Hobbyist

[chasea]

Various points I cannot begin to form into one cohesive statement:

I own a hand built bicycle. I just purchased a semi-bespoke suit (admittedly, machine-made overseas). I try to live on a musician's wage.

Stolen from Facebook:
A lady calls the Montreal musician's guild to enquire about the cost of booking a five piece band with a singer for a wedding...

The rep says "Off the top of my head, roughly two thousand dollars".

She says "What? For music?!?"

The rep responds "Ma'am, I'll tell you what. Call the plumbers' union and ask for six plumbers to work from six to twelve o'clock on a Saturday night. Whatever they charge you, I'll work for half of that."

She calls back later on and says "I get your point"...

The standard cover for a local band's show in the 1970's was $5. The standard cover for a local band's show today is still $5. $5 does not buy what it used to.

Taking a file of 1's and 0's does not feel the same as walking into a record store, putting and album in your coat, and leaving without paying.

I am about to release a new album. The product of 3 years of work. Countless hours writing, recording, and mixing. This all costs money. At this point, a record company will not take on a new act that they cannot mold into an already proven product. They will not fund any venture unless the money is guaranteed. So, what am I to do? I'm giving it away. Those 14-hour studio sessions, piggybacked on top of 8-hour work days, catching naps on a control room couch whenever possible, will be coded into 1's and 0's and put out into the ether. I'm giving up on breaking even in hopes that someone, ANYONE listens. What used to be a skill, a craft, whatever, has turned into a hobby.

Esque - Tonightmares Preview | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

There it is. Its been kept a secret for quite a while now. For what, I'm not sure. 1's and 0's; seems a bit anticlimactic. It'll be downloadable on April 1st (seems appropriate) and people can pay what they wish. For the simple act of downloading, you'll get another bunch of 1's and 0's that will render an album cover and liner notes. If any money is made, it'll be dumped into producing physical copies to languish in failing businesses called "record stores."

Me? I'm just going to move on. I've got another completed EP to worry about. I've got another full length to start writing. I have gigs to play. After the door guy, the sound guy, the bartender, and the car service is paid for, I'll take what's left of the $5 per head (split amongst the band, of course) and consider myself paid for set up and tear down. I play for free.

[echelon_john]

Amanda Palmer had a great quote (It may have been someone else's that she was quoting) along the lines of:

"You're paying me for waiting around airports, eating shitty food, not seeing my friends or family, being lonely, catching colds, falling asleep against bus windows, living on other peoples' schedules, and everything but getting on stage. Once I'm there, and the lights go down, I'm doing it for free."

Good luck--hope to hear it on 4/1.

[Chad]

Chase
I envy you. I wish there was something I was passionate enough about to suffer like that...

[chasea]

I sound like a big baby. I'm giving it away. Some people have it taken away.

My best friend since practically the womb is making a documentary about the history of exploitation of blues musicians. Each musician in the documentary will become a part-owner of the film. They all stand to make a little bit of money back if the film is successful. A music/ social action mashup.

Here's a link to his kickstarter if you wanna donate a buck to the cause.
The Kickstarter Blog - Creator Q&A: Lee Gordon and This Is Why We Still Sing The Blues

[Yodelinpol]

so you want to be a writer?
by Charles Bukowski


if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.


if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.

don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

[justinf]

Great thread. I love the Bukowski bit, and I intend to give away my next record too. It's the way of (my) world.

Let us know when yours hits the interwebs, Chase. I would buy it just cause you're a snappy dresser.

[Yodelinpol]

A friend of mine does the kickstarter thing and is still doing it (again...:)

I was just up in Boston with him this weekend and he said that PBS/GBH are picking up the film.

Do It Again: One Man's Quest to Reunite the Kinks by Geoff Edgers — Kickstarter

Do It Again: One Man's Quest to Reunite the Kinks by Geoff Edgers » Donations for TV cut... — Kickstarter


FTW. If you want to be a contender go be a contender.

[Too Tall]

I'm a fan already. If you hate the industry I hate the industry.

[chasea]

Well, the contracts for the licensing deal went out in the mail yesterday. I guess if people hear the music in a car commercial or movie trailer, well, at least they'll hear it. Totally prepared to play "This Wreck Age" every night for the rest of my life and not complain.

