Wednesday 21st December, 2022
It’s the penultimate journal entry for 2022… let’s talk about what you’re missing out on.
So, I procrastinate… & for the past 3 months, I have been avoiding one particularly crucial step in advancing my career: booking gigs. Now you may not be aware, because I wasn’t, but the winter time is when you should start applying for summer festival slots. You can check out a bunch of them here. If you have your live show sorted, & your bio… then I’d suggest heading over & getting on it. Some of them still aren’t open to applications yet too, so you have time.
One’s To Watch at Whelans was announced the other day, & a tremendous amount of my talented friends have gotten in! But I kinda missed the boat on that one. I had no idea that the applications were going on. (until the amazingly wonderful Laura Ryder told me it was happening) I’ve applied since, & I think that it’s possible that I’m not too late… but it would’ve been nice to get in there early. How did everyone know that Whelans was accepting applications? I actually don’t know… maybe they have a calendar of application dates, or a spreadsheet (I should make a spreadsheet), maybe they follow them on social media, or have a manager / booking agent who helps them out. Whatever the reason is, it’s handy to know that things are happening. It’s one of the many reasons that a network of artists & industry people is so f**king important.
Now, in the nature of kindness to my previous self, here’s some ADVICE (not rules) on what to have prepared for all these applications.
Have a live show. (that you actually perform)
Have your bio ready. (an up to date & snappy description of your ‘vibe’)
Sort out a quick Electronic Press Kit (here’s a link to my old one)
Get an email drafted up. (a quick greeting, a few stats on your fanbase, & links to your stuff / epk)
Have a release, or a project to promote these shows with. (they want you to promote them well… convince them that you will)
Right now, I don’t feel ready to perform… which is really scary, because 3 months ago I could have headlined any stage in the world & felt great about it. Turns out, trying to rehearse a show & work on new projects isn’t easy. (especially when you’ve got some college & life going on too) So, if someone offered me an amazing show to play, I’d say yes, but I’d be terrified to sort out the actual show. This is why, having a live show written out, recorded, & rehearsed, is so useful for your confidence when applying for these festival slots. Your bio might be a tough one for you if you’re not used to writing about yourself, or if your artistry is still a bit undefined. Sitting down with someone can be really useful when trying to write your bio. Treat it like a character description. 3rd person the crap outta yourself! In the future, to help artists define themselves better, I want to start experimenting with ‘character builders’ from games like D&D… also using archetypes from mythologies & pop culture to contextualise these artists…. (but that’s a journal entry for another day)
All in all, it’s hard to know when you’re ready to begin applying for these kind of things... Ireland Music Week is an amazing opportunity to apply for, even if you’re not ready for it. So I think I’d take the same attitude with all of these opportunities. If you’re not ready, or a lil unlucky this time, you won’t make it in to whatever opportunity you’re applying for… BUT, each time you apply for these opportunities, you start to notice your ‘blind spots’ in your career, or your approach. I’ve applied for IMW sooooo many times, & each year, I use the application as a way to focus my energy on some useful progress. In general, I wouldn’t worry too much about getting slots at these festivals & showcases if you’re not already gigging regularly. Before you get into these festivals, you should really be building your own momentum & fanbase. They’re only opportunities to magnify your progress, not to kickstart it. That’s why I’m not too upset to be ‘missing out’ on all of these shows. They’ll be there next year, when I might be ready. For now, I just need to convince people to come to the shows I book. I need to network wit other artists like me & try to collaborate with other people. IT SUCKS… cause I hate networking, & there are so few people with a similar vibe to me. It really does feel like I’ll be perpetually an outsider. Then again, this is another quirk of being a solo artist… not part of a collective… or a scene… ya just feel isolated.
A beautiful friend of mine, with no experience in the music industry, told me something yesterday as we crossed paths in the street. He said: “this is the hardest part”. I know some of you might think that I’ve come a long way (& I kinda have), but in the world of music, I am definitely a nobody. Most of us are. Becoming a ‘somebody’ is becoming a part of a percentage. There are so few opportunities to occupy people’s minds, there’s so few opportunities to get on a stage, so few opportunities to find out about what’s going to happen next… that it can make you feel claustrophobic.
But don’t rush.
Breathe.
Like right now.
Breathe…
It’s gonna be fine. You will get your chance to shine. Right now, you just need to get ready… because we all get lucky. The problem is that most of us aren’t ready when fortune smiles. SO GET READY… cause someone will see you, an opportunity will open up. You will get in somewhere, on some stage, in front of someone. Then you can knock their socks off. Until you get lucky, make yourself lucky if you can… just do.
Okay… self-motivational rant over.
I’ll wrap up real quick, because I’ve dozens of emails to send, storage to shift, & a life to live on top of it. My Patreon song & vlog are also in need of making…
What I wanna leave you with is this: I know it feels like it’s “all about who you know” & I know that it feels like you’re being overlooked. It feels like this because there is definitely some truth in it. It feels unfair, until you start to question why that is… & question without bitterness… because it’s the only way to find out the truth. You need to know the right people, because those people are busy & looking for shortcuts that they can trust will get a job done. You’re being overlooked because there are thousands & thousands of us begging for attention! There are artists in Ireland that sound just like you, that look like you, that have been working longer & harder than you, & you STILL don’t know who they are until they pop up on some festival line up & you think “who are these people? they must KNOW someone…” They DO know someone, cause they’ve been where you’ve been… or they’ve been lucky… & as time goes by, you’ll see people rise & fall, some use their luck, some fade away.
& if growing older is just a battle against bitterness, you need to fight to keep an open mind. You are not the problem (most likely)… but you need to be the solution… keep trying, keep asking questions, keep improving. We’ll get there. Cause don’t you for a second think that I’m not as frustrated as you are. All I wanna do is give up. But we don’t, for whatever reason we can muster up in the moment. If you need a reason to keep going… if you need help in the battle against bitterness… then reach out & tell me your problems. I’ll do all that I can to help, & I’ll always be there to listen.
Goodnight everybody,
Nathan
