Carlos Santana and Friends of the Coltrane Home October Benefit

Originally posted by Heidi Bayer for www.thecoltranedhome.org

The October 6, 2013 fundraising benefit will be a wonderful event held at En Brasserie in Manhattan and will feature musical guests, speakers including Dr.Cornel West and delicious food and drink. Please purchase tickets at the following link:  http://coltranehome.eventbrite.com. We look forward to seeing you there and thank you so much for your continued support of our mission.

The mission of the Friends of the Coltrane Home is the preservation of the home and the creation of a museum and cultural center. Planned is an historic restoration of the home including a selection of original furnishings and instruments, an extensive digital archive with listening stations, a meditation garden dedicated to Alice Coltrane and archival materials donated by Coltrane scholars and collectors. Pilot educational programs designed by jazz saxophonist Shenole Latimer begin this fall offsite and will continue at the Home when it opens to the public.

East Coast Tour Kick-Off for Kids Program

That's right, it's time to hit the road again!  But, this isn't my usual 2 and a half week tour...try more like a month. And, with every appearance being a high energy kids program, don't be surprised if I return home another 10 or 15 pounds lighter!

Which kids program?  Well, here's the story.

Back in 2002, when I first started to do my program called "What's All That Jazz About?", or WATJA for short, I never imagined that it would become so popular, that I would find myself traveling the country to give it and that I would end up expanding it into both an adult program and a kids program.

Last year, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of the program by expanding it into the west coast of the United States.  This year, I find myself actually filling orders...for the kids version!  

The kids version of WATJA has exploded in popularity and now I'm getting calls from all over the country to  give the program.  Even with turning down offers, I still have enough bookings to warrant me taking to the road for three separate tours for 2013, which brings me to the announcement for the kick-off of my "What's All That Jazz About...for Kids, 2013 Tour".

The "WATJA...for Kids, 2013 Tour" marks the first time that I will be touring exclusively with the kids version of the program.  Usually there is a mix of requests for both the adult and kids version.  The tour opens on February 1, in Maywood, New Jersey and ends on February 23, in St. Louis, Missouri, with multiple stops taking place in Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana along the way.  

Because of the high energy nature of the program and the amount of driving that I will have to do for the tour,  I will be taking 5 days to travel home instead of the 2 and a half that it would normally take, so that I can get some rest and avoid getting too tired behind the wheel.

I'm excited that my programming has become so popular!  Hopefully, some of the educational programs that I'm currently designing may find similar success.

Jazz on the Vine, 2013

It looks like I will be taking part in the Long Island Winterfest's Jazz on the Vine, which is something I'm really excited about!  My quartet is slated to perform at Raphael Vineyards on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 4:30pm until 6:30pm.

Jazz on the Vine has grown into a major event on Long Island.  Musicians come from all over the New York, metropolitan area and so do the patrons of the event.  In fact, I have fans that have traveled as far as upstate Connecticut and eastern Pennsylvania to attend Long Island Winterfest and catch me performing in it.  

So, what is Jazz on the Vine?

Well, from February 9 to March 17 you can visit the East End of Long Island to enjoy 6 great weekends of truly exceptional jazz performances in winery tasting rooms. Admission includes a glass of wine and a chance to win a FREE hotel night on the East End with a gift basket of Long Island wines.  Numerous special offers and promotions at tourism-related businesses and cultural venues throughout the region are available, extending your experience to restaurants and award-winning accommodations.

The official website for Long Island Winterfest's Jazz on the Vine is www.liwinterfest.com.  Hope to see you there!

Me and the John Coltrane Home

A few years ago, I was introduced to a gentleman named Steve Fulgoni by my long time saxophone tech Craig Lindsay.  In case you missed out on some of the past media surrounding Steve's name, he is the guy who basically saved the John Coltrane home, located in Dix Hills, New York, from being razed.

It's actually scary to me that the final residence of unquestionably one of the greatest jazz icons of the twentieth century would even be under consideration for demolition.  But, such was the case.

In any event, it was Steve's hope at the time to obtain a historic landmark status for the house and property, and then turn it into a museum (much like what was done to the Louis Armstrong House in Queens, New York) and make it the epicenter for educational jazz programming in the region.  Fulgoni had heard of my jazz programming and wanted to see if I could design something that could be used for the Coltrane Home Foundation to center their educational efforts on.

Though I came up with a draft or two, I was unable to continue my participation at the time, because my performance schedule suddenly became more dense then it had been in years.  Since that time, a board was formed and now efforts have been increased towards adding educational programming to both the Coltrane Home and to regional venues.  

In August of 2012, I was greeted after an appearance that I was doing for my program "What's All That Jazz About?" by Steve Fulgoni, whom I hadn't communicated with in two or three years at that point, and a gentleman who introduced himself as Ron Stein.  Long story short, they were looking to recruit me once again to design a program, or a series of programs, around the Coltrane Home Foundation.  This time, my schedule wasn't as much of a factor.  Not to mention, I had been searching for other projects to be a part of, as developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both of my hands had left my performance career in question.

