Pondering the day job

When I moved to New York almost two months ago, I got an easy little sales associate job at a nice national-chain home furnishings store. The pay was Not good but I figured I'd get something to replace it or add to it - something that would bring in the "real bucks" - pretty soon after that. Well, in this time I have not taken on another job, nor have I very aggressively pursued it. And having discovered yesterday that after 60 days of 30 hours a week at this job, I'll get medical and dental insurance, I'm starting to think about settling in for a while. Though the pay is, as I said, not good, the management at my job is great - very agreeable and flexible - my co-workers are cool; the environment is rarely stifling, often above-tolerable, and sometimes even very pleasant (depending on the day, the customers, and my mood).

Somehow the idea of health benefits, combined with the knowledge of how this job had complemented my music-interests schedule so far, is hugely comforting to me. What have I to lose to just put in the time and hours to get those benefits, hang on to this job as long as it allows me to scrape by financially, and then be able to keep working on the music stuff as I have been up to this point? And I can always take on an additional little something-or-other job to fill 15 hours a week if I'm feeling the crunch. OR, Even Better: I can work on getting out a little EP to sell at gigs. I was going to release an EP last summer. I held off on it because of the move and because I was given some advice to just focus on a demo and promo kit and not bother with marketing something directly to the public. The person who gave me that advice is pretty much out of the picture now, and I need to make some decisions again from an independent-musician standpoint.

So, I think I choose the $8/hour easy job that gives me time and energy to spare, and with that extra time and energy I'll work on securing the gigs and getting some product together to sell!

another night at Caffe Vivaldi

Tonight I visted a specific open mike night for the fourth time - at Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village. I've loved the atmosphere there, with good low lighting, a good listening crowd, and an entertaining host, Michael Karp... and I've felt energized by the feedback I've received there when I play. Tonight seemed to drag like past nights haven't, however... the place was pretty full up and so there wasn't room to sit and save seats for the friends who would be coming to see me. I was also 22nd on the sign-up list - kind of a drag to wait out the evening. But, I'm still glad I went, and tried out a new song, and I'm ever thankful for the friends who somehow see it as a fun thing to come out across town or on hour-long train commutes to share in evenings structured around my playing two songs at a bar on its open mike night.

One degree of seperation

I never would have imagined that at some point in my life there would be only one degree of separation between myself and the band Foreigner, the arena rock band of the 70s/80s which churned out such hits as "Hot-Blooded," "Double Vision" and the classic power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is (...I want you to show me...)"

But now I've met Larry Oakes, who played keyboards for the legendary Foreigner and now, four years into the new millenium, runs the singer-songwriter showcase he founded called the NY Songwriter Sessions.

The NY Songwriter Sessions are these nights set aside at a couple different well-established NYC music clubs - The Bitter End in Greenwich Village and CBGB's in the East Village - where new artists can showcase for 15 minutes each. It's like a couple steps up from an open mike night, but it's better than that because number one you have to audition to get there, and two, you get to play at cool, well-known places (Bitter End and CBGB's both) that perhaps you wouldn't otherwise have had a crack at. Depending on how many people you can bring in to see you play, it can also be a paying gig (wow! I was starting to forget that there was a point in my life when I sometimes got paid to perform).

Anyway, an in-the-nick-of-time thing took place. Late Friday night, I learned that auditions for the Sessions would be taking place on Saturday afternoon - the very next day. Furthermore, though I was scheduled from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday at my place of emplyoment, I called in on Saturday morning and requested a long lunch break to be able to do this thing (though I would have gone into work and skipped the audition if I hadn't been given permission). And what would you know, my manager actually changed the schedule and permitted me to go! So I'm feeling a hand of providence on the whole experience, before even getting to the audition.

Is this story getting too long or what? So I went, guitar in grip, because the place doesn't have a piano, and hauling my keyboard around New York is an experience I'm attempting to hold off on as long as possible. I got there and was 18th to sign up. I played my Guitar Song for Larry and the other auditionees still remaining after 17 others had shown their skills (or their enthusiasm, at least) on one original song apiece. When I left, I went over and shook Larry's hand and he said, "I'll give you a call before the end of the week." Well, it's not the bag yet, but he had said earlier, to the whole group, that he would be giving a call by the end of the week to those who would be invited to perform at the Sessions. So, I'm taking that parting comment as a bright sign!

