Vision Board

Dan's not done with me yet, oh no. Technically I have kind of...run my Folk Music Grad School course. I hesitate to say that because my work is never done, but I have studied with Dan for a solid 3 years now. I think my progress has been beyond anything I could have hoped for...some of it planned specifically when we started and some of it being surprises that neither of us could have planned. I am a better singer, I am a better guitar player, I am a more developed writer. I just finished my 2nd EP. My income is entirely derived from the music business, in whatever pieced-together fashion...it works. This is a far cry from the slightly clueless county government administrative assistant who walked into Dan's office three years ago. Like I said, there are always new challenges and Next Steps, for me and for Dan. I am currently working with him on his amazing new business, which I will unveil when I write a more specific blog post about it soon. (Vagueries!) He's working on his music and art, too -- and his mentor assigned him the task of a vision board. Of course he told me to do one, too. (Here's a really good post about vision boards from blogger Christine Kane, who is a songwriter-turned-guru...). It was fun to rip apart magazines looking for stuff that applied to my goals. Now, my caveat is that I have two types of magazines lying around: 1. Somewhere along the line I got subscribed to Forbes and have been receiving them for a year without ever paying them a dime. Thank you, Forbes. 2. I buy guitar magazines sometimes but usually because I want an article in them, so I have a hard time cutting those up. Out of the Forbes I found a lot of ads and article titles that seemed to apply. I'd like to make a decent amount of money...a comfortable amount. I don't need a Lear Jet (though I joke that if I am to pick up Lady Gaga for our duet shows, I might need a Lear Jet)...but I'd like a house and some awesome guitars and the ability to not have to stress about cash. So there are those types of goals. And then there are the cut-outs that pertain to travel, because I do love it and won't stop any time soon. And there is the one about being a web phenom, because...well, I like the word phenom. And some iPads and other gadetry because I am a nerd. The only thing I couldn't find a photo of in Forbes was a Grammy, but it's implied. I recommend a vision board just because...it's good to dream a little and hang it on the wall and be reminded why you are working so hard at 6 AM or 1 PM or 2 AM or whenever you work. Now I gotta find a picture of a Lear Jet....

Achieving Goals That Don't Exist

Last week at Gruene we thought we might have to do one last song, and the appropriate last song is of course called "Shut This Place Down," which I have not yet played with Susan, so I wrote the chords down real quick. Sharpie. I have had flashes of an incredible time during these past couple of months of an incredibly tough situation. Like I posted earlier, no one wants their boss to break an arm (unless you have a jerk boss but hey, that's not my territory), but especially their boss who makes a living by using their arm a lot. The strum is coming back, I can see the progress with physical therapy already. And I for one cannot wait for Susan Gibson to return to full strumming form. But, the lemonade of the situation is I have pushed myself on the guitar front lately way more than I know I would have if this whole thing had not come up. Since guitar is the musical thing I have been doing the longest, since I was a wee 11 year old, I have always felt pretty good about it. But you always compare yourself to others and think you're behind in the pack just by virtue of hesitation and some kind of inhibiting humility (or maybe that's just me). Having to step up and learn 25 or so songs to be professionally performable up to the standards of me, Susan, and my standards for how good I think Susan is...was a toughie. After I started getting the progressions and charts down and then the tempos right, I was scared of the nuances that rhythm players throw in to their songs to make them theirs. Anyone with some skill can play a decent G C D progression, but only Susan can play it with the picking and strum style that is her own, and I have mine, and so does Bob Dylan. It has been an interesting balance of trying to pick up as much of Susan's style as possible, and then knowing when to just allow the tune to be a Susan song played how I would do it. I think I'm walking the line all right. At least, Susan has not thrown her guitar stand at me in disgust. Yet. I also found I like the role of being a sideperson (derivative of the general term, "sideman" haha). It's different when you roll up to a gig and all you have to worry about is your guitar tone, and it's someone else's job to sing, banter, worry about who in the crowd cares and doesn't, etc. It's a different role. Do I like it more than performing my own stuff? No, but it's apples and oranges. Give me both, please. So the goal that didn't exist...the title of this post. I never ever would have ever EVER planned on this situation, or the revelation into my guitar world to happen in such a short time. I think that's when some of our best learning happens, when you have to step up and make things happen to keep a train on its track. So anyway...I don't know how long this gig will last, or what other gigs it will open me up to, but I am probably going to add "Steadiest Right Hand In the West" to my business card, har har. Onward.

Sesame Street Goals

My friend Mary pointed this out to me, and it is awesome: Feist put out a lovely record last year, and "1 2 3 4" was in one of the iPod commercials...but as a kid raised on Sesame Street, there's no cooler remake than something that involves Muppets and counting. I don't know what song I'd re-do. Maybe "paper beats rock and rock beats scissors" could turn into an order of operations math song about "parentheses beats exponents beats multiply and divide beats add and subtract." Hmm, not quite the ring. Oh well.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

The next phase of folk music grad school begins this week. Almost a year ago (next month, actually), I started a curriculum at Red Leaf with Dan to up my musicianship levels. In some respects it seems like 5 years ago and in some it seems like last week. But anyway...there's a Zen saying: "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water." The point is no matter where you are in your development, little things matter. How attentive you are to your tasks each day. What you take from seemingly mundane things that are actually propelling your learning. Being present and appreciating the process. These are the keys to longevity. I feel like I have spent the past year arranging and re-arranging my schedule in the efforts to get it to a place where my wood chopping and water carrying can focus the most on my musical growth. Working at Red Leaf and the flexibility that offers seems to be the ticket. Today at 8 AM (feels luxurious compared to my government job 7:30 start time!) I will meet with Dan and we will begin a course of morning studies including writing, singing, theory, and guitar. Every morning, every day. Not that I haven't been learning and doing all these things a bunch this past year...but it's time to ramp it up. Phase II of Folk Music graduate school really means, as Dan says, that tomorrow we will chop MUCH wood and carry MUCH water.

The Last Time This'll Happen

It's always nice to have goals, and I'm going to go out on limb here and publicly state one. I got my ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) statement in the mail today. You know, the one where it tells you how much cash you've earned off all the times your songs are played everywhere (radio/TV/etc.) As you can see, I'm not exactly rolling in it. I'm rolling in nothing, actually. Which is not a shock as my previous demos are not registered with anything, nor have I tried to get them any sort of airplay. This next year, though...new music. New rules. Watch out, ASCAP. Get your number crunching digits ready.