essays & reflections on crafting a creative career
Goal-setting is key to your growth. Sure, you’ll level up eventually, but to do it intentionally, with velocity, requires a plan. You can’t get to point B without knowing where B is. In my monthly mastermind for musicians, Amplify, we talk about “Champagne Wins” – measurable goals that are specific enough that everyone else knows […]
A welcome email is a message that you set your email program to send out automatically, as soon as a new fan subscribes to your list. It is one of THE most highly opened emails (average email list open rates are between 15% and 25%, these emails can get up to the 80’s!) There’s a […]
My friend would say “oh you’re anxious again… what are you stressed about?”
I continue to tell him they are not one in the same. Stress would be welcomed. Anxiety is just… hopelessness.
I have a story for you about how I fought for $15,000 for an advertisement placement of a song of mine. I’m a hustler. When I make a song, I let people know. When I release a CD, I give it to my friends. One of my friends is a video editor, and works a […]
I always knew being a woman in the music industry would mean having to fight harder, avoid creeps, and stand for myself in a way I wouldn’t have to in other industries or jobs. A few weeks ago, the topic of women in music came up again as I read this article called “Dear Creepy Men of the Music Industry, Please Stop” written by my friend and collaborator Ari Herstand. I left a comment on the Facebook post… summed up, I stated why the article was hard for me to read: there was no real-time responsibility taken. We can complain about how men treat women in this industry, but in reality, we are not taking the right actions to shut it down.
If you’re a musician, you’ve probably thought about going to the Grammys then wondered “How do the Grammys work?”. Whether you’ve watched them for the performances or for the awards, whether you’ve dreamed about winning one, or simply wondered what it’s like to be there in the presence of the top musicians in the country, […]
On January 10th, I visited an old friend and coach of mine. I thought I was doing her a favor… she had recently had knee surgery and was cooped up in her apartment. Yet when I walked out an hour and a half later, I had a new life.
What happened in that Washington Heights two bedroom overlooking George Washington Bridge?
I have no idea.
Except that something in the conversation left me with an overwhelming sense of permission.
Permission to be powerful.
Permission to ignore other peoples’ sh&t.
Permission to do what I need for my career and to stop compromising just for compromising’s sake.
Permission to simple be me and stop trying to explain or fix it away.
3 years ago, I rediscovered my love for musical theater and allowed it to interrupt said funk. And it works. Every. Single. Time.
A little update on this blog, the word “gig” and what it is for me, and what I hope for it can be for you (plus an exploration into allowing curiosity to lead you back to your passion). Living on Gigging I started this blog, Living On Gigging, over 8 years ago while I was […]
I’m starting to understand how the ever-elusive energy plays a bigger role in my life than I thought. In a recent post, I shared about my recent experience of moving houses. I was desperately trying to set up my next (and hopefully “forever”) workspace with positive energy, differently than I had in the past. Weeks […]