issue 36 working_Layout 1 10/2/2013 10:45 PM Page 22
This column is in response to
some correspondence and
conversations I've had recently
about "the life", and people
complaining about the "untalented
people" out their getting famous, or
getting rich. Well my friend if either
of these are motivations for you to
make a life for yourself in the arts,
cut your hair, cover your tats and
go get a "real job". And let me tell
you something I know for sure,
anybody out there making a living
in the arts has at least one talent,
even if it's the genius of being able
to make a career with no real artist
talent. I can name some guitar
players that are household names
who are embarrassingly bad guitar
players. But they are doing
something right, it just ain't their
playing.
We all know that there are
many ways to get home, the long
road home, a back road short cut.
You can drive, you can walk, you
skateboard, or you can run home.
But the whole idea is to get home,
even E.T. wanted to get home. For
artists and musicians home is an
abstract concept for sure. Comfort
and stability have never been the
status quo for ye creative types.
Not that having a family or owning
some property impedes your creativity, actually many writers and
artists have done some of their
best work in a place they were
comfortable in or in which they received some inspiration.
But this is usually the case with
someone who has established a
career already. Realize that many
times the gatekeepers to your
success will judge you on your
willingness to suffer and sacrifice
as they did. Why the hell would
they let you be part of a club that
you did not pay your dues to. Think
about it.
But my point is that if you are
truly imbued with a gift that you are
destined to share with the world,
either in a grand scale or in a more
regional view, your life and your
focus has to always be on your
work. I said this recently to a very
talented young man that I hope to
be working with in this next year, that
"you have to be one of the best in
the world" if you really wanna speak
on "making it" or "getting a deal". I
say in the words of my old man who
said " become so good that they
cannot ignore you". That has been a
driving force for my life, work hard,
work smart, and then work harder
and smarter. There were times in my
career that I achieved things that I
never thought that I would
accomplish, but I never felt compelled to celebrate or slow down. I
would just keep my focus on the
work, always the work.
strong local businesses
Jess Gerrior