​I have two distinct, very different, musical personalities.  Two very different facets of my musical persona that are sometimes slightly at odds with each other.  First and foremost, I consider myself a guitar player.  I started taking guitar lessons when I was twelve, long before I started seriously pursuing the craft of songwriting.  I love playing long, extended improvised guitar solos.  I love playing blues, jazz, fusion, jam rock, etc.  I can spend hours getting lost in long, improvised guitar solos over something as simple as a two-chord progression. 

On the other hand, I have a deep love and passion for songwriting. This was a passion that I developed several years after I began learning to play guitar. I write a fairly diverse range of songs, stylistically.  But if I had to sum up the kind of music I write the most, I guess I would describe it as a combination of “singer/songwriter/folk/rock”.  I tend to write songs that are fairly simple harmonically, with an emphasis on lyrics and story-telling.  Simple, yet, I like to think, catchy songs. 

I tend to alternate back and forth between phases where I focus on songwriting and phases where I focus on developing as a guitar player. If I spend too long only writing songs, I start to get worried that I’m getting rusty as a guitar player and vice versa.  Lately, I’ve been practicing guitar more than writing new material, although I sill have several new songs in progress.

When I’m writing and recording music for something like licensing, playing long, elaborate guitar solos is usually not appropriate or required.  In fact, I’ve turned in songs where I’ve been told by my publisher to “tone down” the guitar solos.  Licensing music is more about writing music that has the most “commercial appeal” and sensibility and as you’ve probably noticed somewhere in the last decade or two, playing guitar really well seemed to fall out of fashion.  Although there’s clearly still a market for great guitar playing in the context of pop music.  John Mayer, for example, does a great job of both writing amazing pop/rock songs but also shredding on guitar when needed.  Check out the studio version of “I Guess I Just Feel Like” for a great example of a great, current pop song with some really tasty guitar playing.
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To satisfy my love for both guitar playing and songwriting, I both play live and spend a lot of time writing and recording for licensing projects, and just for the love of making music.  When I perform live, I’m able to stretch out more on the guitar and really put all my years of practicing and learning to play guitar to work. Conversely, when I’m in the studio recording material for licensing or just recording music in general, I’m able to put my love for the craft of songwriting to work and develop my songwriting and production skills. 

It would be hard to pick which aspect of making music I enjoy more. Fortunately, I don’t have to.  It’s fair to say I enjoy both playing guitar and writing music equally, but for different reasons.  Writing music is more about expressing something I want to express emotionally through music. Whether it’s writing about something I’ve experienced or expressing myself through a story in the form of a song, songwriting to me is akin to therapy in the sense that I’m able to articulate and process things I’ve gone through or am going through, in the context of a song.  Playing guitar on the other hand, especially improvising and “jamming”, is just plain fun!
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Here’s my latest song release on Spotify.  A song called “We’re Only Human” I recorded with Michael James.

Here’s an instrumental guitar piece from my new all instrumental guitar album, called "Radio Floyd".
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​And finally, here's a compilation of a few of my favorite solos from last weekend during my reunion with my friends in the "Bandits Of The Apocalypse".
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In this blog, I thought I’d share the stages my tracks go through, from the initial demo stage, all the way to the fully produced, “radio and sync ready” master stage.  This particular song, “Home Is Where The Heart Is”, I wrote last year when I was vacationing in The Dominican Republic, right before the Covid pandemic started and I ended up effectively trapped there for several months due to the airports being abruptly shut down and my flight cancelled. 

I wrote this particular song, if my memory serves me correctly, in about an hour.  It was one of those songs that sort of just poured out of me.  I was on the balcony of a small studio apartment I was renting at the time and this song came to me in a moment of inspiration early in the morning around 7 am. 

A few days later I recorded the following very simple, rough demo:
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As is often the case, this song sat on the shelf for a good long while.  I tend to have a pretty large back catalog of un-recorded tracks at any given time, that I often circle back to when I go into the studio to record. 

Fast forward to earlier this year and I was with my friend and collaborator MJ and we were going through my demos deciding what songs we would work on and we came across this one.  My friend MJ really resonated with this track and he was one of the main reasons I decided to revisit the track and finish it. 

So, for the next couple weeks or so, MJ and I worked on the track.  MJ came up with some really cool harmony parts, a great piano part and helped write the song’s outro.  One of the things I love about collaborating with MJ is having an extra set of ears that is able to hear things slightly differently than I do and come up with different parts and ideas that really enhance the song.  Ideas that I wouldn’t have come up with on my own.

After a couple weeks, MJ and I then created the following, more fully produced demo:

​I then sent the demo, along with a few other tracks to my publisher to get her feedback.  My publisher is cool with checking out songs in their demo stage, in order to see if it’s something she wants to move forward with or not.  This is extremely helpful as I’m able to get a good sense for which tracks she thinks she’ll be able to successfully pitch before I go through the longer process of creating the actual fully produced and mastered version.

One of the other tracks I sent her was produced by Gary Gray and featured a different vocalist, Joseph De Natale, who has sung several of my tracks.  My publisher loved his voice and requested that I use him on, “Home Is Where The Heart Is”.   Since I aim to please I said sure, I will see what I can do and that I would get back to her.

I reached out to Gary, who is friends with the vocalist to see if he could arrange to have Joseph sing the lead vocal on the track and help me finish the production.  Gary, being the agreeable guy that he is said absolutely!  Over the next few weeks, using the initial tracks that MJ and I laid down, as well as adding their own parts and tweaking the arrangement slightly, Gary and Joseph created the final version of the song, which you can hear below.

