In a society infatuated with Glee and Snooky, seeing, tasting, feeling and experiencing all that life has to offer seems to have devolved. No modern day movie drives this point home to me quite like the Luke Wilson movie, "Idiocracy." The only problem at this point is, I don't know whether I should laugh or not.
Although I'm a young man, I have an avid appreciation for the culture of the past. Don't get me wrong. This is, in it's own way, an exciting time to be alive. The technological breakthroughs we're experiencing are remarkable, but there are trade-offs.
My parents (who enjoy the technology just as much as anyone) grew up in a time when it wasn't so ubiquitous. It affects us in unspeakable ways if we (gasp) run out of the house without our cell phones on us, powered, charged, and with 3G. Honestly, how did they ever survive....
There wasn't an overarching media omnipresence either. They had a half hour dedicated to the news in the evening, and now, it's not that there's more news. It's the same amount of news with competing networks figuring out how to put the daily spin on the topics at hand. I don't know if it's a healthy thing for us to be bombarded with this stuff 24/7.
Movies (not all, but most) just seem to cater to the lowest common denominator. A couple movies slated for release next year, I kid you not, are Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters which is to be followed closely by the highly anticipated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Long gone are the heady days of genius going into the can where we can anticipate something exquisite from this generation's Alfred Hitchcock, if he even exists. Music must be microwaved under four minutes which would keep many glorious works from Vivaldi, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles shelved indefinitely if they tried to release them today. Age of progress?
In a day where many settle for socializing online as a replacement for personal contact (we can't be having that), where art doesn't get to live up to it's fullest potential in the public eye, and the premises of our entertainment are "dumbed" down lower than the intellectual capacity of a fetus that hasn't yet been conceived, I'm reminded of an event that shook my hometown....quite literally.
When six tornadoes found their way through North and Central Alabama, we were forced to take inventory of a few things. People lost their places of business, their homes, and in many instances, their lives. The power was out for about five days, if memory serves. But in that time, we saw the best that mankind had to offer. If food in the freezer was thawing out, it was the perfect reason to cook it and invite the friends and neighbors over for a grilling session. The following days were beautiful, and there was an overwhelming spirit of gratitude that we were made fortunate enough to experience them. More importantly, this was our time to steer clear of the things that simply kept us busy, and made us more focused on being productive, being useful, and being healers. We could no longer be the center of our own universe because that universe was temporarily out of order. Now that we're on the other side of the storm, what have we learned? Anything?
As we approach the end of another year, we enter into a time once known for it's benevolent spirit, it's compassion, hospitality, and it's warmth. Now, it seems as though much of the public either doesn't have time for niceties any more, or have taken a full 180 into abysmal misery.
I encourage any and all of you, including myself, to refuse to be a component of regressive society, but know what it is to love, to be loved, and to have the audacity to live it out loud.
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Jonathan Laird / Blog
I've Been Meaning to Write About Procrastination
Connectivity is a great thing. In fact, it's downright essential to a business like mine which is all about networking. The thing is, balancing songwriting, playing in 4 projects, making time for family and day-to-day responsibilities can take it's toll on you. Nonetheless, here's an attempt to tell you what's up. I have started a work habit where I dedicate an hour and a half each day to writing. It might be good. It might not. I'll be concerned with that later, but there's new material in my repertoire. The new studio is coming along this month, I'll be ordering a recording interface and reference monitors. Aside from that, it's business as usual, which is always good!
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Time Out for Regress
In a society infatuated with Glee and Snooky, seeing, tasting, feeling and experiencing all that life has to offer seems to have devolved. No modern day movie drives this point home to me quite like the Luke Wilson movie, "Idiocracy." The only problem at this point is, I don't know whether I should laugh or not.
Although I'm a young man, I have an avid appreciation for the culture of the past. Don't get me wrong. This is, in it's own way, an exciting time to be alive. The technological breakthroughs we're experiencing are remarkable, but there are trade-offs.
My parents (who enjoy the technology just as much as anyone) grew up in a time when it wasn't so ubiquitous. It affects us in unspeakable ways if we (gasp) run out of the house without our cell phones on us, powered, charged, and with 3G. Honestly, how did they ever survive....
There wasn't an overarching media omnipresence either. They had a half hour dedicated to the news in the evening, and now, it's not that there's more news. It's the same amount of news with competing networks figuring out how to put the daily spin on the topics at hand. I don't know if it's a healthy thing for us to be bombarded with this stuff 24/7.
Movies (not all, but most) just seem to cater to the lowest common denominator. A couple movies slated for release next year, I kid you not, are Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters which is to be followed closely by the highly anticipated Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Long gone are the heady days of genius going into the can where we can anticipate something exquisite from this generation's Alfred Hitchcock, if he even exists. Music must be microwaved under four minutes which would keep many glorious works from Vivaldi, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles shelved indefinitely if they tried to release them today. Age of progress?
In a day where many settle for socializing online as a replacement for personal contact (we can't be having that), where art doesn't get to live up to it's fullest potential in the public eye, and the premises of our entertainment are "dumbed" down lower than the intellectual capacity of a fetus that hasn't yet been conceived, I'm reminded of an event that shook my hometown....quite literally.
