A New Tactic?

If you are in the digital online social media world, as most of us are, you will be offered a million Tactics for promoting your music (your business, your book, your art…or just….Your Self).

Any one of these tactics might be something that helps you.

But… it can be a real weight off of the shoulders, to forgo the use of those kind of tactics… and simply to be yourself, write your book, sing your song, paint your picture…do your Thang… in a world of real life connections and friendships.

One in which word of mouth (real words coming out of actual mouths) is the means of sharing and passing on all of the good stuff.

That’s a new tactic I’ve discovered.

Box Of Delights

The morning after the night before.

A Homesong weekend has just been experienced, that was the usual unique box of delights. Wonderful from start to finish with new memories made and friendships strengthened and deepened. And some absolutely lovely music.

At some point you should stop taking my word for it.

If you are a songwriting performer, find somebody who would be prepared to have you come and play at their house. Those people do exist, even if they don’t realise quite yet that they are The Person For The Job.

And if you simply love music, and are community orientated, then maybe you are That Person. Get in touch with an artist you like and know (or even one that you don’t know) and see if they would like to come and play in YOUR living room.

You won’t have to look far. In particular anybody who has already played some form of Homesong gig, will undoubtedly be up for more opportunities to do so.

It’s just how it is.

Digital algorithms, Facebook friends and Youtube vids are all well and good. But nothing beats live music. And live music that is up close and personal, in a small venue (like a living room, or an outhouse), with real life friends and neighbours, is best of all…in my exceedingly humble opinion.

Thankfully, I’m not alone in thinking that.

You’ve Got A Friend

Got distracted for a couple of days from writing my Homesong blog. Ironically, because I’ve been hosting some Homesong gigs here in Kintyre.

And I’d forgotten. How quickly that can happen.

Forgotten how magical it can be. That wonderful combination of a small, listening audience, and two original singer/songwriters doing their thing.

To me it feels far more than a mere music gig. More like a life affirming gathering of human beings, sharing an unrecorded, in the moment, completely unique experience of songs and friendship.

Each one is different.

Thanks to Gary and Kevin for making this one so special.

Life Is A Privilege

I occasionally speak about, and often allude to, the subject of maintaining good mental health. Because doing so has needed to be an ongoing part of my own life.

When the malaise hits, one of things I’ve started to try and do, is to remind myself of this simple fact:

Life is a privilege.

I don’t personally believe that it was destiny that I exist. Nor inevitable.

I exist by virtue of a billion, trillion, choices and chances that occurred over vast amounts of time…any one of which could have gone in a different direction and meant that I wasn’t here:

To feel, good and bad.
To see, beauty and horror.
To experience, excitement and mundanity. To think. To smell. To taste. To touch.
To hope.

To write these words.

To sing a song.

I am, or if I’m not, I can choose to be, very grateful for this privilege.

In The Long Run

The amount of organisation, resources, energy, time, and, yes, even creativity, needed to wage a war over another nation is truly immense.

So much effort made for something so destructive and life destroying.

How easily do I, in comparison, run out of energy when attempting to do something that is intended to be life enhancing.

Too easily is the easy answer to that one.

Is hatred, malice, greed and lust for power really a more motivating force than our own seemingly innocent and positive plans?

Anger born from hatred can, for varying periods of time, focus great bursts of energy individually and collectively. Though very negative, it’s a natural emotion. But, in the long run, the evidence seems to demonstrate that a positive desire to live, and specifically to live in peace, will always overcome a desire to tear down and destroy.

But it can be a real fight to make it through to the long run. That’s for sure. Often easier to hide way from it all.

It’s always better, and the fight more easily won, when we work together.

The Slow Cooker

Setting the slow cooker to low means

- preparing early

- time to spare

- having patience

- using less energy

- something to look forward to

- extra flavour

- tenderness

And not rushing dinner when it finally arrives.

Strangely slowing down becomes more important the further down the road that we’ve travelled.

Songs To Fill The Air

I’d forgotten what it was like.

A Homesong coming round at the weekend, two wonderful musicians and friends coming up to play….and that nagging uncertainty about who is going to turn up to watch on the night.

I must admit, it’s not a feeling I enjoy.

In the end, it has always been “alright on the night”. And I know my guest performers aren’t going to complain, whatever the turnout.

That’s not the point though. After all this time, I wish I could provide more guarantees, both because the musicians deserve it, and for my own peace of mind. Ingenious solutions on a postcard please.

But we’ve been here before. Whatever happens, there will be  songs to fill the air.

And that’s a lovely thing to remember.

A Hit And Miss Affair

I’ve got a pal who has a very nice way of telling me that he LOVES a couple of songs I’ve recorded…but not the rest of them really.

And that is how it works with creativity, and more specifically, with putting the thing we’ve created out into the world. We aren’t in control of how other people react to those creations.

It’s a hit and miss affair. And often it is mainly misses.

In the past I would probably have managed to ONLY hear the fact that my friend doesn’t think much of most of material.

These days, well….hey, I’ve got a couple of HITS in my repertoire. Result!

