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I love making plans. Seriously. I stay up late dreaming up ideas. Then I wake up in the morning (or try to) and continue my planning. I have dozens of notebooks in Evernote filled with ideas.
Let’s take a peek at a few of them:
Cologne Scented Sunscreen
Solid Idea. 2 birds, 1 stone. Honestly, why has no one done this yet?
Guitar Fretboard Car Seatbelt Cover
You plug it into your stereo and it makes actual sound. This would revolutionize the way you mime along to your favorite songs. (Note: due to potential legal issues, this would not be available until self-driving cars are standard)
And my billion dollar idea...
Subscription-Based Luxury Bathroom Chain
Imagine a chain that’s as common as Starbucks, but it’s just a really nice bathroom. You gotta do your business, so you drive to the closest one, and there’s a British butler waiting for you. “Hello, I’ve reserved the Roosevelt room for you, right this way.” You’re getting excited about this idea, and I haven’t even told you the name of the place:
"Ellington’s: a place to go."
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Ellington’s: basically this, but with a toilet in the corner.
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I’ve also got plenty of less ridiculous music related ideas. What if I arranged this song like this? What if I practiced a different instrument than my main one every day? What if I acquired a new musical skill?
All of these things have one thing in common: they’re just ideas. Have I actually made cologne scented sunscreen? No. Do I practice a new instrument regularly? Not at all. Is Ellington’s a reality? It breaks my heart to say no, it’s not. (yet)
You see, my nature is to be the guy on the side of pool, lightly dipping my toe in. I want to know exactly what I’m getting into before I get wet. How cold is the water? How deep is the deep-end? How many other people are in the pool? Am I going to be able to swim??!?
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Me: metaphorically with music ideas. But also literally with swimming.
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I love making plans. It makes me feel secure. Knowing every possible outcome of every possible scenario gives me comfort before diving into something, and it prevents me from making mistakes. It makes me feel like I’m actually doing it. But it also prevents me from lots of great opportunities. While I’m on the side making plans, the pool is filled with people having a great time, swimming, splashing, and shooting each other with those water cannon things.
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I cannot tell you how badly I wanted one of these as a kid, and I never got one. Christmas present this year?
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Making plans to swim and be the best swimmer ever is not the same as actually swimming. Too often, I have been afraid to fully jump into the pool. I’d rather stay on the side and make plans. If left to my own devices, I would never actually jump in and get swimming.
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Granted, there absolutely is value in some planning. It’s important to know how to swim. You have to be good at something before completely diving in. If you’re not great at something in music, you shouldn’t dive into the deep end and quit your job to do music full time. But at the same time don’t get stuck on the side of the pool "making plans” and "thinking up ideas.” You’ll be stuck there forever.
Yes, it would be cool learn a new music skill, or play more live gigs, or start producing, or teach, or get better at Jazz. So stop spending your time planning, standing next to the pool, getting your toe wet, and start diving in. I think you’ll be surprised that not only is the water not that cold, but there’s plenty of other people in the pool that will make sure you don’t drown.
You can’t learn to swim if you never dive in.
Here’s my question to you, and I actually want you to hit reply and tell me: what thing have you been making plans for that you’re going to start on this week?
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This week I'm excited to tell you about another guest musician in the forthcoming Startup Musician book, Vanessa Bryan. Vanessa is a vocalist who performs live, works in the studio, and also has her own music lessons academy in Hollywood.
One of my favorite things that she talked about in our interview is the unique position of the singer. She argues that the singer is the most human component of the band, and they are who audience members tend to connect with the easiest. She talked about her philosophy with singing, making a connection with the audience, and how to make September sound exciting and energetic after having sung it 500 times.
Guys, this interview is straight fire emoji. There's so much good stuff for singers and musicians of all kinds, and I can't wait to share it with you. Vanessa is a great singer, great musician, and shares her expertise in this interview.
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The Best Stuff From The Internet
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Questlove is one of my favorite people. Not only for his work with The Roots and The Tonight Show, as a drummer, band leader, producer, DJ, author, and amateur chef, but for the fact that he’s a hard working, genuinely-curious-about-the-world type of person. He never stops learning, and never stops striving for more (I basically want to be him). This last Sunday, Questlove did an interview for NPR’s Fresh Air, and it’s definitely worth checking out.
In the interview, he discussing things like his new book, growing up in a musical household, and his unusual friendship with Prince. Here’s a snippet from one of the stories he told:
"It was a complex relationship. The second time we spoke, I kinda asked him, "I got to let you know, you're mad normal." And he laughed, and he said, "What, you think I wouldn't be?"
"And then one night, just out of the blue, he ambushed us. I was working on Common's Electric Circus album and the phone rang ... and I picked up and he says, "Hello, can I speak to Prince?" I said, "Who?" And he's like, "You know your name means prince, right?" [The Arabic meaning of the name "Ahmir" is prince.] And I said, "Who's this?" and he said, "Prince." And he came by and it was already 3 in the morning, and we played him some songs we were working on."
Listen to this interview in iTunes
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Speaking of the man himself, here’s another Prince related article. It’s written by Liz Merriweather, the creator and writer of New Girl (one of the funniest shows on proper television). A few seasons ago, the show had an episode starring Prince. Liz recounts her time working with him, his vision, genius, and desire to make the episode truly funny. It’s a fascinating look at Prince. Put the fact that he’s Prince aside, and you’re left with someone who is truly great at something and works hard to bring his vision to life.
Read this article
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So, Beyoncé. I mean, you get it, right? She dropped her new album Lemonade this week, and she’s blowing everything up. The particularly interesting thing about this album is the way she’s released it. Last Saturday, this "visual album" was a one time event on HBO. Then it was released immediately on Tidal. On Thursday it hit iTunes and Amazon as digital downloads.
The only place you can stream Beyoncé's new album is Tidal, and while you can buy digital downloads, you can't buy a physical copy anywhere. Her unconventional release seems to be working. This article compares Tidal subscriptions to torrent sites, and Tidal (miraculously) seems to be winning.
That's quite a feat in 2016, but if anyone could do it, it's Beyoncé.
Read this article
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This week's free chart is (Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay) by the Otis Redding. This is a classic song by a classic soul singer. You probably know it even if you don't think you do. It's a lot of fun to play, but heads up: it's made up of a bunch of major chords, even where they shouldn't be (whaaaaaa).
Download your free chart
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