The Real Gap

There’s a gap between the song you intend to write and the song you actually write.

Any dissatisfaction you feel at the end of a session comes from this gap.

You did the best you could at the time and it wasn’t enough to connect the desired vision to the actual outcome. It’s a learning and development process over time (mixed in with some luck) that brings them closer together.

While it’s almost impossible to streamline or hurry the process along, the simple next step on the journey is yours for the taking.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Over The River

And through the woods to grandmother’s house we go.

Most of us load up the podcasts, the music, the movies for the kids, the noise cancelling headphones, extra headphones just in case and anything else we can think of so no one gets bored and the trip goes quickly.

But boredom gets a bad wrap. We rush to fill every lull with more consumption and stimulation to avoid the boredom that is sure to confirm that we don’t have enough going on in our lives.

I think boredom has a lot more to offer than what it might appear.

You know what happens when you’re bored? You think of something. Something you wouldn’t have unless you were bored first. It takes boredom to get to some of those deeper recesses of the mind.

So enjoy the movies and the music and the noise canceling headphones but don’t be afraid of giving yourself a little gift of boredom.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Building A New Town

If you were put in charge of building a new town what would you build first?

Maybe a house, or an electrical plant, a grocery store?

The truth is if you only built any one of those things first you’d fail.

In order to build a new town lots of elements would need to be built at the same time, overlapping timelines, cooperation on land and city design. And you couldn’t do it yourself.

What would be even better is if you hired a bunch of people who have built cities before to help you.

I’m sure you get the metaphor.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Last Song

The good thing about playing your last song is you have the benefit of knowing how all the other songs went over before it.

And on top of that, odds are you’re closing the show with your best song.

So your best song coupled with the most informed adjustments.

Your ending ought to be great…and alls well that ends well.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

The Local Band

Being the local band is great. If there’s a county fair, you get the call. A chili cook off, dance, beach party…you get the call.

And then someone starts another band.

Now you’re not the local band, you’re A local band.

Now you don’t simply get the call because because you’re the band. You get the call because you do something that the other band doesn’t do.

Multiply this scenario by tens of thousands.

Why do you get the call?

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Cracking The Christmas Hit Code

Right now the entire Spotify US Top 10 is Christmas songs. It’s all the ones you’d think would be there. The classics.

The only way to have a chance at getting in that Christmas club is to truly commit.

There have been a handful of artists recently who have made a real push to crack the Christmas song code. Putting out a Christmas album, pushing a single, doing a tour…and then doing that cycle a couple more times.

And they aren’t in the top 10. Not even in the top 50.

So if you do all the work but don’t get the Christmas hit, was it worth it?

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple