Having a good time trying to have a good time. This is Clark Griswold.
But not so good at reading the room.
And I’m not sure Clark would know what to do if he was having a good time as opposed to trying to have a good time.
Do we really want the thing we say we want…or do we cherish even more the tension of not having it?
In most songs the ad-libs and chord substitutions come during the last chorus…because they’re built on the foundation of the audience knowing the regular chorus, which by the last chorus, we’ve heard two or three times.
But Christmas songs are different…because most Christmas songs are covers of beloved classics.
The ‘way the song goes’ is already embedded deep in our brains.
So the ad-libs and chord substitutions can start right from the beginning and we love it. We can appreciate the changes because we know what they’ve been changed from.
When making your next thing…it’s important to recognize to what degree the standard is set and what you’re going to do with it.
Years ago I was playing a show somewhere in Florida.
After our set this guy comes up to talk to us. He’s nice enough. But he’s acting like a big shot biz guy and he wants to work with us. He keeps telling us he’s from LA and does a lot of business in LA and he knows everyone in LA, and then says LA a hundred more times.
Turns out he was from Louisiana.
It’s ok to have the confidence to ride the edge of your own hype…as long as we don’t feel tricked when we find out more.
When we find an artist we like, we quickly develop a degree of loyalty and laziness and bias that says, “It’s easier and less risky for me to listen to the next song of this same artist than it would to go find something new”.
When we find something we like we want more of it and we assume that this artist is the best shot we have at getting it.
So hook us in with a great song or two and keep us hanging around by being consistent.
The kids’ Christmas program is a hot ticket…to the families of the kids in the program. The families will do anything to be there and get a seat closer to the front so their video will be better.
But a couple things…
Outside of the families, there isn’t much of a market.
Outside of it being a Christmas program, the families aren’t really interested in this music group.
It’s a very specific, tight window event with sky high demand. It burns hot and then it’s over.
The good thing is that no one is confused about any of this. The kids aren’t trying to sell more tickets in order to bump up to a bigger venue and the families aren’t trying to work out a partnership agreement with all the kids to take the act on the road.
The supply and demand arcs are clear and concise.
Are yours?