Who Gets A Vote?
Here’s an interesting exercise…
Get out some sticky notes. Write down the names of the people who get a vote in your life…people you’ve decided to let into your decision making, people you confide in and influence your norms and challenge you.
Maybe you only have one or two, or maybe ten…it doesn’t really matter the number. Seeing those names written down on sticky notes are a great reminder of whose thoughts and opinions you care about and for…but the act of writing them down has the added benefit of recognizing that everyone else is excluded.
And that’s the spoiler of the exercise. The people you wrote down, it’s only those people, no one else!…I’m willing to bet you didn’t write down a news anchor or someone you follow on Instagram…you probably didn’t write down most of the people in your family, a sports star, a rockstar or even a blogger.
And that’s the way it should be.
So when anyone not on the sticky notes gets too loud, whether literally or metaphorically...you can be kind and respectful and know they just don't get a vote.
»» A related point worth noting here…it does you no good to not care what anyone thinks. There’s an idea floating around that not caring what anyone thinks is the highest form of self actualization. It’s not. If you achieve it, the only reward is continued loneliness. Rather…knowing whose thoughts you care about…that is highly valuable and worth considering.
What's Your Favorite Detail?
You’ll immediately start looking for something non-obvious. And the non-obvious aspects are the most fun to get into.
Some people think all cars are pretty much the same…and then there’s people who see and appreciate the differences and the fact that no two cars are the same. The second group of people have more fun with cars.
The details are the fun.
Same goes guitars or hiking trails or mutual funds.
»» The real gift when asking a question like this is it makes the person answering it feel smart for noticing something not everyone notices. It makes them feel as special as the detail they are pointing out.
Festival Lighting
Most artists at most festivals get one light…the sun.
Playing outside in the day time. Hot and blindingly bright.
You’re playing with the lights on unless you’re the headliner or almost the headliner. Fully illuminated. Fully exposed. Brightly lit you.
No lights to help stimulate the audience. No lights to guide the audience’s attention. No black outs between songs to help mitigate the silence. No darkness to hide the faces of the crowd. No lasers. No smoke machine.
You’re left with the raw connective power of your songs and performance.
So if you can win a crowd at a festival with the lights on, you can win pretty much anywhere.
Festival Golf Carts
I started going to summer music festivals when I was in high school. Found some cool bands, didn’t drink enough water, slept in a tent and lots of walking around.
But the artists didn’t walk around. No. The artists had chauffeured golf carts wheeling them around all day. To the stage, from the stage, to the autograph session and then back behind the orange fence and into the mysterious unknown.
I was riveted. What a life. What luxury! Play rock n roll, hop on the cart, onto the next, the way it should be.
My sights were set.
A bunch of years later I found myself on the golf cart side of the equation. And sometimes as I was feeling that summer breeze blow through my uncombed hair while traveling 5+ miles per hour, I’d spot some kids with their eyes on the golf cart.
Maybe they were thinking the same thing and maybe they’ll go after it.
»» As for what’s behind the orange fencing? It’s hit or miss. Sometimes busses and trailers with A/C, sometimes not. Usually plenty of food…but where it came from no one knows. Lots of waiting around. Catching up with other artists. Everyone being aware and acting a little different when the big famous artists are within eye shot. It’s amazing and totally uncool all at once. The best.
Festival Headliners
There’s a certain type of act that headlines festivals…BIG ones.
And big doesn’t necessarily mean the most popular.
Festival headliners have some size and scale and tempo and energy to their show. It’s music that has an easier time filling up the space…and since it’s outside in a field, it’s big music for a big space.
It’s easy to think that if you just get popular enough you’ll headline festivals. And there are some genre specific ones that you might…but if you want to be a festival headliner you’ve gotta start putting on a big show with big music just like the festival headliners before you. And you start doing that long before you ever headline.