So here I am. Master of my craft. A phenomenon waiting to happen. I’ve got my web site, my mailing list, my CDs, my brilliant songs, my infectious, energetic stagecraft, my silky, sultry baritone. What happens now?
Well, there are lots of models. My model, at the moment, seems to involve sitting at my computer in my bathrobe, writing this here newsletter, stewing about my apparent unwillingness to make booking calls on anything approaching a regular basis. This, my friends, is not a good model. It’s not a model anyone will notice – well, unless you happen to be a Peeping Tom. It’s comfortable – my bathrobe is very, very comfortable – but that’s the problem. Comfortable just doesn’t cut it, and never has. So today, I want to tell you about some people who don’t do comfortable.
Let’s start with Gayle Picard. Gayle used to run the Stagecoach Inn open mike. She doesn’t do that anymore, because she’s moved on to fry some bigger fish: she’s now booking and running an independent songwriter series at the Bull Run in Shirley. The Bull Run has been booking big-time regional and national acts on the weekend for a very, very long time, and Gayle’s impressed them enough to persuade them to do a Thursday series, with an open mike once a month and independent acts on the other nights. And Gayle being Gayle, she’s pretty much booked the entire upcoming year.
This is not what comfortable looks like. The Bull Run expects the people on these bills to sell tickets, and Gayle is investing a lot of time and credibility in making this concert series a success. It’s risky – lots of people need to sell lots of tickets – and it’s one more thing that takes time away from her own writing, performance, and publicity. But the potential upside is big, in terms of business experience, visibility, and reputation.
Next, we have Dan Cloutier and Kim Jennings, good friends who’ve decided to help each other out with what Dan calls their “big scary goals”. They’re each prolific and talented songwriters, compelling performers, and all-around nice people (sound familiar?), but their road will look like everybody else’s road, unless they shake things up. Their solution? Start a record company! They both have albums coming out, after all. It’s called Birch Beer Records (http://birchbeerrecords.com), and they want to use it to gain valuable business experience and, ultimately, to sign other great local talent that isn’t yet getting the audience it deserves.
Again, this is not what comfortable looks like. Dan and Kim have plenty on their plate already. But they can tell that there’s power in numbers – that teaming up to help each other out will make both of them more successful, and that building on their own already-deep commitment to the local music community can only be good for everyone.
When will I get around to taking the sorts of risks that these folks are taking? Heaven only knows. But I’m grateful to have good musical colleagues who can show me how it’s done.