Worth Talking About

For the people who listen to songs, you have to make a song worth talking about.

For the people who go to shows, you have to make a show worth talking about.

For the people who do business with you, you need to make a business culture worth talking about.

For the people who want to love your band, you need to make a community worth talking about.

For people who listen to or read interviews, you have to give an interview worth talking about.

This probably sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But the exciting part is that you don’t have to wait on someone else to get started.  

One of the beauties and beasts of the music business is there are not very many bosses.  At least not ones saying you can’t make any of the above areas worth talking about.

Stop waiting, stop meeting, stop worrying, stop hoping, and just DO it.

p.s. Obviously this post covers the middle part of the “Why. What. How” situation. But you can stretch these thoughts to talk about the “why” and the “how” too.  It’s up to you.

Taking and Dodging

There are two kinds of people. People who take responsibility and those who dodge it.

Those who dodge it are replaceable and those who take responsibility, become indispensable.

See the following example:

A pest control man shows up at my house this morning to spray for bugs.  If he knocked first, I didn’t hear it.  Eventually I see a white pick-up truck with Ameri Care Services written on it sitting in the driveway so I head outside to see what’s going on.

When I open the front door the man is folding up a piece of paper to put in the storm door. Turns out it’s a bill, for spraying, and he’d like to spray our basement too (how generous). I told him, politely, I wouldn’t be paying the bill.

I told him, truthfully, I’ve never heard of his company, never signed up for his company and that I didn’t want anything to do with his company.  I told him the companies policies were bad and sneaky at best. Showing up at peoples homes and leaving them with a bill. Yeah, really respectful of the customer.

He told me I could call the number on the paper and tell his boss about the bad policies.  I told him I would, and told him he should probably talk to his boss too.

His reply, “I can’t do that. I work for the guy. I want to keep my job.”

The truth is, if he doesn’t tell his boss, he’ll eventually lose his job anyway.  Sad but true.  For one of two reasons. The first is that the policies will stay in place, they’ll develop a horrible reputation and lose all their customers.  Or, the second is that the boss will find someone else who will follow the rules and practices, only at a cheaper wage.  And this guy will get fired.  The cheapest cog gets the job…when the job requires cogs.

People need you to the level you’re willing to take responsibility and do things in your unique, thoughtful, artistic, and hard working way.

The Sadness

Music is just so hard.

Every artist is burning it, trying to write a few good tunes so that when he walks into his local coffee shop he gets some looks.  But secretly trying to change the world too.

Every artist in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and beyond is simply chasing that feeling they had when they heard Hey Jude for the first time when they were 9 years old.  

At it’s core, it’s truly such an amazing, and innocent quest.  Grown men and women riding the highs and lows of life for those few moments per year, per 5 years, per career where it all comes together.

Bands and artists try so hard. And try again, and then again.  Every day is considered a comeback.  They give it all up. They lose friends, use time, take chances, and roll the dice every single day.

There is a sadness in the back of the eyes of every artist.  Part innocence, part desperation, part longing, part reality check, part scared, part bold, part vulnerable, part yearning, part honest, part lying.  It’s really a thing of beauty.

And yet somehow bands and artists find a way to stumble back up to the plate and believe this time they’re going to be the hero.  Because they believe in the hero, and they believe they can be the hero. If only for a moment.

The sadness does not leave when you sell some albums or play some arenas.  It does not leave when you get on a private jet. It was there when you got your first guitar and it’ll be there till you strum your last.  

The reason why moments of victory, whether consuming them or providing them, are so special is because for a few seconds in a row you rise above the waves.  The waves don’t disappear, you just levitate above them in a brief, life giving, life fulfilling moment.

Most People

Most people don’t own a Beatles album

Most people don’t own a Chevy

Most people didn’t vote for Barack Obama

Most people didn’t vote

Most people haven’t heard of Kanye West

Most people don’t watch House of Cards

Most people didn’t watch the Super Bowl

You don’t need most people. You just need some. Because if you have some, you can be very successful.

And successful people know exactly who their “some” is.

Do you? Ready, set, discuss with the people around you.

The Things You Do Every Day

The things you do every day, that’s your life. A mysterious woman once told me that, and I think you’ll find out she was right.

Noel Gallagher (from the once biggest band in the world, Oasis) is making the PR rounds again, in support of his album coming out.  Every interview he’s done is worth reading. He’s great at it. He doesn’t give typical answers. He doesn’t care about making the interviewer comfortable or happy. He cares about honesty.

But in the midst of the creative cussing, stabs at other bands and general discontent with lots of other things, he drops a gem in his latest RollingStone interview.

“I write everyday.”

He slips it in there, not calling too much attention to it, but matter of fact. 

Saying he writes everyday isn’t part of his marketing strategy, and it isn’t a silly call for attention. It’s just the way it is for him. Because he’s a writer.

What do you do everyday?

p.s. In case you’ve forgotten what a good looking man, singing a great melody, giving people a great experience looks like, here.

p.p.s. It’s infinitely more (and unnecessarily) difficult to do something every other day than it is to do it everyday.

Free eBook For SXSW

It’s common to go to SXSW expecting good things, significant conversations, shows and meetings. And you should.  But it’s also very common to leave SXSW feeling defeated, dehydrated and annoyed with your band mates along with the music business as a whole.

Starting with the blog post from the other day about RSVP'ing to parties at SXSW,  I put this short eBook together to help you achieve more of what you want while you’re in Austin this March.   

I’ve spent a lot of time at SXSW and have had countless conversations with other bands who have done the same.  The lessons, tips and advice given here were paid for dearly over the years by doing things the wrong way in order to discover a better way.

I hope this helps you.

Please feel free to pass it around or email it to anyone else it would be helpful to.

Click for the free eBook: Six Things To Know Before SXSW