This transcript was auto-generated by Apple Podcasts.

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This is The Unstarving Musician’s Podcast.

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The podcast features conversation for musicians of all types and genres, a curation of expertise intended to help all musicians be better at marketing, business, the creative process, and all the other things that empower us to do more of what we love, make music.

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Greetings, ladies, gents, musicians.

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This is Robanzo, aka Roberto.

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This episode of The Unstarving Musician’s Podcast features a conversation with Lara Price, the phenomenal blues singer who I first had the pleasure of meeting at a blues jam in San Jose, California.

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Lara and I talk about our respective beginnings in the San Jose music scene, running jam bands, tips for jammers, her latest album, I Mean Business, the importance of networking, and her recent big move to Austin.

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She’s a pretty amazing person, but sadly, our discussion barely scrapes the surface.

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Do I smell a second guest appearance?

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I’m thinking so.

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Enough about me and my podcast though, and on to my conversation with the talented and charming, Lara Price.

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Enjoy.

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Lara, welcome to the show.

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Thank you very much.

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It has been a while since we’ve spoken, and I’m really excited to talk to you.

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The last time I saw you was at the Poor House Bistro, I believe, in San Jose, and it was just in passing you were on your way to a gig.

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I don’t know if it was at JJ’s Blues.

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I want to say that that was unlikely, but maybe you remember, but you were on your way to a gig, and you said hi, and anyway, it was fun to see you.

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It probably wasn’t on the way to JJ’s as I haven’t played there for years.

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That’s what I thought.

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If it was going somewhere, I mean, I was playing four and five nights a week, you know, sometimes twice in a day.

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I can’t say that I honestly remember where I was going at that moment.

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Sorry.

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No worries.

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Again, it was just in passing.

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So for those of any of you who don’t know, Lara Price, she and I met in San Jose in the San Francisco Bay area in 99, and I saw her hosting a blues jam at the then still hopping JJ’s Blues Bar, which is not as hopping anymore from what I understand, but it was a very hopping place.

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Anyway, Laura’s done lots of cool recording projects, which we’ll talk about a little bit.

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She’s done a lot of performing.

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She has an interesting personal history, and I’m probably going to learn about some things that I didn’t know yet in the hour or so that we talk.

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But when we met, I guess I’ll back up to that, and I may have said this to you once or twice in the times that I’ve seen you, but when we met in 99, before we got on this call today, you were talking about your recent move to Austin and starting over, which I want to talk a little bit more about.

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But when I moved to San Jose in 99, I was starting all over.

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And actually, we did not meet in 99.

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I take that back.

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I met you a couple of years later because I was playing a lot in Dallas, Fort Worth, before I moved to San Jose.

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And one fateful night, a friend encouraged me to go out to JJ’s.

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And there you were with this great band hosting a blues thing.

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And I’ll never forget the night because I got up and played a couple of songs.

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And you nicknamed me Dallas.

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You haven’t called me that in a long time.

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But you nicknamed me Dallas that night and asked me to come back, which was really encouraging for a guy who went from playing every week to not playing for a couple of years.

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And you guys blew me away.

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Do you remember those days?

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This is probably more like around 2001, 2002, when you were doing that?

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I do remember those days.

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There was a lot of learning going on, a lot of road drive.

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And at that point, I wanted to play JJ’s to get my band well greased.

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And running a jam session is a great way to do that.

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And then obviously, you meet lots of great musicians.

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So yeah, those are good times at JJ’s.

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I have a lot of fond memories of JJ’s, a real soft spot in my heart for that place.

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And yeah, I do remember all you guys.

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And it was like I was playing kind of the dead mothers, they say.

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You were indeed.

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And I do believe that jam sessions make you a better musician.

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And aside from the obvious networking part of it, which is where I met most of the people that I play with to this day.

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Yeah, you know, I haven’t talked about jam sessions on the podcast yet.

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I did talk about them a little bit in my book, because the book kind of starts there.

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And I hear it talked a lot by, or off and on rather, by some guys that I know who do the Modern Drummer Podcast, and myself, and they have stories to tell about them.

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And they’re both drummers and quite prolific, but they have a lot of fun stories and advice.

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So as long as we’re talking about it, I want to ask you, because one of the things I want to feature in this podcast is advice from people like you.

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And this is a bit of a divergence.

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I didn’t expect to get to this part, but we’ll just talk about jam sessions for a second.

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But what advice, based on your experiences, would you give to, A, people who are going to host or be part of a house band for a jam session?

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What advice would you have for them?

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And same question for people like me who walked in on that one night that I did, and whether they play guitar or drums and come in and want to sign up and play, what’s your best tips for people?

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Well, if you’re going to run a jam, which I think is, it can be really difficult if you’re not organized.

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And so that’s one of the main things, I would say.

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There’s a little bit of some balancing going on because there are regular patrons in there, not just musicians.

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So because you want to keep your gig, and how you keep your gig is you want to keep people there.

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And the normal average music listener that’s there, they want to hear some good music.

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They want to hear, what’s this guy going to do next?

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Here’s this guitar player that I’ve never seen.

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And I think the key to a jam session, when you’re running one, is putting the right people up together.

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And that doesn’t always work out, but if you put a bunch of guys that haven’t played together up at the same time, it’s probably not going to sound that great.

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But if you get an amateur with a couple of veterans to back them up, to really heighten his experience as a musician, it also makes them better as a musician.

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But when you’re a beginner, you want to be up there with guys or gals that you feel safe with that are going to have your back.

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And so I think there’s a balancing act of putting the right musicians together.

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Because if you just put a bunch of amateurs together on stage, one, it’s going to be a bad experience for the jammer and for the listener, it could be really, really bad.

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And you’re going to drive all your customers away.

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And so you want it to be a thing where people come because they’re like, man, all these people get together on stage, they don’t know each other, but they sound great.

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And how does that happen?

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And the average person that walks in off the street, they’re just blown away by that fact that we can get up there and say, hey, let’s do a blues and, gee, shuffle.

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And then you count it off and here we go.

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And there’s some really magical moments that happen that will never probably ever happen again from these experiences.

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So I think organization and just setting jammers up to win and playing to the best strength of the musicians.

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When you run a jam, you get to know who, what’s this guy’s strength?

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It’s this.

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So you get him with this guy.

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And I know that your podcast was about getting gigs, and that’s what I want to parlay this into is when you’re talking to other musicians, you can talk to them about these clubs.

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And so when you’re around your own tribe, you say, man, I’ve been trying to get in this club.

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Oh, you got to email this guy.

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He doesn’t like you to just walk in there on a Friday night.

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You got to email him.

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Okay, okay.

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And so you kind of learn through your peers how to get into these clubs and what’s going to work best for this person, what’s going to work best for that club and how to get into this festival.

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I mean, it’s all about the networking.

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That is really key.

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Yeah, yeah, I find it interesting, and I’m sure that it has happened with others that you mentioned that you, part of your motivation at least to put it together, the one that we’re talking about at JJ’s, was to get your feet wet, get your band together, or get a band together.

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And I’m assuming that worked out because you played a lot.

