Published Articles
New Ideas for the Musician Resume
Published in the Allegro (NYC), December, 2009
My inbox receives a continual stream of junk mail that assures me that the one thing that is most lacking in my life is the condition of my resume, and that, if I will only pay them $29.99 a month, they will help me redo my resume, get a better job and save my loathsome existence. To which I say: delete, delete, delete.
As musicians we know that traditional resume techniques used by workers seeking office jobs, and the junk mail that touts them, are not relevant to our needs. Moreover, we’ve probably at least reflected on the idea that, in general, resumes might not be useful at all in getting work. So what’s the truth?
Motivating Musicians as a Bandleader
Published in the International Musician, September 2009
I’m a music director for theatre companies, which means that I spend a lot of time as a bandleader. I landed my first national tour when I was 25-years-old and, to be frank, largely inexperienced in management and motivating people. Before I left for tour I scoured the score, took extra conducting lessons, researched the history of the show, worried about how best to indicate cut-offs, and packed my bags for a 9-month bus-and-truck.
Musicians and Health Care Reform
Published in the Allegro (NYC), September 2009
Published in the Overture (LA), January 2010
Earlier this month President Obama made a speech to the American Medical Association in Chicago regarding health care reform. The speech renewed the debate over his health care reform package and the topic has stayed near the top of the news cycle for several weeks.
Health care and affordable health insurance is a topic central to the lifestyle of musicians in the U.S., and I want to help start the discussion in our community as well.
Search Engine Optimization for Musicians and Bands
Published in the International Musician, 2009
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is process of organizing the content of a website in a way that will be most easily understood and indexed by search engines. If you do it right, you will be closer to the top of the list when strangers search for terms relating to your website. For instance, if you are a punk bluegrass accordion trio, you should be at the top of the listings whenever anybody searches for that genre of music.
Why You Should Start a Blog Today
Published in the Allegro (NYC), May 2009
I landed my first tour because of a little blog I kept about playing keyboards on a cruise ship. I called it the Chronicles of a Cruise Ship Musician (CCSM). I’d only meant for it to be a casual way to keep in touch with people back home and at first I filled it like a diary – overindulging, maybe, in the self-absorbed drivel that I figured nobody was even reading.
How To Influence U.S. Arts Policy
Published in the Overture (LA), May 2009
That worst thing that we can do as members of the arts industry is to hide our heads in the sand and hope things turn out right on their own. Historically, support for the arts has often come up against opposition by other interest groups and even representatives themselves. A belief that art is optional, that art education is a luxury, that art funding is superfluous (at best) or immoral (at worst), pressure to block certain art from being made, ineffective copywrite law, an emphasis on business and defense spending to the exclusion of “culture spending” – the United States arts industry must always be active in government – if not to be supported as we hope to be, then at least to be left alone.
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