Music and fitness: What distance running can teach us about success.

To be successful at anything you need to have rhythms and routines in place so you can capitalize upon the compounding effect of consistency. And if you’ve never read “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy, I’d highly recommend that you do so, as he does a great job of unpacking how we can all benefit from this natural phenomenon. That said, one of the routines that I’ve instituted in my life is to run every Tues, Thurs, and Saturday. Now historically speaking, I’ve never liked distance running because of the boredom factor. I’ve always been a quick burst of energy kind of guy, which is why I like tennis, basketball, football, martial arts, and weightlifting. However, it was a subtle shift in my mindset about distance running that gave me the additional insight I now have about music and success that I’d like to share with you.

Running is as much a mental exercise as it is physical. And being a retired military vet, I know how your mind can break much sooner than your body will. So a strategy I’ve come up with is that if I calibrate my physical output on a scale of 1-10, then I never run faster than 5. Why? It’s because the closer I get to 10, the more my body kicks into survival mode, which causes it to look for a way out (i.e. to stop or slow down). Not to mention, it opens a possibility of injury which will certainly sideline my progress. So if my mind is the gateway to the quality of my performance, then I have to find a way to regulate my emotions. Therefore, by running consistently throughout the week (coupled with an effective diet), then the sensation of 5 the following week would be equivalent to perhaps 5.5 or 6 from the prior week. So as you can see, the goal is to increase the capacity of my output without realizing it or overextending myself physically and mentally.

If you were to ask me how it feels to play music on a high level, I’d say it feels like flying with little to no extraneous energy to do so. And if you ask a runner what it feels like when they’re experiencing “runner’s high,” they’ll probably tell you the same thing. But it only feels that way once you find a groove. Thus, when you run for the sensation of 5, this allows you to maintain the most sustainable max-speed to energy conservation ratio while thinking clearly. But here's where the rubber meets the road (pun intended). Unless you’re a professional athlete who gets paid to run competitively, you don’t need an arbitrary benchmark like time, as the goal of running is for longevity of health, not a non-existent ribbon. But if you can take your ego out of your exercising by not judging the time it takes you to run your route, then your awareness of time can be thought of as a useful peripheral indicator of your progress. But again, time has to be an after-thought, not the main attraction. So when I practice my instruments, my goal is to do so with the least amount of energy possible while still maximizing my speed and agility. So when I’m consistent with my practicing, and am relaxed enough to tell when I’m compromising the integrity of my technique, I’m able to self-correct on the fly. Which I can’t do if my thinking isn’t clear (which tension in the body will always cloud).

Lastly, the linchpin that connects everything I’ve mentioned is breath, as a lack of it always creates tension in the body, which in turn affects the clarity of the mind. So for me, the true value of running is that it strengthens the capacity of my breath control. Which is why I believe that if you reflect on the weight of every major decision you’ve ever made, good or bad, it’s arguable that the quality of your breathing was always a supporting cast member throughout those decisions.    

The Jazz Dilemma: What is it, and why might it be worth talking about?

Back when MySpace was at the forefront of the social media race, an old college friend used to have a profile tagline that read “I’d rather be relevant than famous.” However, it could be argued that those who are famous are indeed relevant, as the energy behind and frequency within our conversations about them make them so. When we talk about them, I believe what we’re really engaged in is the exercise of either reinforcing or questioning the framework of our own values, but at a safe one-arm emotional distance. And more importantly, who our values seem to align with, and how we ultimately feel about that. Therefore, it can be argued that the sliding scale of a person’s relevance is tied to the amount in which we think we might benefit from having a conversation about them. So if you believe that relevance can be equated to usefulness, then this begs the question of “what is Jazz and why might it worth talking about?”

As we’ve already seen, and continue to see within the styles of Hip-Hop, Rock, R&B, Pop, etc., they provide the public with more obvious ways of incorporating their perceived value (for better or worse) towards their everyday lives, as it gives people content to converse with, sell stuff with, and share within the realms of fashion and speech patterns—all of which are just cultural symbols that people deploy to make it easier for other members of their “tribe” to identify them within crowds. That said, let’s take a quick look at one of the most pervasive forms of music to come about in roughly the last 40 years: Hip-Hop.