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The jam at some point went away, and you were playing a lot like you said, I think, before we came on air here, that you were playing five nights a week.

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And so it sounds like it certainly paid off.

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Yeah, it did.

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And pretty much all the guys that I’ve met, that I play with, that I consider lifelong friends, I’ve met at jam sessions.

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So that can be really fruitful.

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And if you’re just open to going in there as a jammer and being open to learning, then I think that you can get a lot out of it.

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Yeah.

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And I don’t know if you remember, things like this were really big for me in developing a network in San Jose and ending up being able to play and get gigs at will.

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But also early after I met you, I went to see one of your bands called Velvet Plum.

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And I don’t know if I knew Dennis Dove at the time.

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He was playing drums that night.

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And he’s kind of one of those guys that’s like, come up and play a song.

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And anyway, you or he invited me up to play a song.

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And it was fun.

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But those kind of things are such wonderful exposure for people who are in a situation where they’re kind of new.

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I do remember this is kind of funny side note.

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I think it was a sense of humor, but your bass player looked at me and said, you better not suck.

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And I said, don’t worry.

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He said, you better be good.

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And I said, don’t worry.

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I don’t suck too much.

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Yeah, that’s funny.

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Yeah, it was a good time.

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But oh yeah, those were good times.

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I should ask you about I Mean Business, the album you put out.

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And I guess it’s 2015 when you released it, right?

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Yeah, it’s gone by fast.

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I know.

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I was looking through your catalog and there’s, you know, when I searched, I saw a couple things I was familiar with.

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And then when I went to the website, by the way, can you say your website for listeners real quick?

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Yes, it’s Lara, L-A-R-A, Price, P-R-I-C-E, .com, laraprice.com.

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So at laraprice.com, I saw other projects that weren’t as searchable, just FYI, if you’re interested in getting those out there.

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But good to know, I Mean Business came up right away.

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You recorded this at Greece Land Studios in San Jose?

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Yes, I did.

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How was it and tell me about some of the folks that you worked with and how those people came together, maybe not just the band, obviously the guy who runs Greece Land, but any of the other players that were involved.

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Can you tell us about how that all came together for you?

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Well, it kind of started out a little bit rocky.

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I actually was recording at a place called Tone Freak, which I recorded the last, I don’t know, five albums at his studio.

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And I just want to just go on record to say that, you know, Don Butt at Tone Freak is an amazing engineer.

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And like I said, I’ve recorded five CDs there, which should give you some kind of idea that he can be a well-trusted and responsible engineer.

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Well, I’d gotten halfway through my…

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That being said, I’d gotten halfway…

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We’d recorded six songs, and there was a terrible, unfortunate issue with the system, and we lost a bunch of tracks.

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Aye.

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Yeah.

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So, long story short, we ended up recording at Graceland.

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And part of the reason that…

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Another reason I was able to jump ship is because Kid…

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I wanted a producer also.

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And so it was kind of this opportunity like, well, you know, since you’re starting over, why don’t you just start over here, have Kid be producing?

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I’ve never had a producer before.

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So, Kid Anderson, I met him when he was like, I don’t know, 21.

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Really?

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He came into my jam session at the Fog Bank in Capitola.

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That’s the thing about…

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You never know what’s going to come out of someone’s heart when they walk up on that stage.

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You just don’t know.

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So he came in this big guy from…

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Norway.

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Norway, yeah.

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And he picked up the guitar, and then, of course, it was just head snaps all over the place.

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So anyway, we ended up recording at Graceland, and it was nice to have a producer and for somebody to say, you know what, that was a great take, or let’s do that one again.

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I think you can do something better.

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And he took my project with kid gloves, literally, and he just, he handled it with a lot of care and respect, and that when you’re in a situation where you’re recording, you have to be in a place where you feel comfortable because you’re vulnerable.

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This is your art, and this is what you have to say.

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And so I totally, I felt comfortable there.

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And it ended up being one of the best recording experiences I’ve had.

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And I think not just because of Graceland and because of where I was in my time, my life, and I was more comfortable in the studio, which I used to hate recording, because, you know, the tape doesn’t lie.

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So we can really make you look at the mirror and go, huh, I didn’t think I sounded like that, but I do.

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Let’s work on that.

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But the people on the CD was Derek Martin played drums, Steve Evans on bass, we had the great Jim Pugh on Hammond B3, Oregon Moog, he played the Fender Rhodes and piano, the Who’s Who of guitar, we had Chris Kane, Laura Chavez, Mighty Mike Shermer and Kit Anderson.

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Wow.

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And we had, I call it the Mike Horn section, so it was Michael Pelliquin, Michael Renta, and Michael Rose on the horns, and we had the fantastic Sweet Nectar backup singers, Summa Cracklin, which is Jimmy McCracklin’s daughter, and Maureen Smith.

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Name dropping.

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That’s great.

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And had you been working with some or most of these people in live situations prior to the record, or were a lot of them okay?

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No, the only one that I would say was somewhat new to me was Jim Pugh.

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I’d only done a couple gigs with him.

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And then obviously, I think I’ve done a gig with Chris Kane, like at, I don’t know, the Metro Fountain All-Stars or something like that, possibly.

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But you know, the other people were definitely in my toolbox of players that I played with before.

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So it was like a big party.

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It was really fun.

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I bet.

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They were the ones that made the music come alive.

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I mean, I wrote these songs with other co-writers, but it was like they just grew legs of their own in the studio.

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It was amazing to watch.

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Oh, I bet.

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I’ve not been in a recording session at Greece Land or observed one or anything, but being there and speaking with Chris recently, and a friend of mine does some recording there.

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But yeah, Chris, he seems special in a lot of ways, but as a producer, he seems to be a special person.

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Anyway, I can just imagine what fun you guys had.

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We had a lot of fun.

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I just really sat back and accepted all the gifts that were happening daily.

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These guys would produce it.

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And it was, you know, Kit Anderson was definitely the producer, but there was a collective production on some of these tunes.

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And probably all of them actually really, you know, Jim P you would have his say about a few things.

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And we just basically let him talk.

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And I was like, yes, that’s a great idea.

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Because if you look at his discography, it’s, you know, ridiculous.

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He has come on my radar very recently when I was in town, actually, just a little over a week ago in San Jose.

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And he sounds like someone I should try to have on the podcast.

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Yeah, you should.

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You should.

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I mean, I have like a little teeny bit of experience in comparison to this person.

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Wow, yeah.

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He opens his mouth and you basically listen and learn.

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That’s so nice.

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And he’s a nice guy, too.

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Wow, that’s cool.

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I always say there’s no reason to play with people that you don’t enjoy being around.

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Absolutely not.

00:16:32.682 –> 00:16:33.722
It’s the trifecta.

00:16:33.742 –> 00:16:34.402
I know.

00:16:34.422 –> 00:16:37.202
The hang, the music, and the money.

00:16:37.222 –> 00:16:41.402
So if you can at least get two of those, sometimes it’s the hang and the music.

00:16:41.642 –> 00:16:42.762
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:43.242 –> 00:16:44.042
That keeps you there.

