A little late??

 Well... I guess it's pretty obvious that I am coming late to this game of touring, performing, singer/songwriter.  And with that, I guess, comes the trepidation that people are not going to "get" me.  That comes up whenever it feels like it and there really is no way to put it back down except to plow through and dare to suck!!!   Take yesterday morning for instance.  Upon waking up I had to get ready and out the door fairly quickly to do what I do to make sure the bills get paid.  (I heard a fellow musician at an open mic last night proclaim..."go for it.. there's HUNDREDS of dollars to made in the music business out there)  So here I am, well into my fifties, and thinking about how to get my songs heard and liked, my name known, and listeners to come hear me play and, liking what they hear, buy my Cd's.  And all of this in places I have never been to, let alone played at.

So on the way to work I am feeling helpless and focusing on how hard it is... woe is me.... who wantws to hear me... how can I possibly pay for all this???   I get through my day with my ipod on listening to people who have done, or are doing it...  and this reinforces the feeling that I am just too late to be playing this young persons game and feeling like I'd just rather watch TV than go out to the open mic I was planning to attend and play at.    But.... upon cracking open my email when I arrive back home, I have a message from a new venue in a new town that is inviting me to play.  Well that sure raises a smile...   hey, they like me!!!    And that get's me turning my thoughts from the easy choice of staying home to the better choice of realizing that I do the day thing so I can go out and play at night, listen to others, network, be musical with musical people.   

It works!!!   I get up steam and head out to an open mic at a place I will be performing next month and I sit and listen... and then it's my turn... and low and behold, whether it's an illusion I have created or reality, people start peeking in from the next room and seem really interested in what I am doing.   The 3 people that were in the room when I started grew to about 15 (most everyone that was there) and I felt more confident in giving them the best of what I had.  I came away with a feeling that I am not nuts, that I have valid music to share, and that by doing what I love and have wished for my whole life, I am generating a feeling of good will, helpfulness and interest that, i believe, is necessary if I am going to support myself and travel around the country with my guitar and voice and my hand out.

Maybe I'll be that story that inspires other people that are beginning that next phase of life.. after children...  to go find and do what you love to do.. get good at it and share it with an appreciative world.  I guess I hope so anyway.
Peace
Enjoy what you do~!

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