Every year at Christmas time, I get a break... a little time to get out of Los Angeles and take a deep breath and just enjoy the place I once called home - Georgia. This year it has been special - as it often has...but this year especially so. I haven't been running around having the same conversations with 50 different people about how I've gotta stay positive, and keep grinding, etc. I haven't been worried about how I'll pay rent for the next year. I haven't been trying to tell myself that it's worth it to keep after this career, even when there's been so little going right. No, this year I get to relax. 2012 has been an amazing year for me, full of growth, and successes, and excitement. I've been very fortunate.
So this year, I've been able to fully relax while at home. I've rarely left the lakehouse. I've seen my family and a few friends. I've been to the little burger store I grew up going to. I've even been to Church. It's been a nice break from the often harsh reality of Los Angeles. It's given me the one thing I really don't seem to ever find enough of back in California - time. I've been writing. I've found new ideas for songs. I've found new inspirations. I find that when I'm working away in LA, I often don't take time to just sit and breathe in life.
Those quiet moments are when things come clear. It's been wonderful to take it all in.
Tomorrow, I will return to the faster pace of life. I will jump back into the race of "making something of myself," but I will do so refreshed and energized, with a slightly different perspective than I had when I took off from LAX seven days ago. I'm looking forward to the coming year - the challenges and the excitement and all that it brings.
YEAHCOMEON
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
"Stars" and fans
In my day to day life, I'm not only a musician, but hold down a "day job" as well. The job I work provides me the opportunity to be around many "stars" on a weekly basis. I've seen more concerts than I can remember, televised performances, tv singing competitions, etc. This also gives me the unique opportunity to talk to thousands of fans, and get their perspective on the stars who perform or make appearances.
Well, let me just say that I think most "stars" are quite out of touch with their fans. They see people yelling and screaming and truly believe that all of the yelling and screaming and going nuts is purely for THEM and for the person that they are. What they don't realize is that what people are generally responding to, is the connection they feel with an artist's work. As a result, the stars can often confuse themselves with being "above" the fans, and the subject of "worship" instead of understanding that they are purely a vessel through which the fan touches something within themselves. In actuality, an artist is one who SERVES the fans, not the other way around.
So, then, someone explain to me why these "stars" have an attitude towards the very people who pay their hard earned money and spend their precious time supporting the artists. For instance, why would an artist EVER, much less ROUTINELY show up an hour or more late for a performance? Do they not realize that when they do that, they are basically telling their fans, "Screw you, I'll do it when I'm ready"? I simply don't get it. Why would you want to show your fans just how little they actually mean to you by forcing them to wait around for you for over an hour after they've already been waiting for you for countless hours, just up to the time you were SUPPOSED to walk onto a stage.
I don't get it.
I don't get why producers, venues, etc, find it acceptable. I don't understand why no handlers tell them how ridiculous it is. Basically, the sense of celebrity that has crept into the American culture is sickening to me, and it's become so pervasive, that the everyday American now simply accepts...nay, EXPECTS it to be that way.
It's depressing to me. It bothers me that fans don't ask for more. They just take it. They accept that a person is going to be late, they're not going to have respect for the time and money of the fan. No, "the fans are here to worship me" is far too often the attitude.
In my journey as an artist, you can bet your ass that will never be my attitude. I am truly thankful for every fan I have, and am humbled by your appreciation of what I do. I love you all and hope that when you connect with my music, you will let me know...because I want to be a part of your journey, just as you are a part of mine.
Yeahcomeon!
Dukes
Well, let me just say that I think most "stars" are quite out of touch with their fans. They see people yelling and screaming and truly believe that all of the yelling and screaming and going nuts is purely for THEM and for the person that they are. What they don't realize is that what people are generally responding to, is the connection they feel with an artist's work. As a result, the stars can often confuse themselves with being "above" the fans, and the subject of "worship" instead of understanding that they are purely a vessel through which the fan touches something within themselves. In actuality, an artist is one who SERVES the fans, not the other way around.
So, then, someone explain to me why these "stars" have an attitude towards the very people who pay their hard earned money and spend their precious time supporting the artists. For instance, why would an artist EVER, much less ROUTINELY show up an hour or more late for a performance? Do they not realize that when they do that, they are basically telling their fans, "Screw you, I'll do it when I'm ready"? I simply don't get it. Why would you want to show your fans just how little they actually mean to you by forcing them to wait around for you for over an hour after they've already been waiting for you for countless hours, just up to the time you were SUPPOSED to walk onto a stage.
I don't get it.