00:16:44.802 –> 00:16:46.962
I want to ask you about Laura Chavez.

00:16:47.222 –> 00:16:48.202
She was on the record.

00:16:49.182 –> 00:16:50.762
You’ve worked with her a lot.

00:16:51.322 –> 00:16:57.322
For those of you who don’t know Laura Chavez, you can hear her by finding some of Lara Price’s music.

00:16:57.542 –> 00:17:02.142
I saw Laura Chavez with you for the first time at JJ’s.

00:17:02.362 –> 00:17:05.422
Did you drop on the ground?

00:17:06.482 –> 00:17:06.882
I did.

00:17:07.102 –> 00:17:08.342
I almost fell out of my seat.

00:17:08.442 –> 00:17:09.262
She was pretty young.

00:17:09.282 –> 00:17:10.722
I think she was underage.

00:17:11.042 –> 00:17:14.542
And to correct me if I’m remembering things wrong.

00:17:14.822 –> 00:17:23.342
And I might have seen her at a jam, but I definitely saw her playing with you in a band configuration, like in a gig night configuration at JJ’s.

00:17:24.042 –> 00:17:25.622
And then I didn’t see her for a long time.

00:17:25.642 –> 00:17:28.362
I was kind of following her.

00:17:28.782 –> 00:17:33.002
You guys have had a really, you two have had a really close relationship musically, it seems like.

00:17:33.482 –> 00:17:38.282
And perhaps otherwise, I have seen the two of you together in the past couple of years.

00:17:38.302 –> 00:17:40.642
I saw you at Cinnabar Winery in a little acoustic setting.

00:17:40.702 –> 00:17:42.222
That’s right, you sat in with us.

00:17:42.742 –> 00:17:43.402
Did I, really?

00:17:44.982 –> 00:17:45.562
I might have.

00:17:46.242 –> 00:17:48.022
If there was some sort of drum there, I might have.

00:17:49.102 –> 00:17:50.302
Maybe I had done some percussion.

00:17:50.322 –> 00:17:52.562
Maybe I had a little egg or something.

00:17:52.582 –> 00:17:53.462
See, that I would have done.

00:17:53.962 –> 00:17:56.782
So I didn’t even know what to ask with this.

00:17:56.802 –> 00:17:59.102
I mean, she seems like such a wonderful person.

00:18:00.542 –> 00:18:02.142
You did a lot of stuff out of town, right?

00:18:02.162 –> 00:18:02.982
Out of the area, right?

00:18:03.782 –> 00:18:04.202
Oh, yeah.

00:18:05.082 –> 00:18:07.102
Laura and I went on our first tours together.

00:18:07.122 –> 00:18:07.442
Yeah.

00:18:07.782 –> 00:18:13.182
She, I feel like, I don’t know how she feels about me, but I feel like she’s one of my musical matches.

00:18:13.202 –> 00:18:23.902
When you meet people, you just have a great chemistry with on stage, and she’s one of those people that, but I think a lot of people feel that way about her because when she plays, it’s direct right to the heart.

00:18:24.802 –> 00:18:26.042
It’s a direct line to the heart.

00:18:28.882 –> 00:18:31.222
It’s an unspoken thing that you want more of that.

00:18:31.842 –> 00:18:38.022
And so I was lucky enough to meet her when her parents brought her to the bar and said, can our daughter play guitar?

00:18:38.042 –> 00:18:39.182
She’s underage.

00:18:39.242 –> 00:18:40.282
I’m like, heck yeah.

00:18:40.302 –> 00:18:45.242
I wish my parents would have brought me to a bar underage to sing.

00:18:45.262 –> 00:18:56.942
So I heard that at that time she was a big fan of the band Tool, and she was on stage playing blues with you, and quite well, quite masterfully.

00:18:57.202 –> 00:18:57.522
Yeah.

00:18:58.442 –> 00:19:07.742
Well, her and I, you know, we also parlayed our band situation into a duo, because one, it was like, hey, let’s make some more money with a duo.

00:19:08.062 –> 00:19:21.002
Two, I love the acoustic element, and we were playing acoustic songs everywhere from Jeff Buckley to, you know, Britney Spears to Bob Dylan.

00:19:21.022 –> 00:19:27.682
I mean, we, just because she plays the blues doesn’t mean she doesn’t love other genres, and most musicians are that way.

00:19:27.702 –> 00:19:28.842
I think you’d agree with me there.

00:19:29.122 –> 00:19:32.362
Just because you’re on stage doing the genre doesn’t mean that’s what you listen to all the time.

00:19:32.762 –> 00:19:33.562
That’s true, you know.

00:19:33.602 –> 00:19:49.962
When I see, but I confess, when I see some of the folks that you have played with over the years who are in the blues scene and just kind of see how well they do that, I think to myself, wow, those guys probably are just, I shouldn’t even use the word, but like blues Nazis, they must be their world.

00:19:50.062 –> 00:19:58.062
And to a degree, I’m sure it is, but I imagined, perhaps wrongfully so, that a lot of them, that’s kind of their thing, and that’s all they do.

00:19:58.562 –> 00:19:59.382
But it may not be true.

00:19:59.402 –> 00:20:00.542
It’s not true for everyone, I suppose.

00:20:01.102 –> 00:20:02.742
I think there’s a handful of those guys.

00:20:02.762 –> 00:20:15.202
I know some guys that are definitely, they really want to keep the raw, the blues, you know, the original sound, you know, muddy waters and all the kings.

00:20:17.042 –> 00:20:19.822
And they want to respect that and just honor it.

00:20:20.062 –> 00:20:26.062
And I respect that because they’ve made this choice to do that.

00:20:26.082 –> 00:20:29.462
And for me as an artist, I’m still trying to figure it out, like what my sound is.

00:20:29.902 –> 00:20:31.062
Or that’s their sound.

00:20:31.902 –> 00:20:36.802
So it’s admirable that someone can choose one sound and stick with it.

00:20:37.322 –> 00:20:40.782
It has its merits, but so does, you know, continually searching.

00:20:40.802 –> 00:20:43.322
It just kind of depends on what works for you.

00:20:43.342 –> 00:20:44.482
That’s my opinion anyway.

00:20:44.522 –> 00:20:45.542
Yeah, I agree.

00:20:46.142 –> 00:20:47.102
That’s what works for me.

00:20:47.342 –> 00:20:59.062
So do you find in the blues scene that there are a number of artists that could but don’t play in acoustic settings like you and Laura Chavez did so much of?

00:20:59.822 –> 00:21:00.122
Yeah.

00:21:00.942 –> 00:21:01.262
Why?

00:21:01.642 –> 00:21:03.542
I mean, it’s a whole other element.

00:21:04.262 –> 00:21:05.482
You’re quite naked.

00:21:06.942 –> 00:21:08.262
That’s probably it.

00:21:08.762 –> 00:21:17.222
You know, I was playing in electric rock and pop bands for a few years in the San Jose area, and the dynamic of…

00:21:17.282 –> 00:21:29.682
Actually, shortly after I started playing, the dynamic of commercial lease real estate for venues was rapidly being impacted after the dot-com scenario played out here, the dot-bomb.

