Freddie And You

You’ve heard Bohemian Rhapsody a thousand times.

But if you sit down for a couple hours with the goal of writing something as catchy and iconic as Bohemian Rhapsody you’ll realize the difficulty. That agony and frustration and creative torment…you’ll realize how far away you are from Freddie. (And you’ll be reminded that hearing greatness doesn’t equate with writing greatness.)

Here’s the thing…At some point Freddie went through that same agony and frustration and creative torment. He wasn’t above it. And you are not beneath him. 

The difficulty is a sign you’re at an important part of the journey.

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No Reason At All

When you have the beach trip coming up, you get busy on those ab workouts.

When company is coming over, you clean up the house pretty good.

When the important people are in the audience, you put the big effort into the performance.

Big reasons provide great inspiration and motivation to do things that benefit everyone involved.

But what about after the big reason passes and you can’t find another one?

At some point the big reasons run out and then all you’re left with is your own quiet decisions.

Why are you working out or cleaning up or putting in a huge effort? ‘No reason at all’ other than that’s what I’m deciding to do, that’s how I’m going to live my life.

Big reasons run out. The power of your decisions does not.

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That Good

If you find an artist and they blow you away you are going to follow them. It’s too magical to ignore. Whether you see them in a club or opening up for a big act or hear them on a playlist or in your friends car…if an artist is that good you can’t help but want more.

And if you’re the artist…

This is where your focus must be…to be THAT good. All the other time spent chasing deals and favors and the political shenanigans in the business is a waste if you can’t deliver.

Great songs and a great performance. Build that. You don’t have to wait for anyone.

Thanks to Eric for the reminder.

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Openers and Headliners

It’s hard to get an opening slot on the big tour.

And when you do you’re reminded that opening (even on a big tour) is really hard work. And it’s really hard to define success.

It’s also really hard to get top billing on a big tour.

But when you do, when you build it, when you earn it…those are your shows, those are your people. ‘Easy’ probably isn’t the right word, but yeah, it’s a lot easier.

It’s difficult to get the opening slot and it’s difficult to get the headlining slot.

But there’s a reason some acts never move from opening to headlining…they’d rather open.

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The New Thing

How long can you be the new thing?

When a band forms there’s a new buzz about it, ‘did you hear this drummer and that singer and that guitar player started a band?’…and that conversation circulates through the friends and acquaintances and even starts looping in some new people.

It’s a good feeling. People are talking about you. Why? It’s not because you’re necessarily good, no one’s heard you yet…they’re talking because you’re new.

And then for a while you still get to be a new band because of all the firsts. Your first shows, first song, first album, first tour, first pub deal, first manager…The main message through all of this is about being a new band. There’s a palpable energy for everyone involved when you get to employ New. It’s thrilling.

But then at some point instead of being new you’re kind of new. Then kind of new slips into they’ve been doing it for a little while. Then they’ve been around for a while.

And once you’ve been around for a while and are still making it happen, one main thing is true…

You must have built something other than Newness to trade on.

It’s easy to garner a little attention or steal the spotlight for a short while in the name of being new. It’s a lot harder (and more fulfilling) to be around for a while.

»» But yes when you have that New buzz, go for it, take full advantage.

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Repeatable Attitude

We all want to believe that our knowledge is building toward the sure thing. That all our toils with uncertainty will give way to certainty, a repeatable process. Or at least a predictable one where we can control the outcomes.

The truth is as we build our knowledge and understanding we are actually building toward adaptability to the present reality. Not a repeatable process but a repeatable attitude.

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