I’m really, really pleased with how this track turned out.  I think it’s one of my best sounding tracks overall. Joseph nailed the vocals and both Gary and Joseph nailed the production. 
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​For licensing inquiries of "Home Is Where The Heart Is" contact me here and I'll direct you to the appropriate people.

To work with Gary Gray on your music's production, contact Gary here.

​What do you think of the song?  Let us know in the comments!

What about you?  Did you find your creative output and overall creativity increase during quarantine?  Let me know in the comments!

I’ve had enough.  I’m sick and tired.  I’m sick and tired of watching talented, hard working, passionate musicians being tossed by the way side.  I’m sick and tired of watching musicians invest their blood, sweat and tears into creating beautiful art, only to eek out a meager living, if they’re fortunate enough to even be able to do that.  I’ve had it.  I’m done.

I’ve grown disgusted by how music has become less and less “valuable” in the marketplace with each passing year.  I’m tired of watching super talented, hard working musicians struggle to make a viable life for themselves.

I’ve always taken a half glass full attitude to life and the music industry.  I’ve encouraged artists to hustle and carve out a name for themselves in a marketplace where music has become more and more devalued with each passing year.  In life, you have to focus on the things you can control.  Sometimes you have to make lemonade out of lemons.  We don’t choose the hands we’re dealt in life, but we choose how we play them.

But with all that said, I’m tired of musicians simply resigning themselves to the idea that this is simply how things are and if they want to compete in the music industry they have to accept giving their music away for next to nothing.  I’m tired of musicians putting up with sub-par work conditions, no health care, little to no safety net, no job security and so on.  I’m tired of musicians lining up to get proverbially screwed.

Have a few musicians figured out how to “succeed” in our modern-day music industry?  Sure, there are examples of musicians who are able to support themselves solely from their art.  To those of you who have figured this out, more power to you.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to carve out a decent living primarily from my art and endeavors closely related to it and I’ve invested the last 12 years of my life to helping other musicians figure out ways to make money from their music.  But having a small percentage of unknown artists able to sustain themselves from the music they create and pay their bills isn’t going to fix the music industry or the declining state of contemporary music in general.

In my assessment, and I’ve given it a lot of thought over the last few years, the music industry is deeply broken and fundamentally flawed.   The music industry has become a race to the bottom.  I’ve broken down all the depressing stats for you about the state of the music industry in previous blog posts.   See this blog post as an example.  The problems that ail the music industry are deep seated and widespread.  There are no easy solutions or simple fixes.  However, the first step is correctly diagnosing the problem.  After all, we can’t fix a problem if we don’t know what the problem is.

In my estimation, there are essentially two fundamental problems plaguing the music industry.  Here are the two main issues holding most musicians back in terms of making a real living from their craft:

1. Consumers don’t value recorded music anymore (thanks internet)
2. Musicians don’t value their music anymore (thanks to the platforms who took advantage of the internet)
   
   

We live in a culture where people expect music to be free or next to free.  And because of this, musicians, for the most part, have all jumped on board with platforms who give their music away for fractions of a penny per stream for a chance to gain exposure and hopefully make a few bucks.

In some cases, musicians are able to generate enough streams to make “decent” money.  But in my own experience and according to the research I did for this piece, these musicians are few and far between.  In fact, according to a recent article in Rolling Stone, called “Spotify Dreams Of Artists Making A Living. It Probably Won’t Come True”, the average artist on Spotify makes just twelve dollars a month.  That’s right, that’s not a typo, just twelve dollars a month.  The article is a great read and provides an in depth breakdown of how much money Spotify takes in and how it trickles down to artists using the platform: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/spotify-million-artists-royalties-1038408/

Even when musicians do manage to generate hundreds of thousands or even millions of streams, the money that is generated, after it’s split with fellow musicians, recording and production costs are deducted and expenses are paid, it’s usually a pretty modest payday at best.  Of course there are a few exceptions.  If you’re reading this and you’re doing well on Spotify, or even if you know someone else who is, I’d love to hear about it.

Let’s take a look at some hard stats.   The title of the blog post takes aim at Spotify, but to be fair, it’s really the entire streaming industry.  All of the platforms pay next to nothing.  Some are closer to nothing than others. 

Here’s a breakdown of what the major streaming platforms pay per stream.

It took me a long time to develop a workflow and work routine that was consistent and that I could commit to on an ongoing basis.  It takes a massive amount of momentum to see any sort of real, sustainable success in the music industry.  For this reason, developing a workflow that fits into your overall life and that you can commit to on an ongoing basis, is one of the most important parts of realizing success in music licensing and the music business.

I used to have a sort of two steps forward, one step back approach to making music.  I would work really hard for a few months and make a little bit of progress and then inevitably start feeling burnt out and take a step back to rest and regroup.   The first few years of my music licensing career I had very sporadic success as a result.  I’d license several songs and then there were often long stretches where not much was happening.  I’d then frantically go back to the drawing board, so to speak, and throw myself into the process of music making again, see some renewed success, slow down and take a break again and repeat the entire cycle over.  This went on for several years as I was also juggling the duties of several internet businesses and different projects.

These days I have a much different and much more consistent approach to making music.  It’s very simple and my workflow and creative process has become much more efficient and dialed in.  I write and record one song a week and release one music video weekly.  It’s still a lot of work, don’t get me wrong.  I can easily spend 30 to 40 hours a week or more, mixing, rehearsing, writing and video editing.  But it’s a schedule that I can commit to regularly without getting burnt out doing.  I still have plenty of time to manage my other duties and I really enjoy the time I spend making music.  And if takes me ten days to finish a track instead of seven, it’s not the end of the world.  I simply aim for averaging a song a week.

