The American Dream

Imagine.... I wake up every morning, and I go to work. I dream of nothing but going up and up in the company I work for. Its a good life. I always have money, and know exactly where I will be in 5 years. I am purchasing a house and am pregnant with my second child. Our first child, a boy, is the spitting image of his father. I have loans, credit cards, 2 cars, and a growing family. Its every American's dream. Its stable, comfortable, and something I have in common with most everyone else in the world. I get the paper, have Super Bowl Parties, walk the dog, go to the gym, go to movies, and do a lot of traveling. Very happy. Very safe.

Not like this life.
I have had many times where people act like I am crazy to want to play music for a living. It seems the impossible dream with the entertainment industry. One in throusands is able to make a living. I can work at Taco Bell if I want, but I can't just fill out an application for musicianship. Taco Bell says 'these are our operating hours. Be here #-# pm.' Music says 'Live me every second you can stand it or die.'
I had a guy say 'Oh a musician huh?!....I always wanted to carve wooden birds' (seriously) I wanted to ask him 'did you have a passion for it?' and then I knew that no....he didn't. If he did, he would be doing it.
I send my respect to my fellow struggling musician or anything else you do that is a struggle in less than average ways. Its a hard road with speed bumps and if you're not careful and focused, you will high center on your laziness, get down on yourself, and maybe even , sadly, give up.
Never give up.
Ok. Sometimes, we all get down and out about where we are and what we have to do next but do you really want to look back someday and say 'Man. I really should have done that when I had the chance.'  I am willing to bet that anyone who reads this is farther ahead in their goals than they even realize. I bet more people recognize your excellence than you know.
Don't let yourself down. Its a hard road ahead but anything worth it is rarely easy. Don't look back with regrets if you can ever help it.
I woke up 5 years ago and went "SHIT! Where did the time go?"  I thought I had plenty of time and I still do but in todays industry, 30 is 75 in musician years.
If I want this at my age, I have to push harder and harder every day not to give up because there are days when I wonder if I would be happy as a mother whos kids say 'ya she used to sing' and then I realize I wouldn't. I look up to people who want a different life than mine because I can't be that. I need to be more than normal, or average (not that either of those are bad). I need to say 'I did this.'  You can too. Say it everyday. Tell your friends and family you believe in you. They will to.....evn if only eventually.
Smile, amd remember you are you and no one else can make that claim. It what sets you apart and what makes you specia,l and you get the chance to creatively make you being you into a beautiful career.
Take care all :) XOXO.

P.s.  I am starting a new section of my blog. It will be interviewing fellow musicians about their beginnings and past. I think we all love hearing about other people and what they have done so I want to highlight that. If youre interested in this please email me. I dont have to know you to include you :)

A weekend with Ischa and Raffi of Uncle Scam

Wow. I am a lazy bitch. I have been saying for months that I want to go out and see more bands and meet more people but as many of you know, I get severe anxiety with new people so I honestly had a lot of trouble with that.  I have made excuses like everyone. See, there are many for anyone and I am willing to bet most of them are the same for most of us.  Have you said to yourself:

I am tired

I worked a lot this week

I need to relax

I have a lot to do

Ill go tomorrow

Maybe next time

No one comes to see me, I’ll try another time. They won’t care.

I don’t know whose playing

I don’t know where to go

I don’t have any money

I am performing all weekend and just can’t make room

On, and on, and on, and on. I have personally said these several times in the past. And do you know what happens? I am mad at myself later for missing out, or for pussing out lol. These aren’t BAD excuses. They’re completely valid. BUT. I learned something reallllly valuable this weekend that I think you all should know. I think we all KNOW these things but the proof is in the pudding people.

I’m Tired: Sleep when you’re dead. No one knows you’re tired. They don’t even know most of the time you’re NOT there (where ever there is) what they DO know, is when you ARE there. I was in love with how everyone knows Raffi and Ischa because it’s their BUSINESS to be there. AND they’re good friends. Those are HARD to find in this business so why wouldn’t you cherish people like that?

I worked a lot this week. Ya. We all did. It’s not like people who go out on the weekend have been sleeping all week.

I need to relax. See above.

I have a lot to do. Ya. Who doesn’t. Do you know how often Ty and I say things like, we need to practice more and then say ‘oh we have a lot to do though’ and then I sit and watch Netflix? Let’s just say logged lazy hours are embarrassing.

