The Mythology Of The Full-Time Musician

The Mythology Of The Full-Time Musician
By Normandie Wilson - August 11th 2012
Here's another thing I'm really tired of: the mythology of the full-
time musician.
I hear it all the time.
"If only I could spend all my time making music..."
"I really wish I could do nothing but my music..."
"All this social media / promoting / fill in the blank stuff that I
have to do in order to have successful shows just takes away
from my music"
MY MUSIC, MY MUSIC, MY MUSIC. If I had a dime for every time
I've heard a fellow musician say those words as if their music
was God's only golden gift to the world, I would be relaxing on a
private island in Tahiti right now.
This is an incredibly destructive thought pattern that a lot of
musicians are stuck in. Allow me to show you why:
Even Your Idols Don't Get To Spend All Their Time Making
Music
I am a huge Beach Boys fan. I might be at the top of the list. I
have Beach Boys music tattooed on my arm. I adore and worship
at the altar of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. A couple of years
ago, there was a new album coming out, and I got word that
Brian Wilson was doing a signing at Amoeba Music in Hollywood.
Naturally, I went to Amoeba with my bandmate early in the
morning to stand in line to buy the new record and have Brian
Wilson sign our stuff.
I was SO excited. So excited. I wondered if he'd ask about the
music on my arm, and maybe if I'd get to tell him that it was his
music I had tattooed, permanently, on my body. I was also really
young.
After waiting for over an hour, it was finally my turn to get my CD
signed. I finally got to look at one of my major musical idols in
the flesh, from arm's length. I looked him in the eyes. I smiled.
He looked me in the eyes, signed my CD, and threw it across the
table at me.
I can't tell you how disappointed I was. It really hurt. Even a
small smile would have made it all worthwhile for me. But I got
nothing. What I saw was a shell of a man sitting at a table across
from me. I saw nothing but annoyance on Brian Wilson's face. I
looked at him and all I saw was an old musician, a married guy, a
grandpa who didn't want to be signing CDs. I saw a man who
would literally rather be doing anything else other than signing
CDs at Amoeba that day.
Brian Wilson is the lead songwriter for one of the most successful
American music groups to ever have existed. He has to do things
all the time that he doesn't want to do. He has to do things all
the time that his record label forces him to do. He has to give
interviews that he doesn't want to do. If HE has to spend time
doing things that he doesn't want to, things other than "making
music," what makes YOU think that you will somehow be immune
from that? Give me a break. It doesn't matter who your idols are.
You could substitute any name for Brian Wilson's and the story
would be the same.
I Don't Think That "Making Music" Is Really What You Mean
When You Say That's What You Want To Do All Day
If you're reading this, you're probably a musician. If you're a
musician, you probably know that musicians can be among the
most narcissistic and self-involved people on the planet. If you
don't know this, I can speak from my varied experience that this
is an inalienable fact. It is not up for discussion. (It's okay, I still
love you)
I don't think that most musicians who say they only want to
spend their days making music really mean that. I don't think it's
actually what they want to do. Because, if you really wanted to
just make music all day, what would stop you from doing that?
Probably nothing. If you had a calling, a fire deep inside of you
that only wanted to make music, I think that is what you would
do. I think people have the capacity to pack it all up, grab their
guitar and leave. If you only wanted to make music, you'd already
be doing that. You would be living in a cabin somewhere doing
nothing but playing. You'd be on a street corner making music all
day long just for people to enjoy that. But let's be honest here -
that's not really what you want, is it?
What I think most musicians want is to spend all their days being
recognized, appreciated, and admired for the music that they've
created. This is a very, very, very different desire than "I just want
to focus on my music." No. That's not what you want. You want
the spoils; the victory of focusing on your music, winning people
over, and having them recognize and honor you for what you do.
All the time.
I have more bad news for you: this isn't going to happen. It
doesn't happen for Brian Wilson, it doesn't happen for Lady
GaGa, it doesn't happen for Rihanna and it doesn't happen for
Jay-Z. This is just not how it goes.
If what you are craving is fulfillment, I recommend throwing
yourself wholeheartedly into your work. The quickest way to get
validation is to stop looking for it from other people. The easiest
and best path to the warm and fuzzy feelings of validation is to
give them to yourself. To give yourself tons and tons of self-love
and self-care. To make sure you pat yourself on the back every
chance you get. If you make sure your fulfillment is coming from
yourself, you will never be disappointed. I don't know who this
quote comes from, but it's genius: "If you're going to believe all
the good things people say about your music, you have to believe
all the bad things too." Other people, whether fans or enemies,
are always fickle. Put yourself at the center of your musical
universe and you'll never come up feeling empty.
Even if all you want is to make music and spend all your time
SHARING it, there are still soooooooooooooo many other steps
that go into that! You have to write songs, yes, but then you have
to practice them. You might have to teach them to other people.
You either have to arrange a venue yourself, or get your booking
agent to do it. And then you have to let people know about it, so
that they can be there. No major recording artist is immune from
most of these steps. Don't look at all these steps as distractions;
it's much better to view them as vital and necessary parts of the
process.
Your Most Likely Path To Full-Time Musicianship Is Almost
Probably 100% Not As Glamourous As You Think
So let's say you do make it as a full-time musician. It's going to
mean national tours, a bus with lots of free booze on it, and tons
of adoring fans, right? It's going to mean an interview with Oprah
one week and being on Conan O'Brien the next, right? Wrong.
I know lots of people who make their living through music. Let
me tell you about some of them.
Pedro is the father of one of my dear friends. He is an incredible
guitarist and plays everything from mariachi to classical guitar to
jazz standards, very well, I might add. He's graced the stage with
many famous mariachi musicians and at many festivals. He has a
trio he performs with, Trio Casablanca, and when they're not
playing weddings, they're most likely playing at one of their
regular restaurant gigs or recording an album of original music.
Abi is a music educator in Denver, CO. She teaches guitar lessons
to kids, and she just landed a job with Imagination Makers, a
company that gets professional theater to kids. She's the
musician for all their performances. She does all of this while
running a record label, Morning Bird Records, and working on
her own music.
Jack is a session guitarist in Los Angeles, CA. He's one of the best
guitarists I know personally. His days consist of playing on
recording after recording after recording, sometimes with little to
no practice.
If you've heard of any of these people, I would be very, very
surprised.
A lot of musicians turn down good quality, paying work for any
one of many very shitty reasons. Shitty reasons like:
It's Not My Original Music:
A friend of mine has repeatedly turned down restaurant work
because he wouldn't get to sing, and he wouldn't get to play his
original music.
My Response:
Just do it! Take the money and put it to work. Run some ads for
your original music while you're earning your keep.
It's Beneath The Level Of My Talent:
I know A LOT of musicians who refuse to play weddings because
they indeed, feel it's beneath them. They feel it's "beneath them,"
even though this can often be a gig that guarantees you upwards
of $1000.
My Response:
If you're stupid enough to turn down money because you feel it's
"beneath you," then please keep it up. More money for me.
It's A Compromise Of My (Artistic) Integrity:
Sometimes this can have some merit. Say, if a white supremacist
group offers you a grand to play some songs at a Nazi rally, I
would encourage you to turn that down. I know if I found out
that an artist I liked was doing things like that, I would
immediately disconnect and I would definitely refuse to buy
anymore of their music.
Other times, it's a bit more of a gray area. For instance, Feist's
famous refusal to let McDonald's use one of her songs in a
commercial. It was instead used by Apple, a company who has
been accused of many different labor disputes, including worker
suicides in factories where things like iPods and iPads are made.
Six in one, half dozen in the other.
In my opinion, when it comes to corporations, there's often no
way you can win. In the rare event that a company you really
disagree with offers you a million dollars to use your song, you
could take the money and donate half of it to a cause that you
feel is more in alignment with your beliefs. But most of us aren't
on that level yet. Most musicians I know have issues like; "They
asked me to make my songs family-friendly," or "There's a
business in town that wants to have me perform at their annual
Christmas dinner but I don't believe in corporate American blah
blah blah" and I think that's just stupid.
My Response:
My mom always pulls this gem out on me: "Don't cut your nose
off despite your face." I'm sure your beliefs are great and noble.
But the reality is, unless you already have a certain amount of
leverage (fame), no one really gives a shit about your beliefs. So
don't let that be the thing that keeps you from taking a good
opportunity. ESPECIALLY if it involves kids. A lot of musicians
seem to have big problems with toning down their lyrics or
editing their shows for children and families, and this is a huge
mistake. The kids' music market can be a BIG money maker for
you if you play your cards right. And think about it - how
awesome would it be to be one of the first musical artists a kid
listens to? You could end up with families of fans for life. Don't
throw this away because of your "image" or some other equally
lame concept.
I Just Don't Want To
This is a common response when there are large amounts of
work involved for making money, or getting publicity, or
whatever.
My Response:
If you don't want to do (fill in the blank), someone else will.
Trust me. It's your call. If someone is looking to hire a musician
for whatever reason, and you don't want to do it, they'll find
someone else to do the job. The world will never stop for you.
Full-time working musicians are not mythical creatures. They're
not like unicorns, or pegasus(es)?. They are hard-working people
who, JUST LIKE ALL OF US, often have to spend large portions of
time doing things that they don't necessarily want to be doing.
They are people who have to put 100% of their effort and time in
to have success. They are people who spend a lot of time working
when they'd maybe rather be somewhere else, or doing
something else. Being a full-time musician doesn't automatically
mean all your hard work stops! In fact, I'd say (at least for me),
it's been the beginning of much, much more work. Is it
rewarding? Absolutely. Is it anything but utterly fabulous to be
able to share your music with the world? No. It is literally the
greatest. But please - do me, and all the other working musicians
a favor - stop mythologizing what it is that we do. It's harmful to
you and insulting to us. Just DO it! You can join us if you're
willing to work! It's really not some unattainable goal. You just
have to make sure you're striving for what it is REALLY LIKE to be
a full-time musician, and not your glamorized version of what it
means. If your goal is an imaginary place, you'll never get there.
You have to be real.
Hang in there, and keep working hard. You'll get there! Until next
time, keep working. And then work some more.