A lot of people ask me how many songs they should be aiming to record weekly and monthly, and like a lot of things related to music licensing, there are many variables.  It depends on what kind of music you’re making, how efficient you are at writing and recording, what your goals are, etc.   But really, the most important variable, is you.  By that I mean, it comes down to what you can commit to, how skilled and motivated you are and so forth.  I like the song a week model because, after a lot of trial and error, this is the schedule that feels right to me.  My goal is to consistently make music and put it out into the world, without getting burnt out or stressed about it.  There are enough stressful things in the world right now that the least thing I want music to be is a source of stress or frustration. 

Aim to setup your schedule and life in a way that you’re excited about and brings you more joy than stress.  If making a living from music if your goal, you’re going to be doing it a long time, so make sure you’re creating a workflow that’s sustainable and enjoyable.  If you’re pushing yourself to the point of burn out you’re not going to be able to sustain that. 

What is your workflow like?  Do you have a set amount of songs you record each week or month?  Have you given this issue much thought?  One of the keys to success is consistency.  Just keep showing up and putting in the work.  There’s a lot that’s out of our control in the music business, but the one thing you we do control entirely, is our output.  And like I’ve said before, more songs will generally lead to more licensing opportunities and more money.  In my own experience, I've seen my licensing income go up significantly over the last several years as I've simply been writing and recording a lot more music.  It's sort of a no brainer.  More songs = more licensing opportunities.

I’ve also been ramping up my efforts on Youtube ever since the pandemic started and have been releasing new music videos each week.  Here’s my latest effort, a video for my song “Everything Is Going To Be Alright”, shot in the Caribbean during lockdown with my quarantine project, Bandits Of The Apocalypse.   Check it out and be sure to subscribe to my Youtube Channel here.

As many of you know, I’ve worked with producer Gary Gray a lot over the last few years.  When we collaborate, we have one singular mission in mind for the music we’re working on together, which is to optimize each track for licensing opportunities.  We’ve racked up quite a few syncs the last few years and recently had our biggest ascap payday yet, for several dozen tv placements in 2019. 

We recently completed and signed a publishing deal for a track that I feel is one of the strongest overall tracks we’ve done together. I thought I’d share what the collaboration process was like to give you an idea of how songs can evolve and go through a few different stages, until they are ultimately completed and ready to shop to licensing opportunities.

Our latest track, Lost And Found, took several months to complete, from its inception to the final mix.  We recently signed this one to my primary publisher in LA and I’m confident, as confident as one can be in this industry, that this track will get syncs going forward.  We sent this one to our publisher and she responded right away, enthusiastically, that she would love to sign it.  That’s always a good sign.  As opposed to when you submit tracks and weeks or months go by and you ultimately never hear anything.  Submitting music is sort of like going out on dates with prospective partners, if someone is really interested, they’ll let you know sooner or later.  On the other hand, sometimes people just aren’t that into your tracks.  

I started writing this song last year and made a basic guitar/vocal demo that I sent to my friend and frequent collaborator, MJ.  A few weeks later MJ and I got together in person and we spent about  a week creating a full band demo and fleshing out all the parts.  MJ came up with a great 2nd hook, the line “gonna turn this thing around”.  (See below)

After MJ and I finished our version of the track we sent our mix and the stems to Gary to start his process.  Like I said, when Gary and I collaborate, our main goal is to create tracks that have the best chance of getting placements.  Sometimes this could mean making changes to the track’s arrangement.  Sometimes it could mean changing certain lyrics or re-writing tracks to make them more “universal” in terms of subject matter.  Other times, like in the case of Lost And Found, it could mean doing a completely different version of the track with a different vocalist and even different instrumentation. I give Gary carte blanche to make whatever changes he feels necessary to optimize each track for licensing.

At the time Gary and I finished this particular track, Gary and I received a playlist of the types of songs my publisher is most in need of for a variety of shows she pitches to.  Gary used these tracks as reference material when it came to arranging and mixing my track, “Lost And Found”.   Based on this playlist and the style of production these songs had, Gary ended up completely re-doing Lost and Found using a different vocalist and also re-doing the guitar parts in a different style. 

When I got the track back from Gary, I was a little surprised at first, because I didn’t realize he was making such drastic changes to the song.  But, when I put my ego in check and just objectively listened to the song, I was blown away. Of all the tracks we’ve done together, this might be the one I’m most proud of and excited about.  Gary’s mix and production sound so solid on this one that I would be really surprised if this one doesn’t get some great syncs. 
 
You can check out my demo version below I did with MJ, as well as Gary’s final version below.  I’ll probably do another fully produced version with MJ at some point as there are elements of our version I really like, but I can’t deny how undeniably great Gary’s version is.   Listen for yourself below!

Lost And Found Demo Version

Lost And Found Final Mix By Gary Gray, featuring Joseph De Natale

Of course, putting your head in the sand and ignoring the state of the world isn’t the answer.  My friends and I spent several hours discussing everything that was unfolding.  In the evening, we even wrote a song inspired by the protests and the death of George Floyd.  One of the great things about being a songwriter, is that no matter how crazy the world gets, there’s always something to write about.  In some ways, the crazier things get, the more there is to write about.