I’ll go tomorrow. An opportunity to support a fellow musician, friend, or just be there for something fun is gone every day. Tomorrow never seems to come when you say this.

Maybe next time. See above.

No one comes to see me…… MAYBE it’s because you don’t go to see them? Maybe it’s because they don’t know you? Maybe it’s because they don’t know you’re performing.

I don’t know whose playing. I loved that Ischa and Raffi knew things going on that I had NO idea about. We went to a photography studio Saturday with pole dancers but not strippers. These people were fit, hardcore serious athletes. It was amazing.  And Friday night we went to a show at The Depot for Mutaytor, a band with dancers, fire dancer, belly dancers, and girls in metal undies and sanders creating sparks!  Find people who have a few ideas, throw in your own ideas and spend some time seeing the night life in your city. Things are going on whether you know it or not.

I don’t have any money. Guess what. This is a bull shit excuse. Know how much I spent Friday night? I went to The Depot, Burt’s Tiki Lounge, and a few house parties.   15$. Know how much Ty and I spend Saturday night combined? We went to the photo studio, Piper Down, The Green Pig Pub, and Fat’s Grill. 40$.  I guarantee there’s something else you will do that spends that much money and you didn’t even know it.

I perform a lot this weekend. I really look up to Ischa and Raffi. They perform a lot, record, practice, they seem to be in print all over the place all the time, and yet always make the rounds to see people and be seen. You may not want to admit this but it’s important to be seen. Out of sight out of mind right? But more than that, I had more ‘experiences’ this weekend with 2 new friends than I have in quite a while. Sure I drank a bit but it wasn’t about partying and getting drunk. It was about experiencing what SLC has to offer which is a lot more than I knew. It was exciting to be a part of such adventure and relationship building.

 I also learned, that because my best friend is my partner and we have had the same excuses as everyone else,  I USED to know a LOT of people. I still know them. They don’t know me. Has anyone ever said ‘its not what you know, but who you know?’  You don’t have to be a total user douche to get what you want. Be a genuine person and meet other people and stay genuine and things will come to you.

Thank you Ischa and Raffi. You guys showed me that I could have a good time, without spending hoards of money, and meet new people even if I get nervous in crowds. It was really good for me to see that the idea of show hopping and meeting new people could be done cheaply, and efficiently and was worth the loss of a 11:00 bedtime. (BTW Make sure to check out their new project Minx)

It’s a never ending truth. If you want to be someone, be someone. Don’t sit at home with your talents alone on all your free time wondering why no one knows who you are. You can be the most talented person in the world and people may not know you. Get out. Support each other. But what’s most impressive to me, is making memories with other people and getting gout of your own way. And you will also learn how many talented bands there are that you have never heard. Loom, and The Suicycles are two of my new faves. And remember my last post? How it was about puttin on a show? One of the things it says is to bring your own lights. Loom does that and its Bad Ass!

Seriously, if I can attend several shows with groups of people I don’t know with my crazy anxiety issues, you can. J

Good luck. Go search for some shows you haven’t ever attended this week and make time. Sleep when you’re dead!

Check the pics.

Stage presence and the importance of people noticing

So.  I have been very aware of something lately.  There is this thing that seems to matter a LOT. People noticing you.

For years, I have been aware that people didn’t seem to remember me no matter what I did. Now, if you’re a musician, guess what…that’s bad.  You want, NO NEED people to remember you. If you are not a familiar face, you are the crowd. How can one become successful and prominent if no one knows who you are?

This has become my mission, to be remembered.

We have, in the past, performed places and met new people who we will run into again later and they remember Ty, but not me. I couldn’t figure out why. We have talent, we have drive, and people enjoy our music.

Then I realized that I have always had an understated style. Even when I tried out for American Idol YEARS ago, I wore a blue polo and khaki pants. Earrings were my only jewelry and my make up was everyday. I looked around me and saw people in sparkles and heels and scarves and some very loud clothing and I honestly thought at the time they were ridiculous.

All of a sudden, it isn’t that way anymore. 

One day, after a meet where Ty was recognized and not me, where we were also introduced as Ty and Melody (Its natural to say your friend’s name first even if it’s not the bands name) I went home and put two blonde streaks in my hair. I started pinning the streak in my bangs back and had a sort of Cruella DeVille thing going on.  Slowly, I saw people noticing me. Something SO simple. The hardest transition is from stage to floor. We rarely have a person at a merch booth for us, so if someone forgets who I am between the time it takes for me to walk off stage and get to the merch, they don’t know who to ask to buy it. Right? See where I’m going with this?

