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.

One CRAAAZY Week and A Half!

Sitting here enjoying some quality day time television because I dont have to work I am trying to remember all that has happened. A few weeks ago we had the busiest week we have had in a long time and we felt like total Rockstars! LOL It actually started on Thursday a few weeks ago. Our festival is well on its way and we are/were in need of sponsors. No one would give us a strait answer so I went out to park city, Sponsor Packet in hand, and went to any business I could give reason and asked them to give us money. Its scary and uncomfortable. As statistics usually go in these things, we came away with 1 yes. BUT, we found others in other ways. It felt like a wasted day off at first. Now I realize it was successful. I found a place called Reyes Adobo in Park City who has delish tacos. Friday night we played at Fat's Grill with Steven Swift. He is so damn good! Saturday night we played at a benefit concert in Layton for a little girl named Paige with cancer. We then drove over to Poplar Street Pub to watch Steven Swift play the rest of his set. There was a 'Le Bus' that dropped off a group of people who I am pretty sure are extras on Jersey Shore, and this group of women who were failing at dancing sexy for the bar lol. Sunday, we were working on good ol Acoustic All-Stars stuff and did the father's day stuff. Monday, we worked and then joined our new friends Mateo Coleti and Rachael Alvine to be extras in their new show on Park CityTV called This Is Park City. That was a very fun night. Spending time filming clips at Butcher's Chop House... And Lindzee O'Michaels where we took a shotski, found out a salad from the sushi bar next door isn't exactly what you expect, and danced in the parking lot. And this guy, Tuesday night, we played at The Grove Theater event to break the world record. Unfortunately, they had a few things happen that stopped them from succeeding before it even began, but I thought it was super cool that they just kept on going anyway. We met this cool guy (and I apologize because I can't remember his name) that did THE best cover of John Mayer's cover of Tom Petty's Free Fallin. I think I found my next tattoo lol. JEALOUS! Wednesday, We met with Mateo and Rachael, and Alex from Rovali's Ristorante about the July 16 all day all ages version of the Acoustic All-Stars Music Festival. Thursday work from home night, then Friday, we packed up the car for a long weekend and drove out to Lyndon to play at Naarah Black's house concert with her and Greg Downs. Her mom made these AMAZING cupcakes and treats. MMMMM Then directly after the show we drove to Logan to sleep and got there around 2am, and got up at 5am to drive to Bear Lake and play at a 5K benefit for cancer. Woke up early, and played in Bear Lake 7am , then drove strait to Cedar City to perform at Groovefest at 7:30 pm. We ended up playing for about 30 minutes where usually the side stage gets 2-3 songs. They had some problem with the power and kept asking us to play more. We only had 4 songs ready because I dont know our songs. (hence the book o' songs) So we had to pull 5 or so songs out of our asses and hope to God I dont forget it in front of thousands of people lol. We did it though. It was a great show. Apperently, after we left, a lady had heard us on the radio (as they boradcast Grovefest in Cedar City) to buy our CD and we had taken our Merch with us (dumb us lol)so she didn't get one. SOOOO cool though :) Sunday morning, after we took a few pictures with Steve, we were on our way home. This was so much fun and we thank you all for being a part of it.

Building Something from Awesome...

Long long ago, in a city not so far away, I decided I hated work. Work is the worst thing even invented and farming and trading goods was still not all that great. I wonder to myself, 'Why can't I be something awesome, like a mattress tester, or a video game tester, or some other kind of tester that was fun and relaxing?' But alas, No such job has ever been made available to me. What is surprising is that you need a degree to make $ testing video games and there are NO people who go into work and make their living taking naps on new mattresses....are there? I know most people hate their jobs, so I say, if you hate it and there's something you love to do, figure out how to make money doing it. You can! But HOW?
This is the journey we have yet to take.
We have been fortunate in the press we have gotten, and even some of the places we've played and people we've opened for but still when we call to book and places we have played several times, even THEY don't even know who we are lol. We have learned so much in this world of music, and yet, we are soooooooo new to this.
I have learned about the ways of music from an embarrassing amount of TV and radio. Music videos we're my radio and they were always on. My dad played old 8 tracks with old old old music on them and I realized from "May the Bird of Paradise Fly up your Nose" (real song, look it up) you can be a silly songwriter. I tried that as a kid and it was not the fit for me. I have learned that some of the more experienced musicians are the biggest a-holes and some of the less experienced are the greatest people you could ever meet. But growing a business is its own learning experience entirely. Because that's what this is. A business. I wouldn't mind if we could perform for a living and make close to what we make now at the full time jobs we love so dearly. That shouldn't be TOO hard. But there's so much to it and you have to take it seriously. Theres research, pictures, new songs, legal issues to understand or know someone who does that can help you, taxes, your image, social media, and so much more than I even imagined.
In an effort to bring a community together as well as build some worth for our business, Ty and I founded an acoustic music festival called The Acoustic All-Stars (http://www.acoustic-allstars.com) about 3 years ago. The first 2 years were spent working out kinks, which will inevidably continue, but now its growing more. If we can't advertise, it will not grow, and eventually die. This is a huge task because I have never done anything like asking for sponsors before and quite honestly its scary as hell. But, knowing that if we can't make a business out of music, I'll sit behind my desk for the rest of my life, we HAVE to succeed. This is all part of our plan to take over the music universe......or at least a small corner of it.
I have heard numerous interviews with actors, singer, writers, all these "you'll never make it" type industries, and so many have said 'I wasn't successful until I risked it all and did this full time. Then I had nothing else to fall back on I had NO choice and HAD to make it.'
The biggest problem we have is that everything we do is twice as expensive. I can't quit my job and tour with out him, and vise versa. If we tour, it costs us twice what it costs our solo friends. Food, gas, everything. Most people have one of 3 situations. 1: They're solo or in a band, but their spouse, significant other, parents work and cover extra expenses. 2: Their job pays well and they're financially fit now so they can work AND tour as much as they want, or 3: They are already successful musicians making their living that way.
So we have started saving money to pay off all debts, and working on a business model, which I had heard of before but when told we should do it, I thought...'How have we NOT done that!?' (Thanks http://www.Gregdowns.com)So now, to learn what a business model is. lol
If anyone has some suggestions, we'll take them :D
We need to learn how to monetize this bitch. lol It is time!
We also have to realize that management in the music industry isn't what it used to be. Now everything is DIY. Getting a big record contract isn't the dream most of us have anymore because we can loose our creative freedom, and a huge chunk of hard earned money to the company/label taking good care of us. Besides, a lot of labels sign you and then say, ok keep doing what you're doing, good luck, we may drop you.
Here's what Im reaching at. If I could travel the world singing and writing songs and meeting the awesome people we get to meet at shows, I wouldn't work another day in my life. Its not work to me. I have only ever played a show one or two times that felt like I was going to a job. Its the thing that I was born to do. Its what makes me breathe. (Id add eat but thats not why. I love food!)
Let me tell you how it feels. Its like the best drug ever that makes you feel like you're in the right place, and is almost orgasmic but in the purest form. Its zen and its beautiful. This is all really deep........