Five Favorite Things:
In May, I quit my day job at a record label and began making my own music full time. It was a very difficult decision that had been a long time coming. Had it happened earlier I'd have missed out on some great learning opportunities. Had I waited longer, well, it may have never happened. Everything I've done this year musically, all the lessons I've learned, are a direct result from that move. Allow me to explain!
Blogging: One of the first things I did after quitting was start a blog. The blog was to be an outlet for my random thoughts as a freelance musician, but it started grabbing the attention of a handful of random people. Considering I didn't expect anybody to read it, that was a nice surprise.? Shortly after this, Dave Hahn and I created MusicianWages.com. This website has become a wonderfully informative forum for professional musicians and industry types to write about personal experiences and lessons learned throughout their careers.
Thanks to both of these blogs, I've seen an increase in sales of my music. I rarely talk about my own music in either, but it's clear that in this day and age, transparency is great tool for artists. Blog about your thoughts and what you do, and by simply generating interest in your person you generate interest in your music.
Day jobs get in the way: I loved my job, but it left me with only a few hours a week to work on my own music. While I had my ideal desk job, the truth is it was still a desk job, and at best #2 on my list of ideal jobs. Working your second favorite job makes it harder to pursue your first favorite, but once I quit I realized being a freelancer is entirely possible. It's not steady and there's a lot of uncertainty, but if you truly love it, you'll figure out how to make it work. I did, and thanks to MusicianWages.com, I've learned that everybody's path is different but no less successful.
Diverify: Of course, you can't just step off a cliff and land safely if you don't pack your parachute. A freelancer's parachute is diversification. This is especially true when it comes to working with original music, a topic I discussed more at MusicianWages.com. I've learned too much while becoming a full time musician to not use it all. Aside from playing, composing, arranging, and performing music, I do some production consulting, writing, recording, producing, teaching and whatever else I can monetize. When some jobs are slow, the others make up the slack.
Teamwork: To say I learned more about working with others after I started working for myself seems contradictory, but in reality freelancers work in a much larger ecosystem than a typical corporate employee. I have connected with more people this year through playing gigs, blogging, and promoting my own music than I ever did sitting in an office working with the same people every day. And since there's literally an endless amount of work to be done to build my career as a musician, I'm constantly exchanging favors, advice, tips and generally just working together with more people than ever before.
Focus on your strengths.: Perhaps the most difficult part of working for yourself is the performance review. Musicians especially tend to be hard on themselves.? While I constantly work to improve my many weaknesses, it's been my strengths that get me the gigs (note: there's a difference between strength/weakness and luck/laziness). I think focusing on one's strengths is a big key to finding happiness. Develop your natural talents and the rest will fall in place. Be the best at being you. That's what people want when they hire you.
The Past/The Future/About You:
When pressed for a description about what I do, my short answer is simple. I play guitar. But if you wanted an official title, perhaps Freelance Music Professional is the most appropriate fit. Like many other musicians, I've taken an uncommon path to get where I am, picked up a variety of skills beyond the guitar, and try to use them all to piece together a career as a musician. Here's the scoop on my various projects:
First and foremost, I lead my own group. Since coming to New York, it's taken shape as a jazz/funk organ trio with keyboardist Brad Whiteley, who I've played with for many years, and Kenneth Salters, who has been playing drums with us since 2007. I released an album last year called Life Is Loud and have plans to release the next sometime in 2009.
My website: click here
My music on iTunes: click here
MySpace: click here
Other musical projects include:
Performing, writing, producing, and recording with singer/songwriter Lauren Zettler has been a great opportunity to expand my creative palette. She is the sole lyricist, but we've been working together on writing and arranging the music. I've always enjoyed working as an accompanist, and playing with Lauren is a blast, and I get to play mandolin, harmonica, and whatever else the music calls for.
Jazz octet Collective Pursuit, led by composer/trumpeter KT Chauvot, is dedicated to performing music written by it's somewhat rotating cast of members. This group stretches out my jazz chops both as a player and composer/arranger. The band is loaded with talent, and challenges me on every gig.
Last year I produced and recorded with Montgomery Bruce and am working on another album. The Christmas album, Bossa Noel did very well last year as a completely independent release, and taught me a lot about the making a DIY album successful and very profitable. "Bossa Noel" could very well become a classic holiday album.
I was also involved with two albums by the Americana group, Dunham Van Durham . This experience has changed the way I play music--simplicity is the key! Both wonderful albums, and I look forward to future releases with this group.
