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 16: A Change of Approach?

Posted by admin on April 23rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »

My very close friend Itay gave me some feedback about this blog and real time story.  This is what he said: “I read chapter one and to be completely honest I was looking to get more of you and I got a manual. I want to hear more about your feelings, fears, thoughts, and challenges and how you overcome them. I want to hear how you evolve. When you complete the journey, you can write a manual.”  Of course my quick reaction was to defend myself and tell him that he only read the first chapter and I already WAS doing that.  This is what he said: “I’d market it as a journal not a manual, I’d also void 1. 2. or any structure that makes it look like a manual. I think you analyze and explain too much. As an example in your paragraph about the reasons you were nervous (Chapter 3). You also mention there that “It was my first gig with my new friend Arthur, a truly remarkable bassist and music business veteran” – I want to hear more about his this guy and how you met and why you chose each other and what is your commitment to each other rather. I care less about why you were nervous.”

SO, I have thought about what he said I realize that I’ve been keeping the “ends” to much in my mind while trying to write about the “means” as they are happening.  In trying to position myself as an authority, I have neglected to truly share myself and how deep and profound this process is for me of truly going for my dreams, taking all the neccesary steps and believing in myself 100%.  This will now function as a real time “journal” of how I am making it, day by day in this business and how I am working towards my vision of being a world-renown artist.

Here is what is up for me right now:  I just added two back up singers to our “act.”  The first is my amazingly talented girlfriend Sally Swallow and the other, my friend and the equally amazing Keesha Gumbs.  We have been re-arranging some of my songs with background harmonies and let me tell you, it sounds fucking amazing.  I know that I am more in love with my music than anybody, but seriously…fucking amazing.

Arthur, Dan and I had an electric trio gig at a German drinking hole in Queens called the Wunderbar.  I wasn’t expecting too much in terms of the gig, just a good opportunity to practice and have a good time and it was our most fun show yet.  There were a number of college students in the bar and both Dan and I were nervous that they wouldn’t dig the music, but they got SO down…dancing, singing along to the cover songs we played.  It made me very excited and pretty much reinforced all the things that we have been working on in terms of making our music funky and accessable to a younger audience.

I’m a very happy man today and beyond pumped for our first NYC show as a full band.  We are going to dress up it up!

-Zach