It has been said that never in a time throughout the documented history of music have large contingencies of people (especially the youth) ever chosen to identify themselves as being specific products of a musical movement like they do with Hip Hop (i.e. “I am Hip Hop,” “I live Hip Hop,” “I eat, breath, and sleep Hip Hop”). Now granted, during the formative years of Rock & Roll, and even Jazz for that matter, we find that it was also the youth who rallied behind these two movements as well, as they found that they could use certain aspects of the music as a means of validating, to varying degrees, the energy behind the types of opinions they held. However, the power of Hip Hop—which really has to do with America’s long-standing fascination with anything associated with black male youth—is that its aesthetic is now just as interwoven into the everyday fabric of our society as is Starbucks and Nike. So how does this relate to Jazz you might ask? With the way that Jazz is generally marketed and presented these days, coupled with an ever increasing audience that has no significant history of having tried their hand at playing music of any kind at a high level (unlike with sports), the public’s relationship to Jazz is generally one of indifference. However, when people do think about some Jazz that they may have liked, it may have been related to a vocalist, as this is one “instrument” that we’ve all tried practicing behind closed doors. And to further prove my point about the public’s general feeling of indifference towards Jazz, is that their point of consumption is usually within public spaces where the volume is low enough to talk over, thus further conditioning them to regard it as a piece of interior decoration that doesn’t require much of their attention. A perfect example of this would be when the Grammies had Esperanza Spaulding, of all people, performing as background music immediately following her upset over Justin Bieber for “Best New Artist” in 2011 while they made their announcements about the next artist to receive their awards. Could you imagine them having asked Jay-Z to perform while they announced the next award recipient? Clearly, the answer would be no. So as you can see, what Jazz needs is a total branding overhaul, where the public is taught how to interface with it like what has been done with the more popular genres. But in order to do so, it would need to be done in a way that still reflects the hidden values that have helped to sustain Jazz up until this point. So the first step in re-branding this music appropriately lies within an understanding of what it even is in the first place.  

            The word Jazz, like any other style of music, is merely a marketing term. No more, no less. After all, real musicians put their energy into trying to play what they hear, not what to call what they’re playing. It’s also important to remember that the word Jazz had already been in circulation before it was ever attached to a sound. So a fair etymological definition for Jazz would be that it’s a term that was used to describe popular American music at the turn of the 20th century, whose roots can be found in both the Blues and Ragtime music. And whereas the Blues is more akin to an African-American sensibility towards early “American” folk music, Ragtime is more reflective of Western European Classical music and its residual effects upon the types of early Marches that were composed by people such as John Philip Sousa. However, the important piece of connective tissue between the Blues and Ragtime is the application of the black aesthetic on both. Hence, when you combine these two styles, and run them through an early black filter, what you get is a distilled version of the type of Jazz that people such as Louis Armstrong helped champion. So while this information is all well and good, the question still remains as to what, if any, might be the usefulness of Jazz on our society and the world at large?

            The answer to the above question is that Jazz, like sports and politics, is just another structural model that can be used to evaluate the democratic nature of relationships. So when you learn how the instruments function independently and collectively, a mirror suddenly appears that allows you to gain some insight into how either you or someone else is being. This is no different than how we can use fashion, food and drink choices, speech patterns, and choice of vocabulary as a litmus for how either we or others may be thinking and feeling at any point in time. In fact, I tell people all the time that even when we talk, we’re engaged in Jazz improvisation, as the words we use have to be relevant to the conversation, because if the goal is to build upon a set of ideas, then what would be the point of using words that few people can comprehend? That’s like talking to a baby about the stock market. What’s the point? So when I’m performing, I’m just using ideas that I already have a handle on. But it’s how I string those ideas together that will either attract or repel you from the “conversation.” In short, since listening comes before comprehension, and comprehension comes before action, then just like martial arts, Jazz is the human practice of creating a continuous sequence of appropriate moment-to-moment decisions, so that when it’s all said and done, you can look back with pride for the choices you’ve made.  

Fighting for the Soul of Jazz

There’s a phrase that says that the poignancy of anything has more to do with what something does as opposed to what it is. Thus, when conversations about musical purity emerge, and what the mechanics are for fostering it, I’m always fascinated as to where people land on this seemingly broad spectrum of understanding.

I’m writing about this because I came across an interesting FB thread today that touches on this very idea. And it had to do with the usefulness of certain terms that we’ve been conditioned to use as musicians. But what became apparent to me was that the comments people were making had less to do with defending their use of these terms as much as they were about the defense of their idea of themselves. And even though words are technically an arbitrary collection of sounds, our defense of certain words has to do with our subconscious defense of those who gave us those words, as well as what it must say about us for having aligned ourselves with those people. After all, if someone you don’t like uses a certain word, chances are you might go out of your way to avoid using it just to further distance yourself from them, as I believe the most telling symbol of alignment that exists between humans is in fact the words we use. So to be specific, the thread had to do with the idea of what it means to have “soul,” as well as what it means to play “mechanical sounding.” Now I’m sure there are a few others that could get added to the list, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll just focus on these.

