Last night I returned home from the Florida panhandle, having been up there since last Tuesday for the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival. Suffice it to say, I slept well last night after not only the long drive home yesterday but having been going, going, going the day before, in particular.
How busy was Saturday for me? Here is a look at my timeline and the different hats that I was wearing, giving you some insight as to what all goes on in the world of folks in my profession.
7:45am – Alarm goes off to wake up, shower, iron my Now Hear This logoed shirt, get dressed, and pack up what I needed to bring to the first entry of the day on my packed agenda.
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9:30am – Pit stop to a local coffee shop to get a hot tea and a breakfast sandwich, knowing full well that I had no idea when or where I would consume either one of those.
9:36am – Yup, fortunately it was just five minutes down the road (things are quite compact on the island that is Pensacola Beach), although one lane is closed for the safety of the runners participating in a race. I pull in at the site of where I will be taking the stage at 10am. At a fever pitch, I start setting up both standup banners (one for the agency and one for the podcast) and my laptop – only to be told that the huge TV can NOT be used for projection. (I’m sparing you the details about two other people being in there – one who was setting up the room and another who was hauling away audio equipment that was all over the stage when I first showed up.)
10:00am – I panic and am frustrated that it’s time for my “Promoting Your Music Career” workshop to start – and no one has shown up. Kayla, my co-worker says, “I thought it didn’t start until 10:30?” My support team calms my nerves as she and Wendy look it up and Kayla is right! I breathe a sigh of relief – and eat the breakfast sandwich and drink the hot tea. Phew!
10:10am – The aforementioned gentleman who was hauling away the audio equipment is a songwriter and engages me in an extensive conversation.
10:30am – Showtime. The attendees have filed in, and I start the workshop (pictured above), telling the audience that we only have 75 minutes, and I have a ton packed into 29 (PowerPoint) slides that we need to somehow try to cover.
11:50am – Yikes. I am done, but attendees are raising their hand with questions. I know full well that someone else needs to start their workshop in ten minutes. And…
12:00pm – Down the road, one of my clients is starting a round and I’m not there yet. I will probably end up missing her first song, if not her second also. Ugh. (It’s a good problem to have, though, as my delay in leaving was caused by not only handing off to the next presenter – a past podcast guest, who I exchanged pleasantries with, of course – but being approached individually by separate audience members who’d just sat through my workshop and now would like my business card.)
12:10pm – I’m walking into the venue where my client is performing. I grab a table, get the lay of the land, and jump right back up to roll video and take pictures as she’s about to start her next song. Throughout the rest of the show, I continue to bounce back and forth between my table and different spots in the venue to capture more such multimedia.
1:00pm – I’m saying goodbye (and see you a little later) to her and now walking out to make a stop before the next entry on the agenda.
1:05pm – I stop at the office that the songwriters festival has set up. I had arrived on Tuesday and it’s Saturday afternoon and I’m only now finally stopping in to see if they had a badge and other Welcome materials for me.
1:10pm – I park at my hotel, ready to hurriedly prepare for changing to my third hat of the day. So far, I have been a speaker and publicist. Now I have to switch into podcaster mode.
2:10pm – I press Record and (pictured) start an interview for “Now Hear This Entertainment,” having been able to get everything set up, catch my breath, eat a cookie, exhale, drag a washcloth across my face, and even drink some Throat Coat (hot) tea – what with how taxing the workshop was on my voice this morning – and receive the guest.
3:15pm – The guest leaves, I pack all the recording equipment back up, exhale, and mentally re-focus on what is still to come.
4:00pm – Now I am at a different venue where two of my clients are performing. Not having had any lunch, I’m able to order a full meal here while watching their show – but also getting up to take pictures and shoot video throughout the performance.
5:00pm – The show is done, so I take a picture (shown here) of the two clients posed together, while also getting a photo with the third songwriter, as she is a past guest from the podcast! It’s time to drive back to the hotel again, only because of the location.
5:15pm – In the hotel parking lot, I’m grabbing two items out of the trunk so as to walk immediately next door as the next venue is adjacent and only permits their (hotel) guests to use their parking lot.
5:25pm – Talking with the host of the Open Mic that’s currently going on (a past podcast guest himself), I will be handed the mic in a little bit, so I touch base with the gentleman running sound so as to coordinate timing.
5:40pm – The Open Mic is done, so Wendy and Kayla and I spring into action and, on the stage, put up the two standup banners mentioned earlier from having been on display at the workshop. The sound guy needs/wants a break. My two clients have arrived and are waiting patiently to sound check.
5:45pm – The sound guy has ordered food, so, while he waits for it, now is a good time for the two girls to come on stage to sound check. They do that, and we hurry up and wait for the top of the hour.
5:59pm – I’m at the mic, waiting for the thumbs up to greet the crowd and introduce myself, our agency, the podcast, and, of course, the two performers. After doing that, they start to play, so I take a front row seat and resume shooting more pictures and video.
6:54pm – The round finishes, we take down the banners and pack them back up, and leave that venue, stopping next door at the car not only to put the banners back in the trunk, but to drive to another venue to just, for all intents and purposes, be audience members – finally.
7:10pm – We’re walking into the venue where the 7:30 show will start and feel a sense of relief, having completed all of the above. During the next round, I’m approached by a past podcast guest (songwriter) and am also touched when one of performers (another past guest) – from the stage – acknowledges Now Hear This in the audience. When that show finishes at 9:00pm, we approach the stage to say Thank You for that shoutout. My two clients had come to watch that show too, so we say our goodbyes, knowing we will all be hitting the road in the morning to go back to our respective homes.
9:15pm – Now we are walking into still another venue. A past podcast guest is on stage (and we do eventually say Hello to her) with three other songwriters. Meanwhile, another past podcast guest is sitting in the audience (waiting to play in the next round), so I tap him on the shoulder, and we go out to where we can talk without being a distraction. We then watch his (10:45pm) round, and now another recent podcast guest shows up, ready to take the stage for the final (11:45pm) round of the night, so I go over to say hello and wish him well with the show, and then take a seat to watch him from the audience.
12:30am – The last round of the night is over. It’s time to leave and go back to the hotel to call it a night.
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For twenty years I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Let’s get on a short call together so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.