Friday, January 23, 2009

My favorite Quote of January

Hone your talent and realize there is a place for you. Not everyone is a Quincy Jones, The Beatles, or a Bruce Springsteen, but if an artist like Tom Waites is a vocalist, then there is definitely room for you too. (Peter Spellman,"5 Essentials of Music Career Success," International Musician, January 2009)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Leading ther Band

So, for the first time, I've taken the lead on putting together a band to play a series of shows. I've always been a sideman, never really wanting to by in charge. Well, now I have been given a regular gig for a few months and needed to put together a band. I chose a couple of the best players I know and a few sets of material. I scheduled a couple of rehearsals and wrote out some charts.

In short: Man, what a lot of work. And playing a show as the leader, I never realized how much thought you should put into calling out songs to create a flow of music. Plus, singing and soloing as the leader created a whole new sense of anxiety.

My apologies to all those leaders who I may not have been up to par at their gigs. I get it now. I get it.