00:21:30.102 –> 00:21:40.222
So there was a period of time, but venue scenes are always changing, but there was a period of time where I was trying to think, you know, okay, there has to be more places to play.

00:21:40.242 –> 00:21:53.122
And for whatever reason, I looked to wineries, and there are a couple of wineries in the San Jose, that Santa Cruz Appalachian area that I, in my opinion, sort of opened the door for acoustic vignettes.

00:21:53.562 –> 00:22:01.262
And so I took the then most popular band I was playing with, as far as the ones I was playing with, and said, let’s do this acoustic thing.

00:22:01.562 –> 00:22:02.782
And they were naturals at it.

00:22:02.962 –> 00:22:16.202
And so then I did it with several other bands, but I noticed that not all bands in that sort of area, and this is predominantly cover bands that I was doing this with, but not all of them will do that.

00:22:16.222 –> 00:22:20.202
Some of them are too big, and maybe they don’t have a tough time downsizing you.

00:22:21.022 –> 00:22:24.042
And I’m not even, I sing, but you are a singer.

00:22:24.382 –> 00:22:27.502
I’m a drummer, and I did it multiple times.

00:22:28.142 –> 00:22:28.842
You’re a singer.

00:22:28.862 –> 00:22:42.962
It makes perfect sense that you would find a guitar player, do a duo or a trio, but why do you think, is it just the nakedness of it all, or do you think there are other reasons that bands don’t, more bands don’t do this or more artists don’t?

00:22:43.222 –> 00:22:44.402
I think it’s a choice.

00:22:44.422 –> 00:22:48.682
I mean, I personally love the acoustic element.

00:22:49.042 –> 00:22:49.622
I love it.

00:22:49.862 –> 00:22:55.502
And so that for me, I can’t speak for everybody else, but for me is I wanted that sound.

00:22:56.622 –> 00:22:59.742
And so I kind of went to do it.

00:22:59.782 –> 00:23:11.982
But I also realized quickly that you can’t rely, if you mess up something, you can’t rely on someone to take a solo so that you can figure out what is wrong.

00:23:12.002 –> 00:23:18.182
You can’t just let the groove milk for a while while you’re trying to figure it out.

00:23:18.622 –> 00:23:19.702
And same with the guitar.

00:23:19.722 –> 00:23:24.382
And some fellas actually told me, I’m not good with acoustic guitar.

00:23:24.982 –> 00:23:28.382
I’m not good with, you know, because you are covering so many things.

00:23:28.862 –> 00:23:31.482
It’s rhythmic, it’s bass, and it’s solos, too.

00:23:31.862 –> 00:23:35.522
And Lara, she was awesome at it.

00:23:36.322 –> 00:23:36.762
Awesome.

00:23:37.342 –> 00:23:37.662
Oh, sure.

00:23:37.682 –> 00:23:44.182
I’ve never met somebody that I’ve personally, that I could play with that played like her.

00:23:44.202 –> 00:23:56.082
You know, I missed her when we weren’t doing that duo thing because what she did, and I don’t know a lot about guitar, but I do know that she covered all those bases with finesse.

00:23:56.862 –> 00:24:02.142
And it was very musical, so it didn’t sound like, oh, something’s missing, you know?

00:24:03.062 –> 00:24:06.802
It is challenging in that regard, but I don’t know why other guys don’t do it.

00:24:06.822 –> 00:24:07.782
Maybe they just don’t want to.

00:24:08.242 –> 00:24:09.462
Well, you know what?

00:24:09.622 –> 00:24:19.922
You hit on something I’ve seen or heard before is that many electric players are not comfortable on acoustic, and there is the kind of nakedness of it.

00:24:19.942 –> 00:24:26.922
And I think for the guys and gals that I brought into it or worked with to get into it, some of them just hadn’t really thought about it.

00:24:26.942 –> 00:24:34.142
But without fail, the first time they did it with me, they were always saying, man, I love this.

00:24:34.162 –> 00:24:35.542
Can we do it some more?

00:24:35.562 –> 00:24:35.982
Yeah.

00:24:36.122 –> 00:24:36.502
Anyway.

00:24:36.522 –> 00:24:38.022
Well, Eric Clapton unplugged.

00:24:38.042 –> 00:24:41.182
I mean, that’s where I first fell in love with it.

00:24:41.282 –> 00:24:47.862
I think they did it on MTV or VH1 or something, and that’s when I was like, wow, that is awesome.

00:24:47.882 –> 00:24:48.602
I would love to do that.

00:24:48.802 –> 00:24:59.662
And of course, he had all these tons of acoustic instruments, even violins and cellos and stuff, which would be awesome too, but it’s just a sound that I really like.

00:24:59.682 –> 00:25:07.542
And as a singer, you can purr like a kitten when it’s that broken down, or it doesn’t have to be a screamer kind of gig.

00:25:07.902 –> 00:25:14.382
It can be really heartfelt, and you hear some little nuances in a voice that you wouldn’t normally hear with a full band.

00:25:14.922 –> 00:25:15.442
So true.

00:25:15.482 –> 00:25:26.822
And that, you know, I don’t give enough credit to that whole MTV unplug thing, because it really did generate a lot of acoustic recordings and performances, which I’m sure inspired me as well.

00:25:26.842 –> 00:25:36.982
And that, you kids who haven’t seen the Eric Clapton unplug or listen to the CD, it’s a landmark episode and acoustic CD by a landmark guitar player, so check it out.

00:25:37.582 –> 00:25:38.402
It’s beautiful.

00:25:38.762 –> 00:25:47.282
I have gotten in a habit early on in talking to my people on this podcast in asking about their music education.

00:25:47.402 –> 00:25:50.522
I saw that you went to, is it Boise State, right, BSU?

00:25:51.042 –> 00:25:55.482
I took some operatic lessons at Boise State.

00:25:55.662 –> 00:25:56.742
And let me back up, actually.

00:25:56.962 –> 00:26:03.302
I found this out about you shortly after we met, but you had a celeb piano teacher before BSU, is that right?

00:26:03.782 –> 00:26:04.842
Oh, yeah, that’s right.

00:26:05.302 –> 00:26:10.742
Yeah, Howard Jones was my first musical experience, and he’s an 80s innovator.

00:26:11.862 –> 00:26:13.782
How is it that you met him?

00:26:13.802 –> 00:26:15.502
He wasn’t famous.

00:26:15.522 –> 00:26:18.022
And where were you, though?

00:26:18.062 –> 00:26:20.802
I was living in England because I was an Air Force brat.

00:26:21.042 –> 00:26:27.002
And so we lived in England for three years, and he was a guy.

00:26:27.022 –> 00:26:29.402
He was a musician, obviously a guy.

00:26:29.662 –> 00:26:35.802
He was a musician giving music lessons on the side while he was trying to get his career off the ground.

00:26:36.082 –> 00:26:36.362
Yeah.

00:26:37.322 –> 00:26:44.742
And so my mother actually saw him last year and had some words with his wife.

