James Hall and Emily Ruth Hazel have worked together on a few spoken-word and jazz compositions in the last two years. I asked these two to do this interview ahead of their next installation of collaborative work that James presents Tuesday, June 25 at the International Arts Movement's space at 38 W. 39th St, New York, New [...]
Interview with Andrew Munsey: On Building a Life in Music and Audio Production
Since writing my last post about the practice of "community building" in the arts as a more personally sustainable alternative to "self-promotion," I've been thinking about ways to show how some artists have put this principle into practice in their own lives. Briefly, the idea is that most of us grow weary of "self-promotion" because [...]
Build Your Arts Career By Building Your Community: Promote Your Work In A Healthy Way
We all know intuitively that we couldn’t practice our art alone, but many artists’ approach to “self-promotion” leaves them feeling as if they are. Promoting our work isn’t the problem. We must be passionate advocates for our own work, and we shouldn't apologize for it. But, if we try to promote by thinking only of [...]
Diary of a Composer – May 6, 2013 – Time to Make a Decision
When I began composing the music that eventually became The Bright and Rushing World for AnyWhen Ensemble, I began a blogging project called the Diary of a Composer to give myself the opportunity think out loud about the piece as it was taking shape. The idea was that the piece would might pick up recognizable [...]
How to Write a Better Bio: Advice for Artists and Musicians
Not every artist will apply for a grant in his or her career, but every artist needs to know how to write his or her own bio. This is the one task about which all artists can agree: writing a bio is cruel and unusual punishment. Cleaning the bathroom would be more fun, and most [...]
Bass Solo Web Series: Interview with creators John Sutton and Heather Mingo
John Sutton and Heather Mingo, the creators of the Bass Solo web series, are good friends of mine who are taking a risk and are in the process of doing something amazing. In what will eventually be a 10-episode web tv series, Bass Solo follows the character of Leo, a jazz bass player played by [...]
Why “Discoverability” Matters and How to Maximize Yours
Part 2 of a Series by Mary Cummings From Douglas: People are looking, so make sure you’re good looking! When you google yourself or your group, how do you look? If a poorly written entry on an unknown website is all you have online, then you are decreasing your chances of more people discovering your [...]
Industry Perspective: Online Marketing Basics for Musicians
Part 1 of a Series By Mary Cummings From Douglas - Every time I see my good friend Mary Cummings, she tells me about some new online marketing tool and I feel like an old person. She has helped me to improve my game on Twitter and other online platforms and so I’m very glad [...]
Four Reasons to Finally Write That Grant
Like the nutritious breakfasts that we learned about when we were kids, grants are only a part of “this complete breakfast.” Like the Captain Crunch that I so loved as a kid, (with Crunch Berries!) grants are a rare treat for most artists. This is for a good reason. If you spend all your time [...]
Consultancy Offer: CMA New Jazz Works applications
Calling all jazz composers and bandleaders! Chamber Music America's wonderful program New Jazz Works is accepting applications until March 8. This application requires a work sample, a history of your ensemble, a description of your past work for it, and a proposal for a new work that you would create for the ensemble if you [...]