I feel the end of my day job fast approaching. I now own a complete PA system and will soon have shored up the weekly gigs to pay my monthly expenses. Playing at night and then working in the morning is starting to take it's toll on me....It's very hard for me to "turn it on" at night to perform, go to shows to support my friends in the music community etc etc and then simmer down in time for bed. its nearly 2:30AM and here I am working on my blog.....I just bought a Mackie PrFX 12 to go with my two Mackie SRM 450 powered speakers so I'm now equipped to do anything from a restaurant gig to a small rock Venue...The end of the day job is fast approaching..Music is what I do.
I was thinking about how just 3 years ago, I'd never been in a band and had barely ever even played out....Now I have shows in Atlanta and in neighboring states and have written nearly 40 tunes myself...There is much to be said for finding your vision and sticking to it...... As trite as it may come across god really does help those who help themselves
Tonight I played a couple of my tunes at The 5 Spot here in Atlanta with my good friend Josh Yoder who was the entertainment for the night....I truly felt greatly humbled to be sharing the stage with him, his brother Graham, and the gentleman from the band Stokeswood....All of them are so talented and genuine! To even be sharing the same stage is mind blowing for me. The growing sense of community and camaraderie that I sense between the musicians in these two bands in particular is exemplary and an example of where the Atlanta music scene is headed. Talented passionate people willing to work together for the betterment of us all. Good Things keep coming : ) I'm humbled to be part of what's happening. Sometimes I think it must be a dream..
Listen to McNary Music
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Taking A Moment to Bitch
I get frustrated sometimes with the lack of planning, focus, and business acumen that the average person in the music business possesses.
There is a pervasive apathy among many of the musicians, producers, and club owners I meet…..People seem to think that greatness is achieved by hanging out, smoking weed, and getting around to making music, scheduling shows, guerrilla marketing, and orchestrating recording sessions only when the wind tickles that hair on their ass and they decide to get up and do something productive. They say things like, “Don’t worry bro…things will happen when they are meant to” or “I’m just waiting to get my break” or “The chips just haven’t fallen for me yet”. That is a load of horse shit. Success is man made not divine. Don’t point to Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake and claim they had it easy. Give me a break....those kids were busting their tail since early childhood building their business and honing theirs skills.
Lucky Breaks may determine how quickly one rises but it DOES NOT DETERMINE the ultimate height of their climb. Just ask Dave Matthews , Butch Walker, Zack Brown, or Kings of Leon or any of the other household names that spent years building their business….
NEWS FLASH!!!! >>>
People become successful by honing their craft, having intangibles that people are drawn too, and BUSTING THEIR TAILS on the business end cause they have fire in their belly and want more than anything else to make a living playing music. They learn how to treat the music business as the business that it is and they learn how to pick people who feel the same way and demonstrate that through their actions. I’ve been around too long to work with musicians who don’t show up, don’t call me back, or are too unmotivated to rehearse. There are hard workers in this business defeating people whose talent rivals the greats every day….Have you ever listened to Corey Smith, the country leaning musician from Athens who caters to southern college & blue collar audiences??? Take a listen and try to convince me that his music is original or compelling…seriously. But that guy is pulling in upwards of 500K/year playing music because he works hard and has learned how to promote himself and manage the marketing end of his career.
The longer I’m involved in the music business, the less time I have for crap, and the quicker I smell an apathetic or sheisty musician/music businessperson right off the bat. I’ve got news for you lazy pieces…..Keep on moving on. I don’t have time for you.
I get frustrated sometimes with the lack of planning, focus, and business acumen that the average person in the music business possesses.
There is a pervasive apathy among many of the musicians, producers, and club owners I meet…..People seem to think that greatness is achieved by hanging out, smoking weed, and getting around to making music, scheduling shows, guerrilla marketing, and orchestrating recording sessions only when the wind tickles that hair on their ass and they decide to get up and do something productive. They say things like, “Don’t worry bro…things will happen when they are meant to” or “I’m just waiting to get my break” or “The chips just haven’t fallen for me yet”. That is a load of horse shit. Success is man made not divine. Don’t point to Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake and claim they had it easy. Give me a break....those kids were busting their tail since early childhood building their business and honing theirs skills.
Lucky Breaks may determine how quickly one rises but it DOES NOT DETERMINE the ultimate height of their climb. Just ask Dave Matthews , Butch Walker, Zack Brown, or Kings of Leon or any of the other household names that spent years building their business….
NEWS FLASH!!!! >>>
People become successful by honing their craft, having intangibles that people are drawn too, and BUSTING THEIR TAILS on the business end cause they have fire in their belly and want more than anything else to make a living playing music. They learn how to treat the music business as the business that it is and they learn how to pick people who feel the same way and demonstrate that through their actions. I’ve been around too long to work with musicians who don’t show up, don’t call me back, or are too unmotivated to rehearse. There are hard workers in this business defeating people whose talent rivals the greats every day….Have you ever listened to Corey Smith, the country leaning musician from Athens who caters to southern college & blue collar audiences??? Take a listen and try to convince me that his music is original or compelling…seriously. But that guy is pulling in upwards of 500K/year playing music because he works hard and has learned how to promote himself and manage the marketing end of his career.
The longer I’m involved in the music business, the less time I have for crap, and the quicker I smell an apathetic or sheisty musician/music businessperson right off the bat. I’ve got news for you lazy pieces…..Keep on moving on. I don’t have time for you.
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