00:26:45.262 –> 00:26:52.722
He remembered us because my mom would pay music lesson money, even though we didn’t go sometimes, because she knew he was a struggling artist.

00:26:53.342 –> 00:26:54.322
Oh, that’s sweet.

00:26:54.342 –> 00:26:55.962
So he always remembered that.

00:26:56.742 –> 00:26:57.482
That’s so cool.

00:26:58.042 –> 00:27:02.942
And then you, at some point later, did the operatic voice stuff at BSU?

00:27:04.022 –> 00:27:13.882
I did, yep, I did some operatic training there, which I feel like, you know, that was the ballet of music for me.

00:27:13.902 –> 00:27:26.242
It was, you know, the groundwork and the basic training that you need to do other genres, because it taught me how to breathe and how to not hurt my voice, and it taught me how to sing in another language with a piano.

00:27:26.482 –> 00:27:35.642
This explains a lot, because your voice and your technique are fantastic, and so the question I usually…

00:27:36.682 –> 00:27:37.142
What’s that?

00:27:38.042 –> 00:27:38.842
I said, Dr.

00:27:38.862 –> 00:27:39.602
Lindbergh.

00:27:39.982 –> 00:27:40.162
Ah.

00:27:40.442 –> 00:27:41.242
That’s who taught…

00:27:41.242 –> 00:27:45.302
You know, I actually think about him from time to time, and I want to send him my CD.

00:27:46.722 –> 00:27:47.182
You should.

00:27:48.062 –> 00:28:06.422
Well, clearly, you just gave me an example of the impact it had for you, and that’s why I like asking about the education facet, just to find out how you performers and songwriters and engineers feel that your education impacted where you are.

00:28:06.442 –> 00:28:15.142
Are there other aspects of your education, and perhaps some parts of it that I didn’t mention, that you feel had an impact on what you’re doing now?

00:28:15.162 –> 00:28:15.662
Oh, sure.

00:28:15.682 –> 00:28:18.202
I mean, I feel like I’m just a lifelong…

00:28:18.962 –> 00:28:23.202
I’ll take classes forever, so I’ve taken lots of guitar lessons, I’ve taken drum lessons.

00:28:23.922 –> 00:28:24.862
I’ve seen you play drums.

00:28:24.882 –> 00:28:25.462
You’re pretty good.

00:28:27.662 –> 00:28:30.402
I did a stint at Cabrillo with a choir.

00:28:30.422 –> 00:28:35.182
I mean, I think all these things help you articulate what you need to do to communicate with other musicians.

00:28:36.022 –> 00:28:40.182
And I just like to challenge myself to learn a new instrument.

00:28:40.422 –> 00:28:41.462
It’s never too late to learn.

00:28:41.482 –> 00:28:42.582
I’m still trying to learn the guitar.

00:28:42.602 –> 00:28:43.962
It’s very difficult.

00:28:44.062 –> 00:28:45.402
It’s just painful.

00:28:45.562 –> 00:28:47.102
Like, it literally physically hurts.

00:28:49.242 –> 00:28:52.642
Were you playing a little bit at Cinnabar when I saw you with Lara?

00:28:54.322 –> 00:28:57.302
I’m a strummer, but I have a long way to go by far.

00:28:57.842 –> 00:29:06.322
But I mean, at least, you know, I like to learn about stuff, just mostly just because I want to communicate with other musicians what I need as a bandleader or a singer, you know?

00:29:07.902 –> 00:29:09.722
So I can talk the same language.

00:29:10.162 –> 00:29:11.502
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:29:11.802 –> 00:29:15.502
I know this is something that a lot of musicians would say you’re…

00:29:15.802 –> 00:29:24.242
Now, the catalog is not deep yet, but you’re the first I’ve talked to about it who has mentioned that the common language and helping you articulate.

00:29:26.142 –> 00:29:31.122
And the fact that you took drum lessons, too, I think it’s not any different for guitar or bass, is it?

00:29:31.142 –> 00:29:34.382
But I can see where it would all help a great deal.

00:29:35.962 –> 00:29:41.322
Well, I’m sure you’re going to be a great guitar player and probably already sounding pretty good.

00:29:41.562 –> 00:29:45.042
You give me hope that I’ll be able to pick it back up and learn it again.

00:29:45.062 –> 00:29:45.902
It’s hard.

00:29:47.822 –> 00:29:50.782
I’ve been trash-talking in my head about doing it, and I really would like to.

00:29:51.062 –> 00:29:51.762
You should try.

00:29:52.102 –> 00:29:52.462
I will.

00:29:55.542 –> 00:30:04.302
I’m going to go back and listen to these interviews and realize one of my first vocal, I’m sorry, speaking tics is starting my senses with so.

00:30:05.042 –> 00:30:11.582
But did you use the VizTone label for, I’m jumping around here, for I Mean Business?

00:30:12.062 –> 00:30:14.902
Yes, and I will credit that to Laura Chavez.

00:30:15.102 –> 00:30:21.402
She’s the one who put me in touch with Richard Rosenblatt, who discovered Susan Tedeschi.

00:30:23.562 –> 00:30:30.882
So he, who’s one of my, you know, one of the reasons I felt like I could sing the blues is when I heard her stuff, to be honest.

00:30:32.062 –> 00:30:34.022
In the beginning, I could really relate with her.

00:30:34.042 –> 00:30:42.042
But anyway, yes, VizTone label group, it’s a, being on a record label doesn’t mean what it used to, but it doesn’t hurt.

00:30:42.082 –> 00:30:49.242
And I would not have gotten all the accolades had it not been for this label, I believe that.

00:30:49.802 –> 00:30:50.482
And a great record.

00:30:50.982 –> 00:31:15.382
And tell for myself and others who are unfamiliar with what labels are doing these days, and if you want to touch on the differences of today, and I know it’s been evolving for quite a while, but I think most importantly to kind of tell people what’s happening with them today and what, maybe some of the specifics about how they have helped, and maybe if we have enough time, the process of engaging with them.

00:31:15.902 –> 00:31:16.642
Can you talk about that?

00:31:17.162 –> 00:31:34.082
Well, it’s a distribution deal, and so what’s nice about it is they get it out to the people, and they have a list, and it’s a list that’s been catered and curtailed to what we do.

00:31:34.562 –> 00:31:41.702
So when you give them, say, 500-year CDs, which is a lot of product, you know they’re going to send it to the right people.

00:31:42.322 –> 00:31:59.082
They have a publicist, and she also works the radio play and follows up with the newspapers and the magazines that you hope to be written up well in, because you don’t know what people are going to say.

00:31:59.182 –> 00:31:59.502
Sure.

00:32:00.082 –> 00:32:02.102
Some of them are going to say shitty stuff for sure, right?

00:32:02.122 –> 00:32:02.542
Yeah.

00:32:04.122 –> 00:32:10.662
Some are, and you can’t really let that bother you, because it’s just one person.

00:32:11.742 –> 00:32:17.302
I’m trying to think of a bad review that I’ve had, and I’m sure I’ve had some, but maybe I just blocked them out.

00:32:17.702 –> 00:32:18.222
That’s good.

