Bring Donuts

March 28th, 2011

People should eat more donuts, and you should buy them for them. None of this story is intended to brag or talk about how great I am, because no one likes that guy. The only reason I share it with you is in hopes that you’ll benefit from it. Now, back to donuts.

When I was playing in Nashville, I ran into a young singer named Hannah Weison at an open mic and befriended her and her family. Turns out they are from Austin, which is only a little over an hour from where I live in San Antonio. We remained in touch through the magic of Facebook, and she then asked me to be an actor in her music video. I agreed, and this morning I drove 109 miles to Taylor, Texas, after about two hours of sleep (thanks SxSW) to help out in an eight-hour shoot on a high school campus.

Let me tell you why I didn’t do this. It wasn’t to somehow attach myself to her to benefit myself, since she’s got the world in front of her as a 15-year old starlet in-the-making. It’s because I like to help people, especially people who share my struggles as a musician. Now this would have been a good enough favor to do for someone, but there is always another way to go the extra mile for someone.

While I was driving to the location, I passed one of my favorite donut chains, called The Donut Palace, and grabbed a dozen glazed for cast/crew/extras. There are a few shortcuts into people’s hearts, and one of them is donuts. The idea here is that if people believe that you will bust your tail for them, they will follow you to the end of the world. That’s a fundamental aspect of being a good leader, and of being a good person. As musicians what you’re asking to be is a leader, so study this stuff. My brother has a master’s degree in leadership and ethics, so I have plans to interview him in the future to get you guys some more goodies on being leaders and presenting yourself in an attractive manner.

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life after labels

March 4th, 2011

They say in love, you should spend less time looking for the right person, and more time becoming the right person.  Sometimes, it seems, those who search the hardest for their soul mate end up neglecting their own “soul-improvement”. For those people, the hardest thing is to realize that it’s not bad luck or a lack of options keeping them from achieving their goal (a good relationship with a special person), but their own inadequacy. These same principles translate well into the life of an artist.

The number of parallels between music and love is staggering, whether it be a band “breaking up” or a label “courting” an act, the list goes on from there. This principle of self-improvement in order to achieve a successful partnership in music is valid; labels know how to identify not only work ethic, but also an active following. So an independent act should look to improve and promote themselves more than they should bust their asses trying to find someone who can make them who they want to be. “If you want to be different, then be different!” (Quoting myself there, but I’m sure it’s a paraphrase of someone who said it better).

They also say that the moment you find yourself content to be alone outside of a relationship, the perfect catch falls right in your lap. That irony is not lost on music. Check out this comment by Ilana Lee on 15 September 2009 at 11:54am in reply to Hypebot’s “I’m Sorry, but it Was Never Just About the Music”:

“It’s ironic that artists that are willing to embrace the platform the internet has given them and create a fan base on the strength of their own hard work and dedication (not just musical talent) probably don’t even need that Big Official Record Deal any more. But those that are clueless or unwilling, who truly need the mass distribution and marketing dollars, are seen as non-starters by the labels.

Makes for an interesting landscape going forward…”

That is an irony that i’ve struggled with, especially as a singer/songwriter who has to foot the bill for every musician i work with, most of whom command (and deservedly so) a handsome price. Labels who would provide financial support for my live show don’t want someone who isn’t established, but to get established, I have to play live shows.  There are ways around that, which is why i haven’t given up yet.  Those include licensing, radio, and grassroots, word-of-mouth support, and even finding talented friends who don’t mind playing shows for little or no money.  The point of this isn’t to identify those ways, but to develop my realization of what it means to market myself as a valuable commodity

Let’s look at how this relates to how you present yourself, considering this column focuses on style and presentation.

Tip #1: Be Accessible
The days of the rock star attitude are over. The new rock star is friendly, punctual, more like a great coworker and less like a deity. Ideally, there will come a point when you can’t maintain complete contact with your fans, but resist that point at all costs. Sleep less if necessary. Until then, answer every serious message, reach out to people who “friend”, “like”, “follow” you, do whatever you can to be accessible — oh and be nice.

Tip #2: Work Hard
Most people focus on the image or what life will be like once they achieve critical mass as an artist. I wrote an entire song about the fact that major changes in life don’t come as the result of one huge turning point or decision, but a long series of small decisions. That applies to a career in music as well. For those of you wondering, the song is New Hope.

Tip #3: Go the extra mile
Take this application section, for example. I really only had two tips for you, but since things always come in three’s, I had to have a third tip. Another example: I take requests on my YouTube channel, and sometimes those requests aren’t popular songs that will get me 5,000 views, but I do them anyway because it will make maybe one or two people’s day a little better. Isn’t that what music is all about?

What are you doing to present yourself in an attractive way to your fans, colleagues, and the music business in general? Leave comments below with your thoughts, I will respond to all.

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