One of the points that the author of the post made was that these terms are lazy stand-in’s for more specific terms that could be used if people took the time to find them. And I say lazy because these words have been in the ether forever. After all, it’s not like people just got hip to these terms yesterday and haven’t had a chance to flush out any better alternatives. So the response I offered up on the thread was that these terms were actually tangential to a more important conversation that relates to what it means to create music that connects with people. And that conversation has to do with musical intent.

When people are assessing the amount of “soul” in a person’s performance, I believe that what’s really being communicated is the degree to which one believes that the artist believes in what they’re doing. Case in point, when you find yourself in a debate with someone, the x-factor that the other person has that convinces you of their argument has to do with the way you can tell that every fiber of their being stands behind their argument; that they’d defend their position in a court of law, or be willing to physically fight someone over it if need be (which of course would be aided by the intensity of their non-verbal cues as well). So again, when we talk about musical “soul,” I believe it’s reflective of the degree of congruency that exists between what someone is doing and what they believe to be true deep down in their actual soul. As for the phrase “mechanical sounding,” this is what we focus on when the musical intent is cloudy. When the intent is clear, and the technique used is in support of that intent, we don’t question the use of said technique. But when the intent isn’t clear, we have no context by which to understand the use of the technique; no different than someone watching tv while clutching a hammer.

So in closing, if you’re someone who has ever thought about how to reconcile terms like these before, and especially these two, then hopefully this blog was useful.

A New Beginning: Transitioning Towards a Post COVID-19 World

Since the “Spanish Flu” of 1918, there has never been a time in recent history where we humans have been as collectively engaged in the re-imagining of what society could look like than we are right now. And like a frustrated parent who feels compelled to get their kids’ attention by more coercive means, we’ve now been brought to a standstill and forced to consider how we’ve been operating and how we think we should operate in the future to avoid being put in our place again. Now if you know anything about history, you know that the ones who have risen to great prominence and subsequent wealth did so amidst great collapses in society, as what goes up always comes down…but then back up again. I like to think of these periods as big magical windows of opportunity that only come once in a blue moon. And right now, I’d venture to say that we’re right back to the pioneering days of the California gold rush, or the oil boom of the late 1800’s, or the creation of our modern-day cities, or even fast food restaurants. And for those that lived through those periods, and had an inspired vision for their futures, they were able to recognize the historical gravity of their situation and respond accordingly. But now that the slate has been wiped fairly clean again, the ambitious ones will no doubt rise again to roll up their sleeves to seize the opportunity to work on making a better future for themselves and those closest to them.

Due to our current situation, I’m suddenly reminded of the biblical passage that relates to the idea that the meek shall inherit the earth. And when I think about all of the people who may have acquired some level of social status through their professions, it’s ironic to see who is considered an “essential” worker right now. Meaning, whose profession can add the most value to the world. For those who are mailmen, construction workers, policemen, firemen, grocery store employee’s, gas station attendants, truck drivers, farmers, garbage men, etc., they are now looking at the value of their jobs and themselves in a very different light, as is the case with the rest of us. However, while we musicians aren’t considered essential, it’s clear that we are necessary, in that in times of uncertainty we always reach for things that can sooth our temperaments. But even within that notion, the question becomes one of substance. Meaning, what’s the substance of that thing you are reaching towards to pacify your emotions? Is it drugs and alcohol? Is it food? Is it music? And if so, what’s the quality of those things you’re consuming? But like everyone who has been a pioneer in their space, the time to increase the quality of your productivity and scope of vision is in times like these. So if you’re going to survive this ordeal and prosper through to a post COVID-19 world, you’ll need to get lean with both your schedule and finances in order to identify what your non-essential time and money expenditures are so you can allocate more of those remaining resources towards a sound investment strategy for your future (whatever that looks like for you). “But an investment into what?” Simply put, identify a problem you have, because chances are others are facing the same issue. And when you find these people, you just have to be the one who can provide them with that thing. But if you can’t produce the solution yourself, then you’ll need to partner with those that can help to execute your idea. “But how do you know if you have a worthy idea?” My answer is that if your idea doesn’t fit into a personal crusade that you’d be willing to fight someone to defend, then you’ll probably lack the energy to see that idea through when the going gets tough. But when you have a crusade that you’re on, the best way to ensure your success is to create your own lane, as you’ll have little to no one in your way to contend with. And given that we’re living through a time where we’ve just seen many of the old rules fall flat, there’s now more room for you to experiment with new ways of solving problems. Remember, the best competition is no competition.  

Mercedes Benz

When I was a teenager, one of my favorite class of vehicles had been the SL-class of Mercedes Benz, as several of my classmates from high school had parents who owned them. And while I knew very little about cars, and how to differentiate the relative value of one from another, I always had a sense that there was something special about a Mercedes that made it stand out from the rest. And just like playing within a Jazz ensemble when the musical and technical competencies of each member is firing on all cylinders, I always assumed that to get behind the wheel of a Mercedes would give me that same exhilarating sensation of flying that always attracted me to the best kind of Jazz music.

