Derek Sivers

PUBLISHERS NOTE: This is an excerpt from  Derek Sivers' blog
that we found interesting and thought  some of our readers would
really appreciate. There is a lot of great thoughts and writings over at Sivers.org so make yourself a frequent visitor there and enjoy! bjm

"VALUABLE" from page one continued.....

This is also the core of the “starving artist” problem. When someone creates something that is really important, powerful, and valuable to them, it's hard to imagine that it's not important, powerful, and valuable to others. But money only comes from doing something valuable to others. The starving artist pours his heart into personal expression that's incredibly valuable to him, but not (yet) valuable to others. That's why no money comes. The good news is there are two ways out of the starving artist problem, and either one can be fun.

1. Focus on making your art more valuable to others. Art doesn't end at the edge of the canvas. Keep going. Constantly think of the audience point of view. Constantly ask, “How can I be more valuable to them?” You may come up with ideas like: * Convert what you do from a public display to a personal service. Every work is customized for hire. * Spread a fascinating version of your history, so they can get interested in the person first, and art second. * Be more entertaining, so that people don't need sophisticated tastes to appreciate your art. (Watch the scene in Amadeus where Mozart honestly loves his friend's low-brow opera.) * Use scarcity. Make your shows invitation-only. * Engage more senses. If you're a visual artist, incorporate audio so even the blind would love it. If you're a musician, make a live performance so visually interesting that even the deaf would love it. Can you even incorporate smell, touch, or taste? * Push to new shocking extremes to give people something to discuss afterwards. * Go where money is already flowing. Adapt what you do to match the needs of businesses, holiday resorts, hospitals, universities, etc. Then force yourself to try all the best ideas, even if it seems unnatural at first. Read books about business and psychology to get more ideas, since many brilliant minds are asking the same question from a different perspective. Keep doing this repeatedly, paying attention to feedback from others, and you will become more valuable. Though if you find in the long run this makes you more miserable than excited, try the other way:

2. Stop expecting it to be valuable to others. Accept it as personal and precious to only you. Get your money elsewhere. Sex with my wife is very valuable to me and her, but luckily I'm not trying to make it valuable to others. If you stop expecting your art to be valuable to anyone but you, your conflicted mind can finally be at peace. Do it only because you love it, and it honestly doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You might even keep it private like a diary, just to be clear who it's really for. You'll probably be happier with your art because of this change in mindset. Ironically, others may appreciate it more, too, though you honestly won't care.


Continued from Page One......


I was already a fan, since I loved his album Beauty, and thought this would be a dream gig. Hoover gave me the DAT of the new (unreleased) Heartbeat album, but told me he needed it back in the morning. I listened to the whole album carefully. There was no guitar on it. I was already imagining parts. I started playing along with it. I stayed up all night writing guitar parts for his album, recording them in my home studio, then mixing together his album - now with my guitar - back into a new master. In the morning, as Hoover was waking up to go into the studio, I gave him his DAT back, but also a 2nd DAT of the whole album, now with my guitar, for him to give to Ryuichi. I only slept a few hours, but woke up with the feeling like that wasn't enough. I had to do more to prove I really wanted this gig. I went to Tower Records and bought six of his older CDs, and listened to them all day. One had a particularly hard cello part in the middle. I decided to transcribe it and write out the transcription in perfect bass-clef notation in pencil on staff paper. Just to show him I could read and write music. Again, I asked Hoover to deliver it to Ryuichi, telling him I really wanted this gig. The next day I got a call from his manager, giving me the dates, asking if I was available! A month in Japan. Two weeks of rehearsal in Tokyo, then two weeks touring the country. I said yes, but the manager said they were undecided, and would get back to me. (Oh no! Are they changing their mind?) Hoover said Ryuichi wanted me to come down to the studio to meet him. I did. We barely spoke. He's very quiet. But at one point I said, “Your manager said they're undecided,” and Ryuichi just smiled and said, “I decide. Not them. I've decided. Don't worry.” Whoo-hoo! Got the gig! When we were rehearsing in Tokyo, all the other band members were given very specific charts, but Ryuichi would say to me, “Just do what you did before.” Dream gig. 22 years old. In Japan. Playing to the famous 10,000 seat Tokyo Budokan concert hall, and more. Awesome. I did OK, but as the youngest, I was definitely the punching bag of the other band members. It was rough. Later that year  we got hired back to play the World Expo in Seville, Spain, this time with Darryl Jones on bass. I made the fatal mistake of thinking they were providing the outfits for us, like they had done in Japan. So just 30 minutes before showtime, (televised and all), I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, asking where everyone else got their nice outfits, and found out we were supposed to bring back the ones they gave us in Japan. Ooops! They tossed some other clothes on me, but were gravely disappointed, and I never heard from them again. (I'll never know if it was because of the clothes or my playing.) Oh except a year later, I was living on the Oregon Coast, and got a little happy birthday postcard from Ryuichi himself. smile My personal lessons learned from this story: * being in the middle of things increases your chances for opportunities (in NYC with a roommate working at a big studio) * everything great that happens in your career starts with someone you know (my roommate) * when you hear of an opportunity you want, you have to go for it completely, over-the-top, not casual, and work your ass off to get it * the tiniest detail can derail everything (forgetting to bring my Japan clothes to Spain)

In the picture, below, are our translator Mei Fang, Everton Nelson, Satoshi Tomiie, Vivian Sessoms, Victor Bailey, Manu Katché, and me at the bottom.

