A Year of Music

Well, here we are. We made it to the end of another year. 2012 has definitely tried my patience since January 1st. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I kept telling myself that surely things couldn't get worse. Surely I was at the bottom and was now on my way up. Nope. Haha! I definitely had my world rocked in a bad way from January 1st thru mid-October. Looking back, I'm honestly shocked that I survived the stress. What kept me going? Music. Music has saved me over and over. I am truly grateful to have such an incredible outlet, talent, career, gift, whatever you'd like to call it. I've never been one for running off and telling my problems to every person I see, or exploding and going off on my offenders. I get more comfort from sitting in front of the piano and singing my guts out or just sitting outside, strumming the guitar. I always feel a bit better afterwards. Music keeps me grounded.

2012 taught me some very valuable lessons with regards to music and also helped me to end up in better situations by default. I'm very stubborn, and sometimes life needs to kick me to wake up and see better options. It is always my hope that someone will learn from my experiences without having to learn them the hard way. Here's what I've learned and re-learned...

• Every person that claims to have your best interests in mind, doesn't. Words are just words...unfortunately. A person with excellent character will put their words into action. There are very few people that can claim to be a "man/woman of their word."
• Money means more to most people than true happiness. Money is not happiness. People will give up on their dreams for more money. Money tricks people into selling out on what they really want and eats up their time in the pursuit of more money. 
• Lazy musicians will not suddenly morph into responsible musicians. If a musician is truly interested and excited about the band/project...and isn't viewing it as just a way to kill time or collect a paycheck, they will show up for practices on time, prepared, and playing well because they have actually practiced because they care about the quality of the group, and they will commit themselves to that particular band/project. It is exactly like a relationship. The person that is truly interested will do everything they can to help make the relationship great because it is important to them. If they aren't interested, they will be wishy-washy and fail to commit.
• Don't be afraid to let your music evolve. Placing yourself in a box will just make things tedious. Spend some time listening to other artists/bands/genres. Take lessons on a new instrument. Experience other art forms. Spend a day out in the woods. Talk with other musicians and learn from their experiences. You can expand your musical world by paying attention to things you haven't experienced yet. Every experience stirs up an emotion that you can then strive to recreate in your music.
• Don't give up on your dreams just because others have given up on theirs. Don't listen to their negative words. Every person that I have met that has achieved their dreams has ONLY encouraged me to continue with mine. Realize that people that have traded in their dream for a "practical job" and "normal life," will want you to suffer too. Misery loves company. Don't fall for it.
• The show must go on...even when your fingers are bleeding all over the piano. Haha! I played a gig and my fingers got all cut up on this piano. I literally played with bloody hands. The point is, you don't stop. The audience doesn't care. You NEVER bail out of a gig unless you have a major emergency, terrible sickness, or you are dead (although I'm certain I'd find a way to be there by showing up as a poltergeist or something nifty haha!). I have heard of so many musicians bailing on gigs at the last minute for petty reasons or just not showing up. This is unacceptable. Musicians want to be treated well, but we have to show that we deserve it. Irresponsible, lazy musicians have no business being in the business. Please quit now for the sake of those of us that are capable of doing the job well.
• Treat your fellow musicians with respect. Let's face it...we all know that "one guy" that has the biggest ego on the planet or that "diva" that thinks the sun rises and sets for her. I've had to work with some ridiculous human beings. I've had people steal private students from me and then play all innocent (meanwhile, said students inform me of how things truly went down). I've had people steal equipment and music from me. I've had people create horrific lies and talk badly behind my back. Sure, it stinks when everything gets back around to me (and it always does), but I'm not going to go out of my way to treat that person poorly...or end up looking just as awful as they do. It isn't fair. It makes me angry, but I just write another great song and get over it (someday I will have a lot of less-than-stellar people to thank when I receive my Grammy Awards haha!). Sure, I don't trust these negative musicians and as a result, I'll never recommend them for anything. However, I will not treat them the way they have treated me. I will be civil and that is enough.
• Don't let society dictate the style of music you listen to...and don't feel that you can only pick one genre! There's so much great music out there. Go experience music for yourself. Don't let people tell you what to listen to. Maybe you will stumble onto an unknown artist's music that you can connect with on a whole new level. Then you can share this music with others and so on...helping to further this artist's career. Unfortunately, people seem to like having others make their decisions for them, and many fantastic artists never get the opportunity. Please support new music. It is a fun and positive activity that does a lot of good for the future of our music.
• Jealousy and ego trips have no place in music. Every voice, every band, every guitar player, drummer, bass, sound engineer, producer, songwriter, etc...HAS THEIR OWN UNIQUE STYLE. Stop being jealous over something that you can never recreate exactly, because you yourself have your own unique style and you should be grateful and proud of what you have. You should be working on your own skills and capitalizing on your unique style. Don't worry about what other people are doing. Be happy for their success and continue to move on towards your own success. Remember, music is a fragile thing. The best singer can crack a note or forget their words. The best guitarist can flub their solo. What we do is difficult. Let's stop pretending that it's so easy for us. Great music performances are awesome to listen to and watch BECAUSE IT IS DIFFICULT. Duh! Practicing makes us fantastic...but not infallible. There's no room for ego. Have confidence in your abilities and feel good about what you do...but don't be an ass about it. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! Rock on into 2013!!! 

P.S. Santa Claus brought me a band for Christmas! =) Check out my band's Facebook page and "like" us for updates! Veiled Words