00:32:19.882 –> 00:32:26.822
But being on VizTone, what’s great about it also is that you’re on a label with other artists that you know who they are.

00:32:27.522 –> 00:32:29.622
So you’re in good company, I guess is what I’m saying.

00:32:29.642 –> 00:32:33.902
So you could be on the red dog label, nobody knows who’s on this label.

00:32:33.922 –> 00:32:43.482
But VizTone, I chose to go with VizTone, because there were a bunch of artists on there that were touring globally, and I wanted to be in the same company as those people.

00:32:44.202 –> 00:32:49.022
And I feel like it, you know, it’s led to the nomination for the Soul Blues Singer of the Year.

00:32:49.042 –> 00:32:53.182
You know, all these little steps that I took have helped.

00:32:53.482 –> 00:32:55.302
And it takes a village to do this.

00:32:55.322 –> 00:32:56.502
It’s not just me doing it.

00:32:56.522 –> 00:32:57.222
It takes a village.

00:32:57.422 –> 00:32:58.922
I’m at the helm, but it takes a village.

00:32:58.942 –> 00:33:02.782
And you got to surround yourself with the right people to give you the right information.

00:33:03.722 –> 00:33:04.042
Yeah.

00:33:04.062 –> 00:33:12.342
And I imagine that seeing these artists that you referenced that are also on that label gave you a lot of confidence to work with them.

00:33:12.362 –> 00:33:19.182
And speaking of accolades, so I noted one before we got on today and wanted to congratulate you.

00:33:19.202 –> 00:33:28.062
And maybe you just told me about another one or perhaps we’re referring to the same, but you were nominated in this year’s Blues Awards category for Soul Blues Female Artist.

00:33:28.082 –> 00:33:28.702
Congratulations.

00:33:28.942 –> 00:33:33.762
Yeah, I was in the same running as Betty LaVette and Namavis Staples.

00:33:34.142 –> 00:33:34.862
Pretty awesome.

00:33:35.162 –> 00:33:40.642
So, you know, losing Namavis Staples is like the biggest win I’ve had in my career.

00:33:42.962 –> 00:33:49.702
Seriously, I mean, it would be a little weird if I won, to be honest with you, even if it was by a vote, like some weird thing happened.

00:33:49.722 –> 00:33:52.782
And I don’t know, I was actually kind of nervous.

00:33:52.802 –> 00:33:56.522
I’m like, I just please don’t buy a fluky thing win because it would just be too weird.

00:33:58.682 –> 00:34:09.862
You see these people who feel weird when they won over someone and can’t help but mention it, but I’m sure you would have been quite deserving to win, and I will not be surprised to see you win that category very soon.

00:34:11.042 –> 00:34:17.422
Well, Betty LeVette performed, and I actually voted for her because Mavis Staples has been getting a lot of love lately.

00:34:17.442 –> 00:34:23.442
I mean, she got an award by President Obama, so I wanted Betty LeVette to win this time, but she didn’t.

00:34:24.482 –> 00:34:26.442
But even her, she was probably disappointed.

00:34:27.082 –> 00:34:27.562
I don’t know.

00:34:27.582 –> 00:34:29.122
I’d love to hear her side of that.

00:34:30.062 –> 00:34:31.022
We’ll have to ask her.

00:34:31.202 –> 00:34:33.522
So it sounds like it was a fun time, though, to go to the set.

00:34:34.022 –> 00:34:34.822
It was great.

00:34:34.882 –> 00:34:35.602
It was great.

00:34:35.902 –> 00:34:37.562
Another networking moment.

00:34:37.582 –> 00:34:39.402
I never thought of that.

00:34:39.742 –> 00:34:40.942
So tell me about it.

00:34:41.922 –> 00:34:42.462
Tell us.

00:34:42.462 –> 00:34:43.142
It’s huge.

00:34:43.262 –> 00:34:44.302
Yeah, tell us about that.

00:34:44.702 –> 00:34:48.082
I just figured it was kind of a fun party, but of course it would be.

00:34:48.462 –> 00:34:49.102
So what happened?

00:34:49.122 –> 00:34:49.542
It’s both.

00:34:50.402 –> 00:34:51.902
What happened on the networking front?

00:34:51.922 –> 00:34:53.062
Then you can tell us about the party front.

00:34:54.122 –> 00:34:55.062
Well, it’s both.

00:34:55.182 –> 00:34:56.002
It’s really both.

00:34:56.042 –> 00:35:14.162
It’s about the hang, and it’s about all of the who’s who in the blues are going to be there, and from all over the world, and there’s going to be agents there, and there’s going to be festival buyers, and you name it, they’re there.

00:35:14.642 –> 00:35:18.422
And so it’s the kind of place where you want to have all your cards.

00:35:18.462 –> 00:35:26.742
And yes, it’s exhausting, and I know not all of us feel socially comfortable all the time, but it’s just something you have to do.

00:35:26.802 –> 00:35:27.962
It’s business.

00:35:28.342 –> 00:35:31.642
Like in any business, networking is the key to getting a job.

00:35:33.262 –> 00:35:36.042
In any business, it really is.

00:35:36.382 –> 00:35:38.822
So music business, it’s the same.

00:35:38.842 –> 00:35:44.222
And so you try to sit in, and I call jam sessions like speed dating for musicians.

00:35:44.242 –> 00:35:47.482
You get up there, and you’re like, oh, I like the way he plays, or I like the way she plays.

00:35:48.862 –> 00:35:52.482
Let’s do a gig together, and you continue your relationship.

00:35:52.742 –> 00:36:04.862
And it’s the same thing, but it’s at another level, because these musicians, they’ve already been playing for decades and decades and sometimes decades, and even more.

00:36:05.442 –> 00:36:07.142
And they’ve already played all over the world.

00:36:07.142 –> 00:36:11.722
And so you still want to give a good impression, and you never know.

00:36:11.742 –> 00:36:16.662
You might be in Europe, and you met so-and-so, and he plays there, and he has a band.

00:36:16.682 –> 00:36:19.402
And you can hire him for a show that you do there, or a tour.

00:36:20.022 –> 00:36:21.042
So it’s all good.

00:36:21.062 –> 00:36:23.602
I mean, you’re going to meet agents, and you’re going to meet…

00:36:23.982 –> 00:36:29.762
So you have to just go with a real open mind, and put on your friend face, and do it.

00:36:29.782 –> 00:36:39.562
Even though I know a lot of people, artists in particular, maybe people, they just don’t dig doing that kind of stuff, but it’s kind of necessary.

00:36:41.342 –> 00:36:47.742
Did you learn anything new from this particular event, where networking is concerned?

00:36:47.762 –> 00:36:51.402
Because like you said, it was a little different, in that there’s the who’s who there.

00:36:52.022 –> 00:36:52.902
That’s my cat.

00:36:53.802 –> 00:36:54.642
Hello, kitty.

00:36:54.662 –> 00:36:56.442
You want some food?

00:36:56.462 –> 00:36:59.642
Okay, hold on a second.

00:36:59.762 –> 00:37:03.542
He’s trying to stop meowing.

