Matt Seymour thinks musicians should stop being lazy this New Year.
I do take his point about many acts playing the same venues and treating Myspace as if it was the only medium of communication. Let's face it, Myspace is seriously addictive and where better to make music than in a friendly pub packed out with one's mates?
The problem is though, that playing your local night after night isn't going to get your CD's on the shelves, or your music on the radio.
To get our stuff out there we need to be touring, networking, interacting with the media, and producing our own high quality recordings.
Musicians are inclined to stay in their comfort zone, I agree, but I don't think it's just laziness.
Once you start to look at what needs doing it can seem overwhelming- trying to be your own manager, tour manager and record company, managing on and off-line PR...not to mention the musical tasks of songwriting, arranging, rehearsing, recording, producing, and gigging.
For singer-songwriters like myself , it's even harder, as we don't have band members to share the load with.. so it's no wonder that many of us are dreaming it, rather than doing it.
Matt's editorial struck a chord with me, because getting off my backside, musically speaking, is my New Years Resolution. I look around other local singer-songwriters and find some good role- models: David Ward-Maclean and Miles Cain busy networking and promoting with other artists; Jess Gardham and Holly Taymar, doing well in National Competitions, the impeccable Edwina Hayes, her arduous tour shedule making her one of the most hard-working acts on the circuit.
I've started the ball rolling and on days when I'm facing frustration I remind myself "When the going gets tough, the tough get going".
Here's one tough cookie getting going, to help put York and North Yorkshire on the map...
Ruby Paul