My mother likes my music!

I'm not one to rest on my laurels or toot my own horn; I figure if I'm any good, people will seek me out and such. But today something happened that made me reconsider my whole outlook on music.

My mother, likes my tunes.

Let me give you some background. My immediate family (my mother and I) are immensely practical people. It's all about the ends. While I enjoy writing tunes, and performing- I'm looking to make it my career, not a hobby. When I first talked about being a musician, my mother and my uncle both tried to steer me into more "profitable" fields of study. "Why don't you minor in music and major in something else?" was something that I heard a lot when I considered getting a degree in music. And while my mother has been a good supporter (as well as the rest of the family) of my craft, let's just say I wouldn't say she enjoyed the music I did.

I gave her a CD to listen to. Rough cuts, I did on a digital recorder and badly miked. I wanted her to listen to it. I gave it to her about a month ago. I fully expected she'd listen, and say "that's nice" and that'd be the end of it.

I get a call from her this morning. We're talking about the usual; getting a watch fixed, the place I'm playing on August 22nd. (read more about it here: http://www.facebook.com/jamesrobinsonparran#/event.php?eid=233624725216), other stuff. Then she tells me she'd listened to my CD. Oh boy, I think, here it comes.

She genuinely liked the music. One of the songs she'd listened to was "Mistake" which she enjoyed a lot, and every song she had something positive to say.

Color me flabbergasted. I'd been back and forth about what to do with music since it's not really panning out so well for me as of late, but that was a shot in the arm for me. Suddenly, I had validation. I've had people tell me before that they like my songs, or that I was talented- I take all of that with a grain of salt. People will say things like that, to avoid saying things that might be hurtful or harmful. My mother doesn't really lie to me. Nor will she spare my feelings about things. If it were bad, she'd tell me. I appreciate it, because it's nice to have one honest opinion in this world.

So that was it. There's no great coda for this entry. No lesson learned, or thoughts deeper than maybe, just maybe- I might have something good going on here.

And if you want to listen, you can at http://facebook.com/jamesrobinsonparran

This business of Music

So today, I began not by making a game plan but by jumping in head first. Before I can come up with a plan to sell my music to interested buyers, I needed to take care of some pressing business first. I needed to get my band a gig.

Incidently, interested parties can check us out here:

http://myspace.com/justprevailsband

So I hole myself up at the local library and get my handy dandy computer out and get to work. Thus far I've contacted only 7 places in the city, and they're heavy hitters:

Elbo Room (http://www.elboroomchicago.com/): This one I have good feelings about. My drummer, Mike Amandes, says he knows the guy who books there and could probably get us in.

Andy's(http://www.andysjazzclub.com):This one was recommended to me by Chris Edwards of "5 after five". Seems to be our kind of spot

Green Dolphin(http://www.jazzitup.com/): Heavy, Heavy hitters. Beaucoup dollars spent there for private parties.

Jazz Showcase(http://www.jazzshowcase.com/): A little higher up than our band is right now. But, a man can dream, right?

Ironically enough, it was the last two I've contacted that almost broke my spirit.

The Joynt(http://www.thejoyntchicago.com): The guy there, one Paul Babcock, answered directly. Nice enough guy, asked me what kind of music I played.

Mostly Jazz/Funk/Blues, I said

He said didn't really like Jazz Bands playing, really looking for like Motownish/Funkier stuff.

I pressed on. Just listen, I said. If you don't like it, it is what it is. He'll listen, I think, but will probably pass.

The next guy, I think his name was Bill was at this little place in Evanston called Bill's Blues (http://www.billsbluesbar.com/). He was willing to book, willing to take a chance. He cautioned, however, that it was hard getting people to come from one side of town to another. I asked what kind of draw would keep him happy?

50-60. That's about half of my draw right now.

We chatted a little more, and I thanked him for his time. It's a sobering reality that draws make the world go around. I was looking to get into playing with my band again, so that the fellas wouldn't get discouraged. But at every turn, it looks like without a draw my music is dead in the water.

The interesting thing is, I know if people heard- they'd really get into it. Just keep pressing on, I guess.

I was at Molly Malones (http://www.themollymalones.com/) in Forest Park last night. They have open mic every Sunday, hosted by members of The Get (http://www.myspace.com/thegetjamz, http://thegetmusic.com) and Reed Rische. I was there to play some new tunes I had written. The crowd got thinner and thinner as the night progressed, but more importantly, the people who were left where very, VERY appreciative of my work. If I could get a core crowd like that- I would take over the world.

Tomorrow's another day. Better times.

Change of focus

So, I've decided that I'm going to make it work. I'm going to try and market my music.

The hard part's the easy part: I don't know where to start, and I don't know what to do.

A little background on me: I have a bachelors in music business, and a masters of arts in music. You would think I'd know exactly how to write, create, and sell my music to interested buyers. I don't. It's been a while since I've remembered the difference between a royalty check (which comes from the recording company), and a mechanical income check (which comes from the publisher); or had to remember what a performing artist makes per CD (about 8.5 cents); or the average number of recordings a record company wants in a recording contract (usually 4, with 3 options- that is 3 more recordings they get first rights on).

So I'm going to blog my adventures in selling my creativity for cold hard cash. Every step of the way, I'm going to talk about what I'm doing, how I'm getting it done, and where I'm going next. I hope that by talking about it, I'm holding myself accountable for my actions.

Why music? I don't know. If you asked me, I'd say something like it's the only thing I'm good at. There are some who'd disagree. They'd say I'm good at other things; writing, computers, teaching. But if I had to answer, after some thought- I'd have to concede that it's something I love. And, it's something I have a gift for doing. I think about my mother, who is a doctor. Sometimes, I'll ask her a question about medicine, and you can see her eyes light up. She'll list this long list of things that I really can't follow. Once I asked her about a disease my friend might have, and she pulled books off a shelf, and read so intently that I wasn't sure she remembered I was there. And I want that for me. I want to have something out there that I can be a part of and it be a part of me as easy as breathing.

So, here it is. The first step of a new chapter.

Douche revolution

Hey, you ever dated a man who screwed you over? Wanna talk about it?

http://www.doucherevolution.com/

Founder Anne Ramsell seems to hit upon a nerve with her newest website. After talking with a friend about some guy, she was inspired to launch this website. Douche Revolution has stories from women about men who've done them wrong. Still fresh and new, the site seems to ooze the sassiness of a woman who's been scorned, and is still standing.

Check it out!

The Get, folk rock for the rest of us.

I don't normally like folk rock. Something about the music, just isn't intricate for me. But, there is one album I've been following:

http://www.thegetmusic.com/

"The Get" is a folk rock in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. It features Laura Lopardo, on vocals, James Berthiaume on vocals and guitar, and Paul DeNovi on Bass. They've released an album, "Escape the Scorn", in October of 2008.

Again, I don't normally like folksy type music. But the title song "Escape the Scorn" is probably one of my favorite songs of this year thus far. Something about the underlying depression inherent in the lyrics, that really resonates with me. It speaks of the futility of living. The harmonies are superb, which include one Liz Lopardo singing with her sister.

Take a listen at the website, and let me know what you think.

First Post!

So I created this blog, to post this link:

http://ichigos.com/

This is a website dedicated to providing sheet music from anime sources. If you, like me, are obsessed with the music from say, the best game ever made - there's sound bites and printable sheet music on this site. How cool is that?