This coming Thursday (April 30) is International Jazz Day. So, it’s fitting that the guest on the latest episode of my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast is Chris Standring, one of the most prolific and successful artists on the contemporary urban jazz scene.
During that conversation, you’ll hear him tell me, “If you've made a lot of records, you've toured. There's a lot of people that's specifically my age and a little bit older, that are saying, ‘Boy, how much longer can I do this? How much longer can I be delayed at airports and miss flights and spend nights in airports? And have to stay in crappy hotels because I wasn't expecting to be here and all the others are sold out’.”
| Related posts: |
| It Costs Nothing to Be Nice to Someone, Or To... |
| The Real Path to Making a Living in Music (It's Not Just Streaming) |
| Congrats, and Now Move On |
He reinforces his point, going on to say, “You know what I mean? There are these situations that you've got to navigate through and as you get older, the fun stuff, of course, is playing the music and getting on stage, but that's such a tiny part of what this business is all about. You know, most of it is not glamorous at all.”
Clearly I was glad he ‘went there,’ as evidenced by the fact that when you go listen to my interview with him you’ll hear me react to that with, “But I love that you did focus on elements of the business away from the stage and away from the studio because I think for the young artist who only has stars in their eyes and is leaning in going, ‘Okay, he's going to give me the magic sauce now. Chris is going to talk about where to find inspiration and how to make sure that the well doesn't run dry of song ideas,’ it's important for them to hear about the delayed flights and about the hotels that are really not too terrific."
Standring (pictured above) obviously felt strongly, coming back with, “Yeah, and there's lots of them. I mean, what I've learned about traveling, especially these days, if I'm doing a show on the East Coast, I mean, if I can get a direct flight, I have to do that because just one change, one layover can make you miss your flight. And if the venue is in a small town where there's like three flights a day or something, you can't miss a flight.”
I just had this very experience 24 hours ago. Heck, the entire past eight or nine days I’ve been experiencing the side of the business that no one is sharing on social media.
You read in the NHTE 636 episode description that Standring has had 15 Billboard top ten hits and ten Billboard number ones as an artist, producer or co-writer, and all you see are the highlights that convince you that it must be all sunshine and roses for him. Until he points out the above.
In my case, you see the recent Instagram posts about my having been in Las Vegas for eight days and seven nights and you react with, “Psshh. Must be nice.”
You’ll change your tune quickly, however, when I tell you about the nine hour and 49-minute flight delay that had me sleeping in the Las Vegas airport Saturday night into yesterday morning.
Consider too the escalators that were out of service, which I encountered in more than one place while out west – not to mention two people in Las Vegas canceling meetings with me – and suddenly you realize, “Hmm, maybe the travel that I see so much of isn’t always so wonderful.” (Don’t overlook something like having to do laundry when you’re on the road – something I did post a picture of on social media to reinforce the point that, despite what people might want to think, I’m not out there livin’ it up on the road.)
Standring will be touring from May to October and knows what he is up against, as he alluded to in the podcast interview comments above.
Already this year I’ve been to Orlando, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and now Vegas, plus we’re five-and-a-half weeks away from my going to Quincy, Illinois, to speak at the Inklight Festival. That trip will require me to fly to St. Louis and then rent a car and drive more than two hours – on a route that today shows, “Tornado warning: Your route may be affected.”
And even before that trip there are two potential others I still might make. With those not even being planned yet, add in the stress of booking flights and hotels, and hopefully you’re starting to see why it’s important to hear from industry pros like Standring and myself who have been at this for years and years.
I’m not here to squash your dreams. Far from it. I want to help and courage you. But it’s also paramount that you have all the facts and make an informed decision before you realize that maybe the rose-colored glasses are best left on your bedside table. Managing your expectations will take you a long way towards having a long and hopefully enjoyable career.
A Member of the Recording Academy, I have been helping indie music artists, authors, actors, entrepreneurs, podcasters, filmmakers, small business owners, and more for over twenty years. What challenges are you having in your creator career that I can lend some insight to? Connect with me so you can take advantage of all my experience, and I can help and keep you moving forward.