I get up very early these days.
I can place some of the blame on my 16 year old cat, Amos (who has recently taken to staging dramatic scenes at 5 a.m.), but I know that it's just me, unable to be still. It's 8:30 in the morning where I am, and I've already replied to several emails, made a list of incentives for people who might invest in a project of mine, and practiced the song I wrote last night. Twice.
The real reason behind it all, is that Family Album comes out three months from today. The project that has taken nearly three years to make, cost more money than I have, and acted as a litmus test for all of my relationships... Will be done. If I can pull it off, that is. I'm still dragging it around with me, like a kid that's twice my size and really ought to be walking by now. There are still things to be done with the art and layout, and the nice people at the manufacturing plant are patiently standing by. All I have to do is everything, all the time. No big deal. We'll get there. This kid will walk.
Part of letting go of the album involves doing other, big-n-scary things like having a proper website made. This has been a point of serious avoidance for me, for literally years now. Something about all that razzle dazzle, or worse, mock humility, makes me just cringe and hide from it all. I'd convinced myself that since I don't look at other artists' websites, surely no one did. This appears to be untrue, and people in my life have been gently tossing terms like "self-sabotage" and "wanting to fail" my direction for consideration. The awkward realization is that I do, in fact, need someplace to sell the albums I've labored over, and it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have this blog, plus my show photos and tour dates all available in one place. While I rather fancy the adventure of each of those tidbits being in different locations, therefore making it impossible for anyone to really see what I'm up to... It seems that "the gig is up", as the late, great Jerry Reed once said. I'm sure to find new ways to harm my own career, but for now, I'm moving ahead with having a website built. If anyone has any specific wants or needs for that site, I'd love to hear your suggestions. It will (hopefully) be up a couple of weeks before Family Album comes out.
Another crazy thing that might be happening is: A VIDEO. Yup. A power greater than myself has sent a major self-esteem challenge my way in the form of an opportunity to visually represent one of the songs on Family Album. A team of ridiculously talented and lovely people are interested in making a video for 'True Story', the opening song on the record. I love this idea, as that song is a happy, fun song outlining a series of simple truths about me and my life so far. It was recorded at my own home, with a gang of my best friends who were here from all over the country. If all goes according to plan, we'll shoot the video here in Nash as well, using my house as one of the locations. Now, I've never made a music video before, but I've been planning them in my head ever since the first time I saw 'Thriller', and I'm SO excited by this prospect. The logistics, of course, are a big point of concern. We need money, the right people, etc. I'm trying to detach from the outcome, but I can tell you all right now, that's impossible. My hopes are high, and I'm going to bust my ass to make it happen. Nashville friends, I might be calling on you to participate. If we do it, it'll happen in mid-January. Cross your fingers and toes!
Lastly, here come the holidays. I'll be spending Thanksgiving with my sweetheart and am very happy about that. I'll be in Boston in December, and have two shows up that way, right after Christmas. For anyone who remembers my band, 33 Slade, the three of us (Boey Bertold, Levi Fuller and myself) will be playing separately and together on December 27th at ZuZu in Cambridge. I wish I could watch that one from the audience, but they're expecting me to sing. So, come hang out and bare witness. The next night, December 28th, I'll be solo at Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan. I'll be playing some old songs, as well as brand new songs. Please come say hello!
I'm off to another day of telling myself I can do this.
I figure, if I say it enough times, I'll start to believe it... Right?
Thanks for listening.I can place some of the blame on my 16 year old cat, Amos (who has recently taken to staging dramatic scenes at 5 a.m.), but I know that it's just me, unable to be still. It's 8:30 in the morning where I am, and I've already replied to several emails, made a list of incentives for people who might invest in a project of mine, and practiced the song I wrote last night. Twice.
The real reason behind it all, is that Family Album comes out three months from today. The project that has taken nearly three years to make, cost more money than I have, and acted as a litmus test for all of my relationships... Will be done. If I can pull it off, that is. I'm still dragging it around with me, like a kid that's twice my size and really ought to be walking by now. There are still things to be done with the art and layout, and the nice people at the manufacturing plant are patiently standing by. All I have to do is everything, all the time. No big deal. We'll get there. This kid will walk.
Part of letting go of the album involves doing other, big-n-scary things like having a proper website made. This has been a point of serious avoidance for me, for literally years now. Something about all that razzle dazzle, or worse, mock humility, makes me just cringe and hide from it all. I'd convinced myself that since I don't look at other artists' websites, surely no one did. This appears to be untrue, and people in my life have been gently tossing terms like "self-sabotage" and "wanting to fail" my direction for consideration. The awkward realization is that I do, in fact, need someplace to sell the albums I've labored over, and it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have this blog, plus my show photos and tour dates all available in one place. While I rather fancy the adventure of each of those tidbits being in different locations, therefore making it impossible for anyone to really see what I'm up to... It seems that "the gig is up", as the late, great Jerry Reed once said. I'm sure to find new ways to harm my own career, but for now, I'm moving ahead with having a website built. If anyone has any specific wants or needs for that site, I'd love to hear your suggestions. It will (hopefully) be up a couple of weeks before Family Album comes out.
Another crazy thing that might be happening is: A VIDEO. Yup. A power greater than myself has sent a major self-esteem challenge my way in the form of an opportunity to visually represent one of the songs on Family Album. A team of ridiculously talented and lovely people are interested in making a video for 'True Story', the opening song on the record. I love this idea, as that song is a happy, fun song outlining a series of simple truths about me and my life so far. It was recorded at my own home, with a gang of my best friends who were here from all over the country. If all goes according to plan, we'll shoot the video here in Nash as well, using my house as one of the locations. Now, I've never made a music video before, but I've been planning them in my head ever since the first time I saw 'Thriller', and I'm SO excited by this prospect. The logistics, of course, are a big point of concern. We need money, the right people, etc. I'm trying to detach from the outcome, but I can tell you all right now, that's impossible. My hopes are high, and I'm going to bust my ass to make it happen. Nashville friends, I might be calling on you to participate. If we do it, it'll happen in mid-January. Cross your fingers and toes!
Lastly, here come the holidays. I'll be spending Thanksgiving with my sweetheart and am very happy about that. I'll be in Boston in December, and have two shows up that way, right after Christmas. For anyone who remembers my band, 33 Slade, the three of us (Boey Bertold, Levi Fuller and myself) will be playing separately and together on December 27th at ZuZu in Cambridge. I wish I could watch that one from the audience, but they're expecting me to sing. So, come hang out and bare witness. The next night, December 28th, I'll be solo at Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan. I'll be playing some old songs, as well as brand new songs. Please come say hello!
I'm off to another day of telling myself I can do this.
I figure, if I say it enough times, I'll start to believe it... Right?
xoxo, bu
the funny thing is, before i got to this blog, i had typed in "buickaudra.com" and was shocked that it didn't exist!
ReplyDeletefear not of creating your digital presence. i'm a big exhibitionist and i really enjoy the blogosphere and pouring over artist's websites and blogs, so i've always put a lot of time into my blog/website. but it can sometimes feel like a totally silly thing. if anything, my website comes first before i actually do the work that the website is supposed to promote -- so i wish i had your problem instead! ha. but sometimes in that same vein, the site can serve like a blueprint for your art. once you write your bio on a website, it's hard not to stay on track with who you want to be/where you want to go.
this singer has a really cute (very fancy and probably paid for by her management, but still cute) website here: http://www.ladylambthebeekeeper.com
i like that she still keeps it personal by sharing her journal pages, etc. (under "in the books")
good luck!