Artists and Musicians

Artists trade on point of view and magnetism

Musicians trade on skill and hang

Artists sign the checks

Musicians want the checks to be on time and to clear

Artists are building a gig

Musicians are playing a gig

Artists are the leader of the vibe

Musicians are keyed into the vibe

Artists have to do the meet and greet

Musicians can go hang on the bus

Artists are locked into the gig

Musicians have an eye out for a better one

Artists go through a season of over identifying with the gig

Musicians do too

Artists are laying it on the line

Musicians are helping them lay it on the line

Artists have a goal of emotional connection with the audience

Musicians have a goal of keeping the gig

Artists, at a certain level, are making money while they sleep

Musicians make money when they’re playing

An artists’s fear is that they are not enough without the admiration of the audience

A musician’s fear is that they are only as valuable as the size and status of the gig

Artists and musicians are so much the same and yet carry equal but different weight.

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Permission To Tell Others

That’s what a great song gives your audience.

Not every song is gonna be a smash. But that one, that one that has the extra magic in it…that unlocks their freedom to not feel silly about waving your flag.

That song is the new first impression, the handshake, the lens which all subsequent songs will pass through.

We’re on your side. We want to tell everyone about you. We need that one song.

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Explaining Difficulty

I’m not sure it does much good explaining to the audience how hard something was to make.

The difficulty was real but you made it look easy…we get to think you’re a superhero…or at least an expert.

Ultimately the work has to do the talking…there are plenty of things that are hard that don’t result in great work. It’s all hard. It’s not all great. The uniqueness of your project comes from what it is, not what it took to make it.

This doesn’t mean the difficult journey isn’t important. It’s vital. And if the work is rich and meaningful and hard and transforming…it’ll show up in the end result and will have made it better and more connective.

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Our Losing Team

Why do we keep cheering for our losing team?

The answer, of course, is in the question…Our.

You can change your team at any time. Cheer for the winner, it’ll be fun. Cheer for the champion. Buy the jersey. Ride the bandwagon.

But you’ll have to give up the connection and richness of Our.

»» Life long Minnesota Vikings fan here

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Risking The Outcome

If you include others, you’re not going to get exactly what you wanted.

They’re not on the same page as you.

They have different training.

They have different stories going on in their heads.

They’re connected to it more than you, or less than you.

So you’re not going to get what you were hoping for when you dreamed it up. It might be better. It might be more fulfilling. You might have to guide and teach. You might have to let some things go. But you’ll be WITH. And that just might be worth risking the outcome.

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Keep Playing

Writing

Recording

Rehearsing

Soundchecking

Performing

It’s all playing but with different stakes, risks, energy, exhaustion, and rewards.

If you’ve spent a while playing in one, go play in another.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple