Those Who Don't Know Their History...

There's a saying that I know we all have heard before. It states that, "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it". I think that's something that we can all agree on...it's a very logical statement.

Now, here's something that may not seem so logical. There are people who believe in a "universal collective consciousness" that helps to guide our actions in a way that is perhaps more subliminal than obvious. Take from that what you will.

So what am I getting at? Damned if I know! But, I have been experiencing something very interesting in the past few weeks, and that is this reoccurring theme of "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it". It's been everywhere...TV shows, people's actions, books I've read, the news, you name it! But, where I really took notice and felt a strong reaction to it was during a program on PBS that I was watching about Marvin Gaye. And, here's the weird thing. I have absolutely no recollection of what was said in that program, and yet I felt a VERY strong connection to whatever it was that was said. Someone go figure that one out!

And then, just yesterday, I was listening to a podcast that I had downloaded a couple of weeks ago but hadn't had a chance to listen to. And then something was said that hit me real hard again. Without going into details about the subject matter or what have you, it was basically said that all of these young people, or "new guard", were entering into a scene and working harder than they needed to, because they were taking the same routes that had already been travelled in the past by their predecessors, which had already been proven to be unsuccessful. But, because they hadn't done the research needed to know their history, their concern for the "here and now" was causing them to make the same old mistakes.

That's when I had an epiphany of sorts.

Have I done enough research concerning musicians (jazz musicians in particular) to keep from making some of the same mistakes that have doomed them to either fail, or not ultimately reach a sustainable level in their career? In other words, are there any mistakes that I'm repeating because I have over looked them from just being too focused on the present and future? And, let me get a little weird here, is the "universal collective consciousness" trying to tell me something?

Well, my mother always did teach me to listen to my "inner voice", so I have decided to take a real close look at my overall career strategy to see what flaws there may be, what evidence I'm not taking a close enough look at, and whether or not I'm not heeding any reoccurring themes regarding tactics that just aren't working or showing results. I'm also going to take a look at some artists that I may have personally known, or read about, to see if there are any similarities between what they did to cause them to fail and what I'm currently doing in my overall strategy.

Once I've taken adequate time to look over and absorb the information that I come across, I'll try to remember to post my findings in a sort of "Part II" to this post.

Time for New Wheels?

When I was younger, I HATED big cars. I thought they were clunky, awkward, and just plain ugly. When SUVs came onto the market, I didn't like them too much either. But, at least they seemed more "logical" to me.

These days, I find myself actually wanting either a big car, SUV, or...gasp...a van! The simple fact of the matter is that my wife and I need the room. Even though we only have one kid, it just amazes me how much stuff we end up bringing with us on an outing. Then there's what I do for a living and the equipment I have to haul around.

It's funny, because I'm a saxophonist. In theory, all I should ever really need to bring to a gig is my sax, sax stand, a mic, and a mic stand. And, it's even arguable if I need to bring the mic and mic stand. But, the problem is that I'm also a band leader and that changes the game all together!

So anyway, there is a third factor that figures into my wanting to get a bigger vehicle for the family and for my gigging purposes. I just can't move and fit into small cars the way I used to. My knees have been giving me problems since around my late twenties. And, now it's getting more and more difficult for me to have to get down into a small car and stuff my 6'3" frame into cars that are really designed for people up to 6'. Trust me, those 3 extra inches REALLY make a difference!

I guess when Renee and I can finally hack our way through this financial jungle-like entanglement that we're in, our first order of business will be to get a hold of some wheels that will fit our needs better. It will be nice to actually be able to see out of my back window when I have to bring extra gear to a gig. Not to mention, it sure will be a good thing when we won't have to worry about what to sacrifice bringing during a family outing. But, the nicest thing for me will be the ability to drive for more than 20 minutes without my knees feeling like someone is hitting them with a hammer!

Future Plans

We are in October, and though it may seem like 2010 is still a few months away, experience has taught me that a few months can seem like a few days when you've been very busy. Fortunately, I can say that I've been very busy...so I guess that means that New Years Eve must be next week!

Anyway, I've already begun planning for 2010. Even this early on, it looks to be THE busiest year for me yet! That's saying a lot after the year I've had in 2009. I already have more gigs booked in the first quarter of next year than I actually performed during the first 4 1/2 months of this year. And, that's without having received any sideman gigs yet or a gig or two that I have been fortunate to have in the past couple of years that I can usually count on having.

Then there's the tour I'm planning for myself!

I'm in the middle of booking out a "lecture" tour for myself, where I'll be giving my presentation entitled "What's All That Jazz About?", which is the program that I have enjoyed a lot of success with in the library systems of the NY, NJ, and CT tri-state region. But now, after 6 years or so of circulating withing the same library systems, I've all but run out of libraries to give the presentation to. In fact, I've had up to 5 repeat appearances at a number of libraries over the past 6 years!

People tell me that I should do it in the schools, and I agree. But the thing is that with the amount of time it takes to just book the libraries, it's a more than daunting task to add schools to that. One thing is for certain. If I do want to have longevity with my career, I will eventually have to start courting a younger fan base. The truth of the matter is that I'm at least a generation younger than the overwhelming majority of my fans. And, in some cases, I'm 2 generations behind! This basically means, without trying to sound grim, that I will likely out live most of my fans unless I start getting some young people interested in what I do. I'll probably start that phase in 2011.