Adversity and hardships force you to dig deeper and find strength that in many cases, you didn’t even know you have.  Here’s what one of my favorite authors, Eckhart Tolle, has to say about adversity and what we’re all living through at the moment:

“Adversity forces you to awaken to the deeper dimension of who you are. Why does adversity force you? Because life becomes almost unbearable when you live only on the surface, the surface of sense perceptions, and your conceptual mind.”

The last few months has been, strangely, one of the most productive periods of my life.  Once I realized I was likely going to be stuck here for at least a few months, I got into a really productive rhythm and have since written and recorded dozens of new songs, many of which have been inspired by everything going on in the world.  I have, you could say, dug deeper and discovered a fortitude and strength I didn’t know I had.  I’m working harder than ever to realize my goals in one of the craziest times we’ve ever known.  Something about that feels comforting and right and to be honest, despite everything going on, I wake up excited every day to get to work.  I can’t change the entire state of the world, but I can at least be in control of my little slice of reality. 

If history is any indication, what is happening in the world and everything unfolding will eventually come and go.  Eventually the pandemic will come and go.  Eventually the protests and rioting will stop.  New challenges will arise.  Those will also come and go. The sun will continue to set and rise.

I don’t know how to change the world at large.  I wish I did.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all the injustice, inequality, anger, frustration, sickness, political corruption, sadness and rage come to an end.  I wish I could.  There’s so much I would change if I had that kind of power.

All I can do is focus on what I can control.  Things like how to be a better friend to my friends, how to be a better partner to my girlfriend, how to be a better son, how to be a better songwriter and musician, how to be a more compassionate and empathetic citizen of the world.  These are the things that motivate me to keep going every day, in spite of and in many ways, because of all the craziness unfolding.  
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Maybe, just maybe, if we all focused on making our little piece of the world we live in better, we could slowly change the world into a better place, one person and one day at a time.

When all of this Covid stuff first started getting serious, there was a part of me that was fearful.  It was the unknown element in all of this.  I was in the Caribbean.  I still am.  The borders were abruptly closed.  Then all the businesses, except grocery stores and pharmacies were closed.  The little beach town I’m in almost overnight turned into a ghost town.   The streets were mostly empty.  A 5 PM curfew was imposed. There was tension in the air that was palpable. Everything felt strange and surreal.

After a couple weeks or so, once I realized the grocery stores would not run out of food, the internet and power would continue to work and the sun would continue to set and rise, I settled into a new routine. The fear I initially felt gradually shifted to something unexpected... joy.  I found myself surprisingly really enjoying my new routine and the surreal nature of the experience. My mood brightened. 

I started taking long daily walks alone on the beach to contemplate everything happening.  This is something I did frequently before quarantine, but these walks felt different.  Everything felt heightened. In some weird way I’ve felt more alive throughout all this.  Whatever was happening with the pandemic was so intense, it was as if it woke me up from a slumber and now I was really paying attention.

To be clear, I wasn’t enjoying the fact that there was a pandemic or that I was effectively trapped in a developing country.  I was enjoying my reaction to it. It’s sort of hard to put into words, but I just felt strangely more awake and in tune with everything around me.  As if the situation shifted my perspective slightly, just enough to let me see things in a new light.  I realized much of life is completely out of my control and although that’s kind of scary on one hand, in a way it’s also completely liberating and humbling.  If it’s out of my control, why waste my energy worrying about it?

Of course, life has always been largely out of our control, but when something like this comes so unexpectedly, you realize just how little we do control individually and just how quickly it can all change.  I guess you could say quarantine has taught me to surrender.  To let go of worrying about the parts of life outside of my control, which it turns out, is most of life.

But, of course, there are things in my control and even in a crazy situation like this you can find normalcy and joy.  I’ve found having a routine helps, especially during a time like this. 

Here’s what my quarantine schedule the last couple months has looked like:

1)Wake up around 8 am
2)Make coffee and do morning meditation
3) 9 am play guitar and work on songs
4) 10 am – work on business projects, courses, etc
5) 2 pm – break for lunch with girlfriend
6) 3 pm - Work for an hour
7) 4 pm – go to beach for a walk and swim
8) Return by 5 pm curfew
9) 6 PM – jam with new quarantine band, “Bandits Of The Apocalypse”
10) 8 pm – finish jam and edit / render video from nightly jam session
11) 9 pm – answer any unanswered emails, work on music, etc
12) 10 pm – chill with girlfriend, watch Netflix, etc
13) Sleep by 1 AM

I found myself, after a few weeks of this routine, feeling incredibly relaxed about things. I adapted to the situation and I’ve developed a new, quarantine rhythm. I started focusing much more on taking life one day at a time and not trying to figure things out too far in advance. Once the initial fear and uncertainty subsided, I realized that although there were many restrictions placed on me that were new and there was a lot up in the air, I was still free to pursue most of the things I wanted to pursue.  And in fact, in many ways, it has never been a better time to pursue these things.  After all, I have far fewer distractions than I normally do and a lot more forced time inside to get things done.  It turns out most of my big life goals are best pursued indoors; music, songwriting, marketing, business, etc.

I’ve grown much closer to my two band-mates who live in the same building I do and who I’ve seen nightly throughout all of this.  We’ve had so many strange and interesting conversations ranging from our shared concern about the pandemic to expressing our gratitude of being able to share such an interesting, surreal experience together. We’ve also spent countless hours jamming, recording and making Youtube videos. These our experiences that I’m sure when I’m older I’ll remember much more clearly than the months and years that preceded all this. 