I don't get why producers, venues, etc, find it acceptable. I don't understand why no handlers tell them how ridiculous it is. Basically, the sense of celebrity that has crept into the American culture is sickening to me, and it's become so pervasive, that the everyday American now simply accepts...nay, EXPECTS it to be that way.
It's depressing to me. It bothers me that fans don't ask for more. They just take it. They accept that a person is going to be late, they're not going to have respect for the time and money of the fan. No, "the fans are here to worship me" is far too often the attitude.
In my journey as an artist, you can bet your ass that will never be my attitude. I am truly thankful for every fan I have, and am humbled by your appreciation of what I do. I love you all and hope that when you connect with my music, you will let me know...because I want to be a part of your journey, just as you are a part of mine.
Yeahcomeon!
Dukes
Thursday, November 22, 2012
The Chair
This morning my mind drifted to a Thanksgiving-type memory. Hope you enjoy it.
The Chair
It was old and wooden - brown with a sort of amber highlight running through it. I'd guess oak, but I was never good at identifying woods. Its legs tapered down to roughly the size of a quarter at the bottom, where little plastic discs served as feet. It had arms - that's what really set it apart from the other chairs around the table. Our dinner table was big - big enough to serve even more than the six in our family. My sisters would bring boys to dinner, and they'd sit with us...and pay good attention to the man in that chair. Growing up, I wouldn't sit in it. If I did, I would feel the breath of God on the back of my neck. I would feel the weight of a world on my shoulders. There was something about that chair that told me I wasn't ready. That seat was taken. If you saw it in a furniture store, you wouldn't me impressed - just another dining room chair like the rest. But where it sat in our house, it was a throne - and then it was empty. I still recall the trepidation with which I first sat in that chair after my father's death. My heart was heavy. My stomach sank. But, as many a prince has followed in the path of his King, I sat there. I held the hands of my family and I prayed to bless our meal. Today, I'm unsure if anyone feels the effect of that chair as I once did, but at every holiday it sits there - its emptiness reminding me of the greatness once held within.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Yeahcomeon
- Dukes
The Chair
It was old and wooden - brown with a sort of amber highlight running through it. I'd guess oak, but I was never good at identifying woods. Its legs tapered down to roughly the size of a quarter at the bottom, where little plastic discs served as feet. It had arms - that's what really set it apart from the other chairs around the table. Our dinner table was big - big enough to serve even more than the six in our family. My sisters would bring boys to dinner, and they'd sit with us...and pay good attention to the man in that chair. Growing up, I wouldn't sit in it. If I did, I would feel the breath of God on the back of my neck. I would feel the weight of a world on my shoulders. There was something about that chair that told me I wasn't ready. That seat was taken. If you saw it in a furniture store, you wouldn't me impressed - just another dining room chair like the rest. But where it sat in our house, it was a throne - and then it was empty. I still recall the trepidation with which I first sat in that chair after my father's death. My heart was heavy. My stomach sank. But, as many a prince has followed in the path of his King, I sat there. I held the hands of my family and I prayed to bless our meal. Today, I'm unsure if anyone feels the effect of that chair as I once did, but at every holiday it sits there - its emptiness reminding me of the greatness once held within.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.
Yeahcomeon
- Dukes
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Object Writing
For the past few weeks, I've been waking in the mornings and working on an exercise known as "object writing." I start with an image in mind, and write whatever comes to mind for ten solid minutes. When my alarm goes off, I stop writing. The point of this is to unlock sense-memories that I can use in my songwriting. I've actually found some of these to be pretty entertaining, so I'm going to start posting them occasionally on this blog. Hope you'll enjoy.
LEAF
Golden-yellow and extremely brittle. That is my memory of the giant magnolia leaves in the fall of my youth. They lay strewn about our entire front yard on cool autumn days. Dad and I would go out and rake them up - well, Dad would rake. I would mostly wait until he'd built a huge pile of them and then ceremoniously dive in to the pile. There it was - maybe two feet high...brown, orange, gold - all the colors of autumn's pallet, and in a grand multitude of shades. It was perfect, round, undisturbed - an island of leaves in a sea of yellow-green grass. The lawn was then pristine with the only blemish coming in the form of the few leaf piles. That's when I entered, as a tornado, or a missile, or giant alien - whatever destructive force I picked that day. I plunged myself in the center of a pile, and blew the leaves out in every direction. I heard and felt them crackle and crunch beneath me - the ones that did not escape back into the yard. Naturally, I would climb to my feet laughing with glee, and my Dad would shake his head, and return to the duty of tidying the pile. As I stood amid the pile, I could feel the wetness of the lower layers settle into my shoes and even begin to creep up the legs of my jeans. Bits and pieces of broken leaves slipped down into my shoes and poked at my feet through my socks. Still, I was a boy and I couldn't be deterred by minor discomfort or inconvenience. I would simply step out of the pile and take aim at the next one.