As of right now, we are in the middle of refining a couple of programming ideas that I had submitted for consideration.  Whether or not I am capable of actually performing on the saxophone anymore (I have actually been seriously considering retiring from performing, effective October, 2013), I plan to continue my involvement with the Coltrane Home. 

After all, it isn't everyday that you're asked to  help develop a centerpiece program for a foundation with a mandate to preserve the home of a major icon of American cultural history!

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

My Theory About How To Achieve a Successful Career in Music

So, here's the big question...is it possible to make a living as a musician?


Without hesitation, my answer is a flat out yes. I have been a full time musician now since 1998 and I have managed to make a middle class living with it. But, this has not come without a price.


First of all, there is the fact that I have next to no social life at all. The reason? I spend so much time either researching opportunities for performances, or actually performing that, when I finally do have some rare free time, all I want to do is either sleep or spend a little time with my family.

Secondly, there are the rigors that my body must constantly go through. There are many late nights and, with a young daughter to raise, very early mornings. This means that I the average amount of nightly sleep I'm able to get is far below what most people experience (I average about 4 hours to 5 hours of sleep a night). I have little down time because I must constantly be doing things to keep the ball rolling. Not to mention, some of the harsh environmental conditions I have been submitted to...ie, doing high energy outdoor shows in blazing 100 degree weather, with little time to hydrate or even eat because of the lack of time available to set up. The list goes on and on.

Before I go any further, I would like to make PERFECTLY CLEAR that I am NOT complaining. I am simply trying to enlighten those who do not understand what it takes to do this for a living. I lovingly call these folks "civilians".


Now, I would like to get to the point of this blog post, which is to share my thoughts as to what I feel it now takes to have a successful career in music, especially in this new millennium and digital age that we are in. I feel that there are several ingredients or "conditions" that must exist. They are as follows:

1. 
   
   
   
   You must start young - This is true for ANY musical genre. And, it is gravely important in regards to achieving a highly proficient level on your instrument of choice. This is because if you want to be purely a performer, you are going to spend so much time looking for opportunities that you will find time for practicing rapidly being eaten away.
   




2. 
   
   
   
   You must be able to put a team of people around you - In other words, you will need to think in terms of being a small business and find a way to acquire someone to eventually take care of the researching of venues and performance opportunities, someone to handle certain aspects of your marketing, someone to do the actual phone calls to get you booked, etc.
   
   I know a ton of musicians who read this will probably roll their eyes, but they CANNOT deny the simple fact that, as long as you must do EVERYTHING yourself, there will always be a ceiling as to how much money you can ever earn. It's simple math...the more time you must use up trying to handle the "back office" end of things, the less time is left for the actual performance end of things. The less you perform, the less money you can earn through performing or selling merchandise during that performance.
   
   By the way, how do you compensate this team of people I'm suggesting you have? Well, that is somewhere where one must use the creativity that we are born with as artists, because that money isn't going to be there in the beginning.
   




3. 
   
   
   
   You must become well established and reach a certain level of success by your late 20's - This is another thing that I think a lot of musicians are going to roll their eyes at me about, but I will hold fast in my opinion. The reason I state this is because, as one gets older, and certainly by their mid to late 20's, one will have more financial responsibilities. That's just a fact of life. There is no one out there that can tell me that their level of expenditures has not changed and gotten to be more expensive between the ages of 16 and 26.
   
   So, when I say you must reach a certain level of success, I mean that you must reach a point in your career where you can pay ALL of your bills and still have something left over after you have done so. If you can't do that, then it is time to look at doing something else with your life before you reach your 30's and start to have to worry about even more complicated things like a significant other, or kids, or a house....you get the point.
   




4. 
   
   
   
   You must master time management - I think this one is obvious! Even if you can find other people to take care of some of the other things that you must do, as I mentioned in #2, there are still so many things left to do that you will still have to take care of yourself.
   




5. 
   
   
   
   You must master technology - If you are a musician (or any type of artist) and you don't have a BETTER than average command/knowledge of the internet, computers, social networking, etc. you might as well pack it all in now.
   




6. 
   
   
   
   You must have some sort of game plan - I don't care how many different ways you can say this, but it is simply a fact that if you don't know where you want your destination to be, you can't possibly find a route there!
   




7. 
   
   
   
   You must have a drive that is so strong that it borderlines on fanaticism - This is such an important ingredient! Music and the arts in general are so challenging to make a living at and be successful that I feel that you actually need to be a little bit "crazy" to do it. There are so many factors that are constantly working against you, and you will face so much rejection, and so many people telling you that this or that can't be done (most notably, even some of your closest relatives), that you honestly must have the absolute strongest of convictions to stay the course.
   

So, certainly I think most of the musicians who read this will think I'm full of it or don't know what I'm talking about. But, as I was careful to mention at the top of all of this, this is MY theory or opinion.


Of course, any of this could be completely offset if one were to get super lucky, be discovered or signed to some sort of big record deal. However, these are simply not likely scenarios. The overwhelming majority of musicians and artists out there are "D.I.Y." (Do It Yourself).


