Glenside Email:   GlensideHC1@comcast.net

email nan for details and tickets

nkcmontana@gmail.com

Nancy@LilFest.com

Played a show Backstage At The Coffee Gallery Sunday night.  We had a good crowd and a good time.    My friend Carol Hunter, former guitar player for Neil Diamond, came to the show and she mentioned that she thought that John and I were generous to each other on stage, and I thought I’d talk a little bit about that today.

When you are on stage with someone else, if they are singing the lead, then your job is to support what they are doing, serve the vision being created and not call undue attention to yourself.

When it’s your turn in the spotlight, then you can turn up the juice, but everyone looks a whole lot better if you give each person on stage their due.    That graciousness and sensitivity goes a long way towards bonding with the audience.

When I am playing with another artist, I want that artist’s audience to not only like me too, but become a patron of mine; come to my other shows, buy my cd’s, tell their friends that they like me and think I’m good. 

So I make certain that I do all I can to assist in making my stage partners look as good as I can.     On stage, no criticism, no slams, no denigration.

If you need to denigrate someone on stage, I suggest you slam yourself.

I have seen and worked with people who actually slammed the other person on the stage with them.   If  the act is slamming each other than that’s just fine, but if it’s not, then all that happens is the person doing the slamming looks bad and can and often does alienate the audience with the comments.

And speaking of comments, when you are on stage, if what you are saying isn’t entertaining the audience, the cut it short and get to the song.  

Nothing is worse than listening to someone who is not clever, babbling on and on about things that are a matter of supreme indifference to the audience.    Shakespeare said that brevity is the sole of with and nothing could be truer.

Be brief, even if you are funny, unless of course you are a comedian, then I suggest writing material that is actually funny or else perhaps going into pharmacy or some similar line of work.

Unless you are being interviewed by a journalist fan, no one really wants to hear the entire history of your career.

Further, no one needs to hear what the song you are about to sing is about.   If you need to say something about a song, then perhaps you can talk about what inspired it.    If it is well written, then folk will know what it’s about,

And there’s one other thing about an audience.  They listen to your song and they decide how it relates to them, so don’t kid yourself into thinking that they are experiencing the same feelings as you.  

We all make our own interpretations.

Finally, what you should do is be completely prepared for the show, by doing the practice, the work and then when you get on stage, have a good time.    And make certain that the audience does as well.

A few days ago, a friend of mine emailed me with questions about which PRO to join (Performance Rights Organization such as ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC or Sound Exchange for the internet).    These are the organizations that collect monies on behalf of songwriters, writers, and publishers.  

Whenever someone uses a song that you created in a broadcast or reuse in a film, tv show, on stage, etc, then they are required to license the song, story, recording and pay a fee for the priviledge of using your material.

I know that most of us are so grateful that anyone wants to use anything we’ve created that we frequently don’t want to cause any waves by asking to actually get paid for our endeavors, but I guarantee you that any mechanic, repair man, lawyer, doctor, accountant expects to get paid for their efforts.   We should too. 

Don’t roll over because someone tells you that they can always get another song.   Perhaps they can, but your song had something and the heard it and wanted it for their project, so be reasonable, but hold out for compensation of some sort.

If you don’t think that your art is worth anything, then no one else will either.

So now we get back to those questions.   Do I need a PRO and which one?  

If you plan to do anything with your music then it is probably a good idea to align yourself with one of the PRO’s.   All professional songwriters are represented by at least one of them. 

And yes, you can be represented by them all.   I do this by having a BMI, an ASCAP and a SESAC publishing company.

As a songwriter, you can only be represented by one at a time, but you may have publishing companies with all three.  

This is essentially a nightmare in the making.  In all the other free market countries in the world, there is only one collection agency.    Here there are three and the all go after the same pie, but that’s a discussion for another day.

You decide which PRO you want to go with by looking at two things:    Do you meet the criteria for joining (a commercial release on a commercial label of one of your compositions) and what are they going to do for you?

