Five Successes for 1/13/10

1.) Learned about miking techniques for drums.
2.) Scrubbed the kitchen floor.
3.) Started writing a song.
4.) Paid some bills.
5.) Bought take out for dinner.

ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Week 2, Day 10: Influences

Deep in thought on the couch here. First of all, I've been thinking about how pleased I was with your response to my last post. I thought it was going to be rather risky asking you which artists you thought I sounded similar to, but good news: almost all of you chose some of my very favorites. This will make my job of creating the perfect pitch a lot easier. A million thanks. The next step in formulating my pitch is to concoct a list of artists, authors, or other well known figures who have influenced me. After giving this some good thought, here is my list:

• Author and book: Willa Cather's, My Ántonia.
• The French films, "Le Chateau de Ma Mère," and "La Gloire de Mon Père," based on the novels by Marcel Pagnol.
• Composers: Debussy, Rachmoninov, Ravel.
  
• Growing up: Alphaville, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Depèche Mode, The Cure, The Cars, The Police, Sting, Tears for Fears and by the way, the soundtrack to Romeo and Juliet changed my life.
  
• As a teen: The Sundays, Sarah McLachlan, Lisa Loeb.
  
• Currently: Lenka, Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, A Fine Frenzy, Jess Penner and The Beatles.
• Poets: Lorca, Neruda, Frost.
  
• Painters: Velazquez (Las Meninas), Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Bloch.
  

Hmmm. This is a rather diverse list, but I think, with a few exceptions, the underlying theme is "dreamy."

Would love to hear about some of YOUR influences . . .

Week 2, Day 8: Perfect Pitch

This week is all about figuring out what defines me as an artist in the minds of my fans and potential fans, aka "my brand." I won't ignore the fact that I've made a bit of a mess at branding myself having started out my career singing faith-centered music, gathering a decent following, then switching my genre to "singer songwriter." But I do believe that messes can be cleaned up and I am hoping this chapter helps me accomplish just that.

So many artists (and people in general for that matter) are not specific enough about who they are and what people can expect from them. When people I meet learn that I am a recording artist, they almost always ask what genre I sing and who I sound like. Many artists (including me, at one time) want to believe that they don't sound like anyone else out there, but I have learned that potential fans lose interest if they can't walk away with a firm idea of what you stand for.

This concept is the same for any person in any place in life. Confession: I get so frustrated when I hear a woman say, "I'm just a stay-at-home mom," or perhaps someone else, "I'm just a student right now." JUST??? Last time I checked, those jobs were really hard and entail so much. I'm always so much more engaged when people spice up their job descriptions with more details and ditch the apologetic approach to who they are.

This week, I'll be digging into the nitty gritty of who I am as an artist by answering a series of questions that will help me come up with the perfect pitch. Having a pitch will help me define myself to fans and important people in the music industry. I think I'm going to need your help. Today's question to ask is this: What artist(s) do I most sound like? (If you'd be so kind as to leave your opinion in the comments below . . .)

Addendum-- Yup. Still listing 5 successes everyday. Here they be for 1/11/10:

1.) Did P90X this morning.
2.) Had a phone call with a life coach. Feeling more motivated to finish writing my album.
3.) Did my annual dusting.
4.) Cleaned out the car port.
5.) Bought my very first Pro Tools rig!
6.) (Look! I have six!) See, there's this bowl of rotten beans that has been on my back porch for about four months. FOUR MONTHS. I put it there because the beans started to stink in my fridge and I was too busy to take them all the way out to the garbage can. So there they stayed for 1/3 of a year. I finally got rid of the beans.

Five Successes for 1/9/10

1.) Tested 30 combinations of microphones on guitar in a lab at school.  Found that if you don't have much of a budget, two SM-57 mics do a pretty darn good job.

2.) Hosted a birthday party in which I escaped in one piece.  I'm afraid I can't say the same for the Sponge Bob cake.

3.) Got booked to sing at a worship service for inmates at the State Prison.  Very excited for that.  Sorry, the price for tickets to that performance is quite high.

4.)  Finished painting the chalkboard wall in Thatcher's room.  (I know, I'm a little obsessed with chalkboards lately).

5.)  Made an appointment with Tony Litster, (a mentor I've worked with for several years) to help me get into the writing zone next week.

Thanks for following me this week on my journey through Chapter One of Music Success in Nine Weeks.  I hope you got some good ideas about the power of setting goals.  Tune in on Monday to see what Chapter Two is all about.  Night night.  ZZZzzzzz.

Successes for 1/8/10

1.)  Snuggled with this little gem dandy on the couch:

2.)  Turned his room into a giant chalk board and let him help.

3.)  Started freaking out when he spilled a gallon of paint, but caught myself and decided to scoop him up in my arms instead.  I could tell he already felt bad enough without me getting upset.  Isn't that usually the case with anyone who makes a mistake?

4.)  Did absolutely nothing concerning music.

5.)  Went on a date with my husband.

Successes for 1/7/10

1.) This drawer has haunted me for months.  It's supposed to house all the dish rags, but they wouldn't fit inside.  Check out the before and after.

BEFORE

AFTER

2.) Loaded the dishwasher.

3.) Worked on my dream board.

4.) Answered some emails.

5.) Ate less cheese (again).

I have LOVED reading your successes.  Keep 'em coming!

Week One, Day Four: I Have a Dream(board)

One of the most powerful forms of list making that I can think of is to write up about six tasks the night before the day you want to achieve those tasks.  I actually started doing this several months ago and just read about it again in Music Success in Nine Weeks.  If I wait and do it the morning of, then I ALWAYS forget things and get a late start on the day.  Doing it the night before prepares my mind to be ready to act and allows me to sort it all out in the most efficient order.  I also find that I have more energy to accomplish these things because I wake up with a purpose.

On my list for today was to put my goals up where I can see them and to display them in an artistic way that inspires me - a suggestion from Ariel Hyatt.  I loved the prospect of this idea and I thought you might like to get some creative ideas of how you can do this in your own home. 

 

Idea #1:  The Dream Board (aka Vision Board)

Create a collage of images that represent your goals and dreams.  This can be done on a bulletin board, magnet board, poster board or just right on the wall.  I chose a magnet board.  (Still a work in progress).

Idea #2:  Framed Goals

I have found some great vintage frames at my local thrift store.  Even if they're nothing to brag about, you can spray paint them and they look fantastic.  I painted this wall with magnetic paint, then another coat of chalkboard paint so that I could write directly on it (but really, I write on all of my walls in chalk, no matter the paint - just a quirk of mine).  Hang up your frames and write your goals or any kind of inspirational quote inside.  It looks awesome and makes a great focal point.