So a lot of people don’t realize that there’s so much involved in doing gigs and it never really ends. Things pile up and it’s hard to know where to focus your energy. Luckily, during the summer it slows down enough to reassess and get organized again.
For example, right now I have a guitar at the luthier getting a small crack repaired, new tuning heads installed, and having the neck adjusted because it was making some buzzing noises while I played, etc.
I also like to take the chance to work on some new songs for venues that have us regularly as I don’t want them to get bored of us and think we’re a one trick pony! And to be honest, I don’t always feel inspired to look for or learn new songs so I have to follow the nudges when they come.
Also, some venues only allow you to play certain catalogs of music and it is very time consuming and tedious but you have to check every song you play against these websites. It’s kinda insane but venues have to pay to have the right to have live music in their venues and pay thousands of dollars to have the right to certain songs performed in their venues. A lot of times a place will have live music without paying the fees until someone reports them to BMI, SESAC OR Global Music Rights, etc. It’s a funny business but these are the things I can’t contend with.
Oh and there are a ton of songs where I make mistakes regularly and never have the time to go back and really dive deep to fix the issue so I try to do that this time of year also.
Another thing I like to do is go through all my gear and clean things up. I like to do all my repairs, replace cords, put new strings on the guitar, buy more batteries, redo signage, order new business cards, organize my car and make sure things are efficient and easy to use.
My calendar is starting to fill up for this fall and next year already so I have two calendars..one on my website and and on outlook and hopefully between the two, I don’t double-book myself or forget to put something on the calendar. You wouldn’t believe how common of an issue that is.
And the biggest time consumer of them all is the digital stuff like tracking my expenses, taxes, mileage and updating my website, social media, videos, photos, electronic press kits, logos and more.
I really try to stay on top of all this stuff but it can be exhausting to make the time and find the money for these things. I didn’t even mention looking for new gigs yet but that’s part of it too.
So, that’s what I’ve been up to and it’s funny, I’ve had people ask me what I do all week if I don’t have a “regular” job. That I must have all this free time but that just isn’t the case.
Once I get into next month there won’t be time to stop to do these little things unless they are of necessity so it’s kind like being in the dead of winter, preparing for the Spring because as soon as it’s nice out, it’s time to go!
Anyways, I have no idea why I decided to share that but perhaps it gives some sort of insight into my strange world of being a full-time musician. There is no side hustle or day job at the moment and this is all I’ve got. I put my entire heart and energy into this business and I’m still trying to figure it out and wondering all the time if I’m on the right path. Especially when times are slow like this week. So with that said, here is our gig for the week haha!
Oh and Chad will be playing a show with veteran local shredder, Amy Schugar (she has a similar last name to me 😁) at Starlite Lounge at 43rd Ave & Olive on Saturday so I’ll post that flier below as well. Chad is such a rocker and can morph into any music situation you put him into.
Anyway, that’s it for the week! Wishing everyone well!
Love,
Nikki
P.S. Bruce, if you’re reading this, we watched “Somewhere in Time” last night and I thought of you. It was great! 🩷