00:37:07.042 –> 00:37:20.122
You know what, I will tell you that, you know, at Kit Anderson’s studio, he has a little cat named Bubbles, and we recorded his cat Bubbles purring for a bonus track on ICD.

00:37:20.142 –> 00:37:22.002
Spoiler alert.

00:37:23.162 –> 00:37:30.722
Yeah, because, you know, when cats purr, they’re usually happy, and so it was just a good way to end the album with a purring kitty cat.

00:37:32.422 –> 00:37:34.762
He talked about his cats when I visited with him, so.

00:37:34.782 –> 00:37:35.022
Yes.

00:37:35.702 –> 00:37:36.782
We’re cat people.

00:37:36.802 –> 00:37:37.242
Okay.

00:37:37.382 –> 00:37:38.042
Sorry about that.

00:37:38.382 –> 00:37:38.902
That’s okay.

00:37:38.922 –> 00:37:40.242
He’s 18, and he gets grouchy.

00:37:40.782 –> 00:37:41.442
I understand.

00:37:41.642 –> 00:37:44.182
I have one.

00:37:45.702 –> 00:38:02.662
So as far as what I learned, I met a lot of new people, and you can make some lifelong friends, and the Blues Music Awards put myself with a bunch of women, musicians that I didn’t really know, on stage for the opener.

00:38:04.442 –> 00:38:04.842
Yeah.

00:38:04.882 –> 00:38:08.822
It was really cool, but terrifying at the same time, because here you are in a jam situation, right?

00:38:09.662 –> 00:38:13.802
You know you’re going to be with pros, so it’s like, okay, do a song off your record.

00:38:13.822 –> 00:38:16.282
None of my songs on the record are one, four, five.

00:38:16.742 –> 00:38:22.222
So it was a gamble to put it out there, but the ladies did amazing.

00:38:22.482 –> 00:38:27.242
I learned a lot from that, just to let some things go about performing.

00:38:27.802 –> 00:38:29.202
That sounds like a great experience.

00:38:29.222 –> 00:38:32.642
They’re going to work themselves out.

00:38:32.662 –> 00:38:39.162
It’s terrifying getting up in front of a bunch of veterans at an event like that.

00:38:39.682 –> 00:38:41.042
How many people were in attendance?

00:38:41.682 –> 00:38:43.942
Oh my gosh, I don’t even know, like a thousand.

00:38:44.402 –> 00:38:45.222
That’s a good crowd.

00:38:45.682 –> 00:38:46.882
And they’re all in your industry.

00:38:47.682 –> 00:38:48.042
Sure.

00:38:48.122 –> 00:38:51.442
It’s not just drunk people having a good time, and they don’t know if you mess up.

00:38:51.462 –> 00:38:52.382
It’s people that know.

00:38:53.002 –> 00:38:53.482
Yeah.

00:38:54.122 –> 00:38:56.062
Well, here’s a great advice question for you.

00:38:56.822 –> 00:39:10.502
If you have any four musicians that truly would like to be better at it or know they should be better at that whole networking thing, should they find themselves nominated for some award at the Blues Awards, what advice would you give?

00:39:10.782 –> 00:39:11.742
Repeat the question again.

00:39:12.542 –> 00:39:22.602
For those who might find themselves in a situation like the Blues Awards or some other great networking opportunity event, but they’re just not comfortable with it, what’s your best tip?

00:39:22.762 –> 00:39:26.982
Well, I feel like it’s about confidence.

00:39:27.002 –> 00:39:28.362
For me, it was about confidence.

00:39:28.582 –> 00:39:51.862
And when I look inside what has happened to me in the last year with this record, when you have a little wind in your sail, like a nomination with Betty the Vet and Mavis Staples, it’s okay to walk a little bit with a little bit more pep in your step because you’ve been recognized for a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.

00:39:52.362 –> 00:39:59.242
And I always feel like I don’t usually like to wave the braggie flag and be that person.

00:39:59.742 –> 00:40:10.702
But I think that it’s okay to be real proud of what you’ve done and acknowledge to yourself that, hey, it is really difficult what we’re doing in the music business.

00:40:11.302 –> 00:40:13.922
And just be yourself.

00:40:14.462 –> 00:40:19.562
It’s always, you know, every musician I’ve always talked to feels socially awkward.

00:40:20.482 –> 00:40:28.302
And so to get a bunch of socially awkward people in a room, it’s, I guess, just to knowing that you’re around your own tribe.

00:40:28.322 –> 00:40:29.442
That’s what’s comforting to me.

00:40:30.042 –> 00:40:38.802
Maybe this is my future public speaking niche for musicians because I, you know, as you know, I wrote the book for the whole getting gigs and getting paid and all this.

00:40:39.622 –> 00:40:45.082
And I’ve done some public speaking for kind of smaller crowds, but I’d love to do it for musicians.

00:40:45.102 –> 00:40:48.702
But part of my life is also in the world of business networking.

00:40:48.782 –> 00:40:55.922
And obviously as a musician doing what I was doing, I had to use those relationship skills to do the things I could do.

00:40:55.942 –> 00:40:58.162
And you’ve been talking about these skills yourself.

00:40:58.562 –> 00:41:08.002
But I could just see, I don’t know, maybe somebody’s done it, but I could just see having someone like me, or me, at an event like this to come up and poke a little fun at us.

00:41:08.022 –> 00:41:10.942
All the musicians talk about why it’s so important.

00:41:11.182 –> 00:41:14.122
A good friend of mine, her name is Elizabeth Minor.

00:41:14.142 –> 00:41:22.982
She’s a life coach, but she’s had some experience in music and that she was managing and married to an artist, songwriter, singer.

00:41:23.482 –> 00:41:33.542
But more to the life coaching point, she had recently written in a blog post just a great reminder, which echoes exactly what you said, that confidence is good.

00:41:33.682 –> 00:41:41.602
And sometimes for a lot of us, I know that confidence can be tough to find, but she tried to remind me that we’re always doing things.

00:41:41.602 –> 00:41:55.082
It wasn’t written to me, but she was reminding the readers that we’re always doing, accomplishing things, but we’re not always good at giving ourselves a little pat on the back and not bragging, but just acknowledging it and enjoying it and rivaling it.

00:41:55.102 –> 00:41:58.422
So yeah, that’s great advice, I think.

00:41:58.842 –> 00:42:00.562
Being present with what you’ve done.

00:42:01.682 –> 00:42:04.802
And I think that you get to a point and then it’s like, now what?

00:42:04.822 –> 00:42:05.882
Then you want to get to the next point.

00:42:05.902 –> 00:42:09.522
You never really reach your goals because you reach one goal and then you have another goal, right?

00:42:10.142 –> 00:42:10.882
Where’s the top?

00:42:10.902 –> 00:42:11.462
There isn’t one.

00:42:13.842 –> 00:42:19.862
So earlier we were talking about BizTone, and I kind of categorized that in marketing and business.

00:42:19.882 –> 00:42:24.882
And I have also been trying to explore on different interviews that I’ve done for the podcast.