So why am I writing all of this?


I'm not doing this to vent my frustrations...I'm not frustrated! I'm doing this because (A) I think "civilians" need to have a better understanding of those of us out there who are serious about what we are doing as artists and that we are not all flakes, as is commonly perceived, and (B) if a young person should happen to stumble upon this blog, and actually take the time to read all of this, I want them to know the honest truth about what being a musician really means...especially if you want to actually make a living at it.


This is not for everybody and it most certainly is not a game. And even if it were a game, this would be chess, not checkers!

by Shenole Latimer

A Little News Update: Vlog Post 26

February, 2011 Tour: Reflecting Back

Well it is now March and I've been home from my first tour of the year for 2 weeks. Actually, that isn't entirely acurate because I've really only been home for 1 full week. As soon as I came home from my tour, I had to hit the road again for a few days because of some performances I had in New Jersey and also in Buffalo, New York.


In any case, now that I've had a quick second to breath, I figured now wouldn't be a bad time to reflect upon the tour and how I think things went. It's true that, every single time I go out on the road, I learn something new. This tour would be no exception!


I guess the first thing I should do is mention that, as a whole, this tour had to have been my most successful to date. Not only was I very well received in all of the new regions I visited, I managed to meet some wonderful people and make a number of great connections in new markets for me. I even had the chance to do a few things that weren't planned, like getting on stage and singing with Jefferson Starship during their concert at the Magic City Casino in Miami, meeting Bonnie Tyler and spending some time with her and her husband in their tour bus, and even seeing old friends that I haven't seen in years.


It certainly was my most ambitious to date, with 26 bookings in 17 cities located over a total of 5 states in the southeastern portion of the United States. However, beyond my blanket statement of, "everything went great", here are some things I learned, observed, etc.:

1. 
   
   What To Pack? - This is something I agonize over everytime I have to hit the road. It doesn't have so much to do with what clothes I should bring, but more so with how much equipment should I take along. I'm slowing learning where the areas are that I can compromise with in regards to bringing certain items.
   
   The main thing is, I need to have a good understanding of the venues involved. That enables me to figure out what is the maximum and minimum audio requirements I'll need. This tour was probably the best I've done in that department, but I do see room for improvement and will undoubtedly be able to take even less gear next time around.
   
   


2. 
   
   Eating Habbits - I have actually got eating down to a science! I've been watching what I eat anyway, because I'm trying to loose weight. In october I reached the heaviest I have ever been in my life...275lbs! Since October and watching my diet, I have lost about 40lbs, but would like to loose about another 30lbs. My goal for my 6'3" frame is to reach the 205lbs.
   
   That said, I mostly ate chicken and turkey instead of beef, rice, a variety of vegitables, and drank mostly water. If I did have fast food, it was either Panera Bread, Chipotle, or Boston Market. The time I had to get away from this a bit was when I was in the deep South...the pan handle of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Pretty much the only choices I had regarding food was either deep fried or came in the form of "all-yo-can-eat" buffets.
   
   Lastly, it seems that the $25/day food allowance that I set for my tour budget is the magic number. I was able to eat just fine and actually ended up spending less than $25 a day on a number of occasions.
   
   


3. 
   
   Rest Habbits - This tour was the most well rested, over all, I have been on a tour...ever! That's not to say that I wasn't particularly tired on a few occasions, but I managed to schedule my appearances in a way that allowed me to have more time to get from city to city. The result was that I was often in a location I needed to be in the day before the engagement I had, which allowed me to sleep in more.
   
   Also, this is the first tour where I decided to follow a "6 hour rule". In other words, any day that I needed to drive more than 6 hours would not have an engagemnt booked for it. This worked very well for me and I plan on implimenting this rule on all future tours.
   
   Regarding bedtime, I imposed a curfew of 11pm on myself for evenings where I had to do "significant" driving the next day (2 hours of driving or more), and a curfew of Midnight for evenings where my appearances for the next day were all within a "regional" driving distance (less than 2 hours of driving).
   
   


4. 
   
   Help with Merchandise - This is a problem that has plagued me since day one of any of my performances, let alone my tours. More often than not, I don't have someone to sell my CDs for me while I talk to fans and people who have questions for me after a show or educational presentation.
   
   I can't even count how many times I am surrounded by folks who want to ask me a question or just have a comment after an appearance. And, while I'm being talked to, I see several people with money in their hands, who are waiting to buy a CD, turn around and give up because the wait got to be too much. Turning people away while they are talking to me, so that I can take care of some CD sales, is far more easier said than done.
   
   The only REAL solution is to have somebody sell my CDs while I'm talking to folks. The problem is, I don't make enough money to hire somebody and have them tag along with me during a tour. There's the volunteer route, but there's issues with that as well. This is a little something that I will certainly have to sit down and spend some time on to resolve, because I'm missing out on a large number of CD sales opportunities.
   
   
   
5. A Place for Everything - An important lesson that I learned during the tour I had in April of 2010 was to always have a specific place that I keep things so that it's easier to know if I'm missing something or not. I learned this the hard way when I lost both my cell phone and my wallet during that tour. Fortunately, I was able to back-track and figure out where I left my cell phone, but I never was able to recover my wallet.
   
