Recently, a facebook acquaintance sent some thought provoking questions, so I decided to use them as the basis for my next blog....
"This is a serious inquiry. I am curious as to what your answers are. There is no wrong answer. And this is a dialog between two professionals, to which the underlying purpose is a discovery phase and discourse of our modern industry.
Are you in it for money, or are you in it to transform lives? Are you making music for you, or are you making music for you fans?"
YES. I don't believe this is an either/or scenario. The fact is, there are a million reasons to make music, and it doesn't matter why you are doing it, as long as you love it. I used to run an open mic. For 3 years I saw everyone from novice to seasoned pro get up and strut their stuff, and the ONE thing I really wanted from any of them, was for them to get up there and mean it. Conviction and sincerity of expression are all it really takes to connect, to move people. To get up on stage and have a cathartic experience is good for everyone. Good for the person on stage and for those in the audience.
First and foremost, I am an artist, and I create because it is what artists do. Just like fish swim because it's what they must do to survive, the same is so for me. The fact is, art transforms lives, whether the artist intends to do so or not. Humans use all forms of art to see themselves, and honest reflections help people grow. There are plenty of artists who are in it for themselves, and/for fame and/or money. But they honestly express that & it still totally inspires, connects and brings joy to many. So maybe it doesn't really matter why we are making art. Maybe if we just humbly serve the muse of creation then we are at least doing what we came here to do and life supports that, money is just one way that shows up.
I have tried making money in many different ways, and I'm good at several of them, but I never last at any of them very long, because my soul is yelling at me louder and louder to do what I came here to do. To share my unique gifts and create. The truth is, music is one of the only things I am really good at. So if I want to make good money in life, it's probably my only hope. Because there is no other pursuit of happiness that I can enjoy this much. The fact is, you have to struggle no matter what. I am picking the struggle I actually enjoy and believe in. I know for a fact that banking or real estate or being a lawyer or doctor would make me miserable. It's not what I am called to do. I have been called to make music since I was a child. To help people feel love and compassion for each other, to connect, to feel empathy and a connection to the whole... if I was independently wealthy I wouldn't care about getting paid for music, I would just make it. Because I have to, not for money, and not necessarily to transform lives. Just because I am an artist and it's what I do. If sharing my human experience actually does help transform someone's life then that is wonderful. If I can actually help myself and others connect with each other and feel less alone and more like being good to one another, then that is the icing on the cake.
I write for the muse, the voice in my head that likes to create. Many influences go into that... music that inspires me, conversations with friends and fans... I write for me first but then I try to take that expression and translate it into something that can be understood by others. Any author should consider their audience, even if they don't know who it is at first. Art is not for me or the fans... art exists for it's own sake, an expression that demands to exist. A movement of spirit that calls the heart to sing. To open up the mind and body for something greater than our own individual experience. To commune with spirit. I don't make music for me, I make me, for music. I exist to make music, art, etc... to create in some form. It's literally what I came here to do and when I have tried to hide from that for long I stopped functioning. If I get too far from it, my soul starts to die inside.
"Describe your outlook and plan for me if you could, please.... curious as to what your 5 year career goals are."
I am nervous about answering this question publicly... at this point I have lived long enough to know that most 5 year plans don't go as planned. But taking all I've learned into account, and hoping against hope, I will do some intention setting here, and pray that the universe supports it.
The most important step is having a real product worth promoting. Realistically, I hope and pray my solo album can be completed by the end of the year and released by January 2018. At that point I plan to promote the hell out of it, get radio play, reviews and ideally many more gig$. Once I have some revenue from that I would like to expand my merch to include more than t-shirts, add lighters, hats, mugs, etc. Ideally I'll have all the product and savings needed for a solo summer tour up the west coast in 2018. Possibly taking it further depending on how the first leg goes.
In April of 2018 Ghost Cat Attack will have finished our first EP (hopefully sooner). I would like to work on promoting that product to news outlets, and play around AZ for a few months to promote it. I plan to use the income from that EP to fund a full length album to be recorded in the fall 2018 when I return from solo summer tour and released by early 2019 and supported by a spring AZ tour and then national summer tour 2019 with the full band.
By end of 2019 I would like to regroup and I'm hoping to focus on recording new material either full band or solo depending on how that tour goes. I would also like to plan a worldwide tour by 2020.
By 2021 I would like to see my music earning enough in merch sales, licensing and live shows that I can live on it solely, and comfortably. To be able to put all my energy into my career knowing that it will support me and that I can get up every day and work on my art. To create space for the spark of creativity that helps to soothe, heal and inspire, myself and others. I want to live comfortably with all of my bills paid and the time and space to have a family, and still create without my whole life being sucked away by a day job. At this point I can regroup/record and book another tour.
So by 2022 I would like to have recorded at least 1 or 2 solo full length albums, & 1 or 2 full length albums with GCA, gone on a few tours traveling the world a couple of times and decided on where to live more permanently. I want to have these albums supporting my existence with licensing deals, and more. I want the freedom to sit at home and write more music, have kids, or teach yoga or learn to paint. I want a beautiful home that is bought and paid for by the sales of my cd's. I want to be able to start booking tours that are for various charities and not my own financial glory. Tours that still pay the musicians very well and sends everyone home feeling taken care of and nourished, whether audience or crew. I want to go around the world holding space for people to connect with something greater than them. Music.
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