If you’re not huge…everyone at your shows show wants you to be huge.
It affirms them.
You might even be so captivating that they think you’re already huge, and somehow booked this smaller venue by mistake.
If you’re good, they’ll give you that benefit of the doubt on the career side.
When people talk to you after the gig, they’re looking for a thrill. Give them one.
Shying away from a compliment (with false modesty or humility) neither affirms them, nor brings you closer to being an authentic person.
Everyone wants to feel like they matter.
Like it or not, walking onto a stage and into the spotlight makes you the ring leader, the shepherd, the usher, the grand master for for showing them, or reminding them, they matter.
Never forget that. They are there for what YOU can do for THEM.
They scream your lyrics at your show, because it makes them feel good…and as a byproduct, you probably feel good. But it starts with them. And you taking the lead.
If Katy Perry, or Coldplay or Aerosmith played a gig at the dingy venue you just played…does it mean they’re not huge stadium acts?
No, it just means a huge stadium act happened to play a crappy club.
So here’s a new thought…You are already the huge stadium act, you just happen to be playing a crappy club.
Has anyone ever cleaned the nooks but left the crannies?
The only men to wear tighter pants than girly-skinny-boy musicians are gladiator-manly football players.
Having no manager is better than having a bad manager.
FYI, we still don’t know how they built Stonehenge.
Nobody cares about .1 more than a half marathoner.
Walking away cocky from a victorious coin toss is a silly thing to do.
Neverland Ranch is for sale. $100 million.
No one I know buys cartons of cigarettes, they buy packs because they don’t think they’re smokers.
The conversations had in the front of the bus/van are different than the conversations had in the back of the bus/van. Much more whispering in the back.
I moved to Nashville when I was 18. Young, dumb, tons of teenage confidence.
Every year there’s a writers festival called Tin Pan South. The big hit songwriters from all over the world come to Nashville and hang out for the week and get to perform their tunes themselves at the night time showcases…there’s also panels, Q&A’s and all that during the days.
Passes to get into the showcases can be pretty expensive. I was 18 and I couldn’t afford expensive. I could barely afford cheap.
But there was one particular venue that me and a buddy knew how to sneak into. I could afford that.
After getting in I tried to blend in (I’m sure I did a horrible job) the best way I knew how…by talking to someone.
Turned out the first lady I talked to wrote the song I Hope You Dance. Pretty cool. As we were talking, I glanced over her right shoulder as some bright colors in the crowd caught my eye.
Neon pink, neon blue. And it was on someones face.
There’s only one guy I knew of who usually had a goatee like that.
Mark Hudson. Among tons of other hits, I knew him from all the Aerosmith hits he’d co-written with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. This was big time. I’m a big Aerosmith fan.
I pointed him out to the lady I was talking with. She could tell I was nervous so she asked if I wanted her to introduce me.
Um, yes.
I talked with Mark Hudson. He told me Aerosmith stories, Ringo Starr stories and some writing stories. A really really nice guy. It was awesome, especially for a kid who just moved to Nashville.
As we were parting ways he gave me his email address and told me to drop him a message.
What?! Nobody like HIM gives out their email address like that. It was an AOL email. Remember AOL?
A couple days later I sent him the “nice to meet you” email. And he replied asking me what I was up to and what I wanted to do.
Really?! HE asked ME???
This was my chance. I should tell Mark about the awesome rock songs I was writing and how I wanted to take over the world with rock music. He would tell Steven Tyler, Steven would freak out. He’d call me, invite me on tour, invite me into the studio, invite me into his heart. Obviously.
So I wrote Mark an email back. A long email. An email straight from my 18 year old heart. I wanted the moon and I had to be clear, not sparing any detail. The more I explained, the more he would understand, and the closer I’d be to world dominance.
I hit send, and instantly started refreshing my inbox waiting for a reply.
A day passed. No reply. Obviously he was still catching his breath from my stunning email.
Day two. Refresh, refresh, refresh. Sweating.