   This time around, I had very specific places that I always kept things like my Flip video camera, digital audio recorder, etc. However, I still managed to leave my Ipod behind on a gig. But, because I had place a little extra wiggle room in my budgeting for the tour, just incase any emergencies came up, I had plenty of money to replace the lost Ipod with a new one and then I simply reloaded it with everything from my back-up Itunes library.
   
   
   
6. Family - As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I personally believe that the hardest thing about being a musician is spending long stretches of time away from home. With this past February 2011 tour being the longest time I've been on the road to date, I think I have found the limit for the amount of time that I feel I can stand to be away from my wife and, in particular, my 2 year old daughter.
   
   I doubt that I will book any future tours that will go past 3 weeks away from home...unless of course there is some real SERIOUS money to be made.

So, to round things up, touring has so far proven to be a great part of my developement as an artist, because going on the road has a special way of sharpening your skills that you simply can't achieve at home or in a practice room. Also, expanding into new areas seems to be the next phase for me anyway, since I have pretty much covered all of the bases in the New York metro area.


But, more to the point, this particular tour was a hugely rewarding experience that provided me with another platform to gain new fans, meet some wonderful people, and broaden my network. Not to mention, I was able to learn some important lessons and gain valuable insight that I can put to use with my future tours.


And so, onward to my April, 2011 Tour!






by Shenole Latimer

February, 2011 Tour All Booked Up!

After nearly 5 months of careful planning and more phone calls than I can count, I have (as of 12/9/10) completed the booking phase for my February, 2011 Lecture/Performance Tour.

I'll be visiting a total of 5 states (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi) and stopping at a total of 25 locations residing in 21 cities. Here are the final confirmed stops:

* January 31, 2011 - Columbia, SC
* February 1, 2011 - Columbia, SC
* February 2, 2011 - Beufort, SC
* February 2, 2011 - Summerville, SC
* February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA (afternoon)
* February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA (evening)
* February 4, 2011 - Jacksonville, FL
* February 5, 2011 - Pembroke Pines, FL
* February 6, 2011 - Delray Beach, FL
* February 7, 2011 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
* February 7, 2011 - Coral Springs, FL
* February 8, 2011 - Coconut Creek, FL
* February 8, 2011 - Tamarac, FL
* February 9, 2011 - Tampa, FL (afternoon)
* February 9, 2011 - Tampa, FL (evening)
* February 10, 2011 - Brandon, FL
* February 10, 2011 - Valrico, FL
* February 11, 2011 - Tavares, FL
* February 13, 2011 - Mobile, AL
* February 14, 2011 - Flowood, MS
* February 16, 2011 - Hinesville, GA
* February 16, 2011 - Savannah, GA
* February 17, 2011 - Lyman, SC
* February 17, 2011 - Woodruff, SC
* February 18, 2011 - Spartanburg, SC



Check the events listing on the following websites for more information:
http://www.shenolelatimer.com
http://shenole.fanbridge.com/tourdates/

And now, it's time to tie up the bookings for my April, 2011 tour...stay tuned for more information regarding that one!

By Shenole Latimer

Winter Tour Planned for February, 2011

If you live on the east coast, you surely remember the monster snow storms we had during the winter of 2010.

Originally, I had a really good number of bookings for the winter...unusual for that time of year, but a welcome sight on my calendar none the less! However, what ended up happening is that almost half of my appearances were canceled due to severe weather. Not a good scenario!

This coming year I have decided to do something to help fight off any further cancellations during the winter months...go on tour down in the south, where snow is not a concern.

Really, the decision to tour in February comes from two different contributing factors. The first one I already stated in regards to avoiding cancellations due to severe winter weather in the northeast. But, the second factor has to do with the success I encountered with my lecture tour this past April, 2010. That tour showed me that I don't have to rely on a booking agent to book tours for me. Also, even with loosing my wallet, my business debit card and $400 or so in cash, plus missing out on two of my bookings because of the time I lost looking for my wallet and filing a police report, I still managed to come home in a profitable enough fashion to have made the trip worth while.

With all of that said, here are the confirmed dates and locations that I'll be stopping at so far during my February, 2011 tour:

• January 31, 2011 - Columbia, SC
• February 1, 2011 - Columbia, SC
• February 2, 2011 - Summerville, SC
• February 3, 2011 - Hinesville, GA
• February 3, 2011 - Savannah, GA
• February 4, 2011 - Jacksonville, FL
• February 5, 2011 - Pembroke Pines, FL
• February 6, 2011 - Delray Beach, FL
• February 7, 2011 - Coral Springs, FL
• February 8, 2011 - Coconut Creek, FL
• February 8, 2011 - Tamarac, FL
• February 11, 2011 - Tavares, FL
• February 13, 2011 - Mobile, AL
• February 14, 2011 - Flowood, MS
• February 16, 2011 - Savannah, GA
• February 17, 2011 - Lyman, SC
• February 17, 2011 - Woodruff, SC
• February 18, 2011 - Spartanburg, SC

There are several more locations that I'm waiting to have confirmation for. When it's all said and done, I may be looking at as many as an additional 6 bookings. Not bad for someone who doesn't have a booking agent!

