We’re on a mission from God
I received a message on mypace from a guy who identified himself as a Snowdogs fan. For those of you who don’t know, Snowdogs was the band I was in, many seasons ago. In his message he said that our first album is a much better punk rock record than most current bands’ records. Honestly, I can’t agree, but who am I to stand in the way of a compliment? Our true fan, quite possibly our one and only fan, finished by saying that we should definitely consider putting the band back together.
That was Thursday night.
On Friday morning I had arranged to go see the rehearsals of a band we are due to produce shortly. I was pleased to find out that they were at Scream Studios in Croydon, a place where Snowdogs used to rehearse. A trip back memory lane. On arriving at Scream I got ushered to the same damn room where we used to jam. Now the memories were flooding back. The long improvised jams that went on and on. We would always play the set once and then just… play. Some of the jams lead to songs. Most didn’t. They just were.
Halfway through the rehearsal - we’re back in the present now - my phone rings. I cannot believe my eyes. Caller display says Gaetano. He was the original drummer. I take the call and tell him where I am. Laughter on both sides. Gaetano quit the band in 2000. I didn’t see him for eight years after that. Not until last autumn when we reconnected, went out for a pint. And then nothing until last Friday morning. Now dig this, he is calling me because he’d had a dream the night before that he was doing something musical with Mat and me again! Like we were putting the band back together.
Is the Great Spirit trying to say something…?
Dunno. But we did agree to hook up at our studio for a jam! How cool is that?
Summer squash
My team, the mighty Blackheath Squash Rackets Club, travelled deep into Kent, to Biggin Hill, for the week’s away fixture. They’re really good down there. They even have some nationally ranked players, whereas we, at Blackheath, just play squash rather than well. What we lack in technique we make up for in interesting drinking stories.
Summer squash is extra demanding because as the weather gets hot, so does the ball. And when it’s extra hot, as it was last week, the ball gets really bouncy and never dies. The rallies go on forever. Now, I’m a reasonably fit guy but I was up against some 25 year old who’d been playing squash for 14 years. As in, a proper player. He even looked like an athlete. I just pretend to look like one. That’s why I wear the bandana, right?
Fucking hell, with both of us refusing to roll over we were absolutely shattered by the end. That I lost didn’t even bother me. It was probably the best mach I’ve ever played.
Entrenepreurialism in music
Most budding musicians want to make music for a living because in addition to feeling the kick they get from playing music, of course, they don’t want a job, a boss, 9to5 conformity. People mostly accept the flipside of having no regular salary, no security, no guarantees.
Most agree that they will have to be incredibly good as well as lucky to beat the odds to make it in a business that, no matter how you look at it, seems inpenetrable.
So, it’s pretty incredible in this day and age to still find people who, knowing and accepting the above, decide that their solution is to rely on someone else to do something. It’s not as if there’s a complete lack of information about the workings of the business, about how old models are dead and everything’s different and blah blah blah. At which point did they manage to look away from the million and one articles about how hard you have to work to make it.
“All I wanna do is make music, man.”
Good for you.
Sometimes you bump into people who are the complete opposite. People who bust ass. Think about what they’re doing. Think about what they need to do to progress. Nothing gets in their way. No risk is too daunting. No effort too big.
That kind of entrepreneurial attitude is so cool to see. Ask yourself right now: what did I do for my music career today? How many hours of practice did I put in? How many phone calls, how many emails, how many people did I approach to tell them about my band? What did I do today to make my band stand out from the crowd? How am I different?
Part of that entrepreneurial spirit is recognising when you’ve got the shit or just plain shit. If it’s just shit, there is no point in marketing it. If in doubt, here’s an easy way to gauge things: if people are coming to your gigs in increasing numbers, you’ve got the shit, because people want to see it and they are telling their friends about it. The more they tell their friends, the shitter your shit is.
If that’s not happening, you’re doing something wrong. Stop. Think. Make changes.
Or, if you’re sending out millions of your demos and NOBODY is reacting to them. Stop. Think. It’s not a conspiracy of some sorts that prevents your music being heard. It most probably is being listened to. Only, it’s not being responded to. Stop. Think. Make changes.
There exists such a thing as quality. It certainly is difficult to define. But it exists. As musical entrepreneurs, that’s what we at the ‘Farm strive towards. That’s why we go the extra mile doing what we do. It’s not a hobby for us. Definitely not a 9to5 job.
The trick is to understand that “All I wanna do is make music, man” as a lifestyle option is the REWARD for all the work you put in. Dig?