Incidentally, I am getting into this artist-identity thing. I already stay up late nights and sleep in on mornings, I already have a low-paying, customer-service oriented day job, and I already have the inclination sometimes to just sit at my piano and play through a new song rather than say, shower and get ready for the day or, wash my whites so I have clean socks to wear. Being an artist is so much fun!

one degree of seperation...
Until later... Godspeed.

An afternoon off and pasta for dinner... ahh!

I am feeling so mellow right now, as I went to work early today and got out at three, was able to come back and get a couple things done, take a nap, make food for dinner (amazing), and now I can sit here and plunk these keys while listening to the Garden State soundtrack. Currently playing is the song that was playing during the big getting-high scene. Anyone remember that? I'm rarely tempted by drugs but somehow that scene had me a little interested in a mind-bending experience. Not to worry, however... I'll stay clean. (You, my still non-existent readership... don't worry. :)

Tomorrow I'm headed to an open mike in Brooklyn. The moderate goal I've so far set for myself regarding the music career in NY is to play at least one open mic per week. I've already "broken" that resolution but getting back on the wagon is essential. No regrets, just get out there when you can! Hopefully joining me will be a new friend I made a week and a half ago, who is also a singer-songwriter and just recently moved to the city.

Okay, so here's the exciting thing coming up in a week. I'm going to a Sam Phillips concert at Carnegie Hall. For people who don't know Sam Phillips, she used to be a CCM artist under the name "Leslie Phillips." Quite a while ago she left CCM, having some major issues with it, in regards to artistic restrictions and image restrictions, and some ideological differences (imagine that). She's a Christian, and she talks about her faith in her music, just not in the neat, tidy way in which a lot of CCM industry children are kind of forced to do in order to fill the market niche.
(My feelings about CCM belong in another blog at another time. It's too big to address within a tangent.)

SO, getting back on topic... a couple weeks ago I emailed a concert-promoter mentor-friend of mine who booked a Sam Phillips concert this fall, because I was trying to get contact info for someone at Nonesuch Records, which is Sam's record label home and also home to the likes of Wilco, Emmylou Harris, k.d. lang, and a variety of other artists in lots of different genres - world beat, jazz, classical, folk rock, etc. It is a goal of mine to get listened to by Nonesuch, because from what I've read and seen, I love the way they operate and I feel like I would have a chance for a home there, as my music is uncategorizable to a certain extent. ohhh, big dreams of record labels... (I make my exposition fairly nonchalant but if anything were to come of this story I'm in the middle of telling, I would be cautiously perched on cloud nine).

The mentor-friend did more for me than I expected. He not only gave me the email address of his contact at Nonesuch; he reminded me that I have met Sam Phillip's manager and gave me that email address.

That's right; when I did a songwriting semester program at Martha's Vineyard three years ago, I met Dan Russell, Sam's manager, who at the time was busy promoting an up-and-coming goth emo-ish rock group signed to Virgn Records: The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Dan is cool! Armed with this connection, I emailed Dan to reintroduce myself and ask him if he'd be willing to listen to my demo. After a series of emails back and forth, I again got more than I expected: the encouragement to attend Sam's show at Carnegie Hall on October 19, and the offer of aftershow passes to be able to meet up with Dan as well as Tom Willett, his old friend and one of my instructors from the program at Martha's Vineyard, whom I haven't seen since Fall 2001.
Oh, and Dan will listen to my demo. That's the first thing he said in our email exchange.

So, getting to see Sam in concert at Carnegie and meet up with these guys is definitely to be a highlight for my month. Now, I don't know what Dan is busying himself with these days. This girl (I!) could definitely benefit from some managerial guidance, particularly from someone who has been in the business as long as he (who, in their early days, served as U2's financial manager).

We'll see what comes of it! Gotta get my best recordings together on a cd, gotta get something promo-kittish together that projects some professionalism. I'll definitely be checking back in after October 19, if not earlier.