If you are pressing up 500 copies of your CD to give to friends and family, you have not met the first criteria.   If you are sending it around to radio stations, reviewers and you have a website that is selling the CD, then you probably have met the criteria.

If you are sending the CD to internet stations then you should most definitely join Sound Exchange, as they are the sole collector for this usage.

Regarding the other three, go to them all and ask what they will do for you if you join.   They are all going to paint a rosy picture of what they can do and they will probably tell you of a bunch of things that they will do.  

In truth, they will probably do little or none of the things that they promise besides account to you for  who used your music.   And that’s a long shot as they do sampling and not true accounting.

In this digital age, they could definitely account for every single usage, but they have not set up the infrastructure and probably never will until forced to do so by the government.

So in the final analysis, if you meet the criteria for joining, then I would join the one that has someone you can actually relate to and can get to return a phone  call or an email.

Good luck…I am not bitter, you understand, just pragmatic.     I hope.

Flying with a guitar is one of the most tedious things a player can do.   You are always wondering if they are going to hassle you; if they are going to take the guitar away from you and throw it into baggage under the plane; if they are going to break it; and finally, if you are like me, you just don’t enjoy the confrontation.     So here’s what I do to make it easier:

1.   I carry it in a Martin padded guitar gig bag as hard shell cases are simply too large to get by the gate keepers and probably won’t fit in the overhead of most planes anyway.   My gig bagt is smaller than a hard shell case; it is very well padded; and it says Martin on the outside in gold letters, so they know it’s a real instrument and that you are probably professional—I have actually had some pilots personally take charge and put the guitar in their safe place for me—just because it said Martin on the case); they fit in every overhead but the Puddle Jumpers, which I never fly knowingly.  ( I have been caught on a few, but the flight attendants, who are almost always more accommodating than the people taking your ticket before you board,  have always taken the guitar and put it in their personal closet).

2.   I don’t wear the guitar on my back sticking up like a red flag for the ticket takers to react to.   I keep it low profile and as I walk up to the ticket taker, I  hold the ticket in my hand towards them and the guitar by the end of the neck area of the guitar and I keep it close to my body so it doesn’t stand out as a long bulky object, but part of my profile.   Not sneaky, but definitely not sticking  out over your head by a foot.

3.  I never argue with them.   If they say they want to gate check it, I take the gate check and then I hide it under my hand as I hold the handle of the guitar and I walk onto the plane and I look at no one.  Just walk to my seat.   If an attendant does stop me, I first tell them that it fits readily into the overhead.  If they object to that I point out that while it is gate checked, if they could put it somewhere safe, I would be grateful.   No one has ever turned me down, probably because I am respectful and courteous and patient.   Not confrontational and rude.   The more flies with honey rule.

4.  I always get a seat in the back of the plane because most airlines with a shred of common sense, board the planes from the rear, so you get on first, when there is plenty of room in the overheads.  It is difficult to argue with an attendant if all the overheads are full and then you show up with a guitar.   Make it easy on them by getting on early.   Some airlines even offer an early board for ten bucks more, and I have done that, but usually if you book early enough you can get a seat in the back and you are covered.

5.   I never make a fuss, or call any attention to myself in the boarding area or in the line.   And I’m always polite.   I have had some attendants that had some wild  hair up their whatevers and I always ask  them pleasantly if I might speak to a supervisor before we commit my guitar to baggage hell.   They always comply because they have to.

6.   Finally, I get off the plane amongst the last so I don’t inconvenience any other passengers with my bulky carry on guitar.

Try these things and if none of them work, then you have to accept the risk of having your guitar  go under the plane and be handled by people that handle thousands of bags a day and don’t discriminate unless they are  particularly sensitive and aware,…or they are guitar players.

You can just get a big hard shell case and take your chances but I have had several guitars broken by handling system, so I just don’t do it any more.

Good luck, and don’t forget.  Be polite and pleasant…no matter what.   It will take you further.

Do you ever feel  like you were a toy, devised by God, for the amusement of Him  and  his Crew?   

