Your place in the industry...
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Posted on Dec 10, 2004 07:05 pm
dbmasters
Administrator Since: Apr 03, 2002
I have been doing some soul searching lately, trying to figure out where music fits in my life, and where my life fits in music...
As a kid, of course, I wanted to be a rock star...whatever...but I continued on that path until mid 20's, later, even while still in bands and performing, my interests turned far more toward live sound engineering, I did that for a while, I hated it after a while, but started to grow to recording engineering,mastering and production, then video editing and such as well. I thought I had found my calling.
Since then I started HRC, and have since developed relationships with various manufacturers and such people in the industry, writing articles and reviews, so as of late, I am leaning more toward journalism, because I very much like it...
Anyone else have these internal struggles regarding their goals...
It's a conundrum.
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Dec 10, 2004 07:28 pm Yeah...when I was young I would have liked to have been an opera singer...but my family was poor and perhaps...a little stupid.
When I got to high school...I discovered rock opera and musicals...I would have loved to have been a singer...and perhaps I would have been if I'd had a little confidence...but...I was good at many things.
Now...I am content to be in the audience.
My son has had music lessons since he was very little. He also is good at many things...but music is what he wants to do with his life...so I'm now a support act to help him along his way...I'm also currently his biggest fan...of course!
We don't know where he is going to end up...I don't think it will be in recording...I think that will be just one path along which he is headed.
Like you say dB...you never know how things are going to turn out...you've just got to get in there, work hard and the opportunities will present themselves...also I think you need good positive people around you that you can trust.
Cheers,
BM :-)
LokiCone PokerMember
Since: Apr 07, 2002
Dec 10, 2004 07:37 pm yeah for the longest time i wanted to be a star, and I was alway jealous of my freind nathan whos band has a huge local following, but I started to get into recording and found that I dug that a lot. Nowadays I haven't even thought about music too much to be honest, my focus has shifted to finishing the book I'm writing, but I still make a little time for music. But I've found the style of music which I want to create to be different now. When I first started playing it was all about goth and death rock like Alien Sex Fiend, but now I'm working on more synthpop type stuff like VNV Nation, so I don't know where I'm going with this.
Dec 10, 2004 07:42 pm I'm still waiting for the industry to inform me where my place is............still waiting.............still waiting. (sigh)
Jason H.Jack of all trades master of ___Member
Since: May 28, 2004
Dec 10, 2004 08:14 pm Well...I think people often cross these bridges occasionally...I bet Michaelangelo thought the same thing while lying on his back for the 10-15 years or so, painting that ceiling.
As for me, I never wanted to be a star...Even still to this day I want to be that behind the scenes guy...Some guy, not very well known for show, but secretly known for good production/engineering work. Granted, I can't rattle off terms and techniques like dB and co. do here...and I think its better for me not to, because then you aren't doing it for passion but rather by a standard...
Passion never has a home...
Personally, I don't think it's healthy to find where you are at...If you do, theres always the possibility of becoming content of your situation and soon enough the passion for exploring new ground goes away...Look at the many artists and athletes that change gears to something completely different every now and then, after becoming known for doing one thing...
I say instead of finding "your place"...one should just evolve...HRC has sped that up a bit for me...and I feel in debt to that. 5 years ago I didn't know anything...and 5 years from now I will think the same thing
Along time ago I asked about a xtra feature I saw in the Once Upon A Time In Mexico DVD...It was Robert Rodriguez's studio. If anyone has seen that...thats my "place" I guess...A high end facility within my home running a business of my own...but for now I evolve within my passion...
since I dont have the old studio photo up on my site...here is my Yahoo photo site showing that pic which was taken in 2002...granted it might not look like much has changed...but ALOT has...
JCH
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ja...enn23/my_photos
Dec 10, 2004 08:18 pm QUOTE: Passion never has a home...
:-)
Dec 10, 2004 09:51 pm Unfortunately, there is sometimes a large disconnect between what you know, what you are good at and what you want to do though...ya know what I mean?
Karyn, I don't think the industry informs anyone of their place. I am tired of people talking (especially after I got layed off from my job) about "doors that open", cuz I have found that doors really don't open, you have to kick them in...the key is kicking the right ones at the right times.
Dec 10, 2004 10:25 pm hmm, well I think I am a little on the young side but...
in the future, I hope to own and/or operate a recording studio. If not that then I think I would like to work post pro for a major movie production company.
Already have a pretty good start on it I think. Looking to go major in electrical engineering and go from there.
Woohoo!
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Dec 11, 2004 03:01 am I started as a drummer who was kicked out of my first band (actually second...) while I was in europe before the first practice ...and then found a slot in another band (the next day or so) that already had a show booked three weeks later and had no songs ...to a band that had almost all of it's songs in the top 50 in it genre on mp3.com the month after we broke up ...to a unemployed musician with an interest in audio recording to an unemployed musician with an interest in video/film production ...to an unemployed Producer/Director of Photograhy for probably one of the largest indie DV productions in the midwest. ...after this I fully expect that I will be learning an awful lot about indie movie distribution and TV Programming. (fortunatly promotion is almost exactly like being in a band again...minus regular concerts)
...now, is any of that what I want to be? ... well... what do I want to be? I want to be someone who is liked/respected while doing something that I enjoy and make a bit of money without resorting to heart attacks ...so probably none of that is what I want to be :)
...I _don't_ want to be someone who is dependent on a regualar job that prevents me from doing similar types of things.
