Hopefully helpful advice with some personal experiences in there.
“Don’t worry, be happy.” Four lovely words. It sounds so simple.
My career has been and remains a roller coaster of emotions. One day, I am on the top of the world because I got called for a gig or released some new material. The next day, I get a rejection or writer’s block and thinking, “What am I doing with my life.” I’ve discovered that it’s better for me and everyone around me if I maintain a level or […]
As many of you know, there was a time a few years ago that I was releasing a lot of cover songs. Most of them were acoustic versions with piano and vocal. I would record them myself and a friend would release them. For me there were two reasons to do this, one was for increased exposure and the other was consistent releases without the pressure of going into a studio to do a fully produced album.
One of my cover […]
This is for all the musicians out there who are trying to figure out who is the best distributor for their music. I looked into distrokid before I signed up, but didn’t find any reviews.
Having used distrokid for almost a year, here are the good and the bad of what I’ve experienced.
The good:
Inexpensive ($20, $35, or $80 per year depending on how many artists you have). This is great if you release often.
Easy to upload (they have a one page […]
This blog is for the dreamers and those who are following their heart. (So, hopefully you.). I heard someone say years ago that if you have the desire to create, do, or share something, as a universal law, there is someone to receive it. He said that for every gift there is a recipient (even if you don’t know who will receive it). One does not exist without the other. These statements stuck with me. If nothing else, they made […]
As of the beginning of this year, I hadn’t taken a vacation that wasn’t revolved around songwriting, touring, or music in some way in 10 years. What?? You say. Crazy. I could not justify it. I thought if I was going to travel, it had to be music related. I’m a musician. I just can’t go on vacation just for fun. What a crock. 🙂 I have gotten over it this year. Life is too short not to spend part […]
Ahh….dreams. We all have them. And you if you don’t….liar! I think of dreams as the road in front of life. It shows us where to go.
Most people I meet have a passion or a dream they would like to see happen. Music, acting, new business, starting a family. Dreams are exciting and promising and they make you feel good. I started singing and playing music because I love it. I love being involved in music and creating it. For […]
I’ve been writing quite a bit these days. I always write, but most of the time I write because I can’t keep it in and it brings me such joy to do so. Nowadays I’m writing with a goal. My producer and I have been figuring out how to release and when to release originals. It has been almost four years since I’ve released any originals. It doesn’t seem that long, but I can hardly believe it.
This time it’s a […]
I have a vocal teaching studio in Los Angeles with about 10 students. It is incredibly rewarding to teach them and see them grow. I had one student recently who was really struggling with tension. When singing, she would tighten up usually in the face or throat to try to have more control over her voice, then berate herself for being tight. That is an awful cycle. So I wrote her this long email and thought I’d share it with […]
Hello, hello…tough one.
I get this question quite a bit. “Should I get training in music?” Answer…….Yes, yes, yes. Music is a kind of a funny profession when it comes to contemporary music. With classical music, lots of training is what is expected. Most professional musicians in classical have masters and doctorates in their instrument. Pop music and jazz because are a bit different. There are two schools of thought. The old school thought is that if you have training you […]