When six tornadoes found their way through North and Central Alabama, we were forced to take inventory of a few things. People lost their places of business, their homes, and in many instances, their lives. The power was out for about five days, if memory serves. But in that time, we saw the best that mankind had to offer. If food in the freezer was thawing out, it was the perfect reason to cook it and invite the friends and neighbors over for a grilling session. The following days were beautiful, and there was an overwhelming spirit of gratitude that we were made fortunate enough to experience them. More importantly, this was our time to steer clear of the things that simply kept us busy, and made us more focused on being productive, being useful, and being healers. We could no longer be the center of our own universe because that universe was temporarily out of order. Now that we're on the other side of the storm, what have we learned? Anything?
As we approach the end of another year, we enter into a time once known for it's benevolent spirit, it's compassion, hospitality, and it's warmth. Now, it seems as though much of the public either doesn't have time for niceties any more, or have taken a full 180 into abysmal misery.
I encourage any and all of you, including myself, to refuse to be a component of regressive society, but know what it is to love, to be loved, and to have the audacity to live it out loud.
Reply
Star Bright
Last night, maybe for the first time in a good, long while. I took a nice leisurely stroll, and gazed at the stars. It was a welcome time of deep introspection, and for someone like me who is all or nothing, either takes on tasks at 90 miles an hour or stalls out completely, it was good just to regroup and get away from everything.
Some say that with the nature of my work, it demands that I keep a watchful eye on that inbox, that I have the phone on and with me the entire time. The truth is, until recently, I might've agreed were it not for the fact that I was spent....and frustrated.
I realized that my all-or-nothing mentality was getting in the way when it came to doing anything I actually enjoy or want to do at the expense of doing "what had to be done." Also, when you have a goal to book 250 shows with an all-or-nothing mindset, you will go to bed inevitably disappointed because it's too much work to tackle all at once.
The moral of the story? Everyone, whether they know it or not, could probably benefit from taking one day out of seven, and resting, recharging and learning to live in and enjoy the current moment at hand.
Try it! You'll like it!
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Countdown to Liftoff
Well, things just keep rolling along here, the Charmin for instance... At any rate, songs are being written in some way, shape, matter or form daily, which is very cool. Not only has the website been updated on the shopping and fan pages, but new merchandise is coming in next week, too. A week from today, we will have T-Shirts, CD's, Posters, Stickers, and Postcards available both at shows, and for purchase on the web. If you feel so inclined, please consider checking out some of the really cool wares we have to offer. A good time will be had by all!
Thanks!
Jonathan
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My Apologies
Hey guys! Some of you may have gotten invites to shows over the past couple of weeks and came out only to find that I wasn't playing. One of these venues scaled back my shows without my knowing the details until I was literally on the way to the performance. The other shut down their business. This has been a tremendous setback and I want to apologize to anyone and everyone who came out to see me and didn't get to do so. In the meantime, I have new merchandise, which basically means I'm ready to go out on the road and play some more shows out of town. If you have any recommendations for venues that may enjoy my brand of music, feel free to shoot them my way and I'll see what I can do!
Thanks everyone!
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Moichanizing! Moichanizing!
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my privilege to announced that we have officially made our first round of t-shirts, bumper stickers and posters for tour. Want one? For details drop us a line at jonathan@jonathanlaird.net. Hopefully, we'll be able to offer this online in the near future, but for now, any interested parties can contact via email or at live shows and we'll hook you up.
Holla!
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What's New?
So, today was pretty interesting. I paid off the old credit card, followed up on some gig opportunities, wrote some lyrics, practiced piano, and have started a piano solo transcription for guitar (Dave Grusin's Mountain Dance...good stuff.) It's a been very productive day and will be a very good week. Rehearsal tomorrow with Bonner Black for Saturday's show at The Flying Monkey (be there, by the way), Wednesday's open mic at Blackwater Hattie's (we finally have A/C, thank you Lord!), Friday is up in the air, but if all goes well, that'll be on the books, too. And now, I bid you adieu while my gone but not forgotten sandwich digests.
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Raising the Bar
From the book What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack:
"Mark McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together."
The more I do what I do, there is a resounding truth that comes to me time and time again. I like to say it this way, "You will never rise beyond your level of expectation." Take my industry, for instance. There are no shortage of doe-eyed, uninitiated newbies who have the dream of one day "making it" in the business. (By the way, I love it how in our vainglorious attitudes we like to call it "the business," as if there's no other kind, but I digress.) Making it in this line of work looks a lot more like this:
November 1, 2011
I have a full-length CD of 10 songs
I sell 300 copies of the disc every month (this can and should be broken down weekly, by the way)
I sell 25 of both T-shirts and hats each month
I sell 500 stickers every month
I am booked for 200 dates out of the calendar year
Daunting? Maybe. Going it alone. Out of the question.
No matter what you do, it is in a person's best interest to play to their strengths and delegate the things that are someone else's strengths to, well....someone else. Goals are the gateway to those accomplishments. From getting that pet project done, to deciding who's on your team, goals are invaluable. A person with a fraction of the talent may well run circles around another who has superior talent and no clear direction on where they are going and what they are doing. What would you desire out of life? Now is the time to decide, for it will never come again, and you may never rise above your level of expectation. It's time to raise the bar!
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Teach You a Lesson
I am pleased to announce that I am once again giving guitar instruction. This is extended to anyone living in Huntsville or the surrounding areas. If anyone is interested, feel free to shoot an email to me at jonathan@jonathanlaird.net.
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Freakin Cool Website Changes
Hey everyone! New Website changes underway! Check it out and keep coming back for more updates!
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