You get in your car, check that you have everything, put in your blue tooth, set up your ipod and all the while, not one car comes by.   But the moment that you go to back out of the driveway,  a car comes out of nowhere and you have to slam on the brakes to keep from dying.  

Your Bluetooth, ipod, phone, wallet, mail and everything in the backseat is now on the floor, the windshield and the back of your head.   You back out of the drive way and go fifteen feet to the light which is red…as usual.

You pull up to the light and it just hangs there at red…it just won’t change.    Finally as spiders are weaving webs around your entire car, and birds are getting stuck in the strands, the light goes green.  You drive ninety feet to the next light which turns red, all the while dragging birds and losing feathers.   

You are only going to the post office.  It’s only three miles, but in Los Angeles, that 713 redlights.  

You hit them all.

The postage machine won’t weight your packages, the line to the postal clerk’s window (there are 16 windows, but only one clerk) is three hundred yards long and everyone of them has a shopping cart full of packages. 

You stop at the market to pick up some  milk.    There are three cashiers open and one of them only has three people in line.   You go for it.    As someone steps in line behind you, the cashier calls for a manager.    Evidently the manager is in Paraguay and is traveling back by burro.

He finally arrives and as the next customer’s groceries begin to be rung  up, she discovers she left her wallet in the car…she’ll be right back.    Evidently her car is in Paraguay…under a burro.    She finally pays for her groceries, but cannot remember her phone number for her Ralphs Card discounts…O, wait…it’s in the car.

Your milk has curdled, your hair is falling out and you are so enraged you believe you could punch a nun.

That is the way the my morning started.   All those things happened.  I may have done a little exaggerating, but all those events took place.  I swear…wow, did I swear.

By the time I hit the next light, I was screaming at God.   Surely with all his power and all that is wrong with this world, he’s got something better to do than to futz with me?

Then after asking His forgiveness for cursing  Him, His Mother and his entire family, I started thinking, “okay, clearly God is trying to get my attention.    Perhaps He is trying to show me something, teach me something?”

I think when every single thing is going wrong for you, it’s time to stop, take a look around and try to figure out what you could learn by not following your agenda for a moment?  

In the past, I actually possessed the wisdom  to turn this kind of negative crapola around, but now that I’m older and more experienced, all I can come up with is rage and bewilderment.  

In the past, I would stop this kind of crapola dead in it’s tracks by simply doing something kind for someone else and not sticking around for any credit.   Just doing something for someone else, that has nothing to do with furthering any of your own agenda.   That works.    Everytime.

How come  I keep forgetting and then giving God the stink eye?

Just got back from a week long decompression chamber that’s the wilds of the pacific northwest.   Upon coming into the studio and booting up, the first thing I realized was that I forgot to post the “I’ll be gone for ten days and there will be no posts” post.

Too many hats and not enough head.

Please accept my apologies and now,  I am back.  

One of the things I discovered out there was that, even though I brought my guitar, I didn’t play it for a couple of days.    Then I began to pick it up and play a little bit.   As I became more rested and the pressure fell away, I began to hear melodies and chord progressions in my head.

Finally, I picked up the guitar and wrote two or three lovely guitar piece melodies that may or may not turn into songs, but I do love playing them and I love the place they came from.

I know I’ve said this before, but as important as it is to focus on what you are doing; on your goals; on your responsibilities, it is also important to step away from it all.   And it doesn’t matter how much money you make or how much you have, stepping away only requires you putting down what you are doing, turning off your phone and doing it, even if “it” is just spending the day working in the yard.   And if you don’t have a yard, I’ll bet someone you know does.   And if it isn’t the yard, it’s your closet, your car, your…something.

By putting your concentration someplace else, you free up the spontaneous and the serendipitous to flow where they will and they always come up with something.

Do yourself a favor.   Step away from your “thang”.

Another thing you can do, and I believe I have recommended this before, just do something for someone else and make certain that you are not around to accept the credit.   You do it just to do something for someone else.    Worlds turn around when you do this.  

Try it.   You’ll like it.

Performing in front of a hostile audience is sometimes the best school you can go to.   Provided you figure out how to reach them.