I’ve seen so many people step up and go out of their way to help others.  I’ve helped as many as I’ve been able to and people have come forward to help me in unexpected and beautiful ways.  It seems like humans are often at their best in times of crisis.  It shocks us all out of our collective slumber and forces us into action.  I think most humans are good people, we just tend to be so busy during “normal” times that we forget to take a break and check in with each other.

As we move forward, a lot of questions remain.  I sometimes catch myself wondering about things in the future.  When will the airports here re-open (no official date yet but lots of speculation)?  What will the long-term impact on our economy and my business be?  What will the music business look like a year from now? Two years from now and going forward? When will live music resume? What will life be like after all this is over? Will there be a “new normal”?  Will there be a mandatory vaccine?  Will we end up losing more of our freedoms and liberties?  Am I going to be micro-chipped??

There are so many questions I don’t have the answer to and occasionally I catch myself thinking about and pondering these things.  These are the only moments throughout all this when I feel stressed.  Once I realize there is a lot I simply don’t know or have answers to yet, I remind myself to focus on the here and now and the fear and stress subside.

What can I do today?  What do I want to do today?  What inspires me today?  When I focus my energy on these questions I quickly get inspired again.  I realize that I, nor anyone else, knows exactly how all this will unfold and play out and that it makes little sense to use my time worrying about these things. 
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So for now, I focus on what I can control.  This is always where our true power resides. I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Viktor Frankl in his book “Man’s Search For Meaning”, in which he chronicled his experience as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War 2.  An experience far more horrifying than being stuck at home watching Netflix on the beach. 

The quote is:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Check out my latest original song that takes a lighthearted look at the lockdown, "Bottle Full Of Wine", I recorded with my quarantine band, Bandits Of The Apocalypse.

One of the things I've been doing most days throughout this lockdown period, is posting a video of me performing with my lockdown/quarantine side project, Bandits Of The Apocalypse.  Bandits Of The Apocalypse consists of myself and two other musicians who are in in the same building, where we are all currently under lockdown, stuck in the Caribbean, due to Covid-19.   Here's us performing the CCR classic "Stuck In Lockdown Again", aka Lodi, a few days ago.

My neighbors and I have put together a band, a project that will last as long as the lockdown/quarantine lasts.  We're calling ourselves "Bandits Of The Apocalypse", which is a pretty kick ass name for a band if you ask me.  We're doing a series of rooftop concerts which we'll be posting footage of on my Youtube Channel.  Here's a clip from our first performance:

Listen to the audio version of this blog on my podcast:

​First of all, my heart goes out to all of you that have been impacted by the Covid-19 situation.  A lot of musicians, particularly performing musicians have been hit particularly hard and have had months of events cancelled.  So, if you’re in that category I feel for you.

I don’t make a significant portion of my income from performing these days, but I was in the midst of performing in the Caribbean when all this started and have lost several weeks worth of gigs as a result.  It was really bad timing for me because I was experiencing a real rejuvenated passion for performing again and was busier performing live than I have been in a long time when this whole situation took a turn for the worse. 

But, in this post I want to discuss ways we can all make the most out of this strange situation we find ourselves in and make a little lemonade out of the big bowl of lemons we’ve been abruptly served.  None of us can entirely control the circumstances we find ourselves in, but we can always control how we respond.  This entire situation is a great reminder of that fact.  I really would love to go back to several weeks ago when I was out playing gigs, rehearsing with my band and going about my day to day life doing all the things so many of us take for granted.

But, here we are and to be honest, there’s something about the entire situation that I find oddly inspiring.  Don’t get me wrong, it sucks on one level.  But there’s also something about the intensity of the situation and just how much things have changed in such a short period of time that I find awe inspiring. 

Like I said, I was in the Caribbean playing gigs when all this unfolded and my flight back to Chicago which was scheduled for the 21st of this month, was cancelled at the last minute due to the Covid-19 situation.   I have another flight back to the States that is scheduled for the 31st, but there’s no guarantee that it will leave, as things are changing day by day and no one seems to know exactly what’s going on.  The US Embassy is closed due to The Corona Virus, the Airlines seem as clueless as everyone else if and when you can get through to them at all, and no one seems to really know exactly what’s going on.  I have surrendered to the fact that this is out of my hands at this point.

So here I am, for the moment stuck in the Caribbean, not entirely sure when I’ll be going back to Chicago. And before you think oh cry me a river, you’re trapped in paradise, it could be a lot worse.  Well, it's not as ideal as it sounds.  Pretty much everything is closed, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies.  There are long lines to buy food as only a handful of people can go in at a time.  The streets are eerily empty.  Most people that you see are walking around with masks on.  The only place that seems somewhat normal are the beaches where you still see a few kite surfers that have remained and seems to be the only place where the expats that are still here quasi-socialize, with a healthy amount of social distance and fresh Caribbean air between them.

So, I’m more or less on lock down and with the exception of my daily walk on the beach and my bi-weekly trips to the supermarket, I’m spending most of my time in a little apartment I’m renting here with my girlfriend, across the street from the beach.  There’s an 8 PM curfew, so everyone is required inside from 8 PM to 6 AM.  Not that there is really anything to do outside anyway.

That’s my situation.  It’s taken me a few days to adapt to the unfolding situation, but like I said, I’m now finding the experience strangely inspiring. I’ve already come up with some really productive ways to pass the time and make the most out of this experience, however long it lasts and wherever I am.