     As an adult I’m obviously now aware of the full fleet of vehicles that Mercedes makes. And the more I learn about their history, and how they articulate the value of their design processes, the more excited I get, as I see so many uncanny resemblances between it and my beliefs about my own developmental processes behind performance and composition. For one, both Mercedes and Jazz are trailblazers within their respective field, as while the first vehicle created was by Karl Benz, the first form of popular music throughout the world after the turn of the 20th century was Jazz. Also, like Jazz, Mercedes is a luxury brand that remains relatable to people throughout the entire social stratosphere. Also, they both possess a sense of uncompromising integrity that’s related to the excellence of the past, while maintaining a strong interest in pushing the limits for what excellence can look like in the future. However, if I had to sum up Mercedes in the fewest words possible, they would be that they’re the kind of adult that we all aspire to, in that it marries a certain type of well-seasoned maturity with the youthful exuberance of a young professional who’s eager to make their mark in the world. And what more encouragement could we want about our collective future than that.

Hunger

I just heard a great comparison between being physically hungry and hungry for success, which made me want to unpack a few of my own thoughts on the matter.

If I invited you to a fine dining experience tonight, and told you that everything you ordered was on the house, you’d eat just enough throughout the day to support your productivity levels so that your appetite wouldn’t be impacted for later. So when we allow ourselves to snack on more symbols of success than we can properly digest before our next big “meal”, it can diminish the voracity of our appetite for putting in the work to achieve our goals, and within the time frame that we want to achieve them in.

From where I stand, there are two places where I get to see this condition play out on a consistent basis, and it’s within personal finance and music. In personal finance, it simply means that you’re trying to be fancy before you’re “fancy”, whereby you lack the funds to maintain the image of your lifestyle for the long haul. And while some may maintain the fire to keep pushing so they can maintain the air of such an image, some can fall prey to not realizing that the relaxed nature of those who can actually afford to maintain an affluent lifestyle is because they have enough margin in their budget to not have to look over their shoulder every time they make a purchase to ensure that their bank accounts can cover the cost. And if you’re trying to emulate that, then therein lies the point where the appetite of your work ethic can take a hit. Meaning that if the others are making it look easy, then you might think that it’s easier than you think, thus causing you to overlook some important details which are necessary for maintaining such a lifestyle.

Now when it comes to music, this tends to play out when the impressive level of one’s performance experiences aren’t congruent with their understanding of the fundamentals of music. For some, they’ll quietly invest the time behind closed doors to shore up those deficiencies as quickly as possible (which seem to be few and far between). But then there are those who will create a protective bubble around them that serves to keep people from realizing just how hollow their foundation really is. And it’s these people that will attempt to create a counter argument that can exonerate them from the guilt of knowing that they fully allowed themselves to build such a flimsy musical foundation, as they proceed to devalue an investment of time for shoring up such deficiencies by pointing to their performance resume as a means of somehow balancing the scale between the educated and uneducated…which, by the way, has nothing to do with having attended an actual brick and mortar school. A valid education is education, regardless of where it comes from.

So I trust you can see that when we grow our capacity to digest the symbols of success to where there’s no diminished impact on our energy, flexibility, and ambition level, we’ll get to experience long range success. But when our margins are too tight, we leave ourselves vulnerable to fewer missteps that can be made before we’re sent into a tailspin that might take us longer than we’d like to recover from. So as we continue to contemplate what our respective futures have in store for us, remember this phrase: “dig your well before you’re thirsty”.  

Entrepreneurial Tendencies

One of the things I always say about us musicians is that we’re thrust into the world of entrepreneurship, yet no one tells us this. And as such, the frustration that many experience is due to having embraced the wrong mental strategy for this journey. More specifically, it’s the application of an employee mentality to an entrepreneurial landscape that creates such friction. Now I’m not trying to make a judgmental comparison between employees and business owners, but what I am calling into focus is that they are in fact two different paradigms, as the circle of concern for each isn’t the same. One obvious symbol of this is reflected in the tendency for employees to associate with other employees, and business owners with one another, due to the empathy factor. Hence the phrase “birds of a feather flock together”.

I’ve heard it said that the difference between an employee and an owner is that of a child and an adult. Now the funny thing about this phrase is that I’ve run it by MANY employees and owners of businesses over the years, and what’s always consistent is the emphatic knee-jerked responses of agreeance from owners and push back from employees to hearing it. So allow me to elaborate for a moment.

