Simply Blessed

I'm just returning from another great European tour and it was an awesome experience. I've been touring the world playing music for the past twenty years and it's all been made possible by music. We all spend time trying to build our careers and keeping our noses to the grindstone but it's so important that we take time to realize that we are simply blessed to be able to do what we do. I've been lucky enough to see things and go places that most people never even dream of and I get to do so because they want to hear me play and share my gift. One of the biggest pieces of being successful is exposure. It's always enlightening to see just how BIG and diverse the world is outside of YOUR backyard. Travel expands us as musicians and people. It's also important that, as we travel, we remain humble and focused so that we are able to truly glean knowledge from each experience. As we spend time trying to develop a following for our music, we must see the entire world as our potential audience. I'm often amazed at how you can go to another country and hear of artists that live in the U.S. that you never knew existed but they are superstars in Europe, Africa or Asia. Not to mention that the European market still values musicians over marketing. To them it's all about how good you are at doing your craft and it doesn't matter what type of music it is, they really do appreciate good music of ALL kinds. So as you continue forward, please invest time in traveling and seeing what the world has to offer. Expose yourself and your talent to as many cultures as you can so that you can learn as well. Remember we are simply blessed to do this and our gift to play music is our passport to the world. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

Independence Day

Today we celebrate our countries independence which I find interesting as a modern creative artist because with all of our freedoms we, as a creative people are more enslaved than ever before. Instead of pursuing our passion and creating music that challenges the intellect, questions the establishment, pushes the envelope and adds melody to life and love, we have become slaves to commerce. We only want to make music that we think will make money or sell millions of copies. There is no independence in corporate greed for an artist. It used to be that artists became rich by simply being independent and following their creative hearts. People gravitated to the music because it was created from an honest and sincere place, not just to sell records. It's time that we as artists declare our own Independence Day. This is the greatest country in the world with the greatest opportunity for true freedom and as artists we are not doing our job. Historically it has always been our duty to push society forward and not just stand by and regurgitate ignorance. We have the freedom to do what we want to, unlike most other places around the world. We have become to comfortable. The new music business is ALL about declaring and claiming our independence from the penny pinchers and non creative types that care nothing about art. So today as we celebrate and reflect on our country's independence, let's move toward truly freeing ourselves and letting great music and art flow. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012

Fame Is Not THE Goal

The general understanding of the entertainment industry has gotten totally confused but I guess it's nothing new. It's really the same game in a different time. Popular music has always been driven by the pursuit of fame. The only difference now is that fame has become the first thing people seek. Understand this . . . fame is not THE goal, it is only a byproduct of what happens when you pursue your passion and have success. Well, that's what it's suppose to be anyway. Think about all of the older stars in any genre such as Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder, Prince . . .etc. These people only became famous because they were REALLY great at their craft. In today's industry, artists are more concerned about fame than they are about just being good at what they do. This is why the quality of popular music is steadily declining. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing today's music. I actually like a lot of it but it's simply fast food music with no real substance or staying power because most of it is created simply to serve some corporate plan or trend. The pursuit of fame for the sake of fame is also the reason that most artists end up broke. Since they are only concerned with being famous, driving the right car, wearing the right clothes, living in the biggest house . . .etc, they don't realize that fame doesn't pay for these things, it only gets you a loan that you have to pay back. By the time these artists pay for all of the middle men and all of these superfluous and pretentious trinkets, they are simply broke. It's time for us to get things back in proper perspective. Wanting fame is not a bad thing but if it's ALL you want then you are off the mark. Become great at what you do and the rest will follow. History has proven this to us over and over again. Don't let this age of the reality star who is famous for NOTHING push you to forsake honing your craft. Stay focused, grounded and enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2012