Then there is the tour I have already begun to book for myself for April, 2011, which will have me traveling to some of the locations I visited this past April, along with visiting some new ones. But, we'll save that for another blog post! : )





by Shenole Latimer

New Jazz Concert Series!

In the time that has passed by since my last blog entry, I’ve spent the majority of my time trying to help my wife get her accounting firm off of the ground. Fortunately, her company is showing signs of life, but we are still a ways off from her equaling the salary she was making from her previous employment.


However, though I haven’t had the time to dedicate towards my own bookings, I have actually managed to work on at least one project that I was involved with prior to my switching gears to give my wife a hand. The project is a jazz concert series that will be taking place during the month of September at the Levitas Center for the Arts in Southampton, New York.


Back in March, I was approached by the director of the Southampton Cultural Center and asked to become the director for a jazz concert series that, at the time, was just a concept. It was stated that it would be up to me to initiate the process of booking the acts and looking into the logistics of putting together such an event. Needless to say, I jumped on the opportunity and set about putting together a diverse roster of very strong performers.


First on my list was signing on Gail Storm. Having her brand of vocal jazz was simply a no-brainer for this sort of series. Another no-brainer was having friend and colleague Matt Marshak on the bill. Matt is a great guitarist who performs in the “smooth jazz” style of jazz.


Since I had already given a performance at the Levitas Center with my quartet this past Spring, for this series I wanted to showcase my newest creation… a fusion of classical and jazz styles performed in a duet format, with myself on saxophone and my good friend Al Quinn on piano. I have dubbed this ensemble “2-Improv”.


Rounding out the roster is pianist Sean Fitzpatrick, who will be performing in a modern jazz style with his trio, Al Quinn (the other half of ‘2-Improv”) and his hard-bop quintet, and the funk/soul infused jazz quartet led by Ahmad Ali.


I’m truly excited about this concert series!


I think the thing I’m most excited about is that, from top to bottom, the lineup of ensembles is stacked with incredible musicians that I have either had the chance to perform with, or have heard a lot about. All of us have headlined a number of shows on our own, and now we will be the pioneers for a brand new concert series on Long Island that will feature some serious jazz. And, the Levitas Center for the Arts is such a nice venue to boot!


The design of the center is that of a recital hall. But, adding to the charm and classiness of the hall is the art gallery located in the front of the building before you enter the performance space. The art gallery is well known within the art community for the incredible works of art that are often displayed there.


As I’m writing this blog, all of the ticket info is being finalized, so I hope to be able to provide all of those details within the next few days. It’s just that I’m so excited about this concert series that I couldn’t wait to blab my mouth off about it!


Keep an eye out for further details about the concert series to appear on my website, the Southampton Cultural Center’s website, and of course right here on my blog.


by Shenole Latimer

Lessons for the Road

Well, I've been home for almost a week now from my "What's All That Jazz About?" east coast tour and, besides coming back in desperate need of some rest, I have also come back with some lessons from the road. The thing is, what I learned may seem like common sense but it's amazing how even experienced people can take certain things for granted ,or even just get so wrapped up in other things that the obvious becomes not so obvious.


However, before I go into any real details, I would like to first state that the tour was a big success for me. I managed to turn some new people on to me and what I do, I significantly increased my mailing list, I have laid down solid ground work for doing more in the markets I visited, and I've groomed a number of good connections that are willing to become references for me when I begin putting together tours for the north east and also the west coast.


Regarding the lessons I have learned...let me start with a video I took using the camera on my phone. Most of the lessons I learned stem from one particular incident that I mentioned in the video:

So, loosing my wallet was the root for a few of the lessons I learned. Here we go:


Lesson #1) - Do not wear attire that has no pockets!

For the first couple of days I stayed at the home of some older cousins I have in Virginia. Their son is the only male cousin in my entire family that is close to my age. On day two, he stopped by to take me out to lunch. In my excitement to hang out with him, I threw on a pair of shorts that didn't have any pockets because they were they closest thing to me. I figured I'd just hold the wallet. From there you can figure out the rest.

Dumb? Yep! Have I done it previously? Yep! Will I ever do it again? Nope!


Lesson #2) - Keep your cash in more than one place when traveling.

Now, this is something that I actually tend to do. But, for whatever reason, this particular time every cent I had on me was in my wallet...a little over $300 in cash. This was really for tolls and an emergency, because all of my fuel, food, and hotel expenses were coming out of my business debit card so I could keep track of everything in an easy fashion for income tax purposes.

In any case, had I had some of the money in a compartment in my rented car, some of it on my person (in a pocket!), and some of it in my wallet, I would not have lost the entire amount.


Lesson #3) - If you are a traveling musician, and especially if you're traveling alone, be sure to have some kind of support structure back home in case of an emergency.

