Almost Ready

Is Done And So Am I

Well, my dudes, in my world, my latest album "Almost Ready" is now officially behind me. I know it's supposed to be the other way around. Once you record an album, you're supposed to get behind the album. You know, play the songs over and over and try to sell it and all that marketing stuff. But, as a Taoist and a Dudeist, what I have no interest in, I have no energy for.

So, when I record an album of a year's songs, this is all I do:

1. Get it up on all the streaming platforms via CD Baby

2. Get it up on my website (40 albums all free!)

3. Make videos of all the songs and get them up on youtube

4. Share the news that the album is available and post the videos one at a time on facebook (which I've just finished doing)

5. Share links to specific songs whenever I think they might be helpful to someone (ongoing)

And that's all the "up" I can get about this thing. I leave the rest to the gods.

Once I let go of scale, everything in my life became so much more enjoyable. As long as I write a song that makes me feel better for having written it, as long as someone listens to it, as long as listening occurs, the numbers are not important to me. The trouble with numbers is that they can always be larger and I don't want my attention on increasing numbers. I want it on increasing art for art's sake, sorting out my life, and connecting with like-hearted souls.

Now I recognize that I have the luxury of choosing to do things this way because I don't have to make a living at music.

I also recognize that I've set up my life this way intentionally and give myself a dudely pat on the back for that.

I love that almost all of my musical decisions for at least the last 20 years have been creative decisions and not commercial decisions.

I may have wasted my talent, but I'd rather have wasted my talent than wasted my life and precious time on earth doing things that didn't feel right to me. I would not trade even a little bit of satisfaction, relaxation, or happiness for a lot more numbers.

So yeah, I'm a dozen songs or so into the next one, tentatively titled: "More Sandcastles". ;~)