Keep Yer Brushes Clean
Preparing for your next big break
(Photo credit: Shannon Guest Photography)
A couple of weeks ago I played the Millenium Stage in Downtown Chicago with Brandy Clark for a summer concert series put on by The Recording Academy (photo above). The call for that one came 2 weeks before the show, tight enough timing that I was very relieved when all the players I wanted were available.
A couple of months before that, one Sunday afternoon when I was minding my own business at the beach on Lake Michigan, I got a call telling me to get on a plane and get my a$$ to Nashville because the next day we were going to do a Country Music Television video shoot that had just popped up.
A few days before the 4th of July Weekend, 2021, my phone vibrated with a series of texts from Jennifer Nettles’ bandleader, Scott, fairly frantically checking if her band was available to fly to Washington DC to play The White House 4th of July BBQ (you betcha I was!).
Summer of 2018, I was just settling into a vacation with my mum when Jennifer’s manager called and asked if I could learn Sugarland’s headline set and jump in with them for a 6-week tour in 5 days…
Are you noticing a trend yet?
Especially when you’re first starting out, most of the biggest opportunities you will get as a musician will be very last minute.
Usually, you get the chance to step up a level because someone else gets sick, or they bow out because they get an opportunity to step up another level themselves.
And stepping up a level is AWESOME and can really help kickstart the next stage of your career, but it can also feel like jumping into a fire and be incredibly stressful, especially if you’ve been in chill mode and feel a bit out of shape at the time.
When you get a last-minute big break, the ideal result is to say yes, do a killer job, and (maybe) become their first call for the next one.
So with this in mind, whether you’re a side player, songwriter, or artist, it’s essential that when you’re NOT doing anything, you keep your head at least a little bit in the game.
The time between events isn’t time to sit around and watch TV waiting for the phone to ring - it’s time to prepare for the next cool thing that might be about to fall in your lap.
You need to be as ready as you can be at all times, so you can make the most of all the exciting opportunities that might be about to knock on your door - often on very short notice!
My sister is a professional make-up artist in Vancouver BC (she’s amazing - check her out here) and she always says that when you’re between TV or film productions you must make sure you're keeping your brushes clean.
By this, she means making sure you’ve been practicing making your mustaches and your kit is prepped, ordered, cleaned, and ready in case the phone rings tomorrow and you need to jump into action.
For musicians, it’s the same sentiment…
So you’re an indie artist?
Imagine this: in 4 days there’s a gig in your hometown at a venue you’ve always wanted to play and the headliner is an artist you really love. The opening act gets sick 2 days before and the promoter calls you to fill in… do you have a solid set ready? Is your gear in good working order? Have you been playing enough lately to feel like you’re on form and can crush it? Can you happily accept this opportunity and honestly say you’ll make the absolute most of the break you’ve been given?
So you’re a side player?
Imagine this: you’ve been playing local gigs for a few years and gradually building up a name for yourself, but you really want to be on the road. You get a call asking if you can jump in with a band for their weekend run because their regular player has a family emergency. Do you have your touring gear setup ready? Have you been regularly learning songs to keep that muscle strong? Have you been honing your backing vocal skills and/or instrument doubling so you can impress them by offering to do more than the minimum? Can you completely conquer this chance to shine in a new band and make them wish you were their main player? Or at least end up with 3 or 4 new friends who might recommend you in the future?
So you want to be a professional songwriter?
Imagine this: another songwriter discovers an excerpt of a new song you posted online and asks you if you want to do a co-write with them to finish it. Do you have a bank of ideas to bring to the table? Have you been filling your inspiration cup so you’ve got something engaging to offer? Have you been working that writing muscle regularly? Songwriting - like most areas of the music business - is heavily network-based, so if someone connects with you and wants to try writing together, make sure they want to ask you again next time!
The key takeaway here is, that even when it feels like nothing is happening in your music career, you should still act like the biggest opportunity to ever come your way is right around the corner - because it very well might be!
Workshop announcement: This weekend Cassie Roma and I are hosting the first in a two-part workshop series all about running a successful fan funding campaign. It’s online and FREE. Space is limited so sign up now - more info and registration form here.