Here’s a list of things I’m doing or will soon be doing to fill the extra time inside, stay inspired and make the most out of this situation:

Write New Music -   This one is a no-brainer, but if you’re a writer and/or composer now is a great time to write and record more music. What I've heard from all of my contacts in the licensing industry that I’ve been in touch with the last few weeks, the licensing industry is moving forward relatively unscathed for now.   Content is still being curated, shows are still being scheduled and strategized, music is still being created and supervisors are still looking for music.  Some productions will definitely be affected in the short term, but I’m still getting requests for music almost daily for ongoing projects.

Regardless of what happens going forward, now is a great time to beef up your catalog, finish your tracks that are unfinished, write and record new music and keep moving forward as a writer/composer.  Writing music is a fairly solitary endeavor anyway, so in many ways now is a really ideal time to be a songwriter/composer and many of us are probably already used to spending a fair amount of time alone working on our craft.
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Post Music Online - Like I said, I’ve found this whole situation strangely invigorating and I’ve actually decided to write, record and post a new song on Facebook every day throughout this ordeal, inspired by the whole experience (see below).    

In many ways now is perhaps the best time we’ve ever lived through to be posting and sharing music online, because there are way more people online with a lot more time to kill than ever before.   I’m finding that people are really receptive to checking out music right now.  Plus, people need music and connection at the moment, and since many of us are locked inside, I don’t think there’s been a better time to express yourself and share your music with the world.  My plan, like I said, is to write a song a day, for however long this lasts and then at the end of all this, take the ones that have been best received and package them together into an official release for Spotify, Bandcamp, etc.

Practice – Now is a great time to practice your instrument or instruments.   I’m spending at least an hour or two playing guitar each day.   I play a lot in general, but when things are “normal” I tend to go through spurts of practicing where I’ll practice a lot for a few weeks and then something will inevitably come along and rob my attention and push my practicing to the back-burner, whether it’s a new business project, my social life, etc..  But now, however long this lasts, I’ll have an extended period of time to focus on all those new licks and songs I’ve been wanting to learn.  

Live Streaming – I’ve seen a ton of musicians live streaming the past week or so.  It’s been really cool to see so many musicians I know playing music online and getting their fans and friends to rally around them.   Many musicians are asking for donations, linking to where people can buy their music and support them.  Again, with so many people stuck inside and going online, now is an amazing time to get your music out to a larger, more receptive audience online.  I haven’t started doing this yet, but my band and I are trying to figure out how we can live stream together, while still adhering to safe social distancing guidelines and plan to do something soon.  

Sell Music Online - Bandcamp had their single biggest day of sales last Friday, when they waived all their fees for musicians for a period of 24 hours.  Again, people are online and they’re receptive.  I also think people in general are very empathetic right now. They understand we’re all in this together and are willing to help in any way they can.  So, if you have music online for sale, now is a great time to put together special bundles and promotions for your fans.  Let people know if you’ve been affected by the Covid-19 situation.  Tell people how they can help and support you.  They won’t know if you don’t tell them.  

Podcasting – This whole thing has actually motivated me to re-launch my podcast.   I haven’t done an episode for a few months, for a variety of reasons which I’ll explain in more detail in the future, but I’m really feeling inspired now to stay connected as best as possible to the outside world and help my fellow musicians out in any way I can during this time. I have some great new ideas on how to do that via my podcast and blog, which I will be exploring in the near future.    

Meditation / Reflection / Awareness – Finally, this one isn’t exactly related to music per se, but many people, myself included, have noticed and mentioned there is a spiritual component to all of this.  It’s hard to put into words, but I certainly feel like something is different, apart from the obvious.  Maybe it’s the result of our lives being disrupted so much, in such a short period of time.  Or maybe it’s because in a sense we’re all being forced to take a step back, slow down and reflect.  Whatever it is, I feel it, as have many people I’ve spoken to and I think it’s contributed to the sense of inspiration I’ve derived from all of this.  It sort of feels like this is one of those very significant cultural moments where we need to collectively come together and raise our frequency.  I realize I sound a bit like a hippie here, but, well, so be it.   

Surrender – And finally, also not directly related to music, but I feel like this is one of those events, so big, and so clearly out of our individual control, that ultimately there’s not much we can really do but take a deep breath, relax and surrender.  I think one of the reasons I’m feeling more and more relaxed, after a few pretty stressful days, is that I realize this whole thing is out of my hands.  All I can do is do the best to focus on the things I can control, one day at a time.  For me that involves staying healthy, staying calm, making and sharing my music, keeping my girlfriend and dog safe, and getting a good night’s sleep. 

Everything else is out of my hands.  In the meantime, the birds are singing outside my window and I’ve never heard them this loud and this happy.   Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention before.

Like I said, I’m writing and recording one new song a day, however long this whole Covid 19 / Lock down situation lasts.  These are all very sparse productions, using one mic and one or two takes, guitar and vocals.  My idea is just to focus on writing and connecting with people for now.  At some point I’ll go back and pick the strongest songs and record them and release them “properly”.   

You can check out my first Covid-19 / Lockdown inspired track, “A Couple Months Ago” here:

I’ve been playing a ton of music lately.  I’ve been rehearsing and gigging with my latest project several nights a week and practicing, writing and playing guitar at least a couple hours each day.  I love periods like this because the progress I make is so obvious and tangible.  It reminds me of when I was studying music and guitar at Berklee College of Music and used to spend hours each day in a practice room, practicing guitar, and then hours more each night at the end of the day in different jam sessions.  I progressed more during my two years at Berklee than perhaps any time before or since.  It was non -stop music, all day, every day.  I couldn’t help but to get better.