For me, this is easy. My wife and my mother are the two people that I rely on most when I'm traveling by myself. They both always receive my itinerary so that they know where I'll be and when, they both keep copies of things link my social security card, photo copies of my driver's license, etc. Also, I have my wife's name on my business checking account. That way, should I ever loose my debit card or any credit cards while on the road, she can withdraw money for me from my music business account and wire it to me via credit union or Walmart moneygram. Walmart moneygrams arrive much faster than credit union.

So, when I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to find my wallet, I had my mother fax me a photo copy of my driver's license, my wife sent me a Walmart moneygram, and I immediately filed a police report so that, if I were to get pulled over for any reason, they could identify me by the case report number. In this way, I at least had some kind of means of proving my identity and I also had the cash I would need to get fuel, food, hotel rooms, and so on.


Lesson #4) - It doesn't matter how quickly you think you can make it somewhere, leave EXTRA early!

This is another thing that I normally do. It's a good thing too, because on the leg of the tour where I had to travel from Greenville, South Carolina, to Maryville, Tennessee, I encountered a road closing on interstate 40 because of a huge rock slide that had covered the highway. There were two detours offered. Both would eventually get me to the Knoxville region (Maryville is a suburb of Knoxville) so I choose the one that I figured was the shortest. After a little more than a half hour of driving, I came up to another road closing. They crew there told me that they had just closed the road an hour previous because of another rock slide! They told me that from there I would have no easy route to get to Knoxville, so I would have to turn around. I turned around and went back to the spot of the original rockslide that I had to detour at.

This time, instead of following the second detour sign, I let my temper get the better of me and I decided to use my GPS to find myself a faster route around the rock slide and to my destination. The only problem was that after following the GPS for about 30 minutes I ended up on a dirt road that was obviously going to take me straight to the front door of somebody's ranch! Once again I turned around.

Finally, I decided to follow the second detour that was listed at the original rock slide. It did indeed take me to my destination, but it did so by bringing me an hour and 45 minutes out of my way, where as if I could have stayed on interstate 40 I could have been there in only about 30 minutes or so! All said and done, I had added nearly 4 hours to my trip! However, because I left super early that day, I actually arrived at the venue with about 30 minutes to spare. I was somehow able to get set up very quickly (and this particular venue required that I used every piece of equipment I had brought with me from home) and I started the program only 5 minutes late!


So anyway, those are the 4 most valuable lessons that I learned while on this particular tour and I hope some other musicians, and maybe even some regular folks out there, may be able to benefit from them. In closing, here are the two other videos that I shot during the tour:

Jam Sessions

Over the past few days, I've been pondering the importance of jam sessions and how they serve a variety of functions. I think what brought this on was a college musician who invited me down to their weekly Wednesday night jam session. I tried to explain that I didn't have a lot of free time these days and certainly not the time to play without getting paid. His facial expressions made me realize that he took it the wrong way. I believe he thought I said that because I felt like I was too good to be hanging with him and the cats he plays with.

Jam sessions are indeed important to any music scene and all genres. They are a barometer of the health of a region's music scene and serve as a sort of "convention" for musicians to network with other musicians, which in turn means possibly getting future gigs. The only problem is that, unless you are with the house band, you are not getting paid for the night...and even some house bands don't get paid! This aside, I can certainly see the logic that not getting paid for one gig (jam session) could lead to several paid gigs with other musicians and bands. But, this still doesn't solve the problem I have with lack of free time.

Yes, I am a musician. But, I am also a father, a husband, and a homeowner. This places a very high importance that any excursion outside of my home, musically speaking, must result in me bringing home money...period. What gets lost by some younger artists is that, as an artist, you are self employed. And, the older you get, the more financial responsibilities you have. Thus, time is very valuable. My wife can testify to the fact that when I'm home I'm still at work. Even the very blogs that I post are actually work. How, you ask? Well, one of the primary goals for any artist is to increase their presence...especially their web presence now-a-days, as people are not going out as much as they used to for the performing arts. Posting blogs is a very efficient way of increasing your web presence, because they are a priority target for search engines.

Then there is the marketing aspect. Anyone who has studied modern marketing knows that today's western society has gone into a much more "personal"mode of thinking. In other words, people are looking more and more for very specific things that cater to their needs or wants. This is all thanks to the internet, which makes it incredibly easy for people to find things within their particular interests. Also, people have a greater interest in what is going on with the lives of others, including any artist that they may want to invest both time and treasure in. They want to have a greater (if not personal) connection with an artist and get to know about that artist's personality. Blogging is an incredibly efficient way of doing all of this. Not just because of the search engines, but because of the fact that blogs can be syndicated into feeds, which can turn the blog into a form of viral marketing.

