Comments/Ideas from Rob:
There has been something I have been giving a great deal of thought to lately. What is the nature of the musician? Are musicians hard wired to think a certain way? I am not 100% sure I am able to answer these questions in their entirety quite yet, but I do have some thoughts. I have spent a great deal of time working on both sides of the music industry since graduating just recently from college, as both a musician and a business person. I've been working with a production company to book bands from the Mid-Atlantic region for charity concerts and events while still serving as the bassist for PS 7:17, writing songs, playing worship music with the Cru movement at JMU, and also taking on a worship leader position in a new church that's hit the ground running in the last few months. In short I've been busy. This isn't any sort of portfolio builder by any means to impress. I'm simply saying I've spent a lot of time observing musicians and their industry lately, and it's quite interesting.
While I have to throw out this disclaimer and say that not all musicians or music industry workers are the same way, I have to say that this is an industry like no other. There's incredible pressure on things like image, booking, dates, contracts, writing songs that appeal to people, meticulous recording, scheduling tours, making budgets, doing math to make sure you even have enough gas money to get to the next town--the list is endless. It's hard work and I have mad respect for the people who are able to make a living and have a successful career amongst all those headaches.
So. The nature of the musician. I feel like, considering all of these factors that play a role in a successful career for a musician, that guy has got to feel the pressure. And in my mind, I feel like I can see it being easy for a guitar player, singer--whoever--to become very concerned with living up to expectations. Everyone is competing for attention. That's not really anyone's fault, there's just so much out there. The market is saturated with TONS of talented people. I think it's really easy for a musician to take on the mindset of ME--taking care of MYSELF, promoting MYSELF, drawing attention to NUMERO UNO on and off the stage, and it becomes natural. This seems to be the only way to be noticed at times.
While our band, PS 7:17, is a voice amongst the countless voices that form a sea of white noise and words and guitar solos and funky bass lines that get lost in the mix everyday, I love being able to serve with my best friends in our mission to play fun music and sing songs about love and Jesus. I love that we get to share a message of hope with everyone, while still having a good time travelling and playing shows. We're in an interesting position I think. We're a rock band but we also play "church" music. While it would seem that it's natural to focus on ourselves, it's incredible that in a sense I think we're given the opportunity to be a walking contradiction. To not make sense. Every time we play we have the chance to put ourselves to the side, to be musicians that aren't about themselves but about the one and only Jesus. And it certainly isn't an easy journey to do so, and while we will inevitably fail to do this 100% of the time, the beautiful thing is that the God we believe in is perfect for us. And He is much bigger than anything we'll ever do on stage or in the studio or even on the road. Despite whatever else is going on in the industry, we're content in the fact that the One who really matters notices all of us each and every day.
There has been something I have been giving a great deal of thought to lately. What is the nature of the musician? Are musicians hard wired to think a certain way? I am not 100% sure I am able to answer these questions in their entirety quite yet, but I do have some thoughts. I have spent a great deal of time working on both sides of the music industry since graduating just recently from college, as both a musician and a business person. I've been working with a production company to book bands from the Mid-Atlantic region for charity concerts and events while still serving as the bassist for PS 7:17, writing songs, playing worship music with the Cru movement at JMU, and also taking on a worship leader position in a new church that's hit the ground running in the last few months. In short I've been busy. This isn't any sort of portfolio builder by any means to impress. I'm simply saying I've spent a lot of time observing musicians and their industry lately, and it's quite interesting.
While I have to throw out this disclaimer and say that not all musicians or music industry workers are the same way, I have to say that this is an industry like no other. There's incredible pressure on things like image, booking, dates, contracts, writing songs that appeal to people, meticulous recording, scheduling tours, making budgets, doing math to make sure you even have enough gas money to get to the next town--the list is endless. It's hard work and I have mad respect for the people who are able to make a living and have a successful career amongst all those headaches.
So. The nature of the musician. I feel like, considering all of these factors that play a role in a successful career for a musician, that guy has got to feel the pressure. And in my mind, I feel like I can see it being easy for a guitar player, singer--whoever--to become very concerned with living up to expectations. Everyone is competing for attention. That's not really anyone's fault, there's just so much out there. The market is saturated with TONS of talented people. I think it's really easy for a musician to take on the mindset of ME--taking care of MYSELF, promoting MYSELF, drawing attention to NUMERO UNO on and off the stage, and it becomes natural. This seems to be the only way to be noticed at times.
While our band, PS 7:17, is a voice amongst the countless voices that form a sea of white noise and words and guitar solos and funky bass lines that get lost in the mix everyday, I love being able to serve with my best friends in our mission to play fun music and sing songs about love and Jesus. I love that we get to share a message of hope with everyone, while still having a good time travelling and playing shows. We're in an interesting position I think. We're a rock band but we also play "church" music. While it would seem that it's natural to focus on ourselves, it's incredible that in a sense I think we're given the opportunity to be a walking contradiction. To not make sense. Every time we play we have the chance to put ourselves to the side, to be musicians that aren't about themselves but about the one and only Jesus. And it certainly isn't an easy journey to do so, and while we will inevitably fail to do this 100% of the time, the beautiful thing is that the God we believe in is perfect for us. And He is much bigger than anything we'll ever do on stage or in the studio or even on the road. Despite whatever else is going on in the industry, we're content in the fact that the One who really matters notices all of us each and every day.