I have been seeing that there are a few things, though silly and seemingly political, that are very important to grow a full fan base when it comes to stage presence.

1: People must remember you.

2: Photographers will come to your shows to take your picture. They take tons of pictures in that time, unless you’re standing still and there isn’t a shot. You WANT them to get good shots of you. Why??? Because attendees of your shows see photographers and say ‘wow, they have photographers’ but then, in the follow up, if that photographer gets good shots, and shares them or you buy them, those are exactly the type of press and promotional material every successful musician needs.

3: Dressing in jeans and t shirts is ok. BUT, you have to perform. People come to your gig to be entertained. There is a HUGE difference between a musician and an entertainer. Entertainers make the most money. If you want to do this for a living, you have to make money.

4: Know your songs. I am SOOOOO guilty of not having this one down. My memory has never been good and it’s hard to keep songs in my brain. BUT your confidence isn’t going past your music book if you have one and therefore the audience gets left out.

5: Watch other bands with great stage presence. I recommend Uncle Scam (##1),  The Wayne Hoskins Band, Royal Bliss, and Juana Ghani.

Here are a few articles I found on stage presence. You will all see some changes with us soon as we learn more about movement, dress, and attitude.

http://www.catch-22productions.com/stagepresence.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Stage-Presence-As-a-Lead-Singer

http://www.rockyourguitar.com/how-to-develop-stage-presence-as-a-guitarist/

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/general_music/on-stage_antics_tips_and_suggestions.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_12136847_acting-tips-stage-presence.html

I highly recommend these articles to anyone who cares about their stage presence.

Also, If you don’t know, our CD release is this coming Friday April 20 at Fat’s Grill. 9pm. Dustin and Dave from The Wayne Hoskins Band will open for us and we will play songs from the new album. We are extremely excited about this album. Its our first full length, and we have put a lot into it. We recorded it at our house, wrote all the parts, and Ty did all the album art himself. It’s a great album and we can’t wait to share it with you all.

Thanks for all your support. We love you all.

Learning & If You Don’t Have Anything Nice.....

I have learned a lot recently. Too much I’m afraid to post on here, some too personal to want to. I am excited to share with you what I can though. I have made some serious self discoveries in the past few months and have been so busy and tired that writing the blog and newsletter has honestly fallen by the wayside. I apologize. Its harder the longer I wait to write them because something new happens every day and suddenly I don’t have the time, patience, or ability in general to write it all down. Maybe I should do a weekly blog lol.
As we get closer to finishing the album I am seeing what an asset it will be to our careers. I believe in my heart that The Devil In Me is going to set us off on a journey that we don’t have an inkling of the unimaginable possibilities it will send our way. That song came to me by divine nature and I have no idea how we lucked out with it.It means so very much and speaks to so many and it is a true blessing to be allowed to call it ours. Its about a year old so its past time to be released.
Ty got a new job and it has taken him out and about much more than I am used to so there has been much reflection and learning in that aspect as well. We went on our tour and spent every minute together and tours always remind me just how much I enjoy his personality and
company. He is one of the funniest people in the world (and also crankiest when
he’s tired lol)
We got to do a lot of firsts on the tour like see the Grand Canyon, Talk on an FM and AM radio station, Perform in new cities, meet wonderful people, almost get fleas at a super amazing hotel
lol, See old friends, and even learned at one gig that our original music has been sold short for far too long. We performed at one place in Phoenix that didn’t allow covers. Not only did people love it, we realized that our songs can hold a crowd on their own and that we were playing FAR too many cover songs normally.
Ty went out of town for work and I had 2 gigs so I asked two people I looked up to and respected to share them with me. The first was at Wingers with Brian Bingham. We just flew by the seat
of our pants and had a blast. We (By we I mean I lol) decided our fake band name would be The TownHouse Crackers. It was one of the most fun times I have had and really truly enjoyed it.
Saturday I played w a friend at Rovali's and it was a fantastic experience. I realllly love singing backups and it was such a fun and great opportunity to get to sing some with him. It sounded great, the fans liked it, the restaurant liked it, and I was SO glad I asked him to share it with me. Its always fun to try something new and singing harmonies with him just worked.
That weekend I learned that although I prefer NOT to, I CAN perform without Ty if I ever NEED to as sometimes he has to be out of town. I haven’t done that in a long time and it was really scary. I also learned I don’t understand our sound system and mechanisms as much as I should for someone who claims to be a professional musician. I need to learn it all if I want to stand on my own two feet with or without Ty standing next to me.
I also learned that Ty (though I never doubted this) puts so much to our music and while I enjoyed what I got from my other friends, I definitely felt the missing piece when he was out of
town.

