Stuck on Fast Forward
I haven’t posted a blog entry for quite some time now. It’s been a crazy few months since the release of my CD in August and it seems like I can’t even find time to collect my thoughts properly. Writing things out, like is probably the case with most people, is a release for my head. So to sort of remind myself and bring you up to speed of what has been going on in the music aspect of my life since my CD release party in August, here is an update!
August 23rd was the release date of my EP, “Lesson Learned”, at the Fine Line in Downtown, MPLS. That night was by far my favorite performance experience I’ve ever been a part of. The dudes that played with me are insanely talented and recorded on my CD as well. So much work went into the songs on LL, and that night marked the point where I could finally start to share them with the world. Little did I know at that time that so many exciting things were in store for my 5 song EP, or as I like to call it, my baby. But more on those exciting things a bit later. Stay with me…
I am the sort of person that doesn’t really know how to just bask in moments of accomplishment. I am, as a few close people have called me, over-driven. Don’t get me wrong, I could not have been more happy that night at Fine Line, but here is an example to give you an idea of what I mean. Literally the day after my release show, I had scheduled a meeting with an A&R rep of a sub-branch of Universal Records. Instead of taking some time to just relax and enjoy the fact that my hard work had paid off literally, I jumped right into the next opportunity. And that wasn’t the only thing I did that day… I drove around Minneapolis and St. Paul going to numerous radio stations, record shops, and venues to drop off my CD with all of my contact info. My thought process was, “Well, the CD is released, why waste time sitting around? I’m gonna go start circulating it!” My fast forward button is stuck. I’m working on getting a new one. I’d like to think to that I’m getting better with these things, as I can’t expect so much of myself all of the time, but I’m always looking to the next step.
One of the places that I ended up getting in contact with has already caused a great deal of success in my young career. I will never forget the night, sometime in the middle of September, when I got one of the longest emails I’ve ever received. This email was from a press/publicity and music licensing agency located in Minneapolis. The gist of the email was basically that they loved my songs (what!?), wanted to have a meeting with me (SERIOUSLY!?!), and thought that my songs were perfect for TV shows on national television networks such as NBC, ABC, E!TV, and MTV! I will be totally honest with you all and tell you, I cried as I read this email. The enthusiasm in how eager they were to hear from me, meet me, and potentially help me get my music heard in ways I could never do by myself was an overwhelming flow of emotions to feel all at once. I did, in fact, have a meeting with them, and sign with their agency for the licensing of my music. I now have a publicist that works on TV promotion, press, media campaigns, and helps me with the ropes of the music industry. Within a few weeks of signing with them, MTV and E!TV reached out and expressed interest in using my music for some of their shows. Before I knew it, I was signing papers/licenses for shows like “The Real World” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians”!
It still feels weird to say (type) these things, because it all happened so fast. But what’s even more bizarre that I can actually say is that on November 16th, my song “Fountain” was used on MTV’s “Real World San Diego”. This was my first TV placement, and quite a surreal thing to process. I saw my name on TV, heard my song on TV, and then was a featured artist on the MTV Soundtrack website. :)
Seriously, I feel so blessed. I don’t know how else to put it. I knew it would be good to write this. I can already feel myself relaxing, reflecting on, and appreciating how much has happened in just 3 months. On top of these things, I’ve played 10 shows around the Twin Cities, am enrolled in the University of Minnesota taking 18 credits, play guitar on a worship team, and work as a lifeguard for extra cashola. The support from the people around me, my faith, and an unquenchable thirst of ambition inside me has kept me motivated with a positive attitude. I couldn’t do it any other way, and wouldn’t want to. I won’t lie, I get really, really stressed out. My anxiety gets the better of me. I question whether or not I should be doing this. But I keep doing it. I keep loving it. It keeps me inspired. Sane. Satisfied. Driven. Hungry.
As far as things in the works, I have a big show at Fine Line on December 8th that will be my last show of 2011. I’ve been promoting it like crazy and hope to see it all play out smoothly. There is also a good possibility that I will be releasing a Christmas song soon, and entering the studio to start my next CD in the near future.
As long as this button is stuck, you’ll keep hearing more from me.
-Joey