General Music Chat

We all have stories of how we got to where we are,opening for a big name band,playing a corporate show,
like Microsoft,appearing on television,etc. How did you make it happen?Who did you contact? I'm
always interested in how others are handling their carreers,the music world is a community,and I've
heard many different stories. What's yours?

The truth is I've spent a lot more on music than I've made, but it was money well-spent.

Back when local gigging actually paid 'ok' money (before they started booking 3-4 bands per night at clubs), I finally 'caught up' with my expense vs income. My band was playing regularly and I kept my expense to a minimum - avoided getting the 'latest' stompboxes, made do with one amp and electric guitar, etc.
Of course these days, I've far exceeded income with the gear I've amassed. But its paid for.

Jook's 'ambition of $200-300 a month is a good one (I'd like to double that, though), and one I'd like to see, too - that plus SS when I finally retire from working for others would keep me going (assuming my wife would put me on her work health insurance).

We all have stories of how we got to where we are,opening for a big name band,playing a corporate show,
like Microsoft,appearing on television,etc. How did you make it happen?Who did you contact? I'm
always interested in how others are handling their carreers,the music world is a community,and I've
heard many different stories. What's yours?

Since the late 70s I've had a kind of Forest Gump career path. It's a long story and I will be accused of bragging (again) for mentioning it, but all my life other musicians have underestimated me based on outward appearances at a given moment. Every single one of them were wrong and that's the first lesson to learn. Almost all of my old competitors and band mates quit several decades ago, and are either out completely or doing the weekend warrior thing.

Success is not hidden in a secret, but it does take a lot of faith to do the hard work of preparation and trust that it's going to pay off eventually. This is where most will fail. Anyone capable of doing that will rub others the wrong way just by having the necessary confidence. They will view you as a little too cocky, but like Yogi Berra says, "It ain't bragging if you can do it"

Over the last 15 years I average more than 80k a year as a singer/songwriter. Raised 6 kids and put one through college on my original music alone. I am constantly on the road, traveling about 300 days of a year. (Salt Lake City yesterday, Texas/Arizona/California coming in November)

I'd elaborate but there is a person here who is particularly envious if I mention being a professional, and a few more who still don't recognize me as knowing what I'm talking about even though I was recently Executive Producer of 5 Grammy Award winning producers on my "Hollywood Sessions" project.

There is no single answer on how this is done except hard work and determination. Everybody's story is vastly different than the next. I "made it happen" by quitting altogether in Nov 2000.

was it Dizzy Dean or Yogi jook?

Except for when I was a teenager, I've not really thought too hard about making music my primary income source away from that of my professional career in the human services field. It will soon change perspective after I retire from that gig in less than 3 years, however, and the desire to supplement my (then) drastically reduced income...

For me, "making it" has better been described as experiencing those certain rare magical moments where one is sonically flung into the hemisphere, be it in an ensemble or solo situation. Nailing a part in a solo where it's sometimes been a hit-or-hmmm situation - the upright bass solo in Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite, up in the 5th position, while on stage at Missouri State in my early 20's...the older teenage me, occasionally being able to dial-in a perfect honey-drenched sustain on both pickups of the old '70 Epiphone ET-270 with filed frets, through the small-box ancient 1st gen muff fuzz, into the fat '69 Ampeg B25B miked into the PA and railing through the Tommy Bolen solo on James Gang's Standing in the Rain...the large outdoor "kegger" on a farm in my mid 20's where some unknown dude and myself happened to sit down with acoustic guitars, all buzzed up, and just spontaneously ripped through a bunch of tunes which included seamless vocal harmonies on the Dead's version of Deep Elum Blues as if we'd been doing it for years...

I guess for me, "making it" was felt in those golden moments, and others, either live or in the studio.