Armageddon 2 soundtrack, anyone?
This Wreck Age by Esque - Tonightmares Preview | Song | Free Music, Listen Now

[C.Dyer]

Yodelinpol,

Thanks for the poetry. Reminds me of this bit from a Bukowski interview:

Somebody at one of these places [...] asked me: "What do you do? How do you write, create?" You don't, I told them. You don't try. That's very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It's like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or if you like its looks you make a pet out of it.




PS Chase, great thread. I love the sentiment of your OP, and look forward to checking out your music...

[54ny77]

hang in there if its your passion! work every contact you have to get a leg up or inside track. if you need to work other jobs to support the musical habit, do 'em!

for example, a buddy of mine is a lawyer by day (singin' the blues...) but at night PLAYS the blues (guitar) at local clubs now & then. the law gig pays waaaaaaaaaaay better than any door split, and he has fun with it.

at the opposite end of socioeconomic spectrum, here's a guy who's tenacity knows no bounds, an incredible "street" musician in town who i first heard in the subway in mid-late 90's.

THEO EASTWIND | Home

i've been following his musical exploits ever since, buying his cd's and trying to see concert gigs whenever time permits.

[chasea]

Download now available.
Tonightmares | Esque

[chasea]

This is every working drummer's daily struggle.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/ar...d&st=cse&scp=1
There's 88 keys on a piano, 6 strings on a guitar, 8 notes in a scale, 12 notes in an octave. Yet a drummer doesn't own the rights to the parts he plays. There are a million different ways to play a straight-forward backbeat atmo.

[BestDeathEver]

Download now available.
Tonightmares | Esque

Don't worry Chase. You guys aren't totally giving it away. I donated via BandCamp for the download. I bet others will too.

Haven't had a chance to listen to the entire album yet, but what I've heard so far sounds quite decent!

[chasea]

Don't worry Chase. You guys aren't totally giving it away. I donated via BandCamp for the download. I bet others will too.

Haven't had a chance to listen to the entire album yet, but what I've heard so far sounds quite decent!

Who invited you? Oh, I guess I did.
Thanks for your money.
And thanks for the time you let me crash at your place and then gave me cash for the subway... after you got me too drunk to play my gig.
When you coming back east?

[BestDeathEver]

Who invited you? Oh, I guess I did.
Thanks for your money.
And thanks for the time you let me crash at your place and then gave me cash for the subway... after you got me too drunk to play my gig.
When you coming back east?

I'm gonna guess that was easily the best drumming of the year for you.

Hopefully I'll be back in NYC at the beginning of May to finish some tattoo work that's been unfinished for five years now.

[chasea]

I'm gonna guess that was easily the best drumming of the year for you.

Hopefully I'll be back in NYC at the beginning of May to finish some tattoo work that's been unfinished for five years now.

Sounds good. I'll be around.

I might also suggest you look into having someone finish that tattoo of the word "today" on your belly, which has gone unfinished since before I met you 13 friggin' years ago.

[Brandon White]

I've listened and I like it.

Not sure if you've heard this before (or if you even want to) - the singer's voice resembles Alex Turner's from Arctic Monkeys.

What label did you release this on? I've just passed (the link) onto my music friends (who were apparently somewhat "big" in their genre at some point in the past and how now re-unioned to play some festivals). I'm expecting good reviews from them too.

Oh yeah - I'd stream this 1/0 before I'd hit up LCD soundsystem. :)

[chasea]

Some early praise.
Esque – “Double Blind” « the bomarr blog
New music from Esque | invadeNOLA

[chasea]

I've listened and I like it.

Not sure if you've heard this before (or if you even want to) - the singer's voice resembles Alex Turner's from Arctic Monkeys.

What label did you release this on? I've just passed (the link) onto my music friends (who were apparently somewhat "big" in their genre at some point in the past and how now re-unioned to play some festivals). I'm expecting good reviews from them too.

Oh yeah - I'd stream this 1/0 before I'd hit up LCD soundsystem. :)

Thanks for the kind words. The album was a self-release.