- Dukes
LEAF
Golden-yellow and extremely brittle. That is my memory of the giant magnolia leaves in the fall of my youth. They lay strewn about our entire front yard on cool autumn days. Dad and I would go out and rake them up - well, Dad would rake. I would mostly wait until he'd built a huge pile of them and then ceremoniously dive in to the pile. There it was - maybe two feet high...brown, orange, gold - all the colors of autumn's pallet, and in a grand multitude of shades. It was perfect, round, undisturbed - an island of leaves in a sea of yellow-green grass. The lawn was then pristine with the only blemish coming in the form of the few leaf piles. That's when I entered, as a tornado, or a missile, or giant alien - whatever destructive force I picked that day. I plunged myself in the center of a pile, and blew the leaves out in every direction. I heard and felt them crackle and crunch beneath me - the ones that did not escape back into the yard. Naturally, I would climb to my feet laughing with glee, and my Dad would shake his head, and return to the duty of tidying the pile. As I stood amid the pile, I could feel the wetness of the lower layers settle into my shoes and even begin to creep up the legs of my jeans. Bits and pieces of broken leaves slipped down into my shoes and poked at my feet through my socks. Still, I was a boy and I couldn't be deterred by minor discomfort or inconvenience. I would simply step out of the pile and take aim at the next one.
- Dukes
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Writing, writing....and more writing...
Last night I started combing through a pile of papers long since touched by my hands. I found them in an old song notebook, I found them in a binder of gig material, I found them in a box of stuff I meant to throw out long ago. Every one of these pieces of paper had my thoughts on it. Each one had the beginning of a song, or a hook, or line, or simply an idea that had been sparked by some life event - something that had made me think...I should sit down and write about that. And every single one of these songs and ideas and concepts was naked and unfinished.
Seems to be I leave a lot of wood by the fire when it's down to its glowing embers. I let "life" get in the way far too often. Whether it be some distraction I willfully bring on myself, or one for which I'll let someone else take the blame, I allow myself to be swayed, to stray from doing what I should be doing. That's a tough situation to be in - but one I imagine we all face. Some of us deny our families the time we should give them so that we can do things that please us instead. Some of us deny ourselves the things we want while we strive to please a boss. Some of us allow the little distractions to creep in one on top of the other until all we ARE is distracted.
That was me.
But last night I wrote three songs. And tonight, I'll probably get a few more on paper. I've never been the most prolific writer. Instead, I've held on to some idea that I should write purely by inspiration...in a flurry of penstrokes, when I could write a song in a single sitting and be done with it. But that's not how it always is. That's not the craft - and it certainly isn't how a good album is put together - especially not under any kind of deadline. I mean, it could take years to come up with twelve songs if I'm simply going to "wait til I have time."
Now is the time.
I'm excited to be writing again...excited to see what stories I'll find within the recesses of my mind. And I'm excited at the prospect of sharing them with y'all when the time comes.
Yeahcomeon.
- Dukes
Monday, October 29, 2012
A new blog for a new show...
Last week I had somewhat of a big moment in my musical career. My submission to the annual music festival South By Southwest was accepted, and I was invited to showcase at the festival in March. My musical path has just changed significantly.
Not more than a couple of months ago, I was anticipating booking a few small acoustic tours around the southwest and possibly up the west coast. I was going to spread my influence in those cities, gain more fans, and look to branch out into larger markets when possible. I was coming off a national television appearance, and wanted to keep the ball rolling. I booked some gigs with the band, did some songwriter nights, and started contacting venues in Arizona, New Mexico, and San Francisco, CA. I received minimal only response. Still, I pushed forth and kept hunting for places to play.
Then, this news comes in - I'll be showcasing at SXSW2013!!!! Everything has changed for me. I will still play songwriters nights and gig in the dives and bars of LA. I still may go on the small tours I've been working to book. But, no longer will I be doing so with my current list of material, and in my comfort zone. I have four months to put together a new show, a new album, a new experience to be unveiled in Austin.
So, if you've been a fan for a while, and you've come see me perform...be ready for something new come March. If you catch me at a songwriters or acoustic night over the next few months, don't expect to see the same ol' batch of songs...I'm writing new material, and I'll be counting on the crowds to tell me what's worth keeping, what's worth retooling, and what ain't worth the napkin it's written on.
Hope to see y'all out there.
Yeahcomeon!
Dukes
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