WaltChief Cook and Bottle WasherMember
Since: May 10, 2002
Dec 11, 2004 04:01 am No dB, can't say that I have.
Playing professionaly has always been a function of being with other serious musicians. I have always played for me. I enjoy it. Just tonight we did a gig for the corporate headquarters of Masco. Can't say that I cared whether the crowd enjoyed the music or was purly miserable. I had a ball playing. Getting payed was nice too, but again there is little getting around that when you are working with serious musicians. That's just where you find them.
As far as career, I agree with BM in phylisophy. I have pretty much enjoyed everything I have done in my career. I did get a little discusted with the slobs I met when I got toward the top of the perverbial ladder. Even that was fun per the challange. I now find myself wanting to back off and let the next crop have a shot at it.
I think I too enjoy helping kids get their rock and roll bands going as much as I enjoy playing myself. I am meeting a lot of real talented kids that could make some very beautiful sounds if they stay with it.
Dec 11, 2004 05:12 am in a way, music has anulled my life. obsession has. i have somehow wound up in this frame of mind where the outcome of my life--worryingly--somehow doesn't matter to me as much as learning to do a few specific things very well. those would be songwriting and fiction writing. unfortunately i'm also a master procrastinator, extremely lazy, and my only musical talent seems to be playing by ear. and im not as smart as i think i need to be to make strides in these areas as quickly as i want to.
my place in the industry is to continue to dream of actually being in the industry. and working toward it the best i can, even in the face of the evidence which says that i suck. in rock there is sometimes a fine line beween sucking and being good--it's rock, after all--and i try to keep that in mind and try to learn about songwriting. a career in anything would be excellent, but i don't seem to currently be on that road. jobs it is for now.
[edit] i would hope no one judges me by that uncle dude song in my profile. :)
olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
Dec 11, 2004 11:23 am I have no place in the industry. This has always been just a hobby with me. Not that I didn't have my share of day dreams of course, just not the road I traveled down. :)
Dan
riffgodwww.charlienaebeck.comMember
Since: Apr 10, 2004
Dec 11, 2004 12:24 pm well, started out with the dream of being a rock star and always knew music would be my calling regardless of what I did with it. I don't know if you would call it my obsession, passion, hobby, career...etc..etc..
At age 16 I was on a major label in a band called Distorted Moon, I got to tour and we were semi-successful. Never hit the mainstream, but I got to see how touring life was and I met a girl on the road and settled down, married her..etc.
Afterwards I have been through several bands before I got into my main band Almost Famous (almostfamous.net), in the mean time I also started my own record label, and I got into the engineering. I still really enjoy performing, but I cannot envision myself in a professional band on a major label ever again due to the fact that it is a rough life being on the road all the time and what not and I have been there and done that.
In my opinion, each day is a new adventure and we all have the possibilities of wearing many hats. Right now, mine are: husband, bass player, solo performer, engineer, business owner, and tech support guy. Who knows... maybe down the road I will go a different direction in music or in something with art which I have always had a passion for also, but as long as you do what you believe in, you are doing the right thing. :)
Also DB, like you mention with goals I have set out a list of certain things I would like to accomplish in my life by a certain age and what not. I am not setting super impossible things, but realistic goals. So far I am on schedule and have the next 5-7 years mapped out with a pretty firm grip. Who knows, maybe something could rock my world in the mean time, but thats the fun of living and experiencing life. Sometimes its just sort of like going with the flow and letting opportunities present themselves to you. :)
MinkusMazBane of All ExistenceMember
Since: Mar 27, 2003
Dec 11, 2004 12:39 pm i'm going to UCLA to get my degree in music composition. after that, i'm going to bust my *** to see if i can't get record production gigs lined up on top of my own personal creative projects. who knows if there's a place for me? i don't care, gotta try!
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Dec 11, 2004 07:01 pm Internal struggles regarding goals? Not me. I know what my goals are, and it may seem rediculous for me to say it, but I want to be a well known independent hip hop artist. It has taken me a while to come to this conclusion, but I'm comfortable with it now, and it is what I'm currently working towards. Unfortunately, I'm similar to Forty in that I am somewhat of a procrastinator (and lazy) and am constantly trying to kick myself in the butt to stay motivated.
With that being said, aside from being a performer/artist I also want to run a succesful independent label. I have no interest in ever working with a major label, but if all goes well, maybe one day I will challenge them. I know my goals are lofty, but that is what I want to try to do, so I'm going for it. One foot in front of another is my theme.
CrashIgnorance Is StrengthMember
Since: Nov 10, 2002
Dec 12, 2004 02:58 am I've always used music to fill some weird need I have to produce art. 10 years ago I wanted to produce music on my computer but - no way in those days, with what I had. So I continued to produced all this art - watercolors, drawings, lots of graphics for magazines and books and tons of print/production work which pays the bills.
I generalized more than most of you when I set some goals years ago. I wanted to make a living using 'art'. Whether it's painting, graphics, printing or music. I worked in the steel mill and driven construction trucks and realized early on that even though it was good money, I would be much happier (less insane) spending my days working in some field of art rather than bending steel.
Now-a-days I'm like olddog, its just a hobby (therapy) and the only Industry is Nowhereradio.