And here’s one of them, according to Neil.

ps. But if we consider the possibility that SOMEBODY (possibly a different somebody each time) will have the same reaction as Neil, but with different favourites, then, really, it’s could be HITS all the way baby!

Thank you

Can I make this one quick?

Thank you.

Breaking Free

It’s hard to see clearly. It’s hard to say what really matters.

As we grow up we all have anchor points…ones that can be good or bad…that help us to find our feet and establish our place in the world. The main one being our parents or guardians, and the world view we develop from them and the culture we grow up in.

Gaining maturity as individuals is all about learning to let go of those anchor points and find our own paths.

But it can be hard to see clearly or know what really matters. And it can be hard to let go. So we often latch on like limpets, emotionally and mentally, to people, or ideas, or institutions, that don’t help us to grow at all. Instead, in some areas of life, they keep us, both as individuals and as societies, locked at an infantile level of maturity.

I think we all have these areas where we are held back to some degree. I’m sad when I notice it in myself. Or when I see it in the culture I’m a part of. It feels like a cause for mourning really.

And personally, I want to break free.

Give Me A Second

Roughly 3 Billion seconds. That is how long it would take you to reach the ripe old age of 93. If, that is, you haven’t already reached it! But there is quite a possibility these days that you might get there. Give it a shot anyway!

3 Billion seconds is a hell of a long time.

So when anyone says : ”Just give me a second” they are not really asking for very much.

In fact a million seconds amounts to a little over 11 days. Again, in the grand scheme of things, quite affordable. Although a bit more of a commitment.

Lots of things we can do with our seconds. Other than count things.

Chances are that one of the things I’m going to do with mine, is to write a song called 3 Billion Seconds.

In The Loop?

To stay In The Loop you allegedly need to:

Tag, Link, Share, Network, Message, Build Contacts, Email, Promote, Youtube, Spotify, Instagram, Tweet, Facebook, TickTock, Advertise, Like, Market….Blog. And repeat.

Of course, most people throughout history have managed to lead full and often successful lives without ever doing any of these things as a “strategy”. Or even as a pass-time.

Is it possible or desirable to manage without in this era? Well, that’s for us each to decide on an individual basis.

But it would be interesting for most of us to look through the list, and ask what would change if we removed each of those aspects of modern communication from the equation.

Perhaps we’d get a better idea which of these modernities enhance our lives. And which detract from them.

Either way, The Off Switch is always an option.

C’est La 21st Century Vie

So no, as a follow up to yesterday’s blog, they never rang back. I’m girding my loins to start the process over again:

C’est La 21st Century Vie!
Slaves to Technology?
Possibly.
Certainly not completely free.

And we find ourselves
Modern Medieval Serfs
Trying to maintain some dignity
In this new Kingdom
Of Lords and Masters.

They control the circuitry
And the software
The invisible money
And most of the shares
In The Company.

And the phone lines.

It’s an ancient tale of a familiar greed.

But this is not a conspiracy theory.
Just a rehashing of
The same old, same old
With the same need for us (the peasants)
To take back some control.
Take some responsibility.
In order to gain
Some fundamental liberty.

The Phone’s Ringing?

The Phone’s Ringing. Or rather it’s ringing for some outgoing calls and not for others.

So I’m on to tech support. After going through things I’ve tried and not tried there are no obvious solutions and it’s onto Ye Old Reset. Which also hasn’t worked. I’m writing this while waiting for the promised call back.

And while waiting I harken back in an “old man of a certain vintage” kind of way to a time when the new technology either worked, or it didn’t. Whether that be the phone, or turning the TV on and off and choosing between the three or four options, maximum. And solving the issue had a process that didn’t feel half as time consuming or stressful.

But now, getting many things sorted seems to be a long drawn out dance with a previously unknown partner, whom you meet after a few minutes or more of waiting, in which language barriers and perceptions of each other’s understanding must be overcome. In which the possible solutions are many.

It’s a truism that life is more complicated. It really is. Sometimes it’s for the better…often it’s a pain in the neck. But those complications are a part of the new reality. A brave new world to which we continue to adapt and adjust. Or to avoid if at all possible.

And simple things like…a good meal, a song, or a bit of banter with a friend…become all the more precious.

So the guitar is beckoning as I continue to wait for the phone to ring so that I can continue to receive help with getting the phone to ring.

Love To Hate

There are certain bands whose music some of my music making friends would dismiss or mock. Particularly popular bands, who have gone beyond their remit of simply Making Music, and who delve into the world of politics, large scale social involvement, and such like.

U2 being the prime example.

There can undoubtedly be a certain amount of hypocrisy, grandiosing, and histrionics in some of the large scale do-gooding, which can stick in the craw and appear pharisaical alongside their A-List celebrity lifestyles. Irritating, regardless of how much good intent was involved.

I love the story about U2 at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. Bono steps to the mic, clicks his fingers every couple of seconds for a while, and then proclaims:

”Everytime I click my fingers a child in Africa dies”.

