Whaling Museum

Whales are such incredible creatures!  Aside from the enormous size of some species, the fact that they live in an environment so different than ours as humans, and that one species (the Sperm Whale) is thought to be capable of diving nearly 2 miles down into the ocean depths, had led me towards the path of Marine Biology in college.  However, I switched my major during the second semester of my sophomore year. 

Lately, I find that the interest I had in whales earlier in my life has been returning.  Though it's too late for me to study Marine Biology and then specialize in Cetology, I would like to still take some small part in the public education of these amazing animals.

In a town called Cold Spring Harbor, on Long Island, that's about an hour away from where I live, there is a whaling museum that has been there forever.  I remember my mother taking me there as a young boy, because she was trying to foster the early interest I had in whales.  I was made an honorary tour guide that day by the staff, because I was reciting as many facts as the adult guides themselves.

In any case, I have decided that in Summer of 2013, I would like to volunteer some time at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and see if I can't help bring some interesting information to adult visitors, and the excitement of discovery to some kids.

Hopefully, my schedule will definitely allow for me to volunteer.  And, if everything works out, maybe I'll see you down there for a visit!

5 Survival Tips for Disasters

In the wake of Super Storm Sandy, which swept through the east coast of the United States, I wanted to share 5 survival tips. They are simple, common sense points that I hope may help people stay safe and make it through any future disasters.  The 5 survival tips are mentioned in the video above.

Free Entertainment in a Bad Economy

Wall Street may be saying that the economy is turning around, but something tells me that Main Street may disagree with that assessment to some degree.

I make the previous statement not as an opening to some kind of political rant.  Rather, I'd like to use that as a point where most of us can agree that we can't afford to go out for entertainment the way we could have a few years ago.  Lets face it, going to the movies cost an arm, a nice dinner out costs a leg, attending most concerts cost your first born child, and if you have a family to consider taking out, you might as well prepare the papers for a second mortgage on your house.

What is there to do if you want a little much needed entertainment?

There are a few free options that sometimes people over look, and I'd like to share what some of them are.  Lets go straight to option number one, which happens to be a favorite of mine.  Why?  Because I actually get a good amount of my work from them in recent years...libraries!

Libraries are great venues for family or even adult entertainment.  And, 99% of the time they are absolutely free to attend!  For kids and families there are things like puppet shows, concerts for kids, magic shows, and so on.  For adults, there are performances by musicians in genres like jazz, classical, world beat, folk, bluegrass, blues, and more.  If music isn't your thing (and if not, shame on you!), and you are more into stretching your intellect, there are educational lectures about topics ranging from the rise of Rome, to trying to get those alien life forms known as "teenagers" to listen.  Then there are all of the instructional classes that are often offered for those who may need a little help with learning how to use their computer...you get the picture I think!

Here's another great venue for entertainment...your local public park.  Many towns and counties have departments of recreation and/or councils for the arts.  With either organization, it is common for them to put together events that will take place in parks, that are adequately equipped,  whether it be a beach, an arboretum, or what have you.  These events can run the gamut of programs such as concerts, operas, arts and crafts festivals, or even a small traveling circus.  And, once again, these events are often free to attend...paid for by government grants or obscure things like your local travel and tourism tax.

I'll throw one more place at you to check out.  This is a little unconventional, but sometimes we need to think outside of the box.  How about checking out the concerts or play productions of your local elementary school, middle school, or high school?  

Before you laugh me off of my own blog, think about it!  When it comes to the younger kids, it's often fun and even adorable to watch them perform.  They may not sound like the Boston Symphony, or have a play worthy of Broadway, but you would be surprised at how entertaining they can be!  On the other end of the age spectrum, when you consider that there are a number of high schools across our country with noted music and arts programs, the quality of the shows can be quite impressive.  My two old high schools on Long Island, Walt Whitman and John H Glenn, are excellent examples!

What are your thoughts on the examples I have supplied, and do you have any of your own to share?

by Shenole Latimer

Uh-oh, Your Kid Wants to be a Musician!

The words of dread for almost any parents..."mom, dad, I want to go to college to become a professional musician."

Perhaps even worse..."mom, dad, I'm skipping college because I want to go on tour and try and get signed by a record label."

I don't think I need to utilize too much of my imagination to figure out what the response would be to those statements.  And rightly so!

However...

