Musicians and Money

I book a small concert series - Cambridge Drive Concerts - and we've been blessed to present scores of amazing musicians, both touring folk and locals.  I'd be hard pressed to pick favorites.  We do our money more or less like a house concert, have no guarantee, and frankly the musicians don't walk away with very much.  We have a small but very appreciative listening audience, excellent equipment, and the sound is as good as you'll hear anywhere.  And I try to be as hospitable as I can.  All that said, I've had musicians with reputations who should never play a venue that small and others who simply could not afford to book our venue given the above parameters.  I certainly understand their position.  They are out there on the road sharing their music and trying to make a living.

On the other hand, I do struggle philosophically with the idea of being a "professional artist" or even owning one's "product" as a musician or painter or whatever.

Here's a TED talk by Amanda Palmer that addresses some of my struggles in an interesting way... What do you all think of what she has to say?

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I love that symbol... Less equals more... stands in direct contrast to the advice we got after 911 from President Bush, "Go shopping!"  It stands in contrast to the common wisdom of the day as to the best path to repairing our economy - consumers need to be spending so producers produce and make more jobs for more consumers to spend more...

A more important question is whether it works on a spiritual level.  Does having more really make us happier?  Our guts tell us "yes."  Bumper stickers remind us that "he who dies with the most toys, wins."  I live in a place where 10,000 square foot homes with multi million dollar price tags are not unusual.  Still, our experience tells us that more doesn't make things better.  The person living in that 10,000 square foot home is no more likely to be happy than the one renting a single 300 square foot room a few miles away.  Having more toys only tells us one thing about you - you have more toys.

I've written before about GAS and how guitars players (read me) constantly search for the perfect instrument that will make their playing shine.   Of course, it isn't the instrument at all, it is the player, so they go through guitar after guitar after guitar searching for the one that doesn't exist.  I'm not so caught up on the guitar merry-go-round... I know a guitar won't make me a better player and I actually have an electric, a bass, and two amazing acoustics that I am more than thrilled with... but there are always pickups and microphones and recording interfaces and capos and tuners and gig bags and amplifiers and and and

When I was a bit younger I was also concerned about other things as well... but I am getting better.  My car is 9 years old and has almost 140,000 miles on it... and it runs fine and I love it.  I don't think I'd replace it even if I hit the lottery.  I love our condo, although I do wish I didn't have to commute so far.  I have more than enough clothing.  We eat well and have a nice little wine cellar.  Life is good... but I could still do with less and it wouldn't hurt me a bit.  Maybe I need to do some ruthless editing?

30 days

What are you going to do for the next 30 days?

inspiration & showing up

I didn't read the book - Eat, Pray, Love. I did see the movie and other than the first scene in India, which rang soooo true to our first moments in Inida, didn't find it particularly engaging. So, I likely would never have watched Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk.

My daughter, Alexis, put it up on her blog so I was obligated to watch it. It is a wonderful talk about the creative process. I was particularly struck by Gilbert's admonition to just show up and do your job. It got me thinking that showing up and doing your job is at the core of everything, not just creativity. Whether it be caring about the homeless guy at the corner, voting in an election, playing in the church band, being there for a grieving friend, whatever... it doesn't matter whether we are successful, whether we change the world, whether we make a difference that anyone else can see... what matters is whether or not we are (and here's the theological word) faithful.

So show up. Do your job or your part. And leave the results to God.

ikigai

A few weeks ago I was listening to a TED talk by Dan Buettner about longevity. (Watch the talk it is great!) He references a study of populations with extraordinarily long life expectancies and ends up with a number of characteristics that are reproducible. One piece really caught my attention. The people in each of the populations had a clear sense of purpose. The study looked at one group in Okinawa who have a concept - ikigai - that he roughly translated as "the reason I get up in the morning." He went on to say that you could ask anyone on the street, "what is your ikigai?" and they would be able to answer you without a moments hesitation.

I've been chewing on that thought ever since. What is my ikigai? What constitutes a worthy ikigai? And what about people who don't have one? In my culture many people assume that the dominant ikigai is to make money and accumulate stuff. I don't think that is true. I think as a people we know that is not a good enough reason to get up in the morning. I think the problem is that we don't have clarity as a culture and even less so as individuals.

Clergy are supposed to have a bit more clarity. We talk of a "call" to ministry. We expect a similar level of self understanding and call among physicians and maybe lawyers too. Certainly I know pastors, rabbis, doctors, and lawyers who have a clear sense of ikigai tied to their profession and who find joy, purpose, meaning, and a reason to get out of bed each morning in what they do. Sadly, many do not. There have been many studies about burnout among clergy which is usually blamed on overwork. I think more likely the cause is lack of a clear sense of call... a lack of clarity around one's ikigai.