All of a sudden there it was. Mark’s reply. Would there be an attachment of a plane ticket to come meet him in LA? Would there be a bank transfer code so he could send me a pile of cash? Would there be an invite to a weekend getaway with him and Steven and Joe?
After pouring out my heart, soul, plans, goals, dreams to Mark Hudson….this was it.
Reading sparks new thoughts and ideas, and awakens old ones that we’d forgotten.
Reading a book isn’t a quick hit. That’s probably why the insights have more staying power. You sit in the mental space long enough for it to take grab hold and make an impression.
Here are the books I read this year. I recommend all of them, none of them were duds.
Entreleadership- For anyone who’s ever wanted to build an idea. And funny enough, most often throughout the book you could substitute “artist” for “entrepreneur” and the adjectives and ideas would make perfect sense.
As A Man Thinketh- Another one from the early 1900’s, considered one of the grandfathers of modern self discovery books.
The Dip- To quit something or to stick with it. This short book helps open your eyes and is must read for every artist/entrepreneur.
Legacy Journey- A book about building wealth…and wealth doesn’t only mean money.
Linchpin- I read this one with a friend. Every week we’d get on the phone and talk about a couple chapters. The conversations would last hours. Thats hours, with an S.
Purple Cow- In any high school or college marketing class, they should start with every kid reading this book. Implementing what this book has to offer will change and grow your business. It’s so simple. Not easy, but simple.
The Shack- A fiction book that took hold of me in a very non-fiction way. And I’m going to be having a daughter in a couple months, so for those who have read this book, you get it.
Pursuit Of God- A very thin book, but it weighs about a thousand pounds. In every heart there is a longing.
Think And Grow Rich- This book takes a long time to read because there are a lot of pages. And over all that time, the ideas seep into the subconscious. A must read…a must read 5 or 6 times.
The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective- This book and also The Wisdom of the Enneagram help to unlock ourselves, providing structure, verbiage and tools to express the simple, deep, fearful, scary, shameful, joyful places of our lives.
I hope all the seeds you’ve been planting over the past year and probably for many years get the rain they’ve been waiting for and you get to experience the harvest.
Planting is hard, ugly, lonely, dirty, necessary work.
Dirty, worn out hands are a good sign. Clean, soft hands should make you worrisome.
True, the longer the seeds are in the ground with no rain, the more likely they are to die off. So if the rain isn’t happening, you have no choice but to keep planting and praying for rain.
But 2016 can be the year it starts to mist, to drizzle, to rain, to downpour. And then you will see.
The rain is the seeing, the planting is the believing.
Droughts are a real thing, but they’ve never ever lasted forever.
There was a great band a few years ago with stunning melody and harmony called The Bridges. They broke up, and now one of them started a new electro-pop band called Myzica. Ready Or Not.
I wrote a short book about SXSW this past spring. One of the bands who came across that book was Born Cages. Rolling Down The Hill.
Probably my favorite new band of the year is The Struts. Great songs, live show, voice, aesthetic, the full package. Good to see these dudes’ popularity is growing. Could Have Been Me.
Strange Names are a New York band, but the guitar player is from the same 2,500 person town where I grew up in Minnesota. Props to Francis for not only making music, but making good music. I Can’t Control Myself.
I got to know Mike Van Soest this past summer and fall. He’s new to Nashville but has one of the best new songs I’ve heard out of Nashville in a long time. Violet.
Some fellas in my neighborhood are in a band called Coin. They’ve started having some great traction this year, and for good reason. Better.
One of the things I’m most proud of this year was helping Nick Flora release his record Future Boy. The power-pop melodies and sunny California production are right up my alley. It’s feel-good introspective vibes at their finest. For The Sake Of Conversation.
I wanted to love the entire new Brandon Flowers record. I didn’t. But this song is fantastic. Can’t Deny My Love.
The unexpected 6+ minute beauty of a song on Coldplay’s new one. Up & Up.
