Daylight Savings Time started today. I'm sitting on the couch at "8:22 pm" struggling to keep my eyes open. It's been two weeks since I played the last show of the "Let's Begin to Tour, Tour" in Ypsilanti, Michigan. And if I procrastinate this update post again, I'll be lucky to get it done before Thanksgiving.
It's been an absolute whirlwind since I released Let's Begin on July 30th of this year. It was an electric evening for me. I pushed and promoted for months and the end result was a full house for my first full band show in Indianapolis.
At the Hi-Fi for my album release
A lot has happened since then. Let me catch you up.
Life Happened:
Yeah, this was JUST as fun as the album release.
Life decided to step in and shake things up in August, as my wife and I's new home, our first home, was hit by a really bad windstorm. We lost several trees, our gutters, and electricity for four days. My focus, which had been squarely on my album release all summer, suddenly shifted to getting our life back together.
I opened for Marc Broussard:
Shows like this totally spoil me.
I left the Hi-Fi on July 30th unsure when my next full band show would be. Little did I know that just a few weeks later I would be on stage with a band once again opening for soul pop artist Marc Broussard. I remember listening to Marc in high school, and it was weird to check another item (open for a well known artist) off my bucket list so quickly after the album release.
Some folks listened to the album:
I had some songs off "Let's Begin" featured on compilations like this.
It's hard to get the world's attention for something as routine as a new musician releasing an album. But I did see some initial successes: the album was featured on Noisetrade.com and peaked at #3 in their singer/songwriter category. That led to some internet and independent radio stations picking it up. And I've been especially grateful to bloggers and playlist curators like Funspear, Curved Flow, Sounds New/Sounds Good and more who have featured various songs and spread them to a wider audience.
I went on my first 'tour':
This totally unstaged pictured is from Frankie's Blue Room in Naperville, IL (just kidding, it was really staged).
Okay, so I work full time in a field that is not music. So leaving for weeks at a time to tour is not possible for me right now. BUT I strung together a series of weekend runs with the help of Sparkjoy Music. I played shows in a variety of new cities and states I had never been to:
9/17- Appleton, Wisconsin
9/18- Appleton Wisconsin
9/20- Bloomington, IN
9/28- Fisher, IN
9/30- Naperville, IL
10/1- Nashville, IN
10/7- Greenfield, IN
10/14- Cedar Rapids, IA
10/15- Iowa City, IA
10/21- Ypsilanti, MI
...It was just enough to get my feet wet, hone my live solo set for some new audiences, and get a taste for what its like to be an unknown musician on the road. It's fun, lonely, empowering, maddening, fulfilling and freeing all at the same time.
The coolest part? I'm starting to really find my voice.
I'm planning what's next:
I have this bad habit of over-committing and being too busy for my own good. Work has me bigger than ever at the moment and I am knocking out some key trips and projects there. But I have some very exciting music news coming in a couple of weeks! I'd say more, but leaving you with this cliffhanger is way more fun.
So thanks following along and reading this. Those of you who have bought an album, shared a kind word or told friends about my new music have helped give me the courage to keep going.