How to keep sane in these difficult times

The economy is in big trouble—again.  We all know it.  We all hear about it all day long.  We all know people that have been affected by it in one way or another.  401ks, retirement plans, pensions, … all subject to what’s happening in the economy.  Small business, big business all cutting back.  Gas prices at levels that cause people to curtail their travel plans.  The news outlets constantly tell us how bad things are.  We hear it everyday...all day long.  It’s so easy to mentally and emotionally shut down as a result of this negative information coming our way.  

Look around the next time you are out and about.  People are angry, depressed, lost.  People wondering how did we get here and can we ever get out?  People looking to blame this president or that politician depending on their political bent (or their news outelt of choice).  It’s easy to get stifled and not do anything.  And it’s easy to not even see a way out of any situation that may come our way.  Everything looks like a huge mountain. 

While we should be diligent in how we go about our lives these days, we should also not allow this constant bombardment of negativity get us down.  There’s a blog that I follow that offered up some great sage advice that I wanted to share.

Reprinted from Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog “Don’t Let The Bastards In” and by “Bastards” Bob means the “negative and destructive thought forms” that hypnotize us!  Here’s Bob’s advice:

“1) Go on a news and media diet. It's okay to be aware of world events and to be an informed consumer and citizen. But that doesn't mean you have to submit yourself to a constant barrage of negative news programming. (There's a reason it's called "programming.") Cut way back on your weekly intake of traditional media.

To keep the Bastards from getting in your door and infecting your mind, you may need a big dose of preventative medicine. My drugs of choice are books and audio programs that remind me of my potential and recharge my outlook and skills set. Doing this will strengthen the hinges on your mental door.

The media would have you believe there's a boogeyman "out there" trying to get you. But the real culprit is the Bastard that you willingly allow inside your door!

2) Be extremely grateful for what you have. I don't want to get all "Oprah" on you and tell you to start journaling (although that can be very helpful if you're into it). But I can't stress enough the power of appreciating what you already have. So start today to count your many blessings.

When you truly appreciate the richness and abundance of the life you already lead, it gives you a much firmer launching pad from which to grow. When you only focus on what's missing and what's wrong, there's little gas in the tank to get you moving.

So, what are you grateful for? Your health or your family? Do you have a place to live, a car to drive, or clothes to wear? What about the amazing technology we have today that allows us to communicate so effortlessly? How about your gifts, talents, friends, fans, and the good deeds you have personally witnessed recently?

Going on a "rampage of appreciation" will improve your outlook. I guarantee it!

3) Be open, available and eager for more. Hand in hand with your extreme gratitude should be an openness and eagerness to experience more. Being deeply appreciative of what you have and where you are does not mean you have to settle - that this is as good as it will ever get.

Life is all about growth, evolution and expansion. All you have to do is observe nature for a while to understand this concept. You should live your life in accordance with these natural laws too. Appreciate what you have, and simultaneously open yourself up to be, do, have, and create more.

Both factors are needed. Gratitude without growth can lead to stagnation. And wanting more without appreciating what you have will leave you feeling empty along the journey. So appreciate where you are AND where you are going!

Of course, this state of eagerness for growth must be combined with action. The good news is, your actions will flow more energetically and much easier once these three steps are fully embraced.”

Thanks Bob for allowing me to share this!!  We should take stock and be thankful for what we do have. From that, we’ll be able to live fuller lives that aren’t defined by economic forces. 

Bob Baker is the author of "Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook," "Unleash the Artist Within" and "Branding Yourself Online." He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that deliver free music marketing tips and self-promotion ideas to musicians of all kinds. Visit TheBuzzFactor.com for more details.

Unscientific Study

Some of you may have a commute similar to mine...mass transit, trains, subways, car horns.  And then you get to work and have to deal with more noise...the boss, fellow workers, phones, computer notifications.  You get the picture.

Recently, I spent about $5 to download a sound pressure meter app more out of curiousity than anything else.  Granted, it's not a lab grade instrument, but it does yield some interesting results.  With it comes a screen with some reference info.  For instance, a quiet bedroom is about 30db, conversational speech is about 60db, a chainsaw is 110db, and the threshold of pain is 130db. 

The other day, I was walking the subway platform when I heard an express train coming.  Broke out the trusty iphone and measured the sound pressure level.  Mind you, this wasn't one of the noisier trains.  It read 90.5db!!  According to the app's built in chart, that's the equivalent of a diesel truck 30' away.  Pretty friggin loud! 

So then I started thinking how damaging audio levels can be.  Being a musician that plays a relatively soft instrument, it dawned on me that this constant barage of sound will eventually take its toll on my performance...will I be able to play as softly as the music calls?

And how about the folks that listen to music.  Will they hear the subtle nuances at the lower dynamic levels? 

How many of us were at comcerts where we went home with ears ringing?  Those concerts were louder than an express subway!! 

