No matter how experienced you are, simple mistakes will need to be fought:
- The common typos for a writer’s book (like those pesky apostrophes)
- A drooping mic stand at a gig.
- A guitar cable failing without notice.
- A painter accidentally smudging the canvas with a dirty hand
- A sleep deprived artist driving recklessly to a venue
- The cell phone or computer’s battery dying when you need it the most
The list goes on and on, but you probably already know your list.
Write it down, tape it to your desk or gig box, and make time to double check the simple mistakes, no matter how experienced you are.
The real music scene is in your backyard; get famous in your neighborhood
For artists, the Internet feels like a highway to reach the entire world, but what if we focus more of our energy on the connections in our neighborhoods, instead?
My friend, songwriter Mike Gentry, decided to get back into the music scene through a direct path: He started attending open mics, saying hello to songwriters, and then writing little reviews, giving everyone who played a kind mention in his social network posts.
Within six months, he’s not only met a large portion of the music scene, he’s instantly remembered by a very populated sea of players! I hear from so many folks, “Oh, I know Mike Gentry! I met him at an open mic! He gave me a shout out on Facebook!”
It’s taken less than a year Mike Gentry to become a bridge between songwriters. He’s not buying follower on Twitter or Spotify spins on Fiverr. He’s shaking songwriters’ hands, listening to their songs, and connecting to our musical neighborhood.
On a larger scale, this is what Dena Woods has done in South Bend. She’s helped connect and revitalize a local music scene, after being inspired by an article that named South Bend a dead city. Rather than spend $1000+ to try to break out at SXSW, she started a local conference focused on her city’s scene, as well as work with smaller venues to get musicians stages to perform.
It’s a great reminder that we often try to “go global” when what we need to do is become “famous in the family.” (HT: Seth Godin.)
Mike Gentry performing at the Acorn
Dena Woods playing at Fiddler’s Hearth
If you want to rent the original Star Wars series from Apple TV or Google, you’re out of luck! No streaming on Netflix, either. Nope, it’s going to be $59.97 to buy the series in a digital format.
The cash grab (n.) reaching for the easy money.
Yesterday, I was happy to search the basement for the VHS player and Natalie’s Star Wars VHS box set to start our marathon in preparation; but I can’t help but wonder if that billion dollars earned from the Phantom Menace wasn’t enough money to take a risk.
Does it seem risky to offer the old catalogue for free on streaming, for a limited time, as a thank you to the families and fans that have supported the brand over three decades?
Either way, the Vial/Burg house is excited for The Force Awakens’s opening weekend, or whenever we find a babysitter, so no spoilers please!
The Force is strong with this one!
Before our run of gigs, Spencer took his daughter to the Piston’s game last week. He texted me an observation as Silentó sang “Watch me whip, watch me nae nae” at half-time, and Spencer watched his daughter sing along in awe.
“Disposable entertainment, Mike!”
“That sums up the music biz,” I replied.
At times, songwriters might feel at odds with pop culture, a fight for attention beneath the current trends; but fads are usually following in the footsteps of something else that was groundbreaking and authentic. Our fight with the current fads may not be what it seems, but actually a choice to follow our own path.
Who knows, maybe what you are doing is a few steps ahead of the next trend. The danger is if you are truly on the edge with your art, there’s a chance you might be too far ahead and not break into mainstream; however, you may influence the next center.
Two days after I finish a set of travel gigs, I feel a little dip, a heaviness or anxiety, the post tour depression!
Spencer and I got home from our short weekend of gigs, which was my last travels of the year. Sure enough, I was feeling that post tour slump yesterday. [Check out the video of us playing WNJR here.]
The arc of a musician on the road often matches the arc of a fairy tale. Vonnegut would lecture about the shape of stories’ arcs:
I love these simple ideas! Derek Sivers outlined these Vonnegut plot lines in a blog too. Let’s review one of those common story line arcs:
Yep! That’s kind of like tour life right there!
However, when we get home real life returns…
Which makes returning from tour feel like this:
Musicians get used to that strange schedule of gig life: the long car rides, camaraderie with our band mates, the peaks of the great shows, the lows of the poorly attended shows, the excitement of seeing a new place for the first time, the adrenaline rush, etc. Yet all the way, there is a schedule, even a redundancy, in the spontaneity of touring, which is shaded by the excitement of performing.
I’ve learned to expect the post tour dip. It happens on the second day of being home, but if I keep my head on straight, I can beat it by day three or four. If I wallow in it, I’ll feel a little off center for weeks.
It’s helpful to plan a post tour schedule BEFORE you get home. Get the routine back in shape, and add in a few social and creative things:
- Maybe schedule coffee with a friend to get those social endorphins
- Go on a date with your significant other
- Try to get creative right away, write a song or learn a new cover
- Exercise and eat well (Avoid alcohol!)
Most importantly, if you feel the post-tour depression, too, recognize it’s normal!
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PS, if you’re a parent, here’s a fun anecdote of a Twitter conversation I had with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists about post tour blues:
