NETWIFM: Duncan McFarlane!

[kniteracy]

Not Exactly [Last] Week In Folk Music: Duncan McFarlane!

We didn't go to Folkmob last week; we were just knackered.

But Tuesday night at Sharps was something not to be missed-- the guest was Duncan McFarlane, and he is completely worth your time if you have the opportunity to go and see him. stevieannie, I think you would particularly enjoy his driving mix of traditional and original-nodding-to-traditional material, not to mention his obvious homage-to-Nic-Jones guitar style. He was fun, he was energetic, he was right there and not at a distance, and he was really enjoying himself. He was chatty and personable at the break, got everybody to sing along, and didn't take himself too seriously.

My itty bitty floor spot went OK; I sang "Shirt of Lace" with the lap harp and it wasn't awful but it wasn't perfect either.


Good and bad parts about this experience:

Good parts about seeing DM-- the whole concert experience was terrific, and it was great to just sit back for most of an evening and be entertained. We'd planned to leave early, since Wednesday morning I had to be on a train at oh-my-god-o'clock in the morning for my training day in Oxford, but needless to say, we didn't make it out. I actually put my name on his spam list, because I wantto know where this guy goes.

Bad part about seeing DM-- frankly, if a performer this good and this accessible and potentially popular has to have a day job and talks about his day job (at a school) as if he has no intention of leaving it although music is what he does, there is absolutely no hope for me to be a 100% professional musician in the UK, period. While it was really delightful to see someone who is really good, someone I'd happily pay to see, at Sharps, it was kind of depressing to know that somebody this much better than me can't make a living making music.

Comments

[bardling.livejournal.com]

On that recommendation I'd happily go see him. He even plays reasonably nearbye soonish: Ely, Weds 15. Feb. Given my usual luck, of course that's when I'm on a work trip in Germany... :((

Otherwise I'd try to convinde stevieannie & co that this would make a nice outing for/with decadentdave, too.

[gingicat]

Whereas I've had that feeling of "don't leave your day job" since high school, because I really am not in the professional league. For one thing, I'm not driven to play every day... or even every month...

I know amazing jazz musicians who can't make a living as full-time musicians. I know award-winning authors who can't make a living that way. It's not a matter of skill (which you have by the ton, so stop putting yourself down. It's a matter of connections. Keith Lockhart isn't any better a conductor than someone else I know who conducts a small local orchestra for low pay, he just got lucky. As an example.

And think of all the terrible musicians signed by major record labels!

Mr. MacFarlane may simply love teaching and not want to leave it, or he may not have made the right connections. That doesn't automatically mean that *you* can't succeed.

[folkmew.livejournal.com]

frankly, if a performer this good and this accessible and potentially popular has to have a day job and talks about his day job (at a school) as if he has no intention of leaving it although music is what he does, there is absolutely no hope for me to be a 100% professional musician in the UK, period.

I wouldn't assume that. I've known plenty of musicians (besides us) who choose to have a day job because it gives them a lot more freedom to enjoy the music and not work the business so much. The Short Sisters (one of whom is Peggy Seeger's daughter) are full time teachers too. They love it because they *like* teaching and it's a security net that is hard to find with music, and it affords them big blocks of time off to travel (the entire summer and their schools support what they do and let them take occasional jaunts other times).

The problem is (and I can't believe it's that different in the UK) if you want to work 100% at music you have to be really good at business and you have to be diverse (usually). I mean look at all the pies that unclechristo has his fingers in!

I think I saw our set of "Doing Music and Nothing Else" stuff in the storage cube, next time I go maybe I'll dig it out, copy it, and send it to you. They say the 50/50 rule. You have to spend 50 % of the time working hard on your music and 50% of the time working hard on the business.

Most artists, authors, and musicians I know are not great at the business piece and hate it. So I wouldn't give up the dream if it really is your dream and if, like me, you find that it really isn't that important to you to "work full time" as a musician as long as music is always a part of your life? Then be OK with that too. I think part of the problem too (at least for me) is we musicians often get ourselves into a state where we feel we aren't *REAL* musicians unless we are supporting ourselves with our music. But I really think differently now. I know how many amazing musicians there are who don't choose to do it for a living. Lots of them have happy little hobby/careers or second income careers and others still don't do it professionally at ALL but you hear them at a hall jam at a folk festival and guess who is there with them? All the really good pro players because they have a reputation even if they *aren't* playing out pro. They're good, they know they're good and they don't have to perform professionally to do it.

Which is not to say you shouldn't follow that dream because I happen to know that you are. I think you could combine teaching, workshops, performing, recording... etc and create a very nice musical career with or without keeping your Sharp job but I just want to say that I for one know you are truly a fine musician whether you end up doing it full time or not.