I remember doing a show with Blood Sweat and Tears in Madison Wisconsin years ago.    The DJ emceeing the show spent five minutes driving the crowd into a frenzy talking about BS&T and then said, “but first, here’s a folk singer from California”

I walked out on stage amidst a barrage of boo’s and many “f#*k you’s”.    Inside my heart was pounding and I was sincerely afraid I would fail.   Meanwhile, years of being on stage took over.

I just stood there and looked at them and then said, “what a bunch of pussies.   You call this booing?   I’m from California and when we don’t like someone, we really let them know.   Let’’s try it again.”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Nope,”  I said,  “not good enough.   This time I will count to three and then you all can let go, en masse, as the French say.   1, 2, 3…”

BBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“No, not quite, let’s try it one more time…1,2,3…”

BBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Which was spontaneously followed by laughter, applause and I went into a song, did my set, got an encore and sold some merch in the lobby of the venue.

The deal here is to see what is happening, actually acknowledge it and then use it to your advantage.   If you don’t acknowledge what is happening, you cannot use it and it will use you.

I did a show with Chicago at the Concord Pavillion.   A ten thousand seat shed in Concord, California just east of Oakland.

It was still daylight when my portion of the show started and the Emcee did nothing to engage the crowd and then introduced me to literally no applause.    This was not acceptable.

I walked to the microphone and said in a soft voice, “excuse me”    Not a loud voice, a soft voice.

Ten thousand people got quiet to hear what I said.   I went on…

“Folks, we’re taping this show for rebroadcast later on the radio and that intro and reception just won’t cut it, so I’m going to re introduce myself and then I want you all to respond as though the Christians were right and Jesus actually has returned.   Are you ready?   Okay…(pause for complete silence)…and now ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, my favorite entertainer in the world…James …Lee … Stanley.”

The crowd erupted, screamed, hollered, pounded on their seats, their coolers, whistled and yelled my name.   They made so much noise that Chicago all came up from their dressing rooms, some three floors below the stage to see what in the hell had happened up there. 

I actually have videos of that show…I should make them into a DVD and sell it to all of you who have read this far.

My bay area friend Caren Armstrong, who is doing a show at Freight and Salvage this weekend in Berkley (information on the show at the end of the post), sent me this rumination on how, where and why songs are born.   We both thought that you would enjoy it.   It seems you have to always be open to the possibility.

THE LIFE OF A SONG

LEAVING LINCOLN COUNTY

Summer 2000
Driving across Eastern Washington to visit friends between shows my journey slows down as I wait forReferences a ferry on a warm Sunday morning. I get out with my notebook to sit in the quiet air and write down the first thing I see, a sign that reads: “You are leaving Lincoln County”. This causes big chunks of song to come tumbling out of me and as I write, the trip across the lake on the ferry intermingles with my sadness over the news that someone I loved has just passed. When I arrive at my destination my understanding friends point me at the “writer’s shack” and leave me in peace to finish my song, “Leaving Lincoln County”.

Fall 2007
I receive a call from the same friends in Eastern Washington with sad news. The cancer had returned/spread. Further treatment declined. Through my tears I take the amazing opportunity to heap appreciation on my friend before we said good-bye, for what I knew to be the last time. Her partner called last week to say she was gone. It will be from a different place that I sing this song in the future:

“Three days ago, I left Sacramento
Where I said good-bye to someone
For what I knew to be the last time
I’ve driven 1300 miles, but that’s nothing on the distance
That my friend traveled yesterday, in the blink of an eye…”
(From Leaving Lincoln County)

Winter 2005
I receive a lovely, hand painted card from my artist friend for Solstice that ends:

“May you drink from the well of your heart”.

The next day, a close friend’s mother passes at 96, leaving behind a family legacy three generations strong. I am asked to sing for her memorial service. Sitting in my living room in the Oakland Hills I gaze through the eucalyptus at the winter sunset strumming my guitar and wondering what I will play. A wire crosses in my brain and the title track to my CD; “EVERYTHING” is born, written so quickly that my pencil can barely chase the words across the paper.

