It’s the art of fusing creation with being sociable. The art of sharing, togetherness, peer acceptance and encouragement. It’s helping each other feel comfortable bringing that private home performance out into a trusting, safe yet public environment. And more so, it’s the art of encouraging those home performances to continue.
We don’t stop making our art or our music just because it’s not our day job. We don’t stop because we’re afraid of being heard. We don’t stop. We build our own environments, and we find more of those people who are just like us. And those people, the underdogs, the home learners, home writers, home performers – those people exist in their thousands. They are the majority. They have the power. They can create the immense and memorable experiences that take place just down the road. That’s what makes live music matter, to most of us, to all of us. You can change the venue but you’re not really changing the reason people turn up. It’s fun. It’s escapism. It’s a release. It’s something different, something brand new, every time.
The open mic, the living room gig, the street performance, the jam session, the collaboration, the co-writing, the co-drinking, co-dancing, co-singing. You won’t see these events on television the next day. You have to be there, or you just plain miss out. Places are great, but the people who go there are what can make places amazing. This is where we learn how to live properly. How to be honest, and real. It’s more than OK to be yourself. It’s highly encouraged, and supremely awarded. The smiles, the applause, maybe even a free drink. There’s no point worrying about it.
Life gets shorter with every day that passes. Be a part of your local world. Live now.
I love browsing this site – very inspiring! Appreciate this DIY page. Wish I could hang out at an open mic every night of the week. Anyway, I am a tax professional (and musician) writing from Minneapolis, MN, where we are still mourning the recent loss of Prince. One reason I’m writing is to inquire whether there is any interest in a”practical” (i.e. boring) tab on your website where links to business/accounting/tax resources could be included. In my own tax practice, I have many recording artist and performance artist clients who somehow find me through a local organization called Springboard for the Arts (springboardforthearts.org). Is this a direction you are interested in taking with your site? If you have any interest we can discuss further. Looking forward to hearing from you and getting your event updates!
All the best,
Amy Atzel
The ideas in this post are so well crafted and very inspiring. Please also check out my post on ‘Music in the Community: better than therapy’ http://livemusicspy.com/2016/05/04/music-in-the-community-better-than-therapy. Thanks!
Thank you very much – great article, thanks for sharing! Happy to connect ?