My original plan was to write a post about what happened on the 36 bus the other night. Two women – myself and one other – were simultaneously harassed by two different men on the same bus at the same time. The story is important and speaks to the ongoing problem that women everywhere experience ... Read More
Today’s post is about an unfortunate encounter that I recently had with a musician out on the scene. I’m not going to say where this happened and for the sake of this person’s band mates, I’m not going to out the group. But because I’m lazy, I’m also not going to dance around a bunch of ... Read More
A month or so ago, I started writing recaps of some of the shows I’ve recently seen and posting them on the blog under the heading of “Hang-a-Dang.” The point of these posts is to provide little snapshots of what’s happening out on the local scene and to give a feel for some of ... Read More
There’s some mighty, mighty magic happening on the Seattle music scene on Monday nights: the EntreMundos Jam Session at Capitol Cider. Each week, musicians, fans, neighbors on the hill and other locals gather together for what is one of the most extraordinary hangs in the city. If you’re in Seattle and haven’t rolled through yet, ... Read More
Last week, a local organization announced the finalists for an annual vocal competition that it hosts. These finalists will sing at Jazz Alley for a shot at winning a trip to Japan. Throughout the afternoon after the announcement was made, I received emails and texts from a handful of vocalists, friends who did not ... Read More
An artist bio is the narrative that leads people from your work– music, dance, painting or whatever– to you. It satisfies the natural curiosity that is aroused when people dig what you do. It helps fans and industry types get a better sense of who you are, where you’ve been and what you’re all about. ... Read More
Danielle LaPorte is my business guru. Her digital course “The Spark Kit” (formerly known as “The Fire Starter Sessions”) is easily the most inspirational and helpful guide for any entrepreneur looking to fire up and build an authentic, satisfying and successful business. (If you’re not yet hip to Danielle, I strongly urge you to ... Read More
My good pal Jason Parker recently posted a link on his Facebook page to an article about musicians and depression. It was from the blog “Behind the Music.” The post was about a list complied by Health.com of the top ten professions with the highest rate of depression. Artists ranked fifth on the list. Further, ... Read More
The other day, I bid on a holiday party for my quartet. It was for a corporate luncheon that was to take place on a Friday afternoon in December. It was slightly unusual in that the potential client, a woman I’ll call “Jodie,” only wanted us to play for the first fifteen minutes of the ... Read More
Over the past few weeks, I’ve observed a few disparaging remarks about singers out there on the social media playground. More specifically, these were remarks made about jazz vocalists by jazz musicians. It actually surprised me a little. While there is definitely a common sentiment that musicians look down on vocalists, I guess I’ve never ... Read More