Winter 2007
My artist friend loses her partner, abruptly, tragically, before his time. She writes me that she listens to “EVERYTHING” over and over again for comfort. I can’t help but wonder about her inspiring the song that two years later will soothe her shocking loss.

“Now the days draw dark
As the year dies down
And the spring lies
Frozen in the fallow ground
Bide your time, mind the fire
No belief is required
The seasons teach the reason
That we cycle around
Again and again
Every ending a Beginning

And if things should fall apart
May Kindness be your finest work of art
May you dream
May you dwell
May you drink from the well
Drink from the Well of your Heart
May you Drink from the Well of Your Heart”
(from “Everything”)

It occurs to me that life is as mysterious as songwriting and I wonder why I presume to think that I ever do more than just hold the pencil.

CAREN ARMSTRONG IN CONCERT AT THE FREIGHT & SALVAGE

WHEN: Sunday, April 10th 8:00pm

WHO: Caren Armstrong with Joe Craven and Joshua Zucker

WHAT: An inspired evening of award winning original music.

WHERE: The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse 2020 Addison Street / Berkeley, CA 94704  (510) 644-2020 / info@freightandsalvage.org

“Award winning Singer/Songwriter Caren Armstrong is a mighty force in a petite package. At barely 5’2? she is a living testament to the art of Self-Expression. Armstrong's signature performances skillfully combine dynamic, multi-colored vocals and a highly accomplished guitar style with intelligent, at times hysterical lyrics.  Caren dusts off the term ‘singer/songwriter’ with a polish revealing delightful wit, great chops and a convincing passion for how she feels about the world.” Bob Stane Coffee Gallery Backstage, Pasadena CA

For this concert at the Freight & Salvage, Caren will be joined by two of the Bay Area's most accomplished side-men; Joe Craven, inspired virtuoso of all things strung or banged upon, brilliant collaborator, master of the loud shirt. On upright bass and harmony vocals, Joshua Zucker, player of choice by just about every major act in the Bay Area. We will be recording this unique evening, and invite all lovers of spontaneous, inspired, joyful musical expression to attend.

The venerable Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse is an all-ages, non-smoking, alcohol-free, state of the art performance venue located in Berkeley, California.  Tickets for this concert are $20.50 in advance and $22.50 at the door and available at www.thefreightandsalvage.org.

For more information visit www.carenarmstrong.com.

The esteemed Lee Zimmerman just posted these reviews at the No Depression site.   I love it when this happens.

James Lee Stanley
Backstage at the Resurrection
(Beachwood Recordings)

James Lee Stanley and Cliff Eberhardt
All Wood and Doors
(Beachwood Recordings)

Despite the fact he’s already considered one of the standard bearers of today’s singer/songwriter and neo-folk movements, James Lee Stanley somehow manages to outdo himself every time out. His latest effort, Backstage at the Resurrection, provides all the proof needed. A breezy collection of festive melodies with a decided tropical feel, its songs convey the unassuming but obvious confidence of a man well versed in his craft. That’s clearly evident even at the outset, given the celebratory designs of opening tracks “Backhand Man” and “I Can’t Cry Anymore,” and in spite of titles that might suggest otherwise. Surreptitious at times – “Coming Out of Hiding” and “Feather River Nocturne” could be offered in evidence – Stanley’s sound is engaging and accessible, given rich harmonies that recall Crosby Stills and Nash or America at their sweetest and most sincere. Still, if there’s any doubt as to any early allegiance, “Going Back to Memphis,” with its riveting grit and solid groove makes it clear he’s got a poet’s eloquence and a reverential heart.

Also add imagination to Stanley’s list of attributes. The second in what’s now become a highly anticipated series that touts reinvention of certain standards, All Wood and Doors picks up on the buzz generated by last year’s All Wood and Stones, in which Stanley found himself interpreting classic Rolling Stones songs with acoustic guitar and a back porch sensibility. As the title implies, the current project applies that treatment to the music of the Doors, doing so in a way that’s equally sympathetic but no less conspicuous in its drastic redesign. Purists might balk at some of the treatments – indeed, few of the songs bear anything other than a perfunctory resemblance to the original template – but having gained the blessings -- and in fact, the participation -- of former Doors Robby Krieger and John Densmore, he easily deflects all charges of heresy. Fellow folkie Cliff Eberhardt helps at the helm, his gruff vocals adding the necessary insurgence in lieu of Jim Morrison’s howl and croon, while a host of other familiar names – Peter Tork, John Batdorf, Paul Barrere, Timothy B. Schmit, among them – add their credence to the project as well. Although “Light My Fire” in particular has been opened up to all sorts of possibilities over the years, the takes on “Break on Through,” Soul Kitchen” and “People Are Strange” might put the purists off, but even they won’t be able to deny the affection and attention Stanley and Eberhardt clearly invested in this endeavor. – Lee Zimmerman

Hey kids, this just in from the San Diego Troubadour...

www.jamesleestanley.com/backstage.html   

1. THE CALM 
Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated. 

2. THE DIGNITY 
Disciplined queues for water & groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture. 

3. THE ABILITY 
The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall. 

4. THE GRACE 
People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something. 

5. THE ORDER 
No looting in shops. No honking & no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding. 

6. THE SACRIFICE 
Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid? 

7. THE TENDERNESS 
Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak. 

8. THE TRAINING 
The old & the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that. 

9. THE MEDIA 
They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage. 

10. THE CONSCIENCE 
When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves & left quietly

The Red Cross has already launched efforts in Japan. Visitwww.RedCross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone.

UNICEF is coordinating efforts to help the children of Japan. Visit their website to donate 100 percent of your desired amount to their fund designated for victims of the earthquake or text JAPAN to 864233 to donate $10.

The International Medical Corps is responding to the health needs of the disaster's victims. To donate or learn about other ways you can contribute to its medical response, visitInternationalmedicalcorps.org. Also, text MED to 80888 from any mobile phone to give $10.

The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund was launched at www.GlobalGiving.org to collect funds that will be distributed to numerous relief organizations to help victims of the earthquake. It has raised over $100,000, particularly from concerned Twitter users from around the globe. T

The Salvation Army personnel has organized efforts in Tokyo and has sent a team to help the severely damaged city of Sendai, Japan. To contribute to earthquake relief, text 'JAPAN' or 'QUAKE' to 80888 and make a $10 donation or visit their website atwww.SalvationArmyUSA.org.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an organization that is set up for rapid response medical help has "plans to support a team of six psychologists who will treat survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan March 11.

For the past 12 days, a 12-person MSF team has been treating patients with chronic diseases in one of the areas worst affected by the disasters. A psychologist was also sent in earlier this week to evaluate mental health needs.

'Many people now are in a phase of acute stress disorder, which is a totally natural response to this level of trauma,” said Ritsuko Nishimae, a clinical psychologist working with the MSF team in Minami Sanriku. ' If they are not able to get proper support psychologically, there is an increased possibility that they could develop post-traumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D),” said the psychologist." To learn more about the organization's efforts or make a donation, visitDoctorswithoutborders.org.

Rescuers from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW - www.ifaw.org) have mobilized to Japan to conduct an assessment and assist with animal rescue efforts following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. They are encouraging us to support their efforts through donations, which will be used to buy pet food, veterinary supplies, vaccines and other necessities for animals needing help.

Judy Chang, head of PayPal's nonprofit group, announced that transaction fees incurred by money transfers to US 501(c)(3) organizations (or charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency) between March 11 and April 10 will aid relief efforts in Japan.

There are many other organizations who are offering aid to the Japanese people. Use the power of your blog to continue to keep the focus on Japan and the people in need. Every post and every dollar donated does make a difference.

I have been doing a lot of mail order these last few weeks, what with my new solo CD, Backstage at the Resurrection (www.jamesleestanley.com/backstage.html)  and the duet CD with Cliff Eberhardt, All Wood and Doors (www.allwoodanddoors.com) .   That CD isn’t even officially out yet, but we are filling mail order on it for those in the know.