As a parent, you’re held accountable for EVERYTHING that happens on your watch. If your kid breaks a neighbor’s window, you must resolve the issue. However, you do something bad, your kid won’t be held responsible. But depending on the severity of the situation, your kid’s security could be impacted, as they’d be under the legal authority of your leadership. So like a company, it should be no wonder as to why more potential benefits are accorded to a parent/guardian to help offset the weight of responsibility that they’re forced to shoulder. So while I don’t think everyone needs to become an entrepreneur, I do think that it’s highly beneficial to develop entrepreneurial/leadership tendencies, because as a leader of an organization (just like the conductor of an orchestra) you HAVE to maintain a topographical awareness at ALL TIMES for what’s happening within your organization so that you can best assess the shifts that need to be made to navigate the ever shifting sands of the marketplace (or a song if you’re a conductor). As an employee, however, your only concern is to consistently check the boxes for satisfactory completion of whatever your individual role is that you’re being paid to do (like a side-musician). And once you check out of work for the day, you have the luxury of turning your brain off from work because you’re not being paid to think about your job in the off hours. However, for an owner (just like a parent to their kids and household), it’s impossible to fully mute the noise you’ll hear, internally and externally, from the concerns you’ll likely have towards the health and well-being of your business.

Now just like in business, musical decisions become easier to make when you have a clear mission and vision statement by which to filter your decisions through. And for me, the beginnings of gaining this type of clarity came after I asked myself this very important question, which was “is it more important to make 100% of my income from music, or is it more important to live a phenomenal life with music anchored in the middle of it?” You see, what I had forgotten over the years was that the second question was where I started! It was never the profit potential from music that drew me towards it. It was a combination of the relationships I had developed, and the fact that I was already experiencing a great life because of what my mother had provided for me, which gave me the latitude to just focus on growing as a musician without having to worry about any of the managerial issues that grown-ups have to think about every day. So when it became clear that number two was what I was really after, it forced me to begin thinking outside the box (like an entrepreneur) by searching for innovative ways of carving out a sustainable niche for myself that could hedge against competition/saturation, provide great upside for profit potential, flexibility to prioritize my most valued relationships at the drop of a hat, and a financial moat to help protect myself from the periodic downturns in the economy. And just like learning how to become a great musician requires being mentored by better musicians, I recognized that I would need to do the same thing within the arena of acquiring a more affluent lifestyle. And I think the reason why more people don’t put into practice such a simple concept as acquiring a mentor is for two reasons:

a) Fear from the guilt of potentially having to face a reality that might prove that the quality of the time you’ve invested thus far (especially if you’re past a certain age) might not have been as well invested as you initially thought, thus calling into question your assumption of your intelligence.

b) Fear from the abandonment-laden judgement of those that have gotten you to where you are if you prioritize a new relationship with those that can take you to the next level.

It’s important to remember that as you’re trying to make such a transition there will be a period of time between fully earning the trust and respect of the new relationship(s) and being possibly ostracized by the old relationship(s) for leaving them behind, that can leave you emotionally floating in no-man’s land until you’ve fully leveled-up or back down to what was once comfortable and familiar. And the reason for such potential push-back will be because you come from where your old association comes from, while they’re still stuck there. In short, your decision to potentially graduate onto a better situation would serve as an indictment for the quality of the decisions that they’ve made up to now. Therefore, they’ll either respond with lashing out to bring you back down, or they’ll slowly begin to disassociate with you first before you get the chance to “break up” with them first. Either way, expect for there to be resistance, as all success is gained up-hill.

So here are a few suggested takeaways…

a)  If you want to go up in life, you’ll need a tour-guide.

b)  If entrepreneurship is the street-facing vernacular in business for leadership, then the best environment to experiment with the development of your leadership acumen should be within the home.

c)  The relevancy of our personal and professional productivity can only be measured against the clarity of the mission and vision statements we set for ourselves.

Culture

According to John C. Maxwell there are three tenants that all cultures hinge upon: behavior, symbols, and systems. So allow me to quickly walk you through my thoughts on the notion of culture before sharing my thoughts on how our country’s culture has shaped our music’s past and present.

I believe mankind’s first successful enterprise was the creation and maintenance of the nuclear family. And what allowed this to flourish was the innate understanding that “teamwork makes the dream work,” as no organization or culture can exist if its members aren’t unified in their vision for the future. But before we can even broach the subject of unification, we need to start by fostering a safe enough environment (whether personally or economically) for people to even operate in. After all, when our sense of security feels compromised, our fight, flight, or freeze responses will cause us to either withdraw our sense of connectedness to others or make our connectedness more adversarial. And since systems breed symptoms, let’s look at the makeup of the system that permeates the culture of the music industry to gain insight into why the symbols and subsequent behavioral patterns musicians tend to exhibit are what they are.          

As a fan of the literature of author and businessman Robert Kiyosaki, he brilliantly explains how money is only made in four different ways. So let’s take a look at what symptoms might be produced from these four cash-flow systems.

