Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Heart of an Artist


I was chatting with an artist today and we were talking about 'making it' in the music industry and different definitions of 'making it'. Of course the money that can come along with 'making it big' is always nice, everyone can agree that the joy of not having to worry where rent or your next meal will come from is a bit of heaven on earth, but it seems that when we only look for those goals we miss a lot of other important things along the way....

"..... for example, if I am in a small venue like a restaurant, after I finish a gig, I say goodbye to every single person in that restaurant if I can, and I thank them all for coming out, give them hugs whatever, and it's not about doing just to get something, it's about truly appreciating the fact that they are listening to my music and becoming my fans. Too many musicians, they go to gigs thinking, I'm going to network with people who might be able to give me a 'foot in the door', or I'm going to get drunk. I don't go to them for either, I go to meet potential fans, and to do what I love......"

It's grounding to hear things like that, it's good to stop and re-focus and remember why we make music..I believe it ultimately helps us reach our goals.

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