The LyPhyS Music Blog

For this post I communicated with Kim (Belly Full Of Stars), Kees (Roofhare), and Jeff (Isotherme) for input.  I've included links to their pages and Kees and Jeff's Eclectrocasts Podcast at the end of this post.  So I asked these musicians about what different and bizarre comments and questions they've gotten over their music careers.  Some are funny, some are bewildering, and some are downright rude.  I plan to write a few posts on this, so for the first one I'm focusing on the style questions and how to handle some of these situations. "What is your music for?"  What seemed to be a flowing theme through some of the comments we get is that our music doesn't fall into "popular genres," so some folks don't quite understand the purpose of creating something that feels more or less like a sound track, mood music, or a very thoughtful arrangement of sounds.  Kees, Kim, and I have all gotten the question, "What is your music for?" or ...

This posting is about a the new culture of music that is mostly supported by ourselves.  It has become like a shared hobby group when I'm pretty sure that is not what many of us are intending by publishing our music and marketing ourselves.  It is a culture of a lot of back-patting and encouraging words by the outside world with little follow-through, so we turn inward, or worse... we turn toward a fake fan base. Followers and rankings are ego boosters... At least at first, until you realize that they don't mean much.  We know if we can measure it we can improve it, but where does that lead with fake follows and fake promotions?  That floods our stats with fake support.  That's noise.  How do we adjust our expectations in a world of noise?  And maybe there are times that the appearance of success could lead to it, but not likely for most of us playing in niche genres.  I ranked number one for my genre for my city for the majority of my time on R...

Going to ask a very simple question:  What is music worth to you?  It's just music right?  It's not directly fighting for your country or feeding and clothing your family.  It's entertainment and it's abundant, right?  So let me ask it again... Do you sing along in the car?  Do you get misty-eyed when a patriotic song is played at a ball game?  Do you feel the need to raise your hands and close your eyes during worship?  Do you swear by your workout mix?  Does a great dance track get your blood pumping?  Have you ever wandered over to the bandstand because you liked what you heard?  Does the right song on the radio make your morning drive?  Does the Star Wars theme make you grin like the goofy nerd you are?  Do you recognize a movie in the other room by the sound track?  How about a show by the song in the opening credits?  Do you keep headphones at work just to listen to music while you crunch numbers?  D...

So recently I wrote a piece about how to support artists, and when I examined some of my reasons for that I realized that there are so many times when we are inadvertently disrespected.  Usually this isn't because people are setting out to be rude.  Usually these things are born out of a lack of knowledge of the process and a lack of understanding that music isn't about attention and exposition, it is about expression and experience.  And it's dang hard work on anything approaching a professional level. Here go some of my pet peeves!  Some of the following things may not tick off or annoy every musician, but these things certainly are on my list and I would wager are on a lot of other folks' lists as well. Expecting FREE :  Asking a musician to give you their latest CD for free?  Telling a musician to put all their stuff on Soundcloud so you can listen for free?  No. No. No.  Just no. Why?  Because it shows a huge lack of respect for that...

I run into the occasional fan or friend who is absolutely amazed by what an artist can create.  Often these are people that have tried it themselves or are very close to someone else that creates.  They usually have some insight into the work it takes.  They appreciate art and music in general.  Then I find those that take it for granted and think that it really takes very little effort to produce a professional sounding piece.  This is for those people. Before I go any further, keep in mind that this is not an attack, this is a plea for some understanding.  I have been hesitating to write this entry because I see all too often that others get attacked when trying to show what it takes to create.  I've read nasty replies to other articles and blogs, and frankly I didn't want to deal with the crazies that come out of the woodwork to express that artists are all whiners and musicians aren't really producing anything of value.  I'm not trying to co...

Seems that most folks enjoy music.  We don't all enjoy the same music, but that's why we have so many genres and artists from which to choose.  I have favorite musicians and bands that I have supported for years.  And given that I've been producing my own music as well and interacted with some wonderful fans, I figured why not tell you what I'm finding to be great ways to support artists.  Sarah's top picks for supporting artists: Buy Something!  Okay... money talks.  If you want music, pay for music.  There is a reason why I own a half dozen Collective Soul albums.  I've been a fan since high school and I want them to continue creating as long as they are willing and able.  If you expect an artist to continue to make albums for your enjoyment, then support them monetarily.  This could be anything from buying a single mp3 download from Bandcamp to buying their box set and a t-shirt. Why does this matter?  Many artists can't m...

On Collaborating... I've made mistakes and I've flaked out on some collaborations, bitten off more than I could chew, allowed other musicians to bulldoze me into releasing something that I was not happy with, rushed vocals etc.  I've also had some really wonderful collaborations that went nearly perfectly.  Given how much I've grown from these collaborations, the good and the bad ones, if you are new to collaborating or you are unsatisfied with your collaborations, the following tips may help you: 1.  If you are initiating the project, ask yourself what you're wanting out of the collaboration.  Are you looking to grow in general or need direction?  Are you looking for short term help?  Do you need writing help?  Do you just need a guitar player?  Do you need a producer?  Do you need help mixing?  There's a difference between a full blown musical collaboration and having someone simply take your direction.  There's a gray area b...