Chapter 19: Rocking My Radical Plan and Being Nicer to Myself

Posted by admin on May 7th, 2010 | No Comments »

First off, I will say that I am ROCKING my radical plan.

A couple parts of my plan were to book myself at five more venues, get featured on 3 more interview or blog talk radio shows, and to write a brilliant business plan.  Well I will just tell you that I booked us another 10 shows, got featured on 3 radio shows and am in the middle of finishing a yes, brilliant business plan.  I am happy, rocking and in love with my life, music and business.

On another note, during rehearsal today Sally, Keesha and I were looking at the rough draft of a new promo video that we shot at our last gig.  Its the rough draft so a lot of it is apt to change even though it’s already solid, and I was being mean to myself…making comments about how I might look or sound like a tool when I was being interviewed etc.  Keesha said something of the sort like “wow Zach, you are really going to town on yourself,” a little taken aback by how harsh of a critic I was being.

Why was I being like this?  Because I think I’ve realized that it’s easier to and SAFER to think poorly or self-depricate rather than take the risk and own who I really am or what I am standing for.  I am standing for putting music out there that helps heal peoples hearts, that moves people emotionally in the way that it sounds and feels to them.  I am writing about accessible things: love, motivation, romance etc, but the arrangement, the tone and timbre of the music is uplifting, spiritual and healing.  I was talking about this in my interview and got insecure that I might sound arrogant or self obsessed and really I was just scared of being as vulnerable as I was being, of really telling it like it is.

What I learned is that it takes an amazing amount of courage to do what I do, but even more so to OWN it…to be unapologetic, not in an arrogant way, but in a confident way, about who I am and what I stand for.

I will post the video when it’s finished.

Love

Zach

Chapter 17: Dear Diary :) About last nights show…

Posted by admin on April 30th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

It was fucking awesome that’s all I’m going to say.  The sound at Sullivan Hall, at least on stage was phenomenal.  It was our first gig together as a FULL band with Keesha and Sally singing.  Obviously a first gig in terms of being shaky in spots, but now we are excited to let the music marinate and get into our blood.

We tried a couple experiments costume wise.  The band was dressed in slick black DKNY shirts, cufflinks and silk purple patterned ascots around their neck.  I haven’t seen the pictures yet so I’m wondering if they look bad ass or not.  Anybody in the audience, your comments are welcomed.  Ascots or no ascots? The lady’s on the other hand were wearing these very cool feather veil hats that Sally designed…I don’t have to ask because I already know that they looked super bad ass.

It was a short set, just five songs but we will be back there for an hour long set at the end of June or beginning of July so stay tuned.

In other news…I threw a bit of a tantrum on wednesday…it wasn’t an obvious tantrum to anybody else (except my girlfriend…sorry Sally) but more like a mental or internal tantrum about how overwhelmed I was at the whole business side of the music business.  I was feeling resentful of the fact that right now, I have to do all of it myself, including booking which is my least favorite part.  I was bitching about how clubs don’t give musicians the courtesy of calling you back, even if they want to book you, and how NACA will take your money even if you don’t get a showcase.  They want you to have been in the college circuit for 2 years it seems and yet they ARE the college circuit so it feels like a Catch 22.  I was pissed off and wanted somebody else to come and save me and do the hard dirty work for me.  I’m over it now.  These tantrums are healthy I think to a certain extent because when I come out the other side of them I realize that this is part of paying my dues and that the means justify the ends to a certain extent.  They build character…balls, integrity, perseverance and self-confidence.  Even though it sucks sometimes I’m grateful because I know that when the time is right, and I have built a certain amount of success on my own, then the right team of people will come to take it to the next level and I can truly call the product mine…with all my fingerprints all over it.  I love this business.