A number of you have already purchased my latest CD “Thirds” (thank you). Although it’s not a planned album per se, it is a full-length recording (9 songs, 48 minutes, although a chunk of that is extraneous but charming stage patter), and it’s got shrinkwrap and a UPC code and everything, thanks to our friends at Kunaki (props to Chip Quinn for the recommendation). I could sell it on CD Baby if I wanted. But no, there will be no CD release party, and yes, I’m going to tell you why.
Let’s face it. I already have enough trouble getting people to come to my shows. I’m tired of strong-arming my friends and musical colleagues. It’s hard enough pulling my weight as an open mike feature at those open mikes with struggling attendance. The gigs I need right now are the ones where people who have never heard me will hear me – gigs at venues with built-in audiences; opening slots for established musicians; open mike features in cities I don’t usually play. The last thing I need is another situation where I need to draw.
Ironically, the circumstances in which “Thirds” was recorded was a perfect example of this problem. That evening was Mark Stepakoff’s CD release party at Club Passim. I had asked the folks at Passim once or twice for a late-week opening slot, and they came back with an offer to split the bill with Mark. I initially begged off; I told them that I was out of town until very soon before the gig, and my draw was poor anyway, and I frankly didn’t think I could pull my weight. The booker told me not to worry about it, which I interpreted as “I really want to book this slot and get it off my plate because I have more important things to worry about”, so, not wanting to get on his nerves any further, I took the gig. In the end, I was right: I didn’t pull my weight. But Mark filled the room.
So what good did that do me? Well, a lot – a good number of people heard me who’d never heard me, and I got a pretty damn good album out of it. I may or may not have gotten a couple names on the mailing list (probably not; like I said, you’re a rarified bunch). But more significantly, what good did it do Mark? Well, it all depends on his native draw, now, doesn’t it? If he draws well regularly, it’s a great thing for him: the folks at Passim get more evidence that he draws well, and he gets an “event” billing, and he gets the justifiable reward for an album well done. But what if he doesn’t draw well on a regular basis? What if his draw is like mine? Well, now, he’s worked his butt off to fill a room he really can’t fill – he’s twisted arms, pulled in people who will never see him again, and created an expectation of his draw that he can’t satisfy. I don’t see the value in this.
A CD release party is sort of like when people announce their candidacy for president – it’s not like they’re not running the day before they announce, and they spend weeks announcing that they’re going to announce, and the result is Kabuki theatre. From that point of view, the whole exercise is a little silly in the first place, but the angle works for some folks. For me, however, a CD release party would be an exercise in vanity – a distraction from the real, hard work of finding those gigs that will make a difference, however small, in this odd little musical career of mine.