We are seriously losing the ability to appreciate delicate musical passages.  There is so much to be heard at those levels!  Think of the english horn solo in the "William Tell Overture" or the cool triangle intro to the "Pink Panther Theme".  Or how about the simple elegance of a leaf rustling by on a fall day?  I fear we will never appreciate these and countless other sounds...and its our own doing!

"Can you hear me now?" has a whole new meaning...

Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival and Competition--Woodstock for the harmonica

I'm heading home and sitting at the Salt Lake Airport for a lengthy layover recounting my experience at the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival and Competition this past weekend.  Thanks to my friend (and fine harmonica player) George Miklas, I had the opportunity to participate in this unique and awesome event.

Yellow Pine ID is about a 4 hour drive from Boise, and has a population of 35.  It is all dirt roads, has a general store, cafe, tavern, lodge, bar, community hall, and the Alpine Village cabins.  There is a fire department and post office.  For one weekend every year since the Idaho centennial, Yellow Pine has played host to well over 1500 harmonica players, fans, and music lovers who come in campers, trailers, vans, or tents.  People from all over come to this festival.  I spoke with people from Washington State, Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon, Kansas.  And we came from Pennsylvania.

A stage is set up on Yellowpine Ave (aka Main Street) and it features open mics and crowd pleaser performances. The music goes from 9am to just around midnight.  There are vendors that sell cowboy hats, t-shirts, western decor, bbq ribs, old mining town antiques.  This is truly a festival...a music festival...and at the center is the harmonica.  There was even a wedding that George and I had to play...officiated by "Sarge" in his boots, cutoff shorts, cowboy hat, and hip flask.

My role, along with George, was to judge the competition.  The competitors could play any music they wanted.  Blues harp, country, irish celtic (yep! 10 year old Mickey Howard played celtic tunes...on a diatonic harmonica!!), chromatic, groups.  We listened, wrote notes, and came up with the winners.  If you're wondering, Mickey won the youth category as well as a crowd pleaser.

We also had to perform two 2 hour concerts.  That's alot of music!  But, we did it with a mix of Harmonicats tunes, a jazz set, some country tunes, polkas...and we featured George's 12 year old daughter Janalyn on a number of tunes.  Again, all at the center was the harmonica.

The atmosphere was a celebration of music...harmonica music.  Cell phones don't work in Yellow Pine.  The only connection to the madness of life is the wifi connection at the general store. 

Remember, this is normally a town with 35 residents in cabins and homes sprinkled around the area called Yellow Pine.  As with any event, someone has to make it all work.  Lynne Imel, retired school teacher, picked us up in Boise, drove us to perform at the VA, drove us the 4 plus hours to Yellow Pine...the last 26 miles on a dirt road.  All at night!  Lynne was the behind the scenes force to this enormous event.  We stayed at the Alpine Village, and were fed, hosted, treated like family by Keith and Delta Halloway and their family. 
The results of the competition are given out Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon, the campers, vans, trailers and tents were all gone.  The vendors had packed up.  And Yellow Pine could go back to it's daily routine.

It's the Woodstock of harmonica.  It's a celebration of Idaho, mining towns, and music.  It's the old west at the end of a dirt road.  It's something one never forgets.

Thanks Yellow Pine!



Yellow Pine in the morning.  At night, this street is filled with harmonica lovers!



Garageband and the iPad

Apple figured it out for musicians. The Mac combined with Pro Tools revolutionized recording a decade ago, putting top quality recording capabilities in the hands of independent musicians. The recording studio business took a big hit on that one. Successful studios today employ Pro Tools with all the latest plug-ins, etc. Todays successful studios are run by guys that "get it" and have top drawer mics and physical space that maybe the average independent musician can't afford.

Then comes a little program called Garageband. I first saw it running on a Macbook about 7 or 8 years ago. It could be seen as a very simplified Pro Tools. But it had more. It incorporated loops of preloaded instrument sounds...or you could make your own. Pretty slick tool for the songwriter who wanted to hear his ideas without having to own a drumset, or hire musicians. The songwriter can just make some loops and get a quick listen.

Or, like my daughter Erica, you can use external tracks imported into Garageband and record your vocals over them. Here's her page.

Enter the iPad, this little marvel that will change life as we know it. Just looking at its portability alone, lighter than a laptop, a user interface thats simple to fly, and it revolves around apps. Yesterday, I downloaded Garageband onto my iPad...for $4.99. As you know, I'm a train commuter. On the way home, I started to noodle with Garageband on the iPad and, within 45 mins, had a pretty cool funk track going with drums, bass, guitar, and bari sax. If I hadn't arrived at my stop, I probably would've done more.

What an awesome tool for musicians! Songwriters and musicians can create tracks to try ideas, practice, record demos, or....dare I say...record an EP! When your work is done, you can share it via email, iTunes, etc...directly from Garageband!

Next up for me is to try to record some harmonica parts on it.

Yes, Apple figured it out...