Sherelle's New Boomer Musicians Space

There has never been a better time for Boomer up and coming artists to make an impact and a statement to the listening  (and buying) public than right now. I think the marketing world is ready for it. I bought a copy of Chaka Khan's new CD "Funk This" and let out a big "Woo-Hoo!" as I looked at the artwork and the way she is presented on this CD! Kudos! Kudos! Kudos! Chaka represents every idea I am trying to express with the way we should be portrayed. What she is doing is perfect! It's so right on the money! She backs up this up with fantastic music and vocals! I couldn't stop listening to the CD!

 

I use Chaka as an example because she epitomizes the way a Boomer artist should be portrayed in the media. The point I am trying to continually make is the importance of public "perception". We are not over the hill. We do not need to be put out to pasture. We're just getting started, We are vital, alive and very musical. Chaka decided that she still had a lot to offer and made it so with this latest CD (which I also HIGHLY recommend).

 

There are so many talented Boomer artists who have either been told it's too late, or believe that time has passed them by. If I am talking to you, then please know that neither of these statements are true. You were given a gift that time cannot take away. I know that some would challenge that but I stand by it. There are ways to keep the voice alive and vibrant. It is not a matter of age. It'a a matter of practice. Playing that instrument and perfecting oneself on it keeps that talent fresh and new and those fingers nimble. Yes, I take pills now that I didn't have to twenty years ago...but so what? Is that supposed to be a matter of age? There are people much younger, who through unfortunate circumstances, have to do the same thing. So the idea that once you reach a certain age you are no longer viable or valuable is, pardon me, a bunch of hooey. Life is what you make it and Chaka Khan (along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) have chosen to make it work for them. They are bending it to their will, not the other way around. They are making the world take notice and I love it.

 

So while this is happening, now is the time for up and coming Boomer artists to kick that door down as well. You can do it. We all come from the same timeline and are cut from similar musical molds. We have what it takes...if we choose to believe it. I hope you believe it.

I had a bit of a revelation recently. I've been decrying the music industry's lack of interest for aspiring artists over 40 when something hit me between the eyes which said, "DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" One thing that plagues aspiring artists of any age is a lack of resources. I was always waiting for someone to whisk me away to "Music Industry Land" when it is I who hold the key to that destiny. As you have read in other blog entries, I see the state of the music indsutry as one of the most exciting times of change for a musician today. We can be on the ground floor of what is amounting to a musical revolution. Instead of seeing this as something bad, I see it as something inherently good.

 

So if you are an aspiring Boomer artist, this may be your time. Nine times out of ten, you have worked a regular job or you have a career in another field that sustains you when times are lean musically. Maybe you are a weekend musician who dreams of doing this full time. Maybe you are a songwriter who aspires to be published. What I am trying to communcicate to you is the fact that you can do this! You can do this!

 

As you may know by now, I am a huge fan of "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" on CNBC. One show I watched recently was about people who started multimillion dollar companies with $500 or less. That literally blew me away. The common denominator was their desire to succeed, and their faith in themselves. Many musicians give up on their dreams because it feels like they will never happen. My question is, how can you give up on something that is a part of you?  The only logical answer I can come up with is that it wasn't really a part of you and that you were doing what someone else "thought" you should be doing. But many times, discouragement causes us to throw our dreams away. We feel that time has passed us by and that it is too late.

 

What is like Kismet for me is the fact that a few weeks ago, I watched a preacher on television speak about this very subject encouraging his listeners that it indeed, was not too late...that our latter days would be more blessed than our former days. That is how I feel about the Boomer aspiring artist. Age is relative, time is relative.

 

So now to the business of actually making it happen. It takes money to record a CD and put it out. It takes money to form your own label and publishing company. It takes money to market your product (which by the way, is you and your music).  Don't wait for some venture capitalist to swoop down and hand you $100,000 or more to get your product off the ground...do it yourself. Sometimes the answer is so simple that it's difficult. Take your fist out of the wall and start recording that CD one block of time at a time. It may take a little longer than you originally planned but remember that you are putting out a creation for all time when you record a CD. Make sure it is your absolute best work and somthing you will always be proud of. If it takes you two years to get it done, let it. You are an artist creating a work of art. Works of art capture time and space. With them, you leave your signature on this life. It is an honor. Do what you have to to do to make that happen.

 

If you have a second career, put money aside for your recording. Put together a business plan for promoting your product. Just because you have a second career doesn't mean you have to give up on your dreams. That's an illusion many of us Boomers have. Someone down the road has told you to "grow up and put your childish dreams behind". But you see, music is a gift. It is something you were given that can't be taken away. If you try to bury it, it will only haunt you because it is part of you. Realizing that is the first step to accomplishing your dream. Don't be afraid. Life only comes around once and unfortunately, too many are afraid to live it to the fullest. Too many are afraid to do what's really in our hearts.

 

Where there is will, there is a way and it can start with your own paycheck. Build your credit up and create your own destiny. If enough of us aspiring Boomer artists stand up and take life by the horns, we can make a difference!

I was watching a CNBC program called "Business Nation" one night and saw an interesting story called "Facing the Music"...quite intriguing! To make a long story short it showed two sides of the same coin; a CEO for Warner Brothers trying to address the question of how it's major label planned to compete in a changing music industry where things like My Space and You Tube are driving the industry more than the traditional CD and promoting by the label that used to happen. On the other side of the coin, it showed the group, "Barenaked Ladies" who recently left same said label and are selling their CD's on their own website and utilizing tools such as My Space Music to reach out to their fans. Here's where I got the big surprise; Barenaked Ladies is actually succeeding and Warner Brothers is actually launching new projects with their artists via vehicles like My Space Music and You Tube.