After a quiet moment, a reply comes back, shouted out by a caustically witted Glasgow punter:

”Well stop clicking your f*******g fingers then!”

But what about the music?

Of course some may genuinely hate this or that band or artist. Our tastes are not for sale.

But I’m pretty sure that, for some of the haters, it has nothing to do with the songs, and everything to do with the seismic sense of disconnection between them and the performers. A need to believe in the story-teller, in order to buy into the music.

Personally I’ve never got religiously attached to an artist, even though I’ve got ones that I admire greatly. And in the world of popular music it’s hard to know what is genuine and what is for show. Often it’s a mix of everything.

At heart I’m a song by song person. That’s all. I just want hear your song. Whoever you are. The rest is a factor, but not a game changer.

So here’s one I love from that band who some love to hate.

Keep On Launching

In my heid I have wanted to create connections and relationships that lead to more people hearing about and, over time, acting upon the idea of Homesong - A Small Gig Where You Live.

That takes time, and involves a lot of uncertainties and cul-de-sacs. And failures.

But, it turns out, connections and relationships are valuable and precious, aside from any grand plans that I, you, or anybody else may have. Who would have thunk it?

When it comes to changing culture, changing anything involving people (or the weather!), there are no definite outcomes anyway.

But when we launch our little ship of a new idea out into the real world, whether that be a song, a poem, a smile, or something more complex, there is a very good chance…simply because we didn’t keep it to ourselves…that at the very least we will make some welcome new friends and some helpful acquaintances.

And, because we tried, a little bit of dignity.

All of that is an achievement in itself.

Keep on launching.

Follow Your Heart

Many years ago now, I wrote a song called You Don’t Have To Be Strong which, among a certain crowd of folk connected to the Kintyre Songwriters Festival here in Campbeltown, became my anthem. It’s also THE favourite of regular reader Steve Byrne.

And Davey Ray Moore , a professional songwriter and performer who heard the song just after I wrote it told me - “that is the direction you should go with your music career”. Hearing another musician speak of a “Career” in regard to my songs was an enormous encouragement at that moment in time.

The career never happened, but the songwriting of course did. And although I have written songs that are in a similar genre to “Strong”, some of which I think are better, in the end I realised that I just couldn’t stick to writing one kind of song.

And I’m very happy with that decision. It definitely hasn’t helped me with the “building an audience” side of things, but it has given me a lot of pleasure and, I think, made me a better songwriter.

Sometimes you do have to be strong in order to follow your heart.

The Club At The Edge Of Town

I’m in the middle of a great book right now. I’m going to recommend it highly, even before I get to the end!

The Club At The Edge Of Town by Alan Lane is a book about people from a community in Leeds working together, across many potentially divisive barriers, and actually making things better. Despite…well, despite everything: the covid pandemic, bureaucracy, uncaring politicians, infighting, racism, oppositional viewpoints, lack of money, social distancing, and much, much more.

It is not a do-gooder book, but it will undoubtedly inspire the doing of good. Along with a dollop of hope.

______

The work being done in Holbeck in Leeds is founded on three values:

Be Useful
Be Kind.

and

Everyone gets what they want, but no one else gets to stop others getting what they want.

The first two are wonderful, but hard to combine. The last one sounds impossible. But the book makes even that one seem achievable. It’s wonderful food for thought for me in regard to Homesong and to community life in general. It will be for you too.

Ps It’s also a real page turner.

Pps. Thank you Kim Le Clair for the recommendation!

Belonging

A sense of belonging is important. For some more than others.

People who grow up and live in a small rural town or village or even, still, in some close knit city communities, will often have that in bucketloads, without even having to try. It’s a great inheritance, because it can provide a lot of security and comfort.

For the increasing number of migratory humans…people who move away from the place in which they were born….belonging is not always so easily come by.

The best plan of attack, in my experience, is to be pro-active. Join a club, invite people in, stop to chat, be a friend. Don’t wait for all of that to come to you. If people are comfortable in their lives, you probably need them more than they need you.

One thing you could try, and I would say this of course, is to go along to a small, intimate music gig. Like, urrrm, a Homesong for instance.

There aren’t many Homesongs around though, so perhaps the best course of action is to start one. That would get things started.

It’s Been A While

Of course this site is called Homesong. And it was, as you probably know, set up to promote the idea of small gigs in peoples homes. But it’s been a long while, for all kinds of reasons, since I myself have hosted one in our home.

Thankfully that is going to change in a couple of weeks, when a couple of performers from our online Homesong4Life gigs, Gary Carey and Kevin Farrell, will be travelling up on the long and winding road to Campbeltown to perform over a weekend in Kintyre.

I’m happy to call them both friends. Even though I’ve never actually met Kevin in the flesh. It’s a big added bonus to catch up with Gary, and to meet Kevin in the real world.

Like all things worthwhile, hosting any Homesong can take a little bit of planning, a little bit of effort. But the rewards are worth it. I promise.

So…what are YOU waiting for? Plenty of information on the site to help you. Or get in touch with me.