Tuesday
Monday
Adam Lambert and Tiger Woods-Bigger Than Life for Real
There is a saying in show biz that has echoed in the ears of performers with some trepidation. I am not sure of its origin. Maybe you can track it down and drop me a comment. It goes something like this; “All publicity is good publicity.” Hummm, I am not sure about that given the possibility of being immediately roasted alive by the jokesters on late night TV and every internet outlet on earth. Many a politician, athlete, and entertainer have had an abrupt end to an otherwise fabulous career by protracted discussions among the various talking heads because of some malfeasance or indiscretion.
We have all seen the endless reruns of the footage of Adam Lambert and Tiger Woods, for example. This says two things to me when I analyze the impact of living a public life; 1. Sins will find you out and 2. Some sins are easier to forgive than others in the public eye. I think there can be forgiveness for some very bad judgment choices and some careers can recover from negative publicity. Lambert expresses no remorse while Woods has openly apologized. We have yet to see the ultimate cost of their public and private actions. But why risk a shipwrecked career and the scorn of the public. It seems much more reasonable to just keep your nose clean, so to speak, and work on building your career with positive press.
Many of us have a ways to go before we are up on the radar of most of the media moguls. Still, fan-base building is about connecting with your fans on their terms. My advice to all creative people on their way up is to build bridges rather than burning them. Careful attendance to how you are perceived by the public is of utmost importance.
As your fans hear and see your name, they will form an opinion of you which is actually only an image from their perspective. You will actually be bigger than life for real to them. They will imagine they know you and will require and even demand certain things from you. I believe in acting in a professional manner at all times. And if there is any possibility of it affecting your influence as a performer, whenever it is within your power, always do the right thing.
There is another saying in show biz that should be the mantra of everyone who aspires to earn an income while living the life of a public performer. It says that you are owned, at least in part, by the public and have an obligation to be a real pro without disappointing your fans on or off the stage, “The show must go on.”
©2009 WalkWay® Group All Rights Reserved, Steven Blanton
We have all seen the endless reruns of the footage of Adam Lambert and Tiger Woods, for example. This says two things to me when I analyze the impact of living a public life; 1. Sins will find you out and 2. Some sins are easier to forgive than others in the public eye. I think there can be forgiveness for some very bad judgment choices and some careers can recover from negative publicity. Lambert expresses no remorse while Woods has openly apologized. We have yet to see the ultimate cost of their public and private actions. But why risk a shipwrecked career and the scorn of the public. It seems much more reasonable to just keep your nose clean, so to speak, and work on building your career with positive press.
Many of us have a ways to go before we are up on the radar of most of the media moguls. Still, fan-base building is about connecting with your fans on their terms. My advice to all creative people on their way up is to build bridges rather than burning them. Careful attendance to how you are perceived by the public is of utmost importance.
As your fans hear and see your name, they will form an opinion of you which is actually only an image from their perspective. You will actually be bigger than life for real to them. They will imagine they know you and will require and even demand certain things from you. I believe in acting in a professional manner at all times. And if there is any possibility of it affecting your influence as a performer, whenever it is within your power, always do the right thing.
There is another saying in show biz that should be the mantra of everyone who aspires to earn an income while living the life of a public performer. It says that you are owned, at least in part, by the public and have an obligation to be a real pro without disappointing your fans on or off the stage, “The show must go on.”
©2009 WalkWay® Group All Rights Reserved, Steven Blanton
Friday
Reframe a Bad Gig Thankfully
Often, the source of disappointment and discouragement is our own inability to find proper context. We sometimes get caught up in the ideals of someone else’s career. From the outside we look and seeing success, we imagine that their journey will be our journey as well. After trying to replicate that journey, we realize that things aren’t working out in the same way for us as it did for them. It can become “career envy.” This can be a source of struggle for the musician or other creative brains out there.
We should always capture as much knowledge as possible from those pros, but we must distill from that knowledge only the transferables. Transferables will be those concepts that work in a universal sense including work ethic, connectivity, networking, commitment, creativity, and longevity. Those are the things that will make for a successful career in any field. The biggest challenge for musicians and the creative community in general is to act on that belief. Success will be about the individual as much as it is about the music. In other words, healthy, long-term, success is built on doing the right things and abandoning those things that are not. When we are able to look at our careers from a bird’s eye view, we can see that some things seem to work and some things fail. If we learn early on what those things are, it will move the process forward, perhaps saving us years of “hard knocks.” We then can better appreciate the success of others to get a leg up on our own future.
It is a great time to reframe our failures; to see what good can come from them. Each failure is a real opportunity to replace it with something that works. Every bad gig gives us a chance to redesign the show. Maybe it is the order of songs or perhaps the wrong songs altogether. Maybe the band needs more rehearsal or the frontman needs a key change. Just don’t beat yourself up. No good can come from that. These are the pieces that come together as we choose to view “failures” as points for “course correction.” This is what reframing is all about. And when you see it that way, it’s something we can be thankful for.
And in the spirit of the last blog, here is a list of things we can glean from some tough exposure to reality in the music business.
10 Things You Can Learn From a Bad Gig
1. Never work for that promoter again.
2. Get clear directions to the venue.
3. Bring your own sound guy.
4. Get in-ear monitors.
5. What’s a “Rider?”
6. Rehearse more.
7. Do some cover tunes that people know.
8. You are also in marketing.
9. Use good gear.
10. When do we get paid for this show?
We should always capture as much knowledge as possible from those pros, but we must distill from that knowledge only the transferables. Transferables will be those concepts that work in a universal sense including work ethic, connectivity, networking, commitment, creativity, and longevity. Those are the things that will make for a successful career in any field. The biggest challenge for musicians and the creative community in general is to act on that belief. Success will be about the individual as much as it is about the music. In other words, healthy, long-term, success is built on doing the right things and abandoning those things that are not. When we are able to look at our careers from a bird’s eye view, we can see that some things seem to work and some things fail. If we learn early on what those things are, it will move the process forward, perhaps saving us years of “hard knocks.” We then can better appreciate the success of others to get a leg up on our own future.
It is a great time to reframe our failures; to see what good can come from them. Each failure is a real opportunity to replace it with something that works. Every bad gig gives us a chance to redesign the show. Maybe it is the order of songs or perhaps the wrong songs altogether. Maybe the band needs more rehearsal or the frontman needs a key change. Just don’t beat yourself up. No good can come from that. These are the pieces that come together as we choose to view “failures” as points for “course correction.” This is what reframing is all about. And when you see it that way, it’s something we can be thankful for.
And in the spirit of the last blog, here is a list of things we can glean from some tough exposure to reality in the music business.
10 Things You Can Learn From a Bad Gig
1. Never work for that promoter again.
2. Get clear directions to the venue.
3. Bring your own sound guy.
4. Get in-ear monitors.
5. What’s a “Rider?”
6. Rehearse more.
7. Do some cover tunes that people know.
8. You are also in marketing.
9. Use good gear.
10. When do we get paid for this show?
A lesson learned is a success earned. Flops and failures are the perfect opportunity to do it better the next time.
©2009 WalkWay Group, Steven Blanton, All Rights Reserved
©2009 WalkWay Group, Steven Blanton, All Rights Reserved
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