To say that I’ve not been having the best time recently would be an understatement. Sparing the grim specifics, it’s made me return to a lot of resources which have helped me through times when I’ve found myself in need of guidance, support, inspiration, or just reassurance that who I am and what I do has a value. This has given rise to considering how much perspective can influence direction and success with music.

 

I’ve played a lot of gigs in different styles, at different levels, and on different instruments. They have ranged from small gigs in pubs to the proverbial ‘one man and his dog’, and the way up to concert halls in front of thousands. In my experience, typically you get a band together, build a bit of a local reputation and following, the band then breaks up (for a bizarre and thoroughly random reason) and you’re absolutely back to square one. Every last ounce of effort in building your profile, music, and developing the band was in no uncertain terms ‘wasted’. There are plenty of positive ways in which to look at this situation. Favourites include the notion that it’s a ‘learning experience’ amongst other descriptions which attempt to offer a positive perspective on this kind of thing but ultimately it’s ‘wasted’. The time has gone, and you don’t get it again.

 

Sometimes it’s actually a healthy thing to be this cynical about it. Looking at this situation in this way actually empowers you with many things which you wouldn’t imagine possible, and develop new and indomitable resolve to not ever let this ‘waste’ happen again. It can actually build stronger and better principles that you use to govern your approach to a new band or musical venture. Maybe it empowers you with more tolerance towards other members and their opinions which may differ from your own? Maybe it’s changed the way you look at your new band or project from a business perspective? Perhaps exploring new safeguards against ‘losing’ more of your efforts from a financial point of view?

 

The nature of the music business is that it is seemingly impenetrable until a completely unpredictable and seemingly random event ‘breaks’ you into it. Where we may have no real control over how and when this may happen, it’s worth considering that what we can control is how prepared we may be for it. Imagine getting where you want to go, but only then finding out that you havent got the outlook, tools, or proper foundations to sustain it?