Before a young person of college age, or their parents, go off of the deep end, I think its important that both parties truly understand what it is to actually be a professional musician.  A lot of misconceptions exist for either argument of "for" or "against".

I have been a full-time professional musician for 15 years now.  I can say that it is indeed possible to make a living as such.  Though I must also say that the obstacles are many, the work is hard, and the notion of being an "artist" absolutely must go out of the window.  The level of dedication and discipline needed also far exceeds any conventional career that I can think of off hand.

There is a checklist of items that I like to make both the young people interested in a career in today's entertainment industry and their parents aware of.  And, if a single one of the points about to be mentioned can't be followed or agreed to, then I personally say don't even bother becoming a professional musician, or a performer of any type for that matter.  The points are as follows:

1. Major in business, minor in music.  A solid foundation in business is crucial because you are instantly self employed as an artist. Also, some background in marketing concepts will prove extremely valuable.
   
   
2. Practice your instrument like a maniac from the time you enter Junior High or High School through your first couple of years in college.  Why?  Because the need to network, establish yourself in the scene, and the time required to research venues and book gigs will eat up almost ALL of your free time.  That's not even considering if you one day get married, buy a home, have kids, etc.  I can promise you that, once those things happen, there will be NO time to do any meaningful practicing.
   
   
3. Even though genres like pop, rock, r&b, etc. require that you are relatively young, and genres like classical, jazz, and folk allow for the performer to be older and still be looked upon as "viable", as a rule of thumb I would say that, if you haven't established yourself in your chosen genre by your late twenties, then cut your losses and pursue another career while you are still young enough to do so.  This is because the older you get the more difficult it becomes to set aside the time needed to do all of the things needed to pursue a musical career.  Life becomes more complicated as you get older, not less (a slight nod to condition number two).
   
   
4. Build a volunteer team (family, friends, or dedicated fans) around you that can help with the many tasks that must be done.  You will quickly find it nearly impossible to micro-manage EVERYTHING that you must take care of.  Here are a few things:  Research venues or performance leads, build network of musicians to play with or form a band, try to book gigs, come up with promotional material and marketing campaign game plan, come up with and modify career game plan, maintain website, maintain facebook page or other social networks you belong to, come up with repertoire or compose original music to perform, plan and put together your stage show, figure out your finances/investments both short and long term….I think you may get the picture (notice I didn't even mention practice your instrument yet!)
   
   
5. Be willing to put aside having much of a social life in order to get all of the other things done that you need to.
   
   
6. ALWAYS treat what you do as a business...period!  If you don't think of yourself as being a business where you are the president, the worker, AND the product, then don't bother with this because you will join the ranks of "starving artists", who do it for the "love of it".  I'm sorry, but I have yet to see the simple "love of it" pay my cell phone bill...just being honest.

After doing all of that, is success guaranteed?  It depends on what YOUR definition of success is.  If you are looking to make a respectable, sustainable living, then I would say that would be very possible to achieve.  If you are looking to be the next superstar, own a few homes, have a few million dollars in your bank account, then no.

I don't care to be a dream buster, but this is the reality of the situation in today's entertainment industry.  

I personally have had a measure of success.  I would say my peak was somewhere around late 2009.  By then, my income matched or exceeding that of many of my non musician friends.  Then, after about 11 years of a steady increase in my annual income, things went south...and rather quickly. 

This is partially because of the economic down turn that took place in 2008, but also because of factors like the birth of my daughter, which was also in 2008.  At the time, I had to stay home and take care of her because my wife was a "9 to 5ver".  I couldn't take care of my daughter during the day AND do the things I needed to (I hadn't built a team that could help with the work load...a reference to condition number 4).  Since many of my performances are booked 6 - 12 months ahead of time, the effects of staying away from the telephones to book gigs didn't really hit until around the third quarter of 2009.

Also, I began to find it more difficult to find students that could afford my rates.  I went from a roster of about 30 private students up until about 2007, down to about 6 students by 2010.  This was another example of how the economy negatively affected what I do.

Between my inability to make calls to book gigs while taking care of my daughter during the day, and the economic downturn that resulted in less live performance opportunities and students, it was only a matter of time for my income earning ability to falter. If I didn't have to solely rely on myself to take care of every aspect of my business, I may have been able to absorb and adapt to my changing external conditions in a much more efficient manner.

Again, only one of the conditions numbered above were not met and it ended in financial ruin.

