Clif

This is a reprint of my post at Music in 2D, altered slightly for clarity and relevance.

You’ve heard the question before: What would you do if you knew you had exactly one year to live? I’d like to try and answer that question, from an artist’s perspective.

Maybe it’s the fact that today is my 37th birthday that brings that question to mind. Or perhaps it’s the fact that I am scheduled to see the cardiologist this afternoon. For whatever reason, I’ve begun to seriously ponder this question, and how the answer might impact my art.

Like a lot of artists I know, for most of my life I’ve felt like music was my calling, the one thing I was supposed to do. But somehow, life has always gotten in the way, slowly diminishing the time and energy I have to put into my art, and leaving me somehow regretful for not really doing everything possible to “make it” - whatever that means. I’ve actually given it a shot a few times, but some larger responsibility has always stepped in and pushed my music a few more lines down the list of priorities.

But now seems as good a time as any to consider giving it another go. I’ve always given myself the excuse that Willie Nelson (my number one musical hero if I had to choose one) didn’t really hit until he was 40. And of course he’s given us some of the best songs ever written over the last 3 decades and is still going strong. But that excuse is wearing thin, seeing as how 40 is just 3 years away now, and to be fair, Willie had a bit more traction on his career at 37 than I do now.

I haven’t read Stephen Levine’s book, but I think I understand how spending a year as if it were your last could provide great benefit. And I think I’d like to give it a shot. Of course, there are plenty of aspects of this exercise that I won’t go into here - things like spending more time with my family or getting my affairs in order. But I do believe I can provide some value to my readers at Music in 2D by sharing the aspects of this exercise that relate directly (and sometimes indirectly) to my art.

The main thing that I’m no longer going to do is continue procrastinating, making excuses, or just plain waiting for the “right time” to start getting things done, musically speaking. Because it is the right time - it always has been.

Like most folks, I’ve always been afraid of death, and for me, a big part of that has been this odd fear that I would die with songs in my head that no one has heard - that my songs would die with me. So, I plan on fixing that, by getting all of my songs recorded and uploaded. I have a lot of songs on my site already, but just as many that have never been recorded. So that’s going to be a huge priority.

Also, my thoughts leading up to and following the last couple of posts - regarding my frustration with the current state of music industry blogs, and the need we true independent artists have for one of us to succeed on our own terms, with the tools we all have available - have made me think a lot about this blog (Music In 2D) and how it can really become an invaluable resource for true independent artists. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way for me to gain true credibility with you, my peers, and to avoid becoming just another music industry theorist, is to practice what I preach. By testing new strategies and new technologies myself, with my own music “career” as the guinea pig, I believe I will be able to provide the insights to help you succeed in your own endeavors.

So my focus over the next year will be to utilize all of the tools at our disposal to get my music out there, connect with more fans, and figure out how to make the most out of this talent I was given. I will use the new ideas and technologies popping up every day to see what works and what doesn’t so that we’ll ALL know.

Or die trying.

P.S. I’d love to hear your answer to this question, so please feel free to leave a comment.

(photo by switchpack used under a Creative Commons license)