But there’s another kind of progress that’s more gradual and less noticeable until you look back over time.   I was going through my archives of old recordings of different bands and projects I’ve played in over the years a few nights ago.  I was listening to a show I performed in Chicago in 2004 with my old band Continuum.  The first thing that struck me was how much I’ve improved as a vocalist.  In fact, I was shocked at how bad of a singer I was back then, compared to now.  My vocal performance on every song I heard was really bad.  In fact, it was atrocious.

I was so taken aback at how bad I was that I immediately went and listened to a recording of myself singing at a recent show from a few days ago to make sure I don’t still sound like that.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  It was much, much better.  It was night and day in fact.  It didn’t even sound like the same vocalist.

This realization that I had come so far as a vocalist over the last 16 years gave me a huge sense of satisfaction.  Although at first, I was shocked at just how bad I sounded back in the day, compared to now, I was also really thrilled to hear how far I had come. 

The more I thought about the progress I’ve made and just how gradual it’s been, the more elated I felt.  Over the years there have been times where I would get sort of hard on myself in terms of feeling like I hadn’t progressed as much as I wanted to or “should” have in music.  It’s something I’ve gotten a lot better at over the years. But at times I used to get pretty hard on myself when I felt like I wasn’t progressing fast enough.  I think a lot of us creative, artistic types are.  Art and music is so important to us, that some of us have a tendency to get down when we’re not progressing or moving forward at the rate we think we “should” be.  Whatever that means.

But, despite my own inner critic, I’ve kept going over the years, writing my songs, performing as much as possible, practicing guitar and vocals, licensing my music in as many places as possible and so forth.  And lo and behold, I’ve improved immensely, albeit gradually. I’m not sure if the old adage practice makes perfect is true, but practice certainly makes better.

All this is to say, wherever you’re at with music, keep going.  Sometimes it can seem like you’re sort of spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere.  But if you keep putting in the work, day after day, year after year, you will improve. The longer you go, when you look back, the more stark the contrast will be compared to when you started. And as you improve, you will see results in terms of more gigs, placements, success and so on. It’s inevitable.

To be honest, I still don’t really consider myself a great vocalist, in the traditional sense.  Singing, for whatever reason, has just never come naturally to me and it’s taken a long time to become comfortable as a vocalist.  But I’ve been compelled to sing and work on my singing because I write songs, and although for recording and licensing I sometimes recruit other vocalists to sing on my tracks, there’s nothing like getting on stage and singing something you wrote, from the heart, for a live audience.

Like I always say, focus on the things you can control.  You might not be able to control the entire industry, or the gatekeepers, or the tastes of a fickle public, but you can always focus on improving your craft.  Whether it’s improving your singing, an instrument you play, or the songs and compositions you write, your production chops, whatever it is you need to improve… these things are in no one’s hands but your own.  When you focus on what you can control, you take your power back, and when you do this consistently, over time, you’ll see incredible growth, which will inevitably lead to more opportunities. For me, this growth and progress make the whole journey worthwhile.  

To kick off the New Year, I spent the last two weeks with my good friend and songwriting partner, MJ.   We spent most of our time together working on several new tracks and collaborating in the studio.  MJ and I have been making music together since I was a Sophomore in High School and MJ was a Junior. MJ has performed and sang vocals on multiple tracks I’ve placed over the years.

We had a really fun, productive visit and it got me thinking about the pros and cons of collaborating with other musicians.  I don’t really co-write that often these days, but when I do, especially with the right person, it’s a really enjoyable process that brings a new creative dimension to the songwriting process, with results that are often above and beyond what I’m able to do in isolation. 

Of course, collaborating with the wrong musician can also be a painful process where you’re constantly butting heads. Collaborating with the wrong person can slow down the songwriting process and hinder creativity.  It’s important to choose your co-writers wisely.

Today, let’s look at the pros and cons of co-writing and collaborating, starting with the PROS:

Pros

Synergy – There’s a synergy that happens when you get two or more people together that simply can’t be duplicated when you’re alone.  There’s something about being together in the same space and bouncing ideas off each other in real time that you just can’t get when you’re working on music in solitude.  Which isn’t to say you can’t write or create great music alone, you of course can, but the process is very different when you add other people to the mix.  We all have our own unique way of looking at things and it can be extremely valuable to have someone else give input and direction during the songwriting process, especially during moments where you’re feeling stuck or not sure where to go. 

For example, one of the tracks I collaborated on with my friend MJ during our most recent visit (which I’ll link to below), was about 75% complete already when we met up, but I was stuck on the bridge in particular, and wasn’t quite sure where to go.  I had a bridge that just didn’t seem to take the song anywhere new, it was sort of boring and really similar to the verses and chorus.  MJ pointed out this out and suggested we try something a little different and start on a minor chord instead of the major chord I had for the beginning of that section.  We bounced ideas back and forth for about fifteen minutes and we ended up coming up with a bridge we both really love, that was completely different than the rest of the song, but still fit perfectly.  I most likely would have never approached the section the way we did had I been left to my own devices.

Immediate Feedback – Another great aspect of collaborating is the ability to get immediate, real time feedback about your songs and musical ideas.  Music is of course subjective, but it’s helpfule to know how other people respond to your tracks.  Especially if it’s someone whose musical sensibilities you respect.  When MJ and I got together for our most recent co-writing and collaborating sessions, I played him several tracks I had been working on to see which ones he was most excited about.  I ended up playing one song I started two years ago that had been just sort of sitting, collecting dust and MJ immediately responded to it positively.  I hadn’t really even thought much about the track until I played it for MJ and he perked up instantly.  I had been sort of on the fence about the track, as it’s much more poppy than what I normally write, and I was worried it might be a little on the “cheesy” end, but MJ immediately convinced me otherwise.  Having a fresh set of ears to provide this sort of instant feedback can be very valuable and gives you a broader perspective of your music.

