Secret to Success: Turning Up

Hi there,

(Now guitarists, when I say turn up, I don't mean turn up to '11' a la Spinal Tap). 

I'm just going to go ahead and put it in writing - I love Dr Oz.  If he told me to jump I probably would. And he says one of the secrets of life is 'turning up'. He means you've got to participate in life, be part of it. I mean that too but I'm being even more literal. 

I was speaking to a muso friend of mine this morning who did a high profile gig on the weekend. Ten minutes before the band were due to perform for the masses, two of its members decided it was time to get a cup of coffee at the bar nearby. So at the moment the event organiser came by and asked the band to start, the singer was left hanging out to dry with just a drummer and trumpeter. Needless to say, the usually calm, polite chanteuse who had booked the band, let loose on the two strays when they returned, which was well after the preordained starting time. She also turned to my friend and said that next time she would simply book mediocre players who turned up, rather than go through that again. 

Having run a function band for years myself, I feel her pain. I'm still recovering from a moment many years ago when the guitarist that I hired for a wedding band came stumbling down the aisle right after the bride, holding his shoes, trailing his leads and dragging his equipment. The rest of the band had been set up an hour before the first guests had gathered. Great guitarist, lousy organisational skills. The stress is simply not worth it. 

I truly believe that punctuality, preparation, respect and enthusiasm are at least as important as actual music skills in a professional entertainer's arsenal.

Of course if you are a great musician that turns up on time as well, you've got it made!

See you next time,
Amanda
www.amandaeaston.com

Best Way to get to the Entertainment Centre?

A. Practise! Practise! Practise!

Hi there,

When I released my first single, titled ironically 'Celebrity' I managed to pick myself up a little, ah, stalker. A harmless one of the variety, I believe, but who nevertheless managed to find my phone number and call me quite regularly for chats. He was a teenage boy who wanted to be a pop star and was really looking for advice on how to get there (I guess he couldn't get hold of Kylie's number!). We had a conversation about 'popstar'dom. I encouraged him to take singing lessons, learn a musical instrument or at least find someone who could play one so he could start writing songs etc. He got quite exasperated at this, saying, 'No, no, I just want to be an image-based popstar, not do all that musical stuff!'. So I gave him Kylie's number - just kidding!!

Anyway, my point is that a lot of people want to get somewhere - particularly in music - without putting the work in. I've always felt that I was a hard worker, but what if I practised, say, 20% harder - would I be able to legitimately hand out popstar advice from the lofty heights of my personal experience?

I've just finished reading a book called 'The Brain That Changes Itself' by Norman Doige. Apparently, we can repeat processes - even ones we find virtually impossible - so many times that the brain eventually rewires itself. 'Practice makes perfect', in other words? You think you weren't born with musical talent? Work hard enough and maybe it doesn't matter.

Here is the conclusion I've come to:  Talent + Hard Work = Success; Little Talent + Hard Work = Moderate Success; Talent + No Hard Work = Little Success.
Since the new resolution-forming season is upon us, I've decided I'm going to stop accepting that I'm as good as I'll ever be...and just practise! Practise! Practise!

My latest songwriting practice follows: