Hey friends,
For any musician that is trying to both create AND promote at a professional level, finding a balance without hired help is always a challenge. I've been spending a lot of time over the past few weeks trying to get my promotional "ducks in a row" so to speak, and it started to get in the way of my composing and practice. Last night I had a great gig with The Dirt Party, but the most rewarding part about the night was the 5 hours I spent in the car with Mike Lorenz.
Mike posted an insightful article about the state of the Philly jazz scene's musician/audience disconnection. During the conversation we had on the way to Mount St Mary's University for the gig, I realized that I've been guilty of being absent from seeing the many phenomenal acts that roll through the area. Far too often, we musicians are far too busy (or at least think we are) to be going out on our off nights to see live jazz. A lot of us are wrapped up in our own world - promoting, teaching, rehearsing, and just trying to pay the rent.
Talking to Mike about this not only exposed my own hypocrisy - I've been promoting my own shows and cds, even though I haven't been to anyone else's show in over a month. This was a gut-check for sure, but it brought back my focus into why I do what I do - for the love of music, not for the love of self-promotion.
I definitely recommend that you read Mike's post, and I also urge you to check out his latest quartet release on BandCamp: http://mikelorenz.bandcamp.com/album/two-quartets.
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