In any event, I realized that one of the main things to do when doing mail order is to check the email orders frequently.

Secondly, be sure to copy the address and email into your mail log.   You DO keep a mail log right?

You need that to ascertain when an order was filled and to maintain a data base of the patrons of your, ahem, art, so that you can return to them the next time you come up with an idea, project, cd, painting, novel, etc.

And when you get the order, make certain that you send them an email acknowledging the order and telling them when you are shipping it out.

Further, put something extra in the package,  a cd cover, a photo, a one sheet on some other project, a post card; something to make them feel special and to let them know that, if they like what you’ve done, there’s more where that came from.

And the most important thing is to get those orders out as fast as you can.  Nothing impresses a person who has ordered through the mail than for them to received the package before they expected it.   This goes along way towards keeping them as patrons.

Of course it also helps to deliver to them something that is wonderful.    That’s a biggie too!

And make certain that there is nothing that isn’t intuitively obvious on your site.   You cannot expect them to take an intelligence test just to buy what you are selling.   Make it easy for them.   Big pictures and not too much copy and don’t make the buy button discreet.   Make it so Stevie Wonder could find it on your page.   You’ll thank me in the end.

I just finished re reading Bob Dylan's Chronicles.   He has such a gift for putting words together and even tho some of it felt contrived I still enjoyed the wordplay.   As song writers, we must not only enjoy, but employ words in original and engaging ways.    My guitarist, singer/songwriter pal, Lance Wakely, who now lives in Europe, sent this to me and it delighted me so much I decided to share it with you:

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and the word?  'UP.' 

It is listed in the dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

 It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

 At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UPfor election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?  We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warmUP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.  We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car. 

 

At other times, this little word has real special meaning.  People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UPexcuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UPis special. 

And this UP is confusing:  A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.  We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses ofUP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.  In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. 

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.  It will take UPa lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. 
When it threatens to rain, we say it is cloudingUP.  When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP.  When it rains, it soaks UP the earth.  When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP.  One could go on and on, but I'll wrap itUP, for now . . . my time is UP!
 
Oh . . . one more thing:  What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?

 U

P!

Creating a space for yourself to be your creative self is a good idea.   If you have  a room that you can go to that is no one else’s this will help.  

For myself it’s my studio.   I have all kinds of things in there from every phase of my life.    Touring memento’s, conferences, children’s toys, artwork, instruments,  photographs, equipment, 24 trk tape, 8 trk tape, cassettes, lps, books, and magazines.

I can look around this room and conjure up memories and images from all over the world.

What you first need to do is find a space that you can claim.   And it doesn’t have to be a room.  It can be a corner of a room.   Just someplace that you devote to your craft.   The place where you practice, write, dream, and slag away.

I have my computers in here as well as notebooks full of ideas, songs, lyrics, poems, drawings and I go thru them when I feel the well is a little dry.    There is always something in there that will awaken the muse.

If you have some favorite photos or artwork put it up in there.   If you have toys that you played with as a child, put them on a shelf where you can see them.

All these things are gateways into other parts of your heart and mind and you always need to be able to access everything when you are creating.

Put your music books, song books, dictionary, thesaurus, book of quotes, whatever you have as reference books, keep them all handy.

Keep at least one instrument completely handy; ready to go at a moment’s notice so that you don’t have to unpack to play your guitar or whatever.

You don’t want anything between you and your creativity.

I have my pedals set up in front of an amp and one guitar hanging on the wall that I can take down and plug in and away I go,   It’s always ready.

And while I have a clock on the wall, I’m not certain that that is a good idea.  It’s just that this is the studio and clients need to know where they stand time wise, so it’s up there.

The first time I went to the home of the author Tom Robbins, he took me out back, across his yard to a little room that he used to write in.   He went there to do that and it was jammed with every aspect of his life, his art, his zeitgeist.  

And I thought to myself that it was amazing that we both made some place just for our art.   But of course we did.  