Social Outlet – The life of a songwriter/composer can be a bit lonely at times.  Many of us spend countless hours in our home studios alone, plugging away at our craft.  These moments in solitude can of course yield inspired results, many of my best musical ideas have been born in solitude.  But, doing this day after day, year after year, can also become lonely and isolating.  One of the great benefits of collaborating and co-writing are the relationships and the socializing that happen as a result.  Many of my best friends throughout my life have happened as a result of musical collaboration.  It’s just more fun to make music with other people, and I got into this business to enjoy myself, not to become a music making recluse.

Cons

Although, co-writing can be a great experience, it can also be a frustrating experience if you don’t mesh well with your co-writer.  I suppose it’s like any relationship, you need to have a certain amount of chemistry and connection for the co-writing relationship to work smoothly.  It goes without saying if you’re going to be co-writing you should seek out co-writers that you click with, but even in the best-case scenario there are things about the co-writing process that could be looked at as negatives. 

Let’s take a look at a few things to watch out for when co-writing:
 
Creative Differences
When you’re writing music alone, you get to call the shots.  If you’re a bit of a control freak like me, this is extremely liberating.   One of the potentially frustrating things about co-writing, if you’re at all like me, is that there are going to be times where you and your co-writer look at things differently.  It’s inevitable. This is of course the whole point of co-writing, to have two sets of creative eyes and ears come together, where the sum ends up being greater than the individual parts.  The Beatles became the legendary group they became because of this sort of creative synergy.  Of course, The Beatles also fought and had creative differences and would break up after just ten years as a band due in part to their creative and personal differences.  That and Yoko.

Many bands throughout rock and roll history have succumbed to these sorts of creative and artistic differences. Watch any documentary about pretty much any rock and roll band and a part of their story usually involves intense creative differences between bands members.  Pink Floyd, Oasis, Guns N Roses, Van Halen, Chicago, Kiss, Simon And Garfunkel, The Yardbirds, Aerosmith, The Smashing Pumpkins, Journey, The Kinks, The Beach Boys and many more, have famously dealt with creative and personal differences as part of their history.  It almost seems like a certain amount of creative tension is a pre-requisite for success in commercial music.  Or, perhaps, where there’s a yin there’s always a yang. 

My take, after many years of writing music both with other people and alone, is that you simply have to take the good with the bad.  Any relationship involving more than one person involves a certain amount of compromise and give and take.  The co-writing relationship is no exception.  For the co-writing relationship to work, you have to be open to other ideas and input. 

A part of this is simply maturity and openness to other ideas.  When I was younger, my knee jerk reaction to people wanting to change my ideas was resistance and shutting them down. Now, I’m much more open to hearing people out and giving their ideas a chance.  I might not ultimately agree with everything that’s suggested, but I’m open to trying anything musically to see if it works.  When both co-writers have this sort of open and flexible approach you can get to really interesting places creatively that you can’t get to on your own. 

Business Differences
Another pitfall to watch out for when working with co-writers and collaborators is differences when it comes to the business side of music.  These issues have been the downfall for many creative partnerships over the years.  When I write music alone, in addition to making any creative decision I want, I’m also free to make any business decision I deem appropriate. I can take chances business-wise and make decisions that I might not be able to if I have another person’s opinion to contend with.  I don’t have to run new contracts by other people that might have veto power.  Being a free agent comes with a certain amount of freedom you don’t have when working with other people who might not have the same vision.

Like dealing with creative differences, differences when it comes to business issues need to be dealt with maturely with an openness and ability understanding where the other person is coming from.  I strive to be as fair as possible when it comes to these matters so there are no hard feelings and so ultimately everyone feels good about the situation.  For example, I tend to do a 50/50 split with co-writers on all monies earned, even if in my mind, I wrote 75% of the song.  My theory is that any small change in the song could make the difference in the song working or not working, and it’s impossible in retrospect to know what elements of the song make the song work.  For example, the perfect bridge could be the difference between a song becoming successful or not, even if all the other elements, that I wrote, were “perfect”. 

I’d rather err on the side of caution and be overly generous than squabble about trying to figure out who contributed what, exact percentage of each song.  I find that in long term partnerships these things tend to balance themselves out anyway.  Maybe I contribute more to one track in terms of songwriting, but my co-writer does more in terms of the production.  Or maybe I contribute more on one track, and the next track my partner contributes more to and so on.

In Summary
In my mind, the pros of co-writing tend to outweigh the negatives.  I end up with new material that is much different than what I’m able to do on my own and when things go well, I also end up with strengthened friendships and partnerships. Done right, co-writing, is a win-win.

Here’s one of the tracks MJ and I collaborated on during our recent two week visit called "Light Ahead".  This track actually came to me, in large part, in a dream a couple years ago. I woke up at about 4 am, stumbled to my guitar and managed to remember the verse and chorus I had dreamed, sans lyrics.

MJ, in addition to helping write the bridge, also sings lead vocals, harmony vocals and played piano, engineered and co-produced the track.  I played guitar and bass and sang a harmony part on the chorus.   We hope you like it.  

Without further adieu, Light Ahead: