I wanted to, with Ed's permission, just add a little bit to this and realize that these are not tested and true in my world, but things I have been "meditating" on for over a year.
I have friends on both of these sites who know my own personal frustration with the business of music and my relative lack of success within the industry. And a combination of people, like Ed, have been urging me to pave my own path, to build my own career, and take charge of my own destiny...And it sounds great and powerful. But I wasn't sure how to find my own voice, enough of a voice on my own, to do my own unique thing...what was I going to build?
Frankly, I love playing in an orchestra...I do. I get a high off the music (I don't literally go out and get high...you understand right?) and in performing within such a lush body of musicians, with a repertoire that is so extensive that all the great works cannot be played within one career.
However, I'm not convinced that there will always be a place for me in one of these orchestras, I'm not convinced that I want to continue this path of learning and relearning Petrouchka for auditions over the next 20 years.
Don't get me wrong, I love the music, and I love playing the music, but the art of practicing this 30 second bit and then that 30 second bit, is starting to drain me. Between my job (and doing all the work and practice to do my job well), doing side things to make sure that I can pay my bills on time (not to mention spending money to take auditions), and preparing for these auditions...I'm drained. Drained enough where I don't do so many recitals anymore, or drained enough that I don't put enough energy into projects that will expand my horizons as a musician...and I'm sure as a trumpet player....
So paving my own path, I haven't been able to see my future...That is until last night. Last night was an awakening for me. Last night I heard trumpet players creating, producing, and performing ART! (Hey Danny R, your stuff really inspired me...Thanks.) These people were making music on their own terms. They were producing music that reflected their likes and dislikes. Music that in no way could be packaged as Jazz, Classical, etc.
In Dan's case I heard a three movement piece that continued the vision (hell, probably even progressed the vision) of Dream Theatre. He was able to lay his trumpet over this un real heavy metal band that was playing really hard stuff in a very impassioned yet very precise way.
So after hearing this, there are two questions:
1) Is this art? Yeah...This is music that has a message, that speaks to an audience, and has REAL selling possibility. Yet there is NOTHING poppish about it. There is nothing SELLING OUT about this recording. This music is challenging the listener not cow towing to them. This is real music.
2) Will it sell? YEAH! I think it will. I really do. I remember my self through high school and college being angry and angst ridden and this dark, heavy stuff from metal bands really spoke to me at the time. These people do exist and when they hear this stuff and the message behind it, it will speak to them as well...it spoke to me although I didn't always identify with it.
In terms of marketing, meeting the right people, etc. I don't know. I simply am not there yet.
But hearing Rosenboom's project (and three other projects that Ed shared with me), helped me see my future. The project that I have been looking for...for over three years. And I'm going to aggressively work on it as these other guys have been doing...and be asking the same questions that Dan is asking now.
Hey Dan, keep it up! I believe in you, you should too. I'll be the first one in line to buy the album and to hand it around to people so they can feel as inspired as I did...and when you get where you hope to be going...Help me out man, and tell me how you did it!
Mike Z.
BTW. I know my post was long, and probably touched a raw nerve with some people...I'm apologize to those people. I'm struggling just like everybody else is with my own demons, I'm just trying to work it out while everybody watches...in horror.