Employee

This is a fixed income earning system that contractually binds the number of hours you work to a specific pay rate. In short, you work more, you make more. You work less, you make less. Also, because most employees aren’t given equity in the businesses that pay them, their continued employment will always be at the sole discretion of their employer.

Small Business Owner

This system causes you to trade more time for the money you make because depending upon what the demands are for your product or service, as well as overhead, you’ll quite possibly lack both the man power and working capital to operate your business to where you’d have surpluses of free capital and time on your hands within the first 5 years if you last that long. And even then, lots of businesses only break even at the 5-year mark. This system, just like the prior one, is akin to what could be construed as a bucket-carrying income earning system, which is to say that you can only really make what you have the physical stamina to earn. And even if you can generate enough sales to either hire a few employees or subcontractors along the way, there will always be a ceiling that you won’t scale past without graduating onto big business ownership.

Big Business Ownership

Kiyosaki defines this in the traditional sense as someone who owns a company that can afford to hire roughly 500 or more employees and is operating well north of several million dollars in sales. Now obviously we live in a different dispensation of time from when this criterion could be considered a universal standard (i.e. 500+ employees). But for illustrative purposes, lets just stick with this number. What this means is that the owner has learned how to multiply their production efforts over enough people to meet market demands, and in a way that’s designed to prevent employee burnout. And because the owner wouldn’t have to be involved with the minutia of day to day operations, it affords the owner more control over their time and profit potential.

Investor

This is where your money compounds. Simply put, your money is making you money. But to make the types of quick gains that the big boys and girls make, I’ve heard it said that you’re going to want to have at least $500k to play with, and in a less than conservative manner.

Now that we’ve covered the landscape (system) that undergirds all industrialized civilizations, let’s use this framework to enhance our view of the symptomatic behaviors and decision making patterns of musicians, both past and present, so we can get a feel for what’s to come, as it’s very much true that while history doesn’t repeat itself, it always rhymes.  

I like to say that if you’re not fighting for financial independence, you’re settling for financial dependency, as no other option exists. So what independence implies is ownership and agency to entertain more options than obligations. However, due to most musicians having never really been schooled in the area of wealth creation, most of us have only known what life is like as an employee or independent contractor (small business owner). And as such, our inability to scale our income independent of our physical activity has left many with a scarcity mindset that makes us very protective of the opportunities that we’ve garnered for ourselves.

Sideman (employee)

This is where you’re receiving a salary as a result of being on a retainer. Usually you’re on one of these because you’re working for an artist that has a large enough “machine” behind them that affords them the ability to keep you on their books. However, just like most jobs, your time is more obligated than it is flexible, and your earning potential is more fixed than it is flexible. And let’s not forget that you’re always replaceable, as there are thousands of other people who would vie for your spot and are more than capable of performing at your level and above if the opportunity was presented.

Bandleader (small business owner)

While this garners you more attention, it also garners you more responsibility, as you are your own “machine.” This is where no matter what happens on your watch, you’re ultimately responsible for having to respond to everything related to your band, such as payroll, booking gigs, marketing, possibly composing and charting music for your band, networking, and all other manner of managerial duties. The upside is that you work when you want to and have more flexibility with your earning potential. Also, you have a brand that you get to leverage to create more opportunities for yourself. So you at least get to have a little more control over how you steer the direction of your ship.

Bandleader (big business owner)

Very few musicians ever attain this status because they lack ownership over the means of mass production and distribution, as one artist can’t mass produce a performance in any other fashion than to make a recording that can be duplicated. And if you don’t own the rights to your own duplication and distributive processes, then you can’t ascend past the ranks of small business ownership. But for the ones that have, you’ll notice that they also own their own record labels and distributive channels, in addition to having branched out into other lifestyle-oriented lanes like clothing, food and beverage, tech, etc., such as Jay Z, P Diddy, Dr. Dre, etc.

Investor

There are several high-profile performers who have branched out into this area to have amassed a sizable fortune for themselves, such as Jay Z, Diddy, Nas, 50 Cent, Jessica Simpson, and Bono to name a few.               

So as you can see, with most musicians having only been taught how to trade their hours for a paycheck, it shouldn’t be surprising that we tend to live with chronic bouts of anxiety due to the constant uncertainty about our financial futures. Especially when the occasional and inevitable setbacks occur. And whereas some musicians will go on the offensive by displaying monopolistic strategies when opportunities come their way, others may secede to a space of apathy for even trying to improve their lot in life if they believe it’s not in the cards for them to win in life. And when we’re relegated to having to contend with loving what we do, while not loving the life it’s providing us, many have been known to numb-out with vices that steal their attention from having to look at their dilemma. Also, because you’re only as good as your last gig, there’s also a tendency for people to turn to certain drugs as performance enhancers to help maintain their competitive edge. So if people do what people see, then we need to be mindful of the examples that we’re following. And it all starts with becoming intentional with the company we keep, and learning what we can from those that have already accomplished what we’re trying to accomplish, as they can give us the cliff notes to expedite our learning curve. Success always leaves clues, but we have to be able to see them. And how we learn to identify the symbols of success is by allowing ourselves to be conditioned by the types of successful people that are willing to resource us with the organizational and strategic systems that they use for their own success.

