How Do You Handle Show Biz Frustration?
Monday, July 7, 2008 at 02:45PM Okay, you have submitted fifteen separate entries to Sonic Bids and they have charged you roughly ten dollars a pop to just get in the game. You have received fifteen perfunctory rejections and are one hundred and fifty dollars poorer, while this entity, that has managed to insinuate itself between you and work, has made money on every transaction.
They try to present it as a service to the artist, and that you should think of it as a finding fee or commission or whatever. (When an agent gets you actual work and you are paid actual money, only then does the agent get his percentage. This new “service” guarantees you nothing except that it will cost you to even get considered for the gig. Which in my experience (over two years with them) has resulted in one hundred percent rejection. And cost me a bundle.)
You are invitedby Sonic Bids to check out the winners. You do so by going to the artist's sites and listening to uninspired drivel until you are afraid to even drive by the local post office for fear of snapping and going utterly postal yourself.
You turn on the car radio and listen as people are struggling, even in this age of auto tune, to approach the pitch that coincides with the key in which they are attempting to sing. The melody is so uninspired; lyrics they are singing so inane, that it makes you want to slap a nun up side the head just to hear a noise you can appreciate.
You finally give up, give in, go home and turn on the TV and play the remote button game until your thumb swells up like a pregnant pomegranate and still you can’t find anything that actually engages, inspires or entertains you except reruns of South Park or Seinfeld. And you’ve seen ‘em all.
Welcome to showbiz…Land of Frustration, Rage, Inanety, Ennui, Nepotism and Despair. An acronym for F.R.I.E.N.D.
How do you handle this on a daily basis? Let alone a yearly basis. Here is what I do. Can’t say that it will work for you, but it has kept my picture from showing up at the post office.
First, remember why you began pursuing your art to begin with. Did you actually do it to get rich? To be idolized? To BE Famous?
If you are honest, then perhaps there is a little of that in there, but mostly and I mean MOSTLY, you were a child and somewhere, somehow music spoke to you; transported you; saved you. You thought that you would like to try to make some of that magic yourself. And then you discovered that you actually had somewhat of a gift for it. So you went after it with more commitment and enthusiasm, because there is nothing like doing something that you seem to be good at. It just feels RIGHT.
So you got into the business of art as a pursuit because it felt exactly right in your heart, and mind, and body. Remember that. Because remembering that will help you to realize how pointless it is to complain about what is happening. In my decades in this business, I have seen hundreds of people come and go, while the people in whom music actually lives, continue to grow as musicians and artists. Don’t go grousing aboutthe fact that the latest competitor for “has been of the month” has suddenly gotten a place in the sun. There’s plenty of sun to go around. You don’t get less tan because the person next to you is getting as brown as a coffee bean. Bless them and move on. Remember that.
Secondly, put on some music (or whatever your art is, film, sculpture, painting...) that does inspire you. Your artistic self will be enriched and reminded of where the bar actually is. Popularity is not a barometer of art. It’s a barometer of popularity. Do not mistake something that makes a lot of money with something that actually matters; do not confuse it with something that is actually valid. It's just something that made money.
Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys (www.beachboys.com ) was essentially pushed aside by the marketing folks at Capitol Records, so that they could make sure we all wondered about Billy Joe McCallister throwing something off the Talehatchi Bridge. Does anyone listen to that album now? Does anyone even know what I am talking about? Probably not. But Pet Sounds is still making the Best Lists of critics and music lovers alike. And it is STILL selling (and making money). Even the other guys in the band wanted Brian Wilson (www.brianwilson.com) to abandon this thing he was doing and go back to making hit songs about cars and surfing. But he stuck to his vision of what he wanted to hear.
Don’t waste your time giving any attention to the frustration you feel abouit not being appreciated or acknowledged. You can't help feeling those feelings, but don't give them any life. Let those voices go right on bitching inside of you while you ignore them and go about your business of writing, practicing, recording, painting, sculpting…whatever you are doing. Do it and derive your satisfaction from the doing. The rest will sort itself out. Just remember why you are doing it and in the end, ask yourself my favorite question: what do I want to have happen here? Eye on the prize. Focus on your goal. Bless everyone who succeeds and bless yourself as well.
Reader Comments (16)
james,
I KNoW OOH OOH *WAVES HANDS FRANTICALLY*...off the top of my head i know the song you are referring to is "Ode to Billy Joe" as performed by Bobbie Gentry...she had a killer boufant...but aside from that and an intrigueing voice and that one great song I've never heard anything else by her...
I had no idea Pet Sounds was pushed aside in favor of promoting 'ode to Billy Joe"...but I'm not surprised...but thats your point...somewhere along the way I heard someone say: 'WHat everyone e;se is doing is none of your business"...i hold that like a rock in the middle of a flood..."never compare" is another one that I remember even when it is hard not to remember cos at the end of the day I'm still me...and I will continue going down my own path knowing that that is how I will find my own treasure...just one more and thats a quote by Janis Joplin: "Never comprimise yourself. you're all you've got"
i could go one but I think i've said it all...and when it seems like one move has ruined everything everyone remember that when you are true to yourself what is yours...what is inside of you cannot be destroyed no matter what anyone does or says.All of these things are what work for me.
Bobby
Whenever I see/hear/experience something really wonderful it always amazes me what talented people can do. Makes me go "Gee I wish I could do that." Sometimes I try too :) I'll never get rich that way but I sure have fun :) Seems to me that maybe that's a key to the really good stuff that lasts. The artist loves the art and has fun with it....even though the "fun" is often a lot of hard work. And the audience senses it and shares in it. You gotta love what you do to carry on in the face of adversity.