You need that place to go to.   Make it so.

Sunday night as the last night Cliff Eberhardt (www.cliffeberhardt.net) and I played here in the southeast.   The attendance was unpredictable, some laces lots of folks, some places ann intimate crowd, but all the shows went well.   Eberhardt is the consummate professional and never delivered less than a great show.   I hope that the same can be said of me.    That’s the thing about performing.   You give your all no matter how many or how few show up and we did that.    We made certain that everyone got a good show, their money’s worth  and a chance to talk with us if they wanted to do so.

We did four dates in four days and had a lot of driving between cities, so we took full advantage of the wolf nap that Farley Mowat talks about in Never Cry Wolf.    You do twenty minutes.  No more.    Just twenty minues and you don’t become groggy and your voice doesn’t gum up and sound like it does after you have had hours of sleep.   Just twenty minutes

I’ve been doing it so long, that I can sleep for exactly twenty minutes whenever I like.   It’s a very useful thing to learn.

We get to the venue for the sound check and then we just stay there and play in the dressing room until show time.

It is amazing to me the number of venues that do not provide dressing rooms or any amenities.    We played at this cultural center in Madison, Georgia and they treated us like familiy and royalty at the same time.   

We had a great sound check, competent people all around and then a dressing room where we could sit and play.    By the time we hit the stage, Cliff and I were on our game.    For my money, we sang and played the best of the tour that night.

It is important to provide a place where the artists can gather themselves in private and prepare for the performance.   This isn’t prima donna stuff, this is just experience talking.   If you have these aforementioned things, you always do a good show and yo always sound great.

Even with the long drives and the little sleep, you can prepare for it and you can deliver the goods, but it is ever so much easier if the venue is also doing all that they can to make the evening a special one for all concerned.

That’s the other reality of it.  People have come out to see you and you owe it to them to make certain that they have a special evening of it.  I strive for that with every show and so does Cliff.

I recommend you do the same.  That way, no matter what the circumstances, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your best and you had a positive impact on your audience.

They have done something very remarkable in coming to your show and sharing time with you.   Time is the only commodity that none of us can get more of and when someone elects to share that time with you, you must recognizxe what a precious gift it is and make the most of it.

And this applies across the board to our entire lives.  Pay attention.   Do the best you can.  It is its own reward.   It is what Cliff and I did every night and it worked for us.

Last night Cliff Eberhardt (www.cliffeberhardt.net) and I performed in the cultural hub of Tarboro, North Carolina for our All Wood and Doors Tour (www.allwoodanddoors.com).   The venue was an old chapel that had been turned into a community space. 

We pulled up to this chapel in the middle of a field in, seemingly, the middle of nowhere.   There was a portapotty with the door swinging open in the wind just to the left of the chapel.    Not a good sign, I thought.

No one was around but the door was open, so we went in.   Nice stage area, sound system, a couple of mic stands and a piano with most of the keys working.   Chairs set up and a vaulted ceiling.   I sang a couple of notes.  Fantastic acoustics.     My voice sounded great in there without a sound system.

Soon the presenter drove up.  A charming fellow full of hospitality and glad to see us.    “Hope you brought some microphones,”  he said.

It’s going to be one of those nights we figured.  Cliff and I decided that the room had such good acoustics, we could probably do the show unamplified.

So the first lesson here is to make the most of every situation.   Rather than make yourself crazy, you figure out what will make the situation work and you do it.

When the show started, we had a good crowd, and we sounded great.   Even though the crowd was small, we still did fifty percent cd sales.   Something that I do almost every concert.

I’ve written a whole page about how to sell CD’s from the stage.  Just go to the search engine on the left and type in “how to sell CD’s from the stage”

The people presenting the show were charming, down to earth and as accommodating as they could be.   And by not making a big deal about whatever we thought might be missing from the stage set up, we ended up having a wonderful time, the audience was warm and receptive and we are probably coming back again.

I had a great evening and it’s all about building relationships and friends and doing the best concert you know how.    You keep that in mind and everything else will work out.