Balance

As is so often the case, spending time with a podcast guest allows me to reflect upon my own life and choices. It’s hard for musicians to make a leap to Nashville or I’m sure to any music industry town. On the practical side, it takes a bit of savings and financial planning. On the personal side, it helps to have a lot of gumption and flexibility because events are sure to play out in unexpected ways. I moved here in 1993. Most musicians I know have done so believing that residency was key to our happiness.

Once here, the choice is ours to become resilient and wise, or hurt and jaded. There seems to be a fine line between these two extremes, often dependent upon the last gig played or perhaps the last positive referral we received. It’s probably best to see a music career as a marathon and not a sprint, but is it possible to build a life that just happens to have being a musician as a part, and not as a demanding taskmaster that swallows one whole?

It’s so imperative to maintain a good attitude working in the music business all the time because relationships are everything. We must constantly stretch ourselves too, becoming bigger people and better musicians. It can be utterly exhausting to be ready for several gigs in one week because every engagement may require different skills, gear, dress, and social expectations. That’s why it strikes me so deeply that Dan made a point to talk about golf, camping, Lucy the Lab/Pit dog, and traveling. Finding balance in this career is so crucial for going the distance.

Balance is a word that can be deceptive too because it means different things for different people. For me it is friends, teaching piano and organ, dogs and cats, long walks, yoga, and deep movies/television. It doesn’t really matter what gives you balance; it matters that you take the time to do things besides playing music so you can remember why you are a musician. Dan didn’t discuss it, but he also works for Quaver, an online music technology company that sells general music lessons for music teachers. That work allows him the opportunity to teach and travel away from Nashville periodically, which I’m sure gives him even more perspective.

I am challenging myself to chill out today, and hope you will too. Peace.