Finally, I learned this: To all my musician friends…. I need to say this. Not to talk shit or be a bitch, but as an honest word of advice. DO NOT TRUST ANYONE. In this business, people will foolishly, maliciously, or sometimes not even on purpose, stab you in the back if you trust too much or say things that should never be said. Sometimes you can get sucked in and your best
intentions can be molded and worked into a totally different version of your words. Watch your mouths. I have seen trouble with this type of behavior in the past and was very lucky to be able to fess up to anything I have said because I never went too far with it. If you talk shit on people, people will talk shit on you. It’s a fact and can be deathly detrimental to your career. Watch your
mouths guys. No one else knows how to watch theirs and if you’re not able to pull away from those people before its too late, they WILL drag you down with them and cause more drama than anyone should ever have. I have had to cut people out in the past and though it’s hard, it’s a must. Many times, it will be people you have trusted and looked up to for years and you have to just
close the book. It feels good once it’s done and you see the improvement in your career, conscience, and overall happiness pretty much immediately. Drama sponges will suck you and all of your time to death. Be careful not to get mixed up in it. As they say. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
If you want this career in particular, arts and entertainment I mean, You have to remember that you don’t have many of the luxuries of being a total dick lol. People buy YOU. Your talent helps but if someone doesn’t like you or you’re a troublemaker or a drama sponge, they won’t book you. Ever.
I love you all my lovelies. We will have our album released in April and we truly believe you will all love it. Well……We hope you will lol.
Thank you all for your love, friendship, and patience. We truly need it, and dearly appreciate it.

The Hardest Days

Its 2:40am and I must write this while its fresh and I still feel it. Tonight we played a gig at an unnamed location. We promoted decently for people who don't have money to pay for advertising and invited some good friends.  It was one of those gigs that you set up sometimes having never been to the venue but the booking agent seems nice and they're guaranteeing pay so you do it. I email them to confirm a few days before and get a response from some one else 'yes we are exited to have you' etc.  We arrive at the venue early enough to set up and cover any kinks. The staff is very pleasant and nice and the non sound guy sound guy(it's his system but we set our own sound which is fine) after a second of weird conversation, seems very nice as well. We find out that the girl we booked with is gone but I don't worry too much because I have emails and have no qualms about being a total bitch when a contract isn't honored. Only if needed. No one seems to know if we gets drink discounts but that's ok. We order a few anyway. No one has seen the new contact person so we ask a few people to send him our way when they do.  We have a few close friends show up but not near the # that said they would. That's also fine. We have learned through the years that 10% of the people who say they'll come to a show actually do and it's usually the ones you least expect. (we know sometimes people can't make it. We appreciate when they let is know) The bartender seems nice enough and we get drinks and start on time. We are at a club/venue so we can hear the music in the other too and so we joke about it trying to get the crowd into us (by crowd I mean 7-10 people including 3 friends and staff) The bartender isn't amused. People cycle in a bit here and there and eventually 2 of our friends have to leave.  1 friend and a table of rowdy drunk kids later we are trying to keep our heads above water as they close down the bar in our room thereby eliminating walk throughs and are in the main room doing some contest for best legs?  We eventually gain another friend and as the night winds down we are in a room with 2 friends, no staff, and a drunk guy sleeping on a couch. Our new contact, whom we still haven't met, eventually makes his way into the room at 15-set end and in a strange way shows then drops our fee on the stage by Ty.  We pack up and leave without so much as a see ya or have a good night from any staff. Our 2 friends leave with us and we happily close the door shut behind us.  I write this to you not to complain, not to bad mouth, but to say we all have weird gigs and weird nights. We were extremely fortunate to have 2 people there to have our backs all night. We obviously didn't fit this venue and that happens. I wanted to tell u guys about this night that felt so raw and awful like an open wound or sharks in the sea with a swimmer who has a paper cut because so often I write with advice. This time I have none except that these gigs will occur and they're REALLY hard to get past and push through but you can do it. I only hope you're lucky enough to have a friend or two there to help you through. 