Today I saw a talk by Gary Vaynerchuk where he basically says, if you don't love what you're doing, stop doing it. I think he is getting at the question of ikigai...

What is your ikigai? Is it a worthy one?

Be Happy

Some time back I heard Tony Campolo talk about generational differences. He said that when he was a child, his parents wanted him to grow up to be successful. Most parents now would say they want their children to grow up to be happy. I would guess the reason is that as a culture we have discovered that happiness is much more illusive a goal than success and that when one is happy, they are by definition successful but the converse may not be true.

I'm struck though that our culture works against genuine happiness. Wired UK reports on Nic Marks' talk at TED 2010 regarding happiness. Wired reports Marks give the following 5 strategies for finding happiness...

1. Connect
Invest your time in your loved ones, in your friends, family and acquaintances. Meet people. Talk to them. Understand how they improve your life, and also how you improve theirs. Knowing that you mean something to someone can be one of the most powerful positive forces in the world.

2. Be active
When exercising, the level of serotonin in your body rises and you get a powerful feeling of wellbeing. Something as simple as kicking a ball or throwing a Frisbee around a garden with a friend can knock both this and the previous point off in one go. If you're feeling down, go for a brisk walk and get some air. You'll soon feel better.

3. Take notice
Keeping an eye on what's going on around you keeps your brain running smoothly. If you see an application for planning permission pinned to a lamp-post, and even the tiniest part of your brain wants to know what it says, then go and read it. On a train or bus, rather than burying your nose in a book or your mobile phone, look out of the window and see what's happening outside.

4. Keep learning
Humanity's relentless curiosity is behind almost every single one of our species' accomplishments. Once you've finished your formal education, that's no reason not to stop learning. Actively seek out different viewpoints, and if you don't understand them then find someone knowledgeable to explain them to you.

5. Give
Finally, be generous. A survey gave £100 to two groups of people, instructing one group to spend it on themselves, and another to spend it on other people. Afterwards, the latter group's spirits were significantly higher. If you don't have cash, give your time, your attention or your expertise instead.

I'm struck that Marks' 5 strategies to find happiness are counter-cultural at their core. Our hectic lives keep us from 4 of 5 of the goals. Number 5 stands in stark opposition to a cultural worldview of scarcity where accumulation is the first goal. I'm struck that the church is a perfect place to nurture these strategies. Most of all, I'm reminded that I can choose to be happy and to work towards attaining happiness.

context is everything

Ted has some fascinating presentations and it is always a worthwhile way for me to spend some time and get my imagination piqued. Yesterday I had a few minutes and listened to this talk by David Byrne. I've been a big fan of Talking Heads since their early days and thought it would be a fun listen. It was.



It got me thinking... if architecture influences music as profoundly as David Byrne thinks, does it also influence theology? And as with music, which direction does causation flow? Or does it flow both ways? Some years back an architect told me that a church should either completely remodel or move every 40 years because their building no longer fits their theology or ministry. I think that is true... but how much does the building shape both theology and ministry? And is it more than just impeding you from doing what you want? Does it also contribute in a positive or at least neutral way? What do you think?

Social networks

Social networks... or why I think it is impossible to be a follower of Jesus and not be part of a church... I found this a fascinating lecture.

what is success

When we visited England some years back, thoughtful folk were concerned about some changes they were seeing in their society. Being "on the dole" was a common experience. Jobs were not always easy to find and many people ended up on public assistance at one time or another. For working class people, it was seen as a part of life. Then, US television began to change the image. A person without a job wasn't in that situation because of social forces, they were there because they were lazy. And new tension began to rise and people began to see themselves and one another in very dysfunctional ways.

The reality is that even in the US economy we need to have a certain number of people unemployed for the system to work as it is designed to work. If nobody is looking for a job, productivity goes down, wages go up, and workers' demands increase. But we still bame people for fulfilling a role that we require somebody to fulfill!

this wonderful talk on Ted by Alain de Botton helps us to think a little more about the way we see one another and the way we see ourselves as we look for a kinder and gentler view of success...

who are we

I've been fascinated by brain research ever since I read a book with the title The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. A friend sent a link to this lecture and it is fascinating as Dr. Bolte Taylor shares her experience and challenges us to live in both halves of our brains.

amazing

such a diverse and wondrous creation...