We have reached a heartbreaking agreement
To stop the class action
The loss has wiped the smile off our faces
I take it on the chin
Even though we didn’t win
Through thick and thin
A vengeful hopeful will not be amused
While the olive branch of hope must be refused
I need a space to be left undesirable
Untreatable
A punch to the gut
I had hoped for more than a plastic cone
Orange and alone
Amused tonally
Refused totally
The whimsical x-ray of our society
Has revealed a great deity
Venomous and toxic
Leaving the trace of a blown rocket
We used this messed up world
To project our problems into one being
Manifested into our new destiny
Smiling he rode in on white horses
The whole world overthrew me
But I will find steady ground
I will polish my smiling face
I will bandage my wounds and move on
This is the primary focus of the race
It’s not how we celebrate
But how when we see the face
From behind the facade
How we pick ourselves up from the dirty ground
Maybe it was our fault in the first
There is no faith to be put in humanity
We return certainly
To realize it was my own hope that let me down
Battered and on the ground
I pick myself up
And begin the hope anew
Just in something new
Growing up in an extremely sheltered catholic midwestern household I was always taught some very simple “guidelines”. Whether it be good or bad this is the life I know. It was always God, Family, and Country. Whether it be right or wrong – that is yet a whole other discussion but today we realized something as a country and I did as an individual. These are the truths that we live by in 2016:
And here we are. This justifies all votes and support for the great devil when applied to this diagram. It is undisputable as I have debated and spoken with thousands of people over the last 9 months of my life. It makes how we got here so very simple. This is the truth as voted by our own fellow countrymen. If you study this diagram you will begin to see the problems we are faced with currently. I see this in the eyes of my own parents. The rest is just shit talk. They can say what they want, but these are the new principles by which my own family lives and a much larger population as a whole. I have devoted an entire year of my life, $30,000 in personal debts, and countless unpaid hours working to promote Unity in 2016. But the truth is I believe Unity is currently where I put it in the diagram: dead last. I understand this. I get it. People love to use their mouths instead of their wallets. They want to talk about power and money and how they can acquire it at all costs – this is the baby boomer generation. Consume, consume, consume, and shit on the rest. I challenge you to see where this diagram applies – to me it sums up 2016. For anyone overseas – may God be with us and protect us. We are in for a dark time in our countries history – I can see it in the eyes of the people.
It’s that determined feeling
The sweet ambition
The fantastic touch
The plausible idea
Warm to talk to
Improving the rush
To the fingers
Head
Arms
The rush of the moment
PHOTO CREDIT: EVAN PERIGO
In a nebulous state of mind
The concluding chord rung out
Wrung out
Fascinated by the quick sequel of progression
How one planned moment
Moves to the next
A grape plucked from the tree
Quickly becomes a past tense
Cattle that pine for the open fields
Excellent presentation
Not quite overstated
But rather I am fascinated
That now a moment planned now is
More present a moment unknown
A hat floating off the cliff
Taken in
The borrowed riff
The rally cry of the tired
A worthy cause flamed out with vigor
Passing floating rolling
I have tried
To do good
Good to be undone
So much has to rely on a rally cry
When your tired
And lonely
Not alone
You feel sad
Disconnected from the world
How did it work out not the way it was
All planned
A plane in flight unmanned
The plane now is in the final descent
It will land
How
Unknown
But through all of this
I
We
Have grown
Grown up
So here we come
The yawn of the wise
Can drop over the heads of my contemporaries
Of me
I work out of the hole I have created
Aspiration dedication
But rabid talk has no consequence
No sequence
No following
But I am telling you of this situation
Not as a rebuttal
But as a jobless touch
For my own nature
Contemplating my own future
What will happen
Uncertain
But this is all certainly true
If not now then when
No satisfaction
Hesitation
For the distant frustration
We had to move now
Quickly and in motion
Utter madness around us
In the midst of our lives
Greatest commotion
I am glad that we acted with honor
We did what we said we would do
Moving out into the world
To rely on each other
We learned what we are made of
The tough stuff
The thick and thin ruff
We pushed through
And when the lights hit the stage
There will be just 2 standing
me and you
Sorry it took me a bit to get back with you. We have had a crazy couple of weeks and currently have a couple days of down time so I wanted to make sure I took some time and really responded to your questions. I think the first thing you have to do is create a youtube video that generates dislikes (thumbs down). This may seem counter intuitive, but here is why. First, it teaches you the most important rule in the music industry – don’t give a shit about what people say/think about what you are creating. The moment you care more about what people think than the art that you are creating – you can not continue on creating great art. Also, if you are getting negative reviews it means that you are actually reaching people AKA you are being heard. Just because someone likes or does not like your work does not really matter – you just want to be heard right? You should not care whether or not people enjoy or do not enjoy your music – it is art everyone is titled to an opinion. This does not mean that you should not have mentors – but I will talk about that later. If you can get over this first major hurdle then you are on your way. Exposure in the music business can be a very difficult thing for artist to stomach. So right away, this is giving you a great lesson – to simply let go and start creating. A quote by Steven Pressfield illustrates this ”Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.” So focus on giving to the world and forget about what others think – just do your best.
So obviously youtube is a huge way of gaining free exposure.
From a logistics standpoint of building a fanbase – start building a core group of followers in your class/hometown/school. It might just be a couple of friends that you are going to give your first recordings to. Start small and focus on developing meaningful relationships with people who genuinely have an interest in both your music and you as a person.
Play open mics. Learn from other performers and ask questions. Develop relationships with people at these gatherings. Get feedback on your original music from people you look up to and trust. This will help you in deciding what works and what does not. Always try to get lessons for guitar/voice especially when you are young. Great website openmics.org
Nate
A Cup of Songwriting 