A passion, a business, a poser, a hobby , or a career

Over the years, we have met a lot of musicians. We have learned a lot about those musicians. We have also observed many give up, crash and burn, and just plain not try. None of these things mean we think any less of you, but if you're a musician who wants to make it 'big' here are some things I have learned.

There are are many ways to play music.
1: As a passion. You love it. You will play to anyone for anything anywhere any time. This is the purest and most beautiful version that everyone needs, but also the easiest to get totally fucked. Because you love it so much, you are so much more willing to do it for anything. This reeks of desperation and record companies love this. (See my link to why we wont sign a record contract? http://www.negativland.com/albini.html ) Being a passionate artist has its benefits but be careful to remember that you're trying to make a living and if you're not, you're actually in the hobby category.  Passion is step one of many steps. If you're going to make a living, you have to learn how to be business oriented. This moves us on to...
2: As a businessman. This can mean many things but as I'm sure you can guess, business becomes a+#1 importance. This person will make a good living and probably be very successful....but may not always be very happy. If you lose sight of your love for the music it will be a long unhappy road with lots of money and sponsors, but no different than a desk job most days.
3: The Poser. You play music because you happen to have the talent but you're more concerned with getting drunk, the perks and partying than being a performer. Many artists have made a name for themselves being the fun party drunk musician but it wasn't until they moved into another category that people took them seriously... or they died. Harsh? Yes. It truly is. There is nothing wrong with drinking and having fun at your gigs, but when a venue pays you good money to entertain their crowd, they don't always love you doing it with your belligerence. Many will never say anything either because you have now spent your entire paycheck at their bar and liquor is cheap so that's a damn good deal on their end. This means free entertainment for them, and no income for you. Be careful with this one. It will suck you in and you will think you're living the rock star lifestyle, but in all reality you're living dangerously close to a cliff that will yank you over its edge before you realize its too late. And it ages you horrifically.  (He's only 68 years old!)

4: The hobby. You love playing music but have no idea or care to make money or work on your craft. Family and friends easily deter you from your slight goal with jobs, marriages, kids, and other things that will take precedence. This isn't bad. Its just your category. You don't perform regularly and as time goes on, living room practice becomes less and less.
5: A career.  You are a good mix between everyone. You understand that if you make 150$ at a gig and spend 150$ at a gig you made no money and that gig was pretty much free. If you're ok with that great. But you'll never be able to quit your day job. You understand that you are an entertainer and your crowd has to enjoy themselves or else why would the venue ask you back? Because you have talent? Talent doesn't make the venue money. Entertainment does. Shitty bands get paid all the time because they're entertaining. If someone comes to see you and is entertained they will stay longer than if you just sound good. Its the truth. If they wanted to listen to good music they can turn on their radio. You have to offer something better than what they can go find somewhere else for free and give them a reason to stay. You also understand that your relationships with the venues are important. if you're late, cancel all the time, bring rude rowdy friends, ask for freebies all the time, expect the world, or pretty much just act like a total dick, if you cant bring in so many people that the venue HAS to look past your bull shit, they wont. You practice because you want to AND have to, you write for the same reasons. You pay attention to your income, but you also understand that you should have some leeway to enjoy yourself or you'll get burned out. You live with in your means, and you keep track of your taxes. (if you don't, and you start making money and get audited good luck with that) And... most importantly, you love it. The day you stop loving it, Quit. I mean that. Don't play music for anyone but you. Don't worry about your stage set up or set list or if you have proper skills or if someone doesn't like you or if your song is about something controversial or if the band before you sucked or if the band after you sucks or if you should have worn something else or if you hit one bad note, or if you are tired, you're too skinny, you're too fat, your personal hygiene is bad (The used? lol ya. )
 you're not in the mood to be there, the legs of your pants got wet in a puddle, you have to pee, you coughed in the middle of a song. SHIT. Stop worrying. Play music. Play good music that you enjoy and feel it. How many times do I say on here. Feel what you're playing. It is really important to 99% of your crowds. Do what you feel you will be proud of doing not what you think everyone else wants you to do or what you think will make you famous. The harder you try to be famous the less likely you will be...unless you flash your crowd your boobs and buy them all shots every night or some stunts like that lol People will come for that lol.
All of these categories are not set in stone and you can become a new category if you want, but you can't move into one with out knowing which you are now.
I wish you all luck and hope you know that we never hope for bad to come to anyone. We may see it coming. Others will to. But we wish and hope and pray to see you all on the other side. For our sake AND yours. Good luck with your gigs this weekend. We love you all and are so grateful to know you. XOXO.