As for "Pet Sounds"....while I can intellectually recognize the talents of Brian Wilson as displayed therein, it remains one of the most depressing collections of music I have ever heard. I have a copy and have listened more than once and it will never be a favorite of mine. Too much of a downer for me. Which just goes to show that greatness does not assure universal popularity <G>
Yep...I got the "Ode To Billy Joe" thing too. Man I am older than dirt <G>
Eva it aint got nuthin to do with age...i am 30 and I was raised on the sixties
Here's a line that you all know I'm sure... I thought of it when i was rereading this blog entry...It goes:
Change the things you have the strength to
Accept whatever you cannot
Then you pray to know the difference
And you give it all you've got
It comes from that Mr. Stanley guy;)
Bobby, when your "current events" are now "history" and your "Top 40" is considered "classic rock"...you are OLD <G>
The '60's were my current events <G>
Eva I'm an old soul...I fel more connected to the past than the present...i havent listened to top forty since the early nineties...when everything went grunge and has pretty much stayed crap since...the oldies staion on the other hand is my best friend...and my top forty for the time that I WAS around is the 80's...it makes me shudder that kids who were born at the end of the 1980's cna drive and vote and fight in wars....These things astound me
I agree with the commenter above (and apparently with the record-company execs): I'd rather listen to Bobbi Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" than anything Brian Wilson has ever been involved with.
Except for your slam on that beautiful lady and her great song, good column on dealing with the frustrations and keeping the focus on the music! Cheers, SC
--
Steve Cheseborough
www.opb.org/programs/artbeat/videos/view/67-Steve-Cheseborough
www.stevecheseborough.com
http://cdbaby.com/cd/cheseborough1
http://cdbaby.com/cd/cheseborough2
www.myspace.com/stevecheseborough
Thank you all for the posts and Steve, I didn't slam Bobbie Gentry. I just pointed out that Brian Wilson's work had a much more powerful and long lasting impact. And he was following his muse. I still recommend that we all do that, and judging from your sites, you ARE doing that.
Thanks for posting and for checking out the blog.
All the best,
I didnt think you were slamming Bobbie Gentry either James...The point that I saw was that Brian Wilson was already an established artist and a very successful one at that...Bobbie Gentry was fantastic with Ode To Billy Joe...but as the entertainment industry at large seems to love doing and Capitol Records in this specific incident...instead of at least equally promoting Pet Sounds and Bobbie Gentry Capitol didnt give Brian Wilson's masterpiece (yeah ok it was a Beach Boys record but it was Brian's work) enough push...There's a story Dusty Springfield told about going to a meeting with some record execs and being told as soon as she came in and as they were leaving: "Oh we just gave your budget to Yoko Ono."...There may be No Bussiness like Show Bussiness...but there's no business as insane either
I appreciate the support but don't get me wrong. I like The Beach Boys. It's happy, fun summer music, classic good-time listening. I just don't like Pet Sounds. To me its depressing and dark and just a downer. I like individual songs on Pet Sounds, but the cumulative effect to me is just so negative that it's not something I enjoy at all. There's nothing wrong with doing an album that's dark and on the depressing side etc. Lots of people like it. I'm just not one of 'em.<G>
It's not BAD...it just has no appeal for me. There are places I would not dare say that <G> But that's one of the beauties of this place; you can speak your mind without the need of asbestos undies <G>
Can I borrow that term 'Asbestos undies'?
It's fabulous and so versatile!!!!!
Well, I love the BeachBoys and Bobbie Gentry. You never heard of her other classic. hit' 'Fancy'? It spent four months on the hot 100, peaking at #31 pop. it also went #8 ac. Reba McEntire had a huge cover in 1991. Rebas cover alone has sold 20 million copies(on five reba cds) The rock band Geraldine Fibbers also had a cool cover of it. Ode to billie Joe has been covered over 100 times and sold forty million records. She won the grammy hall of fame award for it in 199.
Bobbie Gentry has had a lasting impact. Americana legend, Lucinda Willams passionatly defends her voice as does RoseAnne Cash and Sheryl Crow. How many other women were writing,producing and publishing their own glorious songs in the 1960's?
In 1967, Capitol Records had their money bet on the Beatles St.Pepper. Ode To Billie Joe was purchased from Larry Shayne publishing for ten grand. One week after its release, it had sold a whopping 750,000 singles with little hype from Capitol. It knocked the Beatles 'AllYou Need Is Love from the #1 spot three weeks later. The Ode to Billie Joe album would knock St. Pepper from the #1 album chart for two weeks in late 1967. It would sell 1.5 million albums,a huge number for the 1960's and from a female artist who wrote most of the songs. It received a whopping ten grammy nominations and would go on to win four.
In 1971, Bobbie Gentry released her own masterpiece, titled ' PatchWork'. She wrote and produced the entire set even writing stunning musical interludes that tied the songs together. The album was bathed in critical praise It missed the top 200 album chart, floating in the low 200's for months. Capitol then demanded Bobbie Gentry sign a second tier contract at a much lower royality rate. She flatly refused and invested her creative energy in a lavish stage act at the top casinos in Vegas. She signed the first female million dollar contract at ' The Frontier' in 1971. She was a staple on the circuit until 1980 when she retired to devote herself to her newborn son. On her album failure she responded" Nobody bought it, but I didn't lose sleep over it" " I never try to prejudge public taste"
I thought PetSounds was released in 1966? I know Ode to Billie was mid 1967.