Went on a tangent there!

Getting back to the tour, I'll be on the road for 2 weeks and plan to hit stops from NJ down to Jacksonville, Florida. I've already got something like 7 bookings, and would like to add another 10 or more before the end of this month. The magic number is 16 to make this all worth while. But 18 or even 20 would be the icing, AND the cherry, AND the ice cream on the cake!

On another front, I've been giving a lot of thought towards releasing my second CD sometime next year...most likely in the Fall. I just need some spare time so I can get back to writing some new tunes! Time is a resource that I seem to have even less of than money, and money is REAL TIGHT these days! But, it has been 3 years at this point since my debut release and I'm starting to get questions from people about my next one...which is a good thing! It shows me that there is interest and a point for me to record another one.

Then there is my desire to do another big concert event on Long Island. It's been 2 years since my last one. I was suppose to have a September, 2008 appearance at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, but the show had to be cancelled when my two corporate sponsors backed out. This ended up being a warning sign of sorts, because just 3 weeks later there was the big announcement all over the news about the "sudden" and drastic drop in our economy. I quoted the word "sudden" because the warnings signs had apparently been there for years, but many decided to ignore them.

In short, 2010 looks to be an incredibly busy year for me, and potentially my career best to date. Hopefully, all of the hard work I've been putting in these past couple of years will finally start rewarding my pockets a little more. With a family to support, I need all of my efforts to bare fruit and not be empty trips from the orchard. Fortunately for me, I've had a pretty clear game plan from the start and I haven't had many empty trips at all. I guess that's why I've lasted this long and have been seeing an increase in demand for me and what I have to offer, rather than a decrease.

Keeping Busy

I have to start this post by saying that I am definitely blessed! And yes, I don't mean fortunate, I mean blessed...blessed that I'm such a hard worker at what I do that I have miraculously managed to stay incredibly busy, even with this downturn of the economy. That's not to say my wife and I are on easy street, but we certainly could be much worse off than we are.

One thing that I haven't shared too much on this blog is the fact that my wife was laid off of her job back in January of this year. When that happened, we lost about 47% of our household income literally overnight! As it were, we already were living with pretty tight belts, but her lay-off hurt.

One reason it was such a terrible hit for us was because we were still trying to recover from her last layoff, which had taken place about 16 months prior. That one stretched our resources and this one pretty much killed everything else off.

Another reason that it really hit us hard was because both layoffs were completely unexpected...no warning what so ever! I have to jump in by saying that maybe there are a few things, being self employed, that I don't have readily available to me, but I have NEVER been laid off or fired. And, I ALWAYS know the state of my business and can foresee months down the road if I may encounter a problem that I may have to find a way around or prepare for.

So, anyway, the third reason that this particular layoff has been more challenging is because now we have an extra mouth to feed! By the way, that is actually part of the "blessed" feeling I have!

But getting back to the first thing I wrote in the blog posting, which was feeling blessed that I'm such a hard worker at what I do, I know of so many other musicians who aren't working anywhere near as much as I am. I have really managed to put my bookings into afterburner this year, and next year is already looking to be even more busy.

I have really worked hard at getting my name out there, marketing myself, cultivating new relationships, and so on. Yes, I have new bags under my eyes, but the pay off has been a busier performance schedule than I have ever had at any point of my 10 or 12 years as a full time musician. In fact I can actually remember a time when I used to wish I was this active. Back then, I can remember having the number of gigs in a span of 4 months that I now have in just 1 month's time.

What that means is, though I have not entirely made up the 47% of income that our household lost when my wife got laid off, we have managed to stay in this house for a longer span of time than either some of my friends or even some members of my family had thought we'd be able to achieve.

So why am I making my wife's and my financial woes so public? Well, it boils down to one simple thing. INSPIRATION!

I'm aware of other musicians and artists who read my blog and follow me online in other formats. I've been made aware; via emails, chatroom comments, Facebook messages, and so on, that I'm looked up to by some others in the arts community because I am one of the few full time artists that can say that they are a homeowner and lives some semblance of a "normal" life, (wife, kid, etc.). I have been told by some artist friends that if I can't pull out of this, they don't know what hope that they have for their own futures because I work so hard.

Well, that is exactly my point. I work so hard because I know that there is hope as long as I work so hard. I'm not, and never have been, one who waits for that hope to arrive. My motto has ALWAYS, from day 1, been "if you can't FIND a gig, then MAKE a gig"!

So, I say to my fellow artists who may read this blog, that if I can last for 9 months plugging up holes in a ship that's far from shore, with two other people depending on me and all of the responsibilities that come with trying to support a family by just my income as a full time musician, then YOU should be able to do likewise or even better if you are a musician or artist that doesn't have anybody depending on you, or any home ownership responsibilities.

These times are the ones that will let us know if we REALLY want to try and make a living at what we do. These are the times that will show if we REALLY have what it takes to make it in such a competitive and saturated field.

Don't give up and don't lay down....just work hard and KEEP BUSY!!!!!