I'm BAAAACK!

Hey everyone. Remember when I used to do a blog and then I didn't. Ya me too. I've decided that as a New Years resolution (which I normally disagree with 100% as most of them are a set up for failure) it was time I start sharing again. This year, I will be unapologetic and say what I want. One thing I hate about facebook and other social networks is that I feel like I have to watch what I say. In all reality I think that idea is bull shit but I try to be considerate. To start a blog is like a very public diary and I have never censored my diary.....unless I thought someone was reading it lol.

Today I want to touch on paying your dues and the stupid little decisions that can and mostly will effect your progress. This can apply to non musicians too. You can't continuously change your college major and expect a super sweet high paying job to land in your lap. (rarely anyway lol)
I know many people who have reinvented themselves many times over or even just one or two times in an effort to become what they think they should. We have stayed the same group but had to start over due to name changes and moving and sound changes. We still fight for club gigs because of our reputation for slow music.
Ironically I wanted to write about this and then I read a blog from one of my favorite music professionals Cari Cole. She teaches in New York and we were fortunate to meet her in LA at ASCAP. She has many years of experience in music and the professional side of the business and I swear by her advice. Google her. You ll find her and love her. (or go to http://www.caricole.com). She talked today about being you for you and how important that is. She also talked about how no ones journey is the same.
I heard Matt Nathanson talk about this last year at ACAP as well. Just because someone makes it one way doesn't mean you will and honestly chances are BECAUSE someone made it one way your chances of following in their footsteps are much lower.
Here's my advice, remember, it may be coming from an undiscovered artist but still, we are progressively getting somewhere so don't count me out completely. Good advice is always good advice no matter the source.
They say you pay your dues for an average of 10 years. 10 years is a long time but it separates the men from the boys, it shows who is serious and for a company, record exec, financier, anyone who is paying attention, there is something to be said for sitting back while a band builds its fan base, becomes something bigger, and shows they are serious. Anyone can play music. Not everyone can react properly or even handle how the business will treat them.
The trick is to grow and evolve in your current world or move on as quickly as you can so you can properly pay your dues. If you have been playing for 30 years and have yet to hit what ever level your goal may be, I am willing to bet you've been in several bands or projects. This is because you don't pay your dues as a person. You pay them as a project. It takes 10 years on average for enough people to hear of your music to stand out above everyone else. If you change your genre, your city, your band name, you're pretty much starting over. Very rarely can you make a name for yourself moving around and changing yourself at all times. Can you imagine a business changing names and advertising that they sell floor cleaner and then you to find them and they're named something else and sell Dry wall? How can they get business that way? They will constantly battle their previous name and ideas against their new stuff.
As a solo artist it's the same. But when youre in a band you're involving other people in those changes. Either their not in your band anymore (generaly you can take away the fans that person brought from your attendance list) or they now have to tell their friends they bought in as fans that you're different and people don't respond well to being a fan of something that changes. Like your favorite restaurant. I used to love Ruby Tusdays and then they changed and as they're out of business now, I take it I wasn't the only one unhappy about it.
Be you for 10 years strait. Don't change your genre, don't change your name, don't feel entitled to a bigger following or crowd because you started playing alone 20 years ago and have been with your current band for 5 months. It doesn't work that way.
Final piece of advice. Be you and be consistent but evolve. You can't continue to play the same songs with the same set list the same way over and over and over and expect people not to get bored. You have to grow. How? Fuck if i know! Its not the same for everyone. People become your fan because they like watching you become someone they look up to more and more. And of course your music. But more the latter......just remember how many famous bands there are out there that aren't THAT great. It's because their fans love them. They love them for who they are and have been and who they're becoming. Find what youre best at at do it better every time and make it something people notice most. Harmonica? Learn some kick ass harp solos and rock the shit out of them. Singer? Splatter your heart all over the audience. Guitarist? Learn or write some sweet riffs and knock the socks off your crowd even if there are only 2 people there. Then....keep doing it. Not always the same solos and songs, do more and more AND get really good at the ones you already did.

Be willing to stick through 10 years minimum before you see results. If not, that's fine too but don't expect much more than a hobby.

Thanks for reading.
Xoxo