Reprinted by permission of the author

Advice for a 19-year-old guitarist who wants to be a session musician. 2009-01-10 I got an email today from a 19-year old guitarist from Alabama who wants to be a session guitarist, is tempted to go to Musicians' Institute in Hollywood, but is overwhelmed by the expense that would put him into debt for decades. He asked my advice, so here it is:

School won't give you much you can't give yourself, if you're motivated. All the knowledge in the world is out there in books, CDs, and videos available for $0-$100. You could be a disciplined mofo and dedicate yourself to 4 hours a day of intensely focused practice, devouring every instructional resource out there. Learn to play along with everything from jazz to bluegrass to classical to shredding metal. Study every guitarist you've ever heard of, and learn how to imitate them, so when someone says, “Give me a Jeff Beck style slow tremolo tearjerker,” or “We need a driving 12-string acoustic stomp like Leo Kottke with Busted Bicycle.” - then you know what they mean and how to do it.

Besides just imitating the virtuosos, you should be able to be a tasteful rhythm guitarist for many different genres, including samba, James Brown funk, Delta blues, dreamy new-age, etc.

All of this costs you almost nothing. You can do it at home while keeping a part-time job to save some money.

Give yourself a future goal, like “By my 21st birthday I'll be able to play, note-for-note, the 3 definitive pieces by each of the top 50 guitarists across all different genres. And I will have saved $10,000.” Work your ass off to meet or surpass that goal.

Then on your 21st birthday, move to LA or NYC. Get a cheap apartment right in the middle of everything, and commit yourself to learning the social skills needed to be the guy that people call. It means a few hours a day of meeting everyone you can, being around the studios where people are hiring session musicians, being a good listener, being positive and helpful, keeping in touch, etc. (I made a living as a session musician in NYC for a few years. I'm a good guitarist, but I swear the reason I kept getting called is I would find a way to appreciate whatever crap they played me, telling them that it's awesome. It was a white lie but a good one, because people can be really insecure in the studio, and need encouragement.) Be humble and constantly learning, understanding you've made a many-year-long commitment to mastery. Some may scoff at you for being the new kid in town, so agree with them, respect their experience, and make sure they know you're committed. So few really are, that you're sure to stand out. Do some research to find out who the top session guitarists in town are, and find a way to meet them. Let them know they're your role model and ask for advice. (Like you did with me, just now! Pays off, doesn't it?) :-) Good luck. Let me know how it goes.


FOR MORE OF THIS SEGMENT FROM DEREK'S BLOG GO HERE




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Fela Kuti
By Derek  Sivers

copyright 2009 Derek Sivers



When I was 17, in 1987, I went to New Orleans by myself for a few days.


Guitar on my shoulder, I took a taxi to the airport, and the driver said, “A musician! What kind of music do you play?”


After telling him, and asking where he's from, he said, “I'm from Nigeria! You must hear the best Nigerian musician, Fela Ransome Kuti.”  He wrote it on a piece of paper for me.


Back in suburban Chicago, I had to drive 20 miles to a good record store, to ask them if they had anything by Fela Kuti.  I got “O.D.O.O.”, “Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense”, and “No Agreement” on cassette.


I put in O.D.O.O.  It started with just a repeating woodblock on the 1st and 2nd 16th note of each beat.  Then a deeper muted conga syncopating against it around the 2 and 4.  Then a delicate drum kit joined in, tying it together.  Ride cymbal opens up.  Ride cymbal falls back.  Ride cymbal opens up.  Ride cymbal falls back.  Then it stops and drops down to two interlocking guitars.  Then the drums all come back in.  Then the bass.  Then the huge syncopated horns.  Ah....  Love it.


It's a 30-minute-long song.  No chord changes.  Just different aspects of the arrangement coming in and out.  Little interlocking ingredients, each featured enough for you to understand and appreciate their syncopation against the others.  His talking-singing vocals come in, then the piercing female background vocals answer him in chant.  Then it breaks down to keyboards and a sax solo.


Funky. Unique. Amazing. It was life-changing for me. It became my favorite music. Afrobeat.


.


Fela influenced James Brown and James Brown influenced Fela.  Brian Eno and Talking Heads wore their Fela influence proudly on the amazing “Remain in Light” album. I love that I could now hear the influence.


I went to Berklee College of Music that year, and told everyone about Fela Kuti.  He came to perform in Boston, but I couldn't get anyone else to come with me, so I went by myself to a little club, and pushed my way to the front, elbows on the stage, looking straight up at Fela and his 20-piece band for two hours.  Awesome.


Berklee had an Afrobeat ensemble, so I joined as a guitarist for two semesters. I loved being just one rhythmic instrument in a big syncopated arrangement. Each of us a tiny but crucial part of the groove.


In 1990, I moved to New York City and saw Fela perform at the Apollo Theater.  You can hear his influence in some of my music around then.


He died in 1997.  I'm so glad I got to see him live.


Tonight I feel I saw him live again.


I saw the Broadway show “Fela!” - which did an amazing job at recreating his music and telling his story.


If you live near New York City or are visiting any time soon (2009-2010), I highly recommend you book some tickets at FelaOnBroadway.com. It's one of the best ways to get turned on to his music and understand the context of it, too.


(You can hear the influence that Fela Kuti had on Derek Sivers'  own  music by clicking here  )