Things Artists Like

Getting paid on time

When the people in the front row know the words

Getting paid the agreed upon amount

A line waiting to get into the show

Adequate, clean transportation

Gear

Every music documentary ever made

Hearing their song out in public

Getting a text from someone who is hearing your song out in public

Not having RF problems with wireless

Specific compliments on a song

Nice hotel lobbies

Nice hotel rooms

Managers who make phone calls (rather than only receiving phone calls)

An obnoxiously long “we want more” chant before the encore

Quality food ready and waiting at every stop

Leaving for a tour

Coming home from a tour

»» Send me additions to this list and I’ll do a follow up sometime

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Crying At The End Of The Movie

No one cries at the beginning. Why would they? There’s yet to be any reference points, personal connection or emotional landscape.

But the end? That’s when everyone cries.

Because that’s when we’re suppose to cry. That’s when there’s been enough character development and connection to where we are emotionally invested, completely immersed and allow ourselves to be whisked away into a different world and a different set of circumstances.

We know it’s not real but we cry like it is.

We know the movie or book or podcast isn’t happening to us right now but we are willing to suspend reality and adopt a posture that puts us closer to the middle of the story for the sake of feeling connected.

Storytelling has an arc. Those arcs come from (in part) the expectations we have as humans based on our own relational experiences…and the experiences going back generations.

It’s a process…

We meet someone or a group or a situation or a problem…we get to know it…we become connected….and that connection is the currency by which the doors open for deeper experiences.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Questions For The Road Ahead

How long does it take before you get tired?

What do you do with the tired?

How quickly do you recover?

And what does it take for the answers to get better?

»» As for the space between when you’re recovering and when you want to dive back in…the shorter the gap the more likely it is you will keep going.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Vacation Clothes

Trying new clothes out on vacation is a low risk way to try new clothes.

You don’t know anyone. You’re never going to see them again.

And even if you do know some people and you might see them again…No one can say anything cause you’re on vacation. If it’s not working, so what, you threw it on just to try it out. You’re trying out a weird hat or tight pants or a new necklace. It’s low stakes because no one expects vacation clothes to be high stakes.

We all need a time and place and space to try new stuff.

There’s nothing wrong with blue jeans and a t-shirt forever and ever…but you’d be missing out on the v-neck.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Summer Rules

We all had parameters on playing after school. Had to be home by 6. Home by 7. Could go out again after dinner, or not. Had to stay within the street. Had to stay in the yard. Only on certain days. And then the friend who seemed to have no rules at all.

But whatever the rules…in the summer they relaxed.

And that loosening of the rules gave a jolt to every moment of the summer experience.

It all became possible even if it was just an extra hour.

No clear plan, no common goal, no long term strategy…the freedom itself was enough to feel electric.

Sometimes we all need to loosen the reigns a little bit just for the thrill of it.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Ready For The Big Break

A couple things here…

-Don’t waste your time trying to decide if you’re ready. Prepared (just enough) and willing are more important.

-The most likely scenario is that there won’t be one big break.

Having said that. You need to be ready for your big break.

It pays to have a great show before you get asked to play the big gig next week.

It pays to have already written lots of songs when your publisher finally gets you in the room with your hero.

It pays to know how to read analytics before your song gets on the big playlists.

It pays to know how to spend ten thousand dollars effectively when you get an influx of a hundred thousand dollars…and then a million.

If you hang around long enough and keep getting better and keep putting out good material, some unexpected great surprises are going to come your way.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple