Power of music and human interaction

For musicians the importance of music is in most cases something almost impossible to explain. We live a breath it. In my arrogant youth I did feel like we were somehow “special”. But the older I have grown, the more I seem to realize that for most people it really is a lifeline. In the past few months I have spent quite a lot of time on Twitter talking to people about music. It has been a great experience as I have discovered so much great new music. Another side effect of growing older for me seems to be growing a taste for country music, but hey that’s all together another story. But what I have realized, with hundreds of people I’ve been talking to, is the connection, a bond the music creates between people from as close or as far as can be. And it does not matter, if you play music or not. If it rocks your world and keeps you going, then you know what I am talking about.

This has made me realize that I have been looking at my own musical career from a completely wrong direction. Yeah, I would consider myself reasonably successful, I mean I have been playing music for 17 years as my “job”. But as musicians we are in a little bit of a bubble. We get stuck on the way things are supposed to be done. I seamed to get stuck on either on the smallest minute details, that just took so much time, or trying to plan for the big picture without connecting the dots between. What I have learned, in the past six months by just opening my eyes could be the most important lesson I have ever learned about promoting my own music. And the secret is up there in what you just read. It’s that human connection! I think somehow with the birth and teenage years of rock and popular music we all got so exited about the big picture, that we forgot the individual. Because that is where it starts! You will never play your first show to a 300 people and all of them buy your album and bring all of their friends to the next show. But funny enough, that is exactly what so many people over the years told me to do… Now here is the secret, are you ready? One “fan” at the time! We have a wonderful tool at your fingertips that we call the internet. You can reach out to people who like similar music to yours. But it will not work unless you are truly trying to make friends with people. That’s why I hate using the word “fan”, I try to make friends. And don’t get this mixed up with your friends who you hassle to come to your shows. I mean friends you made through your music. Now those eager musicians out there expecting me to hand you down the secret tools to do all this, well I can only show you the tools I use. What you do with them is up to you. I am not saying I have found the Holy Grail of promotion. What I am saying, is that I can see consistent growth, much more than anything I have been able to great in the past. And I am doing it by being me, honest, open and taking my time to connect with people. And I have music to thank for this 🙂

J.P.

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