Get Smart

I broke down and went to the movies last night. I don't do this to often cause I hate paying nine dollars for disappointment. But this movie was funny, sure most of it was slap stick (or is it shtick) physical comedy, but some of it was witty. I'm not highly recommending or anything I just thought it funny.

I am also on the road this week three weddings in three weekends, intense. So far I've hit Chattenooga, Stanton VA, Scranton PA, Madrid NY, and on my way to the White Mts. This whole getting rides thing is kind of fun.

Playing a solo show on thursday, hopefully I won't be to rusty, haven't been solo for a while. But I've got some new stuff to show off. If you find yourself in Canton NY stop on by. Wed. at seven.

j.

Adaptability

I was calling billboard to update our contact info at the office and I noticed the first guy i talked to gave me a, "this is Andy". Pretty normal right? Take a step back this kid works for one of the biggest music mags in the country, and if I didn't know it before I called he wasn't going to tell me when I called.

Taking note of his relaxed approach I said, "Andy hows it going man, is Mark around?" ..."Oh I didn't realize Mark left, whose at Marks' desk these days?"... "Thanks man I'd love to talk to Joel".
I never talked to Mark before, and never really introduced myself to Andy but soon enough I was on the phone with a senior editor.

Maybe they were just cool guys and my social observation was unnecessary, but I doubt it cause earlier that day with a similar publication I was all businessy and introduced myself first. I got rejected faster than quick talking telemarketer with an attitude.

Pay attention to your client and adapt. Don't dumb yourself down but if there a jeans a t-shirt company maybe those $350 cuff lings aren't the best fashion choice. Bands if your managing parts of your own careers this is important too. Think before you speak, listen first,

j.

Not about you about time

They say timing is everything. Whose timing exactly? It is easy to get frustrated tired of working yourself to pain with what seems like very little result. Or worse just waiting for something to happen. Waiting for a raise or promotion, waiting for the right relationship, waiting for natural disasters to destroy the world, or for your car to die. I'm not sure what's worse trying to make things happen on our time table and having it blow up in your face or waiting "patiently" to get what's coming (good or bad).

As an artist you have to decide the approach you want to take. The slow strategic networking game. I overheard a story last week about the opening act for Allison and Robert apparently she was working in a bar as a waitress six months ago. Probably biting her time waiting for a break. Then again maybe she toured song writers holes for six years before that.

There is no such thing as overnight success but it does happen overnight for some. You can also take the ground run approach where you buy a van make a demo and just play anywhere and everywhere 234 dates a year eat fast food and hope to live past 30.
I met a guy just last week who gets 1200 for a four piece band a month in tour support and they tour non stop. They spend half their days off rehearsing and the other half adding friends and racking up plays on myspace.

I don't know what works, or what's better. Sometimes it's just about hanging around long enough for people to notice you to be there when the others quit, to push through. Bands are born and die every day, people give up loose sight or the vision or didn't have one to begin with. And they just go away.

Why are you still around? Can you share familiar things with me in a way I haven't heard before? Is your sound going to grab my attention over a thousand other artists who just got added to i-tunes or can I replace you with the next artist on pandora?

The reason you got into this business is important, if it's because you love music and connecting with fans and being a part of something that enriches peoples lives and soothes the world, press on. If you are only here to make money or want notoriety than run for president or create a killer video game.

Music isn't really about you (artist) it's about the listener. Sure the stories come from your life but they come from your inner "everyman" that thing makes us say, "yeah I can relate to that". But it's the fan that keeps sting on the road and it's the fan that separates you from any other fledgling artist. It's not even about how many you have.

Your a solo artist with 700 fans who buy one record a year from you ok that's $4900
each of those fans comes to see you 3 times a year at $10 a ticket ok that's $7000 Let's say half of them buy a t-shirt at $12 that's $4200 thats about 16,000 a year. Not enough to raise a family on but were talking seven hundred people. You probably can scrounge a third of that out of friends and family.
j.

The respect cycle...brand protection

Have you ever had an electronic device stop working. Of course. But how about when it does that whole "I didn't work at home but now I'm working at the customer service desk so you like like a moron" thing. Well that's what happened to me, my two year old Verizon phone came up with a "battery required" error, which I have gotten before on an older version of the same phone. Off to the verizon store I went.

The 20 min wait wasn't what bothered me, it was the attitude of the employees, he literally mentioned the fact that he hated his job. I don't care if you hate your job but don't tell me how much you don't want to be there. You are getting paid to be there, you applied there, and you have the option to try something new. So after I tell him what to try with my phone (his blank stare was not helping.)I left in frustration. The best advice he had to offer me was to buy a new phone.

My friend Mike and I then proceeded to the apple store so he could replace his headphones. Bob was right. They helped right away, there were plenty of them to do so. Even under pressure they worked it out. There were people being tutored and educated it was "cool" ,even the music was good.

It's important to remember that as soon as you punch that time card, you become part of a greater good, it's no longer your bad attitude now it's verizon's bad attitude.You want a raise, or a good recommendation? Respect the company. As a business owner it's important that your employees represent your brand as much as your product. Which means you should respect their ideas and input. The respect cycle is key. It's all about protecting your brand.

j.

Naive hope fails, purpose prevails.

My neighbor is a songwriter, he has a publishing deal, has gotten songs cut a number of Gospel and Country acts,and he still has to work two days a week at restaurant to pay the bills. But he loves what he does five days a week, and two days a week doing something you don't love beats five or six right?

I walked into a meeting my old roomates were having with the guy who mixed Kansas' big record, you know the one with "Carry On My Wayward Son". And they introduced me, told him a bit about what I do. And he looked at me and said, "this is a hard business you know." I'm not sure if he was warning me or commiserating. I'll call it empathy for my egos sake.

This is a hard business. It's a place where you can have national radio play and still be eating ramen for lunch. It's a business that people who are out of it assume your rich, people who are in it are jaded and think you want something, and people trying to get are left with a daily decision to move forward or give up.

This is what I tell my artists, you have to know what is at the root of your entrance into this field, what is at the core of your desire, so that when it gets tough you have more than naive hope...you have a purpose.

j.