 

...What??? I had to really let both of those facts sink in. I have a site on My Space Music. It 's free and I'm actually able to allow people to digitally download what I have recorded and make money. I don't have a major deal. I come from an era where that was the ONLY way you were going to get heard and now that has gone bye-bye. The playing field has been leveled. So age doesn't count any more. The thirty and under rule now has the potential to be shot down into little pieces thank goodness! An artist who really wants it can create their own enterprise right on My Space, CD Baby and whatever other outlets help Indie artists. I hope that if you are a Boomer Musican/Artist that you are as encouraged as I am about this development. I am absolutely thrilled! Now the hard work begins. You may not sell as many CD's as you would on a major label but as Barenaked Ladies can testify, you will make a lot more on each one. It's not going to be easy though but what good venture ever is? All of the great entrepreneurs of our time started out from scratch and worked to build their businesses into enterprises. That's what you are you know. You are a business. You are your own CEO. You may be a little older, but you are definitely wiser. Places like My Space and You Tube have given us all a unique opportunity that can help any age group. You can break the barrier if you want to. It's all up to you.

I was looking at Dove's "Pro-Age.com" website and I had to read in awe. They have the right idea about the direction I am trying to take myself and any other Boomer artist who would like to come along. I would like you to take a look at their campaign so you can see what I am talking about:

 

 

What I like about this company is the sincerity of it's mission statement. In an earlier blog entry, I affectionately called myself an "anti-ageist"  because I want to fight against sterotype that people 40 and over are put into and fight for the heart. After viewing this clip, I respectfully take that term back. I like the term "pro-age". It gives the whole struggle a postive connotation. I really like that and I like their marketing strategy with this whole concept.

 

87% of women feel they are too young to be old according to Dove. I agree and dare to step out a little further and say that the majority of artists and musicians feel the same way. As I have said many times before, music is also ageless and timeless. I would like to see them grasp the beauty of feeling alive with their music. I want to see the spark of creativity and hope stir within them again. I want my fellow Boomer artists to feel vital again, not put out to pasture. I hope to do something as concept-shattering as Dove with myself and aspiring Boomer musicians.

 

Because I believe so much in this pro-age concept that Dove has come up with, I buy pretty much anything this line offers. I support them wholeheartedly and applaud their courage to say what others feel is taboo. I like being older. I don't want my door to be draped in black for mock-mourning every time I get a year older. I want the marketing world to sit up and take notice. I want our fellow Boomers to sit up and take notice. Most of all, I want my fellow Boomer artists to wake up and live. I want to see a music division just for them. I want to see a Boomer cable network that appeals to the young at heart. I want to see Boomers buy other Boomer's products. We have the biggest piece of the spending pie....why shouldn't we help each other succeed? I want to see people excited to be 50!

 

I support Dove because they are one of the first companies to really put themselves out there and devote research and time to people my age. I have a message for any company that's thinking about the same idea: If you make it, I will come to you. I believe in this movement and I put my money where my mouth is. I believe there are many other Boomers just like myself just waiting for the chance to support the Pro-Age cause no matter what the product. Treat us with the respect we deserve, and we give you back the world. We buy your stock as well as your products as well. As Patti Smith sings in her song, "We Have The Power"....we really do...

I love music. For me, it's a form of communication. It's a catharsis. It's something I need to do to feel fulfilled. But because of the emotional baggage that so many of us seem to be carrying, there is a tendency to get "stuck" in a rut or in a loop. For us Baby Boomer artists, it seems the loop has gone on for years and years like a skip on a record. Most of us still know what those are! (And I still say that vinyl albums had their own unique and unforgetable sound!)

 

But I have come to the conclusion that sometimes, life doesn't play tricks on us. Life doesn't throw us for a loop or kick us in the teeth. Sometimes, it's just a person's time to shine when they shine. I have a passion for my fellow Boomer artists. As much as I want things to happen for my own career, I want all of us to have that chance. I want us all to see that paradigm shift that I believe is happening even as I type this. Because of this want, I have seen a passion stir in my heart towards it never being to late to follow one's dream.

 

I guess my point is this; who is to say "when" a person's time is (or isn't)? I don't think anyone has that right to classify and sterotype someone's dream of "becoming". It's funny because when I was seventeen and living in L.A., I was on a crusade to be able to perform places where I wasn't "old enough".  My "squeaky wheel" is what got the attention of the late Earl Robinson who penned the Three Dog Night Hit "Black and White" and co-penned the classic song made famous again by Joan Baez, "Joe Hill". He was a guest lecturer at Immaculate Heart College where I was a freshman voice major. He definitely felt my pain and befriended me as a mentor for the short time I was there. I had the same passion and drive then as I do now...only, in reverse. So when I think about it, I'm being true to myself in having a cause and a passion of music to believe in. That hasn't changed.

 

For years, I have used the emotional "cat o' nine tails" across the back, scarring myself with guilt as to how I failed my calling, how it was too late, and how wasteful my life has been. Lies! Lies! Lies! Self-imposed exile from the world! The truth is, there were things I had to go through and things I had to learn, all of which bring me to the place I am right here, right now. They say that the finest wine takes the longest to age in order to reach it's most flavorful peak. I choose to see myself as fine wine, priceless and rich in everything good. Yes it's taken time but when that time does indeed arrive, everything is perfect.

 

There are many others like me...artists who have songs that are full of melody, lyrical poetry and musical flavor. What society tries to do to us Boomer artists in essence is take such a wonderful wine...and pour it down the drain. How sad. Even sadder is how we Boomers also tend to do that to ourselves as well. We pull the curtain on each other way too soon. Let's not do that anymore. Let's hear new music from those 40 and over. It's the finest of wine just waiting to be tasted.