I sincerely hope this gives some clarity to those of you that may be at an impasse in your music career, and are uncertain as to how to adequately interpret the landscape that’s under all of our feet, so as to make the best informed decisions you can about your future.  

Portland audiences, could this be a call to step up your style game?

Within the current edition of Artslandia there's an article entitled "Dress for the Show," which essentially suggests that Portland walks to its own beat when it comes to "social-norms." Which, to be honest, has actually played to the city's advantage in regards to its recent run of national popularity. However, since this particular article is suggesting that a large number of show-goers here in Portland tend to dress a bit too casual at times, I thought that I'd share with you some of my perspective on this topic, as here at Couture of Music, I always believe that one should put their best foot forward whenever possible. Therefore, allow me to share with you just a few key concepts that I use to ensure that my desire for comfort doesn't lead me down a path that might suggest to others that I think little of notions that surround the idea of good manners  and etiquette.

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Manners:

1. the prevailing customs, ways of living, and habits of a people, class, period, etc; mores;

2. a persons outward bearing; way of speaking to and treating others

Etiquette: 

1. conventional requirements as to social behavior, properties of conduct as established in any class or community or far away occasion

I think Rachel Zoe makes an important point with the above statement, in that it also appears to me that a well groomed look speaks to the positive end of how one feels about themselves (regardless as to if they're aware of this or not). However, with the reputation that Portland has garnered over the years for its excessive rainy weather and dark grey skies, it's understandable as to how this might discourage one from taking the time to get dressed when going out. Therefore, if the constant feeling of coziness and comfort is what people from Portland gravitate towards, then lets use that as our point of departure.  So since our mood can be affected greatly by both the feel and fit of the fabrics that we choose to wear, allow me to give you some insight into how one might want to approach structuring their thoughts around the concepts of how clothes can feel and look on us.  

Fabrics:  

I feel that cashmere, flannel, fo-fur, vintage fur versus new (we have a moral dilemma when it comes to fur), knit jersey, merino wool and silk all fall under the heading of what most people would consider to be the softest materials to wear

Fit:

Choose tailored clothing for at least one of your foundation pieces, as tailoring tends to have darts and structure details that help to encourage shapes that compliment the frame of the human form. And if you choose to add additional layers onto your foundation piece, make sure that it doesn't obfuscate the importance or function of your primary piece, which of course, will be to highlight a particular portion of your body you feel great about.  

Accessories:

As you take a look at your complete outfit, decide if you're leaning more towards the side of structured or cozy? Fitted or frumpy/loose? Then consider how the materials, textures, and colors are also speaking...meaning that for whatever element(s) seem to be the most dominate,  balance it with accessories that speak to the less dominant. And when you do choose your accessories, pick ones that will stand out and distinctly speak to the best of your personality, as you'll find that these unique accessories can function as great conversation starters.

So with the help of this guideline, you'll now know how to visually speak to that sweet feeling of cozy that is so very Portland, but yet still have an element of structure. It should say comfort yet clean. Relaxed but purposeful. 

I have to say that I'm quite grateful that the folks at Artslandia Magazine decided to use me as a model for what it might look like when you try to translate the excellent qualities that are inherent within Jazz into a more physically tangible form. And while the cozy pieces that I ended up wearing aired more on the structured side, I have no doubt that with the help of both stylist Todd Everett Kinner and creative director Melanie Hernandez, that we still achieved a relaxed feeling between the loose fit in the pants, undone button near the waist of my vest (so as to leave a little room for my favorite wine and dessert after my second set at Jimmy Maks),  the cozy yet well tailored Marino wool sports jacket with playful patched pockets, bright salmon bow-tie, and fun printed pocket hanker chief to highlight my playful personality. After all, with me and my music being full of life, it only makes sense to dress like it as well!

Shake your tail feather at Solea's Lounge on Alberta every Friday Night with the Christopher Brown Quartet.

With the music starting at 9pm every Friday evening at Solea's on NE 18th Ave and Alberta St., the musical aesthetic that fills the room is always that of a hard driving, yet beautiful and sophisticated style of Jazz that's very much indicative of NYC. And thus it's with these traits that half of every performance is also dedicated to bringing everyone in the room just a little bit closer together by taking the audience on a journey down memory lane, via highly arranged versions of the hottest songs to emerge from the 80's. So while most venues in town are indicative of that laid back vibe that Portland is so known for, you won't find any of that at Solae's, as no one sits still--especially as the hour gets later and people fill the dance floor.  