For me it took me years to realize that one of my favorite CHarlie King songs applied to my work as a musician too: "Our life is, more than our work, and our work is, more than our jobs."

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

frankly, if a performer this good and this accessible and potentially popular has to have a day job and talks about his day job (at a school) as if he has no intention of leaving it although music is what he does, there is absolutely no hope for me to be a 100% professional musician in the UK, period.

Admittedly I don't know much about the UK but I have known a fair number of musicians in my life both professional and non-professional. There are so many reasons some never do it full time. I knew one guy who was incredible. He played many instruments and for the guitar would compare himself to Segovia and therefore could never be good enough. In his real life he was an EMT I think....

I have also known those who choose to not go there for personal reasons even though they have the talent. For many it's a lifestyle issue for others it's a security issue and for others it's, well, not quite about not selling out but more not feeling they need to be dependant on it and therefore can do whatever they want and not feel tied to fickle fans.

But hey, I figure you know all of this. I do want to add that you are definately up to par with many of the professionals (and self-chosen non-professionals) I've known (if not better)!

[maugorn.livejournal.com]

To declare you have no chance at making a living is indeed self-damning, and it's not true.

A snotty ex-girlfriend once declared that there was little chance if any of one making a living as a musician. She drew a comparison with the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and even Richard Thompson. She was right, sort of.

But consider this: At EVERY SINGLE INCOME LEVEL that there is, among all of the trades, there are ALSO musicians.

There are indeed lots of poor musicians. But there are also plenty of journeymen/womem who make whatever living that they make either doing music or something+music. You'll find the m & the s+m types at every income level too.

It IS about developing a business or working thru someone who handles that end for you. Have you thought of finding a booking agency or the British equivalent (if there is one) of a party planner?

One thing I'm trying to do is to find niches where someone needs at least *some* of the music I know how to do.

I don't NEED every gig to be a free-form showcase of the entire range of my repertoire. So I'm trying to find gigs where even the niches of my repertoire are useful. The fact is that there are LOTS of people in the world who need an hour or so of music & are willing to pay well for it. The trick is FINDING them.
There are plenty of people in the world who would pay to hear you play at a concert. The trick is to find ways of gathering them together.

Recordings (as you know) are also a lucrative cottage industry. With modern technology the overhead is getting lower. Thanks to the Internet, global distribution is trivial.

Here's how *I'm* looking at it:
Let's say I resign myself to the fact that I'm not about to become a rock star.
To have a comfortable living, I don't NEED to be a rock star anyway.
Let's say that $30,000 dollars a year is a wage that is "decent".
If I weren't married, I could support myself decently on this if I picked my hometown well.

Soo:

If I sell CD's for $10 each & successfully make 1/year, then I only need to find 3000 people IN THE WHOLE WORLD to reach my goal.
I went to high school with that many people. Compared to the record buying public, that's NOTHIN'!!!!!

Now, mind you, I'm very very far away from that goal, but every day as I build up my demos, find more gigs, sell more CDs, widen the reach that I distribute my sound & myself too, & improve the quality of what I produce, I inch closer to that goal.

My first goal was to have a CD to sell again.
Next, a critical mass of demos for "soft targets"
then demos for an ever widening range of genres and gigs
then another CD
WEBSITE
more gigs
more CDs
etc.

It's going to work & it IS working. Slowly but surely I'm finding ways to fill my calendar & get myself & my work to those who would enjoy it.
The upper limit: who knows? Bt if I keep my eye on the prize I believe I can do this. What I have to be prepared for is ALOT of diligent work & some very creative brainstorming finding more places to play, finding bands who might need me, hopefully teaching some more, & finally, probably enlisting someone to help me do the legwork to FIND me the gigs where I am qualified and would be welcome.

I KNOW you have a broader appeal than I do, & are a whole lot more established. So dagnabbit Harper, stop putting yourself down.

It DOESN'T have to happen over night,
You DON'T need to be Mick Jagger.

Ask yourself "How much would I need to make to be 'successful'?"
Ask yourself "How far along am I towards doing that?"
Then, INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THAT DISTANCE, ask instead:
"What is a step I can take RIGHT NOW that moves my cause FORWARD, & will be on a firm footing?"
eg:
I know you have work out on CD. Here's one excellent step:
Do you currently posess copies that you can sell of your ENTIRE catalog, solo & collaborative?
If not, what would it take to get ONE more product into your arsenal to take with you when you play out?

If you don't have the money to make a production run yourself, maybe now would be a good time to find amongst your friends/peers someone willing to sponsor such a thing. That way, your work is working for you, & possibly helping someone else out who believes in you too.