That was a whole lot of words just for me to say that I can reach a whole lot more people just through my blog alone, than I can by playing in some venue every week in a situation where: A) most people coming down aren't fans anyway, but are other musicians, B) most listeners, who aren't musicians, are more interested in what's happening on the television screen above the bar, and C) I'm in a situation where I have to spend money on gas to get there, most likely buy a couple of drinks or pay a cover (or both), possibly pay for parking (particularly if it's in New York City), while not getting paid. All of this in turn means that, not only would I not be coming home with very, very badly needed cash, but I wouldn't even be breaking even! I would be coming home in the negatives...and how many gigs am I GUARANTEED from making it to a jam session? How many gigs would I get in a "timely" fashion to compensate for the money spent? Not at all a situation to find yourself in when you have a mortgage, an out of work wife to try and support, and a toddler who needs food and diapers.

Of course, I realize that I can't effectively do everything that must be done to grow my career from my computer desk. I think it's much like trying to conduct a war by exclusively utilizing air power...at some point you will need boots on the ground!

So, what is my final verdict on the importance of jam sessions? Like I said earlier, they ARE important and help to ensure the health of a music scene. However, I think that once a musician reaches a certain phase in their life, they have to really choose when it is a good time to go to a jam session and would it be a fruitful outing in terms of new phone numbers obtained, new ideas and information exchanged, potential gigs, etc.

For me, I already know or have access to so many musicians (be it from cats I met at jam sessions when I was younger with far fewer responsibilities, or the musicians that they themselves know and play with), that I have no need to go to a jam session for phone numbers. I don't have any problems finding gigs or creating them for myself, so there isn't too much of a need to go to a jam session to try and land a gig with someone else (unless there is someone in particular that I would like to play with, who doesn't know who I am). This just leaves the exchange of information and new ideas. I get a lot of information from my daily research sessions on the internet, though I'll be the first to admit that it isn't quite the same as receiving information first hand and in person from the person who has it to give.

So, you want to hit a jam session? By all means do it! It's an important part of every musician's growth. Just make sure to get plenty of jam sessions in before you get married, own a house, and find yourself being a parent!

Written by Shenole Latimer

April, 2010 Tour Plans Almost Complete

After four months of constant phone calls, carefully making travel and hotel arrangements, and all that other fun stuff, my east coast tour is almost entirely put together. I'm currently just trying to squeeze in three more stops, but here is how the tour is looking so far:

• April 6 - Vienna, VA
• April 7 - Reston, VA
• April 8 @ 12pm - Myrtle Beach, SC
• April 8 @ 6:30pm - Conway, SC
• April 9 - Jacksonville, FL
• April 11 - Day Off for Rest
• April 12 - Maryville, TN
• April 14 & 15 - Norfolk, VA
• April 16 - Day Off for Rest
• April 17 - Cape May, NJ
• April 18 - Montclair, NJ
• April 19 @ 2pm - Ocean Pines, MD
• April 19 @ 6:30pm - Snow Hill, MD
• April 20 - Princess Anne, MD
• April 21 @ 4pm & 7pm Dumont, NJ

The three locations that may be added within the next couple of weeks are:

• April 5 - Washington, DC
• April 10 - Atlanta, GA
• April 13 - Durham, NC

With all the driving that I'm going to be doing, and with the relatively packed schedule, I felt it was important to include at least a couple of days where I could get some rest and also do some of the things that people don't generally associate with touring. Things like laundry, for example!

I'm thinking about making a separate section in my blog just for this particular tour, though I don't know how much free time I will really have to make entries. My past experience with touring and road trips have taught me that, when you reach the end of the day, all you really want to do is go to sleep! Another idea may be to just have a series of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter status reports...a sort of "Tour Tweet" or "Update from on the Road". One way or another, I do think I should find some kind of way to document the tour so that all of my fans can get an inside look at things, and so that I can reference it later for any lessons learned.

So anyway, now that the tour is only a few months away, I need to start compiling my list of media contacts so that I can be ready to send out press releases and also schedule interviews on radio and in periodicals. Fortunately, I have had some help from a very trusted and hard working student of mine. He's been busy getting together a bunch of media outlets for me to pursue.

All in all, things are really coming together and I think that this tour is going to be quite successful. In fact, I'm already in the process of planning tours for the North East and the West Coast!

Written by Shenole Latimer

New Limited Edition CD

You may remember that, a couple of months ago, I mentioned that I had recorded some tracks with blues/jazz artist Gail Storm. Well, we are finally releasing those tracks in the form of a limited edition CD!

Gail and I originally were recording the songs so that we could construct a demo that could be used to get us more duet gigs. However, things were sounding so good that we decided to move beyond just having it as a demo.

Because this isn't an "official" album release, we thought we'd make it special by not only making a limited quantity available, but by also autographing and hand packaging the CDs. I designed the cover artwork and both Gail and I put our autographs on the actual CD itself.

"Duets" features Gail and I performing selections by Nora Jones, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and other well loved performers and composers. If you'd like to obtain a copy or listen to samples of the tracks, just visit the following link:

Gail Storm & Shenole Latimer Limited Edition CD - "Duets"

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.

Concerts: Why Bother!

Ever since this past May, when I performed with singer/songwriter Jack Lacitra at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore, NY, I've had the bug in my ear about self producing another concert for my jazz quartet. At this point it has been nearly 2 years since I have done that!

