that the Idol producers have been obviously setting Lee up as their darling for the past few episodes. If he hadn’t worked so hard for it earlier in the season, it might be harder to swallow. I think Lee is the real deal, though, so he’s more than deserving of any help and success he gets along the way. I just hope he stays true to himself and his roots.

I do have to ask, though: why did we get to see footage of both Crystal’s and Casey’s homecomings, and nothing of what was widely reported to have been a mob scene for Lee’s? Hopefully they’ll show more tomorrow.

The most amazing moment of the whole season would have to happen during this snore-fest.

With the subject matter, this week was either going to be amazing, or it was going to be horrifying. It was horrifyingly bland. I don’t understand the contestants’ persistence in choosing songs that aren’t right for them and aren’t the least bit exciting.

Lee kicked it off with one of those movie songs I wish would just go away and never come back, “Kiss From A Rose.” It’s a shame, too, because Lee sang it with confidence and personality. He was open, smiling, and growled his way through the song with gusto. However, he didn’t do anything with the song. He might as well gone up there and karaoked to Seal’s version. Watching it after sleeping overnight wasn’t as bitterly disappointing as it felt last night; it was a good performance. It just wasn’t great. It wasn’t unique. I think we all expect better from all of these people by this time, but especially Lee.

Unfortunately, that set the tone for the night.

Big Mike sort of schlocked his way through “Will You Be There” by Michael Jackson. There are just no words for how fake and cheesy that man comes off every. single. time. he gets on the stage. When singing a song like “Will You Be There,” the fake-ometer goes off the charts. I just can’t do him any more, and I hope he goes home tonight, though America might go for his MJ before it goes for Casey James’ folksy take on Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson.”

I was honestly expecting Casey to rock out to the song, a la the Lemonheads. It may be a testament to his desire to show his range as an artist that he went the mandolin route, but I don’t know if it’ll do him any favors. He sounded vulnerable and sensitive, and he looked beautiful, but there was something about it that just fell flat. Sitting on that island strumming the mando made Casey remind me of Kermit the Frog singing “Rainbow Connection.”

I think Casey came off a lot more genuine than Mike, though, so for that I think he deserves to stay. However, in the battle of the Simon and Garfunkel takes, Lee’s version of “The Boxer” beats Casey’s “Mrs. Robinson” hands-down.

I do have to add that the judges’ “Mrs. Robinson” quips at Kara got old after the first one. And when will they learn to never, ever ask the contestants why they chose a song? That never ends well.

Crystal breezed through the one song I completely dismissed from the running when I saw it on the iTunes list. “Who on earth would take on that song from Caddyshack?” I asked. Oh, me of little faith.

It was a definite improvement from what she’d done the past two weeks, but nothing spectacular. Her voodoo mic stand was back, probably to bring some mojo, and the song basically epitomized her attitude as of late: I’m okay, I don’t care what the judges or America think, I’m going to do what I want. She toned back the obnoxiousness this week, though, so I’d vote for it (if I wasn’t already voting for Lee).

Keeping this show from being a total write-off, however, were the duets. Lee and Crystal blazed through a duet to “Falling Slowly.” They had chemistry, emotion, and they were obviously having a great time. It sounded like something I could hear on the radio today – and I’d want to listen to it. I can’t wait until the studio version is offered as a download. I think any vulnerability Lee might have faced after his so-so solo performance will be mitigated by that strong duet. It left me with goosebumps, and I think it’ll stand out as a highlight from this season. I hope they bring that out on tour with them.

Mike and Casey took one one of my guilty pleasure songs, “Have You Ever Loved A Woman.” Mike oozed all over it, of course, and Casey’s guitar work was a treat, even if his voice wasn’t quite up to it. I would have enjoyed seeing Casey try to take on that song by himself, honestly, instead of having to perform the Bottom Two Duet with Mike to it. Unfortunately, there was no way around that pairing for either of them.

Jamie Foxx was a letdown as a guest mentor, especially after Harry Connick Jr.’s brilliance last week. It seemed like he gave the same advice to every contestant, although to his credit, at least Lee and Casey seemed to take it. Mike didn’t seem to appreciate Jamie’s t-shirt business very much at all.

If you watched the show live last night and were disappointed like I was, I’d encourage you to go and find the performances on YouTube and take a second listen – you may find they weren’t as bad as you thought. I was just expecting much more at this point. However, as much as Lee and Casey especially have grown as artists and performers, their song choices still remain shaky. Crystal hasn’t grown really, but she’s top-notch as ever. That just leaves Mike, who I hope is shown his way out the door tonight.

I dreaded the Sinatra theme because I’ve spent weeks watching contestants struggle with song choice and be berated by the judges for not sounding “current” enough. How on earth were these people going to sound “current” with the timeless classic sounds of Sinatra?

I was more than delighted by the hands-on approach of Harry Connick as this week’s mentor. Besides arranging each contestant’s songs (you heard him – suck it, Shania!) he gave real, practical advice. It was like watching a true musician sharing his knowledge and craft to an apprentice. You could see each of the Idols grew after their session with him.

Aaron just sounded in over his head. It’s hard as a 16-year-old to have the kind of swing and smoothness that Sinatra brought across so effortlessly, so I hate to hold it against him. He just sounded young, and a little in over his head. But he was cute and poised, and that counts in this competition.

Big Mike was made to sing this kind of music, but I didn’t quite see whatever Randy nearly wet himself over. I thought it sounded very “typical,” and not particularly stand-out at all.

Crystal is starting to fall into the same problems as Siobhan, I think. Granted, she’s got talent to back up her growing ego, where Siobhan lacked, but her attitude is starting to alienate me from her a bit. Am I the only one annoyed with her cryptic statements that everything she does is “personal” as a way to justify her choices? I wholeheartedly agreed with what Simon said to her. If you’re on a show to become an American Idol, you’d better start singing like one, and stop indulging your whims and thinking that’s okay. Again, the girl is incredibly talented, which is why she’s gotten away with it for so long, but with more eyes on you than ever, it’s time to get off your parade float and do a little bit of walking. That said, she looked beautiful and sounded pretty solid. Her voice is amazing, and she has a look and attitude that I think could sell well. Even if she doesn’t win, she’ll have a career after this.

Poor, poor Casey. He was completely thrown out of his element this week, but he tried. He tried hard and did really well for himself. However, for himself just isn’t going to cut it against the likes of Crystal and Lee, who have far better singing voices than Casey. His breath control needs a lot of work, and I think he could actually sound really nice holding notes and singing real tunes if he worked on it. You could tell he was stiff and awkward and terrified, but he was a good sport about it, and he looked great. I fear this may be it for Casey, though.

And oh yes, Lee, who now trends on Twitter alongside good old Justin Bieber on a daily basis. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Regardless, before they cut to commercial, he looked utterly terrified in his shot on the stairs. I could barely watch, but he completely nailed his song. He put a rock vibe on Sinatra, and for the first time on that stage I actually believed that Lee was having fun. He wasn’t trying to look looser, he was looser. He smiled, he played around a little, and he took one step closer to being a legitimate star. I still maintain that Lee is the only Idol left that has shown clear, consistent growth through the entire competition. He’s worked hard and blossomed, and I think that’s what endears him to so many people. If he has an ego, it doesn’t come through onstage, and that’s also important. I’m excited for Lee as we head into the final stretch. I can’t wait to see how he grows through the rest of the competition.

So, I predict we say bye-bye to Casey tonight.