Soundproof Glass

The old adage, “When a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?” has intrigued me for years. Though the sound is still made, it doesn’t really count does it? It doesn’t impact anyone.  As humans, we have this need to be seen. We need to be heard. In this social media driven culture, it has never been more true. This blog is actually less about hearing and seeing me, and more about highlighting the people, the songs, and the stories that go on behind the glass. 

 “The glass” referring to more than just the sound proof piece between the producer and the recording artist. It also refers to the idea that people in entertainment live their lives in glass houses, or fish bowls, as I’ve so often been reminded. The thing is we think because we can see what’s on the other side that we understand what’s really going on, but we don’t. 

Too many time I have witnessed a friend become a victim of mass misunderstanding, and so I have a lot of grace for people on stages. Any kind of stage really. Politicians included. This lime light often leaves you feeling green with envy at the end of the day. Envious of the people in the seats "just" watching, envious of other lime lighters who seem to have it all together. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, because truthfully it takes a special breed to handle any more than that. 

This breed happen to be my very best friends. They are the dreamers. The music makers. They spend their lives creating and performing the soundtrack to our lives. Their words become our anthems, their voices an expression of our own, and their performances an embodiment of what we wish were brave enough or talented enough to be ourselves.

The struggle is very real, and so are the rewards. My passion just happens to be finding main characters. People who are meant to live great stories on the world's stage. They don't tell their stories alone. It takes a team of people. A community surrounding them, and believing in them, to make it all happen. So I look for people who I believe in so much that it wouldn't feel like work to promote them. It would feel like a privilege to be a part of their story. Then I can sell that story to anyone because I believe it too. I find artists who deserve to be heard because they have something to say. Something that if it went unheard would be a tragedy. I take up their cause, and then I help them create the best music they can possibly craft. 

These are the stories I want to share with you. When the music fades and all is stripped away. When the lights go dim and the crowd has gone home. When you've signed a half a million dollar deal but don't have have enough money in your pocket to buy a McDonald's happy meal. When you give up. When you let go. When you go all in.  When you fail. When you start over. When you do it all for something bigger than yourself. When you learn to fly by jumping off the edge. Follow me behind the glass. The truth may be different than you thought, but I guarantee there are far worthier tales than what you thought you knew. 

What You Need to Know

I grew up on a tour bus. Here’s what you need to know about tour buses.  Bunks are a little like coffins but can be the best sleep of your life if the bus driver keeps the temperature cool and the road is smooth. You can never get more than 45 feet away from a fight but you’re also never more than 45 feet away from a friend. Buses make you feel like a rock star until you have to help empty the holding tanks; and let this be a fair warning, the smell of diesel exhaust is far more addictive than any drug.

Once I left the road, I was a worship leader and a songwriter. Here’s what you need to know about that.  Living your life on stages is one thing. Living your life on the same stage week after week is another. Worship isn’t music, but music is worship.

Publishers aren’t out to get you, well most of them anyway. Letting go of a song is the best thing you do for it, and for yourself. Some people will love your music; some people will hate your music. So you should probably make music to please yourself and God, or find happiness living a life being something other than original.

During that time I also wrote for online music magazines. Here’s what I learned about that. People ask for critique, but the critic often becomes the one being evaluated. It is not for the faint of heart. If your skin is thick enough you can earn a pretty extensive education on how the industry works, and get up close and personal to some of the greatest artists in the world, not to mention lots and lots of free music before everyone else!

Then I worked for a non-profit that rehabilitated homeless families. Here’s what you need to know about that.  Everyone has a story. Some of them are careless, some are sad, some are awe-inspiring. Truth exists in them all, though sometimes you may have to do some digging; the treasure is worth the hunt. There are no simple answers, and far too many assumptions. I loved the people, hated the work. It’s like swimming upstream with no arms and one leg in the middle of a hurricane. 

So I started a business. This is what you need to know; In this case, I had a partner. The best one I could choose. At first life seemed grand, but I should have known it was too good to be true. We did music and film production as well as artist management and development. In some situations we acted as a record label. It was the greatest and most painful 18 months of my life so far. Often the right thing is also the hardest thing. It has changed me forever, and given the chance, I’d do it all over again.   

  

And then there’s this moment right here and now. Here’s what you need to know about that. I’m starting over. I’m scared. I’m excited. I’m confident but I don’t understand why, because my circumstances definitely suggest otherwise. I’m alone. I’m lost. I don’t even know my name, but I will get up tomorrow and I will figure it out. Writing helps more than almost anything else. I’m hoping it helps me find my voice again, because I have things to say and a need to be heard.  So thanks for listening.