If I were to only consider the amount of time it takes to put a concert together, or the amount of money that is needed up front to rent the venue, get the insurance, and otherwise set the wheels in motion, my attitude would be "who needs it". However, there are benefits to self producing concerts and it has always fit into my long term plans and goals.

Since day one, I have known that the only way to ever really get to the sorts of performances that I can really make a good living off of was to be taken on by one or more booking agents. That meant several things:

• I had to STOP performing with my quartet in restaurants or other venues where we would not be the focus (NO MORE BACKGROUND MUSIC!!!!).
• I had to sharpen my ability to interact with my audience and provide them with an EXPERIENCE and not just good music.
• I had to increase my fan base and my reach.
• I needed to find some way to prove my worth to booking agents so that they wouldn't feel that signing me on would be too much of a risk to make it worth their while.

In regards to the last thing I listed (proving my worth), I figured that money talks. So, the best way I could prove my worth is to show the ticket sales receipts and the other proof that people are willing to pay to see me in a concert setting. Well, at this juncture I have proven this several times over...so where are the booking agents? Unfortunately for me, part of the problem is the genre of music that I have chosen to specialize in...jazz.

Since jazz accounts for such a small percentage of the concert going public, the only jazz musicians that the booking agents are interested in are the ones who are already big names, who already have booking agents...there's no interest in emerging artists that are showing they can draw a ticket buying audience.

If it wasn't for the fact that self producing concerts take up so much time, energy, and financial resources up front, I'd say "SCREW THE BOOKING AGENTS" because I have always done pretty well with my concerts, financially. I'm not driving a luxury car, but I have certainly managed to make it at least worth my while to pursue such a coarse of action. I also see that it is a viable way to go.

However, time is no longer on my side. At only 36 years old, I'm already starting to feel some of the wear and tear of being a full time musician for nearly 15 years and burning the candle from both ends, combined with being a new father, trying to look after my now aging parents, and always looking for ways to try and be available more for my wife. The past year or two I have been feeling tired constantly.

Doing this for a living has proven to be exhausting work, and it has only been my drive to: A) prove all of the people WRONG that told me or continue to tell me that this can't be done for a living, and B) to be successful in general at whatever I do, that has kept me going. That and the broom I have hidden behind me to prop me up and make it look like I'm still standing up.

Despite my venting, I remain convinced that doing more self produced concerts, where I can continue to prove that people (from different regions) are willing to buy tickets to see me and my group perform, is probably the best path to follow. The problem or challenge is to find a way that doesn't leave me so exhausted during the process of putting the events together and promoting them, that I'm too tired to actually perform in the first place.

Getting Together In Style!

It may only be once a year, but when I get together with a couple of my cousins and my uncle, we do it in style!

I've mentioned several times in the past that I come from a musical family...actually, the arts in general run strong in my family. Well, above this paragraph you see a photo (courtesy of a fan named Lynda Maniscalco) of my family band known as "The Latimer Experience", which is made up of (from left to right): My cousin Andre Latimer, my uncle Isham Latimer, my other cousin Emile Latimer, my two friends Glenn Palermo and Bill Titus on bass and guitar respectively, and of course me.

Yesterday we completed the last of two performances that I had booked for us this year. It's always such a kick for me to see how the audience reacts to what we have to offer, which is essentially 2 sets of purely improvisational music based on African and Latin drum rhythms, and perhaps 1 or 2 jazz standards thrown into the mix. What a great time we had! There is only one negative thing.

We had always wanted to get a good recording done of us while we are all still around and able to play. This is particularly important to me as the youngest member of "The Latimer Experience", because my cousin Emile is approaching his mid 70's and is starting to experience problems and pain with his hands. So, I had brought my digital recorder with the hopes that we might actually be able to create a live CD. We were in top form! However, the recorder didn't catch the performance! I forgot a stand for it and had to tape it to a column. Unfortunately, I taped it too tight and accidentally press the "stop recording button", which turned the device off. Talk about disappointments! I was disgusted when I saw no data on my memory card.

At any rate, hopefully we will be able to all get together again next year. And this time, they'll be no slip ups!

Catching Lightning in a Bottle

For the past year and a half, I have had the pleasure of being a regular part of the line-up for blues and jazz performer Gail Storm. Whether it's with her heavy hitting quartet with monster blues guitarist Joe Vicino, or a more intimate setting with just the two of us performing for a smaller crowd, I have enjoyed EVERY minute of my time on stage with her.

During our time together we have noticed a few things.

1. We have become very locked in to each other's playing styles
2. People seem to really enjoy not only the music we play, but our interactions on stage
3. Every single performance that we have done, particularly when we have the full band together, has reached our audiences in a very positive way...very much like what I see happens with my own quartet!

With those things in mind, about 2 months ago, we decided to record a 6 song CD together that we would make available for fans during our performances together. Well, we have completed the CD and I have to say that I really think we caught lightning in a bottle on this one! We simply did some of the songs that were favorites of her fans, but were also very strong songs for us. There's no cover design yet, or anything like that. In fact, we might not even professionally mass produce it, but I really think that people will enjoy it...hopefully as much as we enjoyed recording it!