This has been a longer post than I originally intended, but I hope what I have shared proves of some value to someone out there.

By Shenole Latimer

Maintaining Weight Loss...1 Year Later

Up until October of 2010 I looked like the image on the left.  I weighed in at 285 lbs during the period that I was at my heaviest.  I then began a gradual modification of my diet, eventually added some exercise, and by October of 2011 I looked like the image on the right, which is me at 205 lbs.

The thing is, the image on the right isn't from 2011, it is from 2012.  In other words, I have beat the odds!

It's widely known that people who lose a great deal of weight often put it, or much more, back on.  I have managed to maintain my weight loss and the secret is encompassed within the first paragraph of this post.  Notice I used the words "gradual modification" and "eventually added".

The simple fact of the matter is, losing weight and keeping it off does indeed require a change in lifestyle.  And, lifestyles can't be changed abruptly and be expected to not revert back to what was previously established.  Changes that are made slowly and over time are far more likely to stay.

With that said, if you are looking to lose weight and maintain that loss, I offer you the blog post I wrote that details what I did to lose my weight.  And, heed my words..."gradually" and "eventually"!

The Challenge of Facing a Career Change

More people than ever are changing their careers.  Though the primary reason may be because of the state of the world economy in the past few years, other reasons could be simply feeling unhappy with one's current career and desiring a change of scenery, or it could even be health related.

In my case, it is the latter that has changed the game for me.

As a musician, my hands mean everything towards what I do and how I earn a living.  But now, I'm faced with having developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both my left and my right hands.

I think for some people, changing their career can be a very difficult challenge.  For me this has not been the situation.  I first began having problems with my hands (it was my left hand first) back in 2008.  With those initial problems I encountered, something snapped instantly in my mind.  I realized that my days as a performer may be numbered, and so I set forth with trying to make peace with this realization.

I was a bit depressed at first.  After all, in my 39 years on this planet, I have been playing instruments since I was about 3 years old, playing the saxophone since I was 8 or 9 years old, performing live music in public since I was 16, and making a living as a full time musician since I was 24.

Sometime around 2009 I realized that, though music has been virtually all I've known my entire life, I have many interests outside of music.  Furthermore, I also realized that there were far more angles to music than just the performance end of it.

With all of that said, I have decided that, if my performance career must end, a pursuit in web design and application programming will be the next interest I follow, but with a concentration on...well...the music industry.  As has been said by many successful entrepreneurs, "to make money in business, stick with what you know."

I am currently working on a joint project, of my conception, with my oldest brother, my father, and a family friend with a very strong background in both business and engineering.  Much has been accomplished, but there is still much left to do.  My hope is that we may have this project up and running by the time my hands and my tired body scream out "I've had enough", with regards to performing live music.  Publicly, I have hinted at a retirement date of sometime around late Fall of 2013.

In sum, I would say that a career change doesn't have to be a course filled with dread.  It may be an opportunity for you to look upon yourself and say, "this is me 2.0!"

How Much is Left?

They say that boxers have about 100 fights in them before they hit a wall and their bodies basically shut down from being able to take the abuse that comes with the sport,  marathoners have but so many miles that they can run, and so on.

How many performances does a full time musician have in them...particularly the ones with no management or outside help?

I have been thinking, lately to myself, that there seems to be so much happening to my body in the past 6 months or so, which all seems to have something to do with the constant pushing that I've been doing over the past nearly 15 years, that perhaps I may be starting to reach the borders of my own limits. 

First, there is the CONSTANT tiredness I have been feeling for the past 5 or 6 years.  Then, there are the several times I have almost passed out during performances.  Also, there is the hearing loss I have experienced, as well as what seems to be a slight loss in short term memory.  The latter I blame on sleep deprivation (up until recently, I basically averaged 3 to 5 hours of sleep a night for nearly a decade). 

The newest item to add to this list is my development of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both my right and my left hands, which has been diagnosed as being a side product of the countless hours spent on my computer researching venues, typing emails, designing my website, updating all of my social media, designing all of my graphics and promotional materials, typing press releases, and the list goes on!

When I look at some of the greats of the past, such as Miles Davis, they have all either taken a short break of some kind, an extended hiatus, or have retired from music all together.  As I look at what is happening with the breakdown of my body of late, I'm caught asking myself, "How much do I have left?"

by Shenole Latimer