It’s Never Enough

Hello again everybody. When I first came up with the idea for this particular entry, it was back in early July. And even those it’s the last day of September (and most likely your reading this in October) I. Didn’t want another month to go by. I was on the way to the charity show I had mentioned previously Bravo Fest. Obviously a lot has happened between now and then. But oh, I still think that the basic idea is still relevant.

At the time, I found myself driving on I-95 up to the show in Connecticut thinking about all of the pitfalls I had encountered trying to put this together. From cancellations, things getting lost in the mail and in general things not coming together the way I had hoped they would. Plus sitting in traffic never put anyone in a good mood. Especially me. Of course this was different than most of the events said I had performed at. Because not only was it a charity, but it was for raising money for our veterans. Which was my main focus for why I wanted this to be successful. It would have been downright shameful to report back to the charities I had reached out to about raising money oh, and failing to do so. I kept I’m telling myself, I could have done more. I could have been a bit more in contact with those I reached out to gain more support. I could have predicted some of the things that fell through at the last minute, so I would have a solid backup plan. I just told myself, it wasn’t enough.

And Yes, I got the idea from this Song :

I was starting to feel the burden I have put upon myself even heavier. And not just with this, I started thinking about all the years I had spent working on putting together shows, tours, album releases and everything else that goes along with running a band and a record label. And then it dawned on me, no matter what kind of burdens or sacrifices I had endured it was nothing compared to the burdens and sacrifices the People I was putting Bravo Fest together for have endured. Yes, I have had many good times and what I have done is a something I put upon myself because it mainly benefits me more than anybody. But years and years of doing any type of work consistently even if you enjoy it, will take its toll on anybody. Being involved in performing music is a huge reminder that there are no guarantees in life, something you bands can throw back at the next promoter that asks you if you can guarantee X amount of tickets sold so they can afford to pay some big headliner (that you probably draw better than and in some cases upstage). So in this case, I was fortunate enough to have witnessed the event going over fairly smoothly and we raised a good amount of money for the American Red Cross and Homes for Our Troops. And of course we linked up with some great people and bands.

As fortunate as we were to have had the show go over well, it was a learning experience so I could prevent some of the issues we had to the best of my ability. Early on I thought I was doing everything I could to make our promotions be effective as possible, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Recently, I attended the CD Baby DIY Music Conference. Usually this event is held in Austin, TX but do to everything going on they had it set up on Zoom. For free! Like at all of the industry seminars I attend, I learned plenty and contributed what I could offer when I could. That reminds me, I should reach out to a few of the people I met in the networking seminars. There was lots to learn. And although I only used some of the tips I learned, they are starting to prove effective. I made as many bands that I could aware of this opportunity, and I will share the info for next year’s event as well.

With the state of how the world is these days and all the things on the outside that weigh us down and make our dreams seem impossible, it’s always good to look within. There’s many ways to change your life simply by focusing on what you want and writing down what you want. Not only that, imagine the feeling of what it’s like to have those goals and dreams be your reality. Which is how I came up with this quote :

I know some of that seems like Hocus Pocus, but these ideas have already started to make good changes for me. Yes I know life is limiting but another thing I learned is “You may not get everyone you want, but you need will come to you when you need it”. These concepts have helped me get over lots of anxiety and worry about things going south and not having control of things (more on this later). I hope it will do the same for you.

Thank you all for reading again, more coming soon. Happy Autumn,

Nate, xoxo