The Business of Music

What is new in the world of music for me?

New music to play. New shows to play. New people to show music to. New audiences?

My time is busy with 2 jobs, volunteering, and a training schedule (5 days a week). I want to play music for "fun" and record a few ideas I have, but the time it takes to set it all up and do it takes away from rehearsing for jobs and family obligations. Should this be a warning to younger up and coming musicians to "not get involved with others"?

No. I believe time can be managed and priorities can change and fluctuate with the circumstances. I have time off coming, and I will use that time wisely. I have to set goals and accomplish them. I need to use the support of others to help me-- there is only so much time in the day. The good thing is that I am not looking for only myself to shine, but for others to shine as well. I can be creative, but honestly, I am at the point in my life when I don't feel I need to prove myself with everything I do. Yes, I kill it in the gym and on various stages, but supporting others looks better on me. I would rather now help carry a group of hard working people than be a solo artist trying to outperform others and rake in all the cash. I have been there, and the struggle to be the "one" is not worth it (especially in Maine). Digitally, you can have a website, sell your music on Bandcamp, plug yourself through social media and other avenues, and market yourself in various forms. Yet, keeping up with this is tedious. In EOS, we are lucky to have a dedicated few doing this for us, and I for one, appreciate them (there's a plug to one of my readers)! It is hard to juggle your own professional life, but juggling many lives with various schedules is harder. It is easier to do it with less people, but more people always looks better.

I once played 3 keyboards in a band-- my hands were always on 2 different keyboards. I worked hard to make a huge sound and it paid off. I couldn't stop the drama happening between the singers though, and that band folded. I put in the work to carry the band (I made that sound), but another variable came into play to shatter that career. I know people are fickle, but I still don't give up on them. It is tempting though...

You know what keeps me in this mess of a partial music career? Dreams. I want others to see their dreams become reality, and I want to be more financially secure while doing so. I don't need to be greedy. I want to build bridges and not burn them down. I will have to deal with immaturity and life changes around the people in my somewhat circle, but I will face those challenges when they happen. Most of the adults I know have the decency to remove themselves from situations before they become toxic. Just like cells in your body will commit suicide to save the group, so should troubled adults remove themselves from situations where they will only harm others. Sometimes you need to skip a few measures in the music to keep from sounding wrong. Things happen! I will get what I need to get done under the radar until favorable conditions provide me an impetus to rise.

The business of music is perseverance. If you can creatively play it with ease, then your stress should only come from time management and human relations. For the new musicians, study human relations and dealing with various personalities. Play your role and help others in theirs. We are all counselors in a band working on each other's issues. The music will happen eventually.

2017-- 4 plays over the next 2 months

I guess my hiatus from theatre is short-lived. No, I didn't plan on having a break, but I thought it would end up that way. It has not, and I am getting ready for a play that starts tomorrow. I actually have 4 plays over the next 2 months to be ready for.

This weekend belongs to Xanadu at Mt. Ararat in Topsham. All I can picture is leg warmers and roller skates. Yeah, this is what the 80's looks like on stage.

At the end of the month I will join a few EOS members to play High School Musical for L.H.S. It is crazy that I played this play when it was popular, and that it is still around (despite being based off a tv show that was shorty-lived).

I am filling in for EOS leader M. French for Annie in April.

To end the month, I will be playing Oklahoma at a performance arts school near Augusta. I sang a number from that show for an audition once.

EOS has a few shows in the books for this year. We are still waiting for a month of wedding gigs to fall into our laps (where is the love?).

I am preparing for a few solo projects in between my work and workout schedule. I may just start doing some blind recording until the right conditions are available. Projects are important, and I have put things off for too long. I have ideas for collaborators, but I have not asked anyone yet. Let's get a few plays out of the way and see how things are going by then.

A New Year and Plans

2017.... So many expectations and plans to make.

2016 was a mess of worldly events and national issues. The world seems unsafe. I am lucky to seemingly live "nowhere", but that will not protect me forever. If things work out this year, I will not be living where I am by next year.

 I have reassessed some of my goals and opened up a few new directions to go towards. I remember having artistic projects in my past that were exciting, and I am looking forward to starting a few this year. I remember having lofty goals and dreams that I could create my own employment (which I more or less have for most of my life). I will be returning to a few of these dreams, and changing myself in order to accommodate them.

I am being vague about things, because I do not want to give anything away for the fact that it may fail. I will also have a better story to tell once I have tried a few things out.

Updates

My website has been updated, but I am split between the musician persona, and the organizational professional that my education has made me. I have no decent job position in either arena, but I hate to be typecast. This is my music blog, but I don't like being called a musician-- too many bad personalities and cliches have made that a bad stigma. I will finally return to many music projects this year, but they will not be to glorify my talents, but more to send a message. The messages are best made through music (for me at least).

Since my last post I played several gigs with Every Other Sunday-- August was booked every weekend, I played at the Norland's Pie and Arts Festival, Christmas at the Norlands, Mitch and friend's Christmas concert, and with EOS for New Year's Eve.

For plays, I played Chicago @ CLT on banjo, and guitar for A Christmas Story @ Waterville Opera House. I am currently (this is the last day) finishing up playing Shrek @ Oak Hill H.S.


I have a few future plays in the books, as well as EOS gigs, but that will be saved for another blog installment.

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I will be changing the nature of this blog in the coming months. I don't feel that this platform works for me, and although it is somewhat of a resume on shows and gigs I do, I rarely write about those happenings. My past blogs provide a good basis for the drama that a multi-faceted music player/teacher can go through to make a dime. Now I have remained on a maintenance diet of money "bonuses", and since bills only increase, it is hard to be fully involved in what is happening. This is why I am looking forward to a few projects this year, and hopefully finding a way for them to make money.

I can only hope.

 2017 has not been off to the best start so far, but I will find that silver lining.