Archive for November, 2008

Successful Musicians Play On Purpose

Making a living playing music is a dream for a lot of amateur musicians. They watch their favorite pros and imagine themselves up there gigging. If they’re connected with the band and/or have the talent, they may get to sit in for a few tunes and grab a piece of the dream. Some actually join a band and play out locally while holding down their day jobs. Eventually, when the pressures of the job, family, and home life get too much, they put their music aside to “get back to it later.”

Does this sound familiar? I can definitely relate to it since I’ve been down that road. I tried to juggle two bands, a job, a house, four dogs and a wife, not necessarily in that order and eventually something had to give. The fact is that I got to where having a gig stopped being a thrill and started being a burden. Man, when playing music gets to be a drag, there’s something seriously wrong!

I’ve always thought I wanted to be a professional musician. I’ve played for almost 50 years now off and on. The key words there being “off and on.” I’ve come to realize that while I have the talent to be a full time musician, I don’t have the passion it takes to get there. In other words, it’s not my purpose in life to play music.

Don’t get me wrong, I love music and I love playing. I just don’t love it enough to put it as my number one priority.

I know a number of pro musicians for whom playing is their life. They could no more stop playing than stop breathing! They are truly great players because everything else is a lower priority for them.

When it comes to music, they’re living on purpose. They know they were put here to play music and doing something else with their lives simply isn’t an option, except on a temporary, as-needed basis. In other words, if the rent has to get paid, they hustle a side job for a while, but the priority is always their music.

So, you might be asking, “If they’re living on purpose, why aren’t they all super-successful?” There’s a difference between living your purpose and embracing it. In the case of the superstar musicians who are performing in front of thousands every time they play, they’ve embraced their purpose. The ones still struggling in clubs to make ends meet are still buying into the belief that you can’t make a living doing something you love to do. It’s the old “Starving Artist” myth and in some cases it’s an excuse for why they’re not more successful.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a musician or an airline pilot or an accountant. If you’re not tuned in to your purpose and committed to living your purpose, you will struggle. There are any number of reasons why people are afraid to fully commit to their purpose, too many to detail here.

The bottom line is that everybody has a purpose and everybody could be successful if they knew and embraced their purpose fully. If you’re struggling as a musician, it’s because you’re not clear on what your purpose is and/or not fully committed to it. If you’re a music fan struggling with the rest of your life, the same thing is true. The key to success in anything is to identify and commit to your unique purpose in this life.

For more on this subject and tools to help you identify and live your purpose, check out http://whatsmypurpose.com/johnsawyer.

Roots, Rock ‘n Blues

Blues Blast Music Award Winners for 2008 Announced

Posted by John on November 8th, 2008
Posted in: News, The Blues     Tags: , ,

The winners of the 2008 Blues Blast Music Awards were announced Sunday November 2nd, 2008 at a Gala Blues celebration at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, IL.

The award winners are:
Best Contemporary Blues Recording – Holmes Brothers – State Of Grace
Best Traditional Blues Recording – Lurrie Bell – Lets Talk About Love
Best New Artist Debut Recording – John Németh – Magic Touch
Best Blues Song – Nick Moss – Mistakes from the Past
Best Male Artist – Buddy Guy
Best Female Artist – Koko Taylor
Best Blues Band – Magic Slim & The Teardrops
Sean Costello Rising Star Award – John Németh

Blues Blast Magazine also awarded their first ever Lifetime Achievement Award to Delta Blues Legend David ”Honeyboy” Edwards. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes significant contributions and a lifetime body of work in the field of Blues music.

The ceremonies included performances by Magic Slim & the Teardrops, Lurrie Bell, Matthew Skollar, Nick Moss, Gerry Hundt , John Németh, The Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Dave Riley, Bob Corritore, Eden Brent, Sugar Ray Norcia, Teeny Tucker, Gina Sicilia, Dave Gross, Tim “Too Slim” Langford and others.

The winners were chosen by the 11,000 Blues Blast magazine readers from all 50 states and more than 40 countries voting at the IllinoisBlues.com website. There was no cost or fees to be eligible to vote. These awards truly represent the Peoples Choice for the best in Blues music.

Celebrity award presenters included Eric Steiner, president of the Washington Blues Society, Linda Cain Publisher of ChicagoBluesGuide.com, Chicago Blues woman Deb Seitz, August “Lordy” Lord, owner of ChicagoBluesBeat.com , Blues Writer James “Skyy Dobro” Walker, Blues Songwriter, Musician, DJ and Journalist, Ben Cox, Matt Eimer, Promoter of the Simply The Blues Fest in Fort Madison, Iowa and Kate Moss Publicity director for Blue Bella Records.

The sponsors of the Blues Blast Music Awards were WGL Blues 24/7 a FREE online Blues Music stream and Podcast from WGLT radio, a public radio station in Normal, Illinois (www.WGLT.org) and The Chicago Blues Guide (www.ChicagoBluesGuide.com)

Blues Blast magazine is a FREE weekly Blues “web-zine” available from IllinoisBlues.com. The Blues Blast Music Awards recognize the best of today’s Blues music.

A group of Blues industry professionals including artists, music writers, radio D.J.’s, artist managers and festival promoters selected five nominees in each of the eight categories. Voting for the awards took place during July and August online at the IllinoisBlues.com website. More than 2000 votes were cast and the awards ceremonies were a celebration of the artists and the music that represent the best in Blues music today.

For further information contact Bob Kieser at info@illinoisblues.com

Roots, Rock ‘n Blues

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