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Category: Professional Development

Let’s Make a Difference Together!

It is my dream to teach children the value of living a creative life, and help them use music to express themselves in a positive way. Funding for the arts in public schools has been in decline for some time and I don’t want to see kids miss out on amazing learning opportunities because of it. Here’s where we can help each other out. For every milestone we reach on this patreon page, I will work to schedule a songwriting workshop each month with a school in need absolutely free of charge to them! This means everyone gets equal opportunity,Continue readingLet’s Make a Difference Together!

WE DID IT!!!

When I say ‘we’, I am talking, of course, about all the wonderful people that are supporting my album project. When I say ‘did it’ I’m talking about making the goal of $5,500 to record my second album. You may have heard me mention the project once or twice. Things really kicked into high gear when I posted this motivational video:   In a few short days so many people began to respond and support the project  that I was quite literally having trouble keeping up with all the thank you messages. It was a moving experience to see justContinue readingWE DID IT!!!

Guest on Composer Quest!!!

Recently I was invited to be a guest on the podcast ComposerQuest, produced by fellow St. John’s University graduate and new friend, Charlie McCarron! It was a real honor to be asked. Charlie and I talk about my songwriting process, there’s some background on the songs and a little diversion into sci-fi, then we talk a bit about MusicWorks’ new direction. Please subscribe to his podcast if you like the content. He’s always got interesting and talented people on there, and I enjoy them quite a bit. To support the album project, please visit http://igg.me/at/homeintheheartland

Here We Go!!!

So you know those songs I’ve been collecting in my online songbook for the past 18 months? Well it’s time to do something with them…like, record them at a studio or something. Since I am only one man, and cannot fund this massive project alone, I am asking you to help me get it done. I’m talking about crowdsourcing, using an online service called Indiegogo, and yes those are both real things. I swear I’m not making them up. I’ll try to anticipate all the questions you might have in this post, but as always I welcome any additional questions/commentsContinue readingHere We Go!!!

Can Playing Less Actually Be a Good Thing?

In a word…yes. I’ve had several discussions with musicians in the past few weeks about the nature of the music industry and our role as performers in making it a viable environment for the creation of new, quality music. The crux of these conversations revolved around the question of what we should be charging for a performance, and every new musician’s dilemma “Should I be playing shows for free?” It’s changed the way I’ve decided to do music business. If you talk to venue owners the answer is “Yes, you should play at our establishments for free. We’ll give youContinue readingCan Playing Less Actually Be a Good Thing?