If Jazz Was a Person...

This is a question that I’ve thought about for quite some time, and am now deciding to share my thoughts on it. But since this question really encapsulates two other questions, I’ll present them as such, which is to say “What is the visual essence of the quintessential Jazz musician” and “What does such a musician stand for?” And since the manner in which a person presents themselves is simply a reflection of an inward disposition, I’ll start with the latter.

The culture of the Jazz musician is one that’s largely built upon maintaining a certain level of reverence for not only the musical developments of its earlier practitioners--which mostly refers to the inception of Jazz on up through the 1970’s, and a little bit from the 80's--but also an interest in maintaining the cultural practice of the oral tradition in regards to how the knowledge of these musical developments are passed on from one generation to the next. And since Jazz music is a life-long pursuit, there’s rarely a desire among the Jazz elite to ever gloss over any historical data, as they realize that the road to mastery within this music is more akin to an Olympic marathon than it is to an all-out sprint (think the shelf life of most pop acts). So since we tend to take our time within the process of wading through 110+ years of recorded and published material on the subject of Jazz music, it’s sort of no wonder why our style of speech and dress (to a lesser degree these days) tends to mimic the musicians that we've invested so much of our time trying to emulate. However, with the 1990's having been perhaps the last era where the typical Jazz musician could have a shot at supporting themselves, we now find ourselves in a situation where many are having to do some serious soul searching as they reassess the manner in which they see fit to present both the sound of their music and the ways in which they brand themselves. And so it's only natural that questions regarding authenticity will surface, so as to mitigate any possibility that one might be perceived as “selling out”—which really just refers to the smell test (i.e. if it don’t smell like Jazz, then it isn't). The reason why this might be an issue for many is because we've all been taught to embrace a familial sense of connected-ness to our musical elders. And so the concern here would be the idea that certain stylistic decisions may potentially cause us to fall out of our elders’ good graces--which, for some, may be akin to their parents losing respect for them. So the acceptance of anything that might look or sound like it’s even a tad bit congruent with the ever changing trends within the world of pop culture is one that tends to make many musicians wary in regards to them embracing such strategies. However, for the ones who have a good sense of themselves, they tend to have less of a problem with grappling with these issues, and thus are able to see where there’s both a viable artistic lane and financially profitable path for them to explore. But for the rest (which probably represents the majority), they tend to grapple with notions of self-identity within this market economy. So in regards to how all of this is reflected within how we look is of course somewhat subjective, as there’s still the factor of where you currently live, or perhaps grew up, that also plays a role in how one chooses to present themselves. But generally speaking, my observations have been pretty consistent among all the places that I've either lived or have visited throughout the world over the past 19 years, which I'll share with you now. 

From what I've seen, the culture of Jazz is rather quite in that it seeks to make the point that it doesn't need any flashy gimmicks for it to be relevant, or seem important. And in fact, it prefers to use its distance from any of the gimmick related devices that are typically employed by pop culture as a litmus test for how well constructed its music and performance of said music actually is. And since no one becomes a Jazz musician for the prospect of wealth, means that there can sometimes be an air of “this is me…take it or leave it.” So this raw, and sometimes jaded persona of the struggling artist, can be seen in how they dress. Typically speaking, in the larger metropolitan areas, where there are more obvious opportunities for economic advancement, you’ll tend to see more musicians make the attempt to emulate the fashion of those who are considered captains within their industry, as they possess the funds to hire those musicians who look something like themselves. So when you compare the fashion sensibilities of a CEO in a major city like NYC or LA, as opposed to a much smaller city somewhere in the U.S., you’ll see what I'm talking about in regards to the similarities between the look of these two business owner archetypes and the musicians that they have the potential to hire. In fact, a perfect summarizing quote for this point can be found in the movie “Remember the Titans,” when one of the football players says one of the most memorable quotes throughout the whole movie, which is that “Attitude reflects leadership.” However (as a general rule of thumb), given that Jazz musicians don’t gravitate too much towards ideas of total conformity, means that we’ll always look for ways of improvising with what we have on so as to reveal our true identity. And for musicians who have really found their own voice, they tend to have also found their own set of convictions in life as well, as once again, one’s outward appearance or disposition is generally a reflection of their inward conditioning. Therefore, the better the musician, the more successful they’ll tend to be in knowing how to play within the framework of what they’re wearing so as to be respectful of the general vibe of the look that they’re going for (especially while dressed up), but with a little something extra that’s reflective of their true nature.