00:42:25.722 –> 00:42:32.122
The marketing and business experiences of various artists that are giving me their time.

00:42:32.862 –> 00:42:52.002
And I wanted to ask you if you can share with us things that you’ve learned along the way on the marketing and our business front in your career, maybe some new and exciting things that you’re doing that are working, or could even be mistakes that you made if those come to mind.

00:42:52.022 –> 00:42:54.802
But any of that you could share with the listeners?

00:42:55.722 –> 00:43:07.622
Well, I always feel like if somebody wants to be a musician, they should take some courses in psychology and marketing classes and business classes, because don’t take music classes.

00:43:07.642 –> 00:43:09.562
Go out and live those at the jam sessions.

00:43:10.722 –> 00:43:17.222
But go to school and get a major in marketing and a minor in psychology because that’s what you’re going to need to do the music part.

00:43:17.242 –> 00:43:18.082
Wow, yeah.

00:43:18.582 –> 00:43:23.182
But marketing, it is about marketing yourself and not being afraid to put yourself out there.

00:43:23.902 –> 00:43:29.782
You put on the business hat, and you post videos of yourself.

00:43:30.242 –> 00:43:36.122
You post an ad of yourself, and you have to just let that go that you’re not egotistical.

00:43:36.142 –> 00:43:37.482
You’re marketing yourself.

00:43:37.642 –> 00:43:41.262
You’re branding yourself, so you just put on the business hat.

00:43:41.882 –> 00:43:45.082
And so with social media, man, it’s endless.

00:43:46.182 –> 00:43:48.142
Get on all those social media.

00:43:48.462 –> 00:43:49.562
Get on Facebook.

00:43:49.582 –> 00:43:50.502
Get on Instagram.

00:43:50.522 –> 00:43:51.702
Get on Snapchat.

00:43:51.722 –> 00:43:52.422
Get on Twitter.

00:43:53.022 –> 00:43:54.862
And just brand yourself.

00:43:55.602 –> 00:44:04.722
And I went to school for digital publishing so that I could build my own website, so I wouldn’t have to pay somebody to put text on a photo.

00:44:05.622 –> 00:44:07.162
Those kinds of things have helped me.

00:44:07.182 –> 00:44:08.222
It saved me a lot of money.

00:44:08.242 –> 00:44:12.162
And it’s another creative outlet if you don’t want to talk to people.

00:44:14.042 –> 00:44:16.402
You can just be at your computer creating a poster.

00:44:16.422 –> 00:44:24.842
So I think that some people don’t feel comfortable writing about themselves or putting their face on.

00:44:25.522 –> 00:44:27.202
But it’s a necessity.

00:44:27.222 –> 00:44:28.122
You have to market.

00:44:28.162 –> 00:44:30.582
And with social media, that’s what’s on fire.

00:44:30.602 –> 00:44:32.822
YouTube, you know, you got to…

00:44:32.842 –> 00:44:40.462
And what makes things go viral, nobody seems to know right now, but you hope that your one little video or some post will go viral, you know?

00:44:41.102 –> 00:44:41.562
Yes.

00:44:41.922 –> 00:45:19.322
And yeah, for anyone who’s listening that does feel like that that’s weird to be on video and have your face everywhere and this whole idea of branding, there’s something, you know, a concept I’ve become very familiar with and passionate about and embarking on right currently, which is personal branding for the sake of putting one’s face on their business or in what we’re talking about here on your music and putting your personality and your voice on it and not just your singing voice, but the point being folks, so that people who are naturally going to like you can find you.

00:45:19.462 –> 00:45:31.922
And those, I know that like you, Lara, are following you because of not only your wonderful music, but also because of your personality that they’ve been able to see because you did these things.

00:45:31.922 –> 00:45:32.902
And it’s kind of fun, right?

00:45:33.042 –> 00:45:33.942
It should be fun.

00:45:34.462 –> 00:45:35.702
It should be fun.

00:45:36.322 –> 00:45:42.882
And I know that we’re kind of in this narcissistic culture right now, but for a business person, this is what you have to do.

00:45:43.902 –> 00:45:44.662
And it’s okay.

00:45:45.562 –> 00:45:47.362
It doesn’t make you a bad person.

00:45:47.382 –> 00:45:48.522
It’s marketing.

00:45:48.762 –> 00:45:51.222
And so you just have to kind of put yourself out there.

00:45:51.702 –> 00:45:57.642
I remember the first CD I put out, I was somewhere.

00:45:57.662 –> 00:45:58.442
I was getting it printed.

00:45:59.582 –> 00:46:06.562
And the guy who I picked the CDs from said, wow, your face is on the front.

00:46:06.582 –> 00:46:07.262
How vain.

00:46:07.282 –> 00:46:10.362
And so guess what?

00:46:10.662 –> 00:46:13.262
My second CD did not have my face on there.

00:46:13.282 –> 00:46:18.722
It had a painting that I painted a painting and put that on there instead, because I listened to this idiot.

00:46:19.762 –> 00:46:21.122
And it’s like, you know what?

00:46:21.122 –> 00:46:23.522
Just don’t listen to stuff like that.

00:46:23.902 –> 00:46:26.842
And don’t let people say that you can’t do something.

00:46:27.782 –> 00:46:30.202
I mean, I’m a Vietnamese person singing blues music.

00:46:30.862 –> 00:46:31.922
Yes, you are.

00:46:31.942 –> 00:46:38.522
I mean, there’s not a lot of Asian people, I don’t think, singing the blues right now.

00:46:39.802 –> 00:46:43.422
I can’t think of any, but I’m sure there are, but maybe I just don’t know who they are, maybe.

00:46:44.382 –> 00:46:47.322
I mean, you know, it’s difficult from that aspect for me, too.

00:46:47.342 –> 00:46:49.842
You just keep going, because you like it.

00:46:50.642 –> 00:46:56.262
Well, kind of as we were alluding to earlier, there are always going to be the haters and the negative comments.

00:46:56.282 –> 00:46:58.682
So just know it’s going to happen, people.

00:46:58.882 –> 00:47:02.062
And like Lara says, don’t pay too much attention to it.

00:47:02.082 –> 00:47:03.322
Don’t put too much stock into it.

00:47:03.422 –> 00:47:05.522
Yeah, don’t let people rain on your parade.

00:47:05.862 –> 00:47:06.542
That’s right.

00:47:06.722 –> 00:47:07.242
That’s right.

00:47:07.742 –> 00:47:12.062
Well, we’re getting close to the end of the hour, and I want to be respectful of your time.

00:47:12.162 –> 00:47:13.422
I want to mention a couple of things.

00:47:13.642 –> 00:47:18.642
And while I have you, to make sure I get it right, first of all, and then maybe have you add something.

00:47:18.662 –> 00:47:26.122
But I Mean Business, your most recent album, is available on iTunes, Amazon, and the actual CD, Through CD Baby.

00:47:27.022 –> 00:47:27.462
Is that right?

00:47:27.702 –> 00:47:29.382
Any other outlets people should know about?

00:47:30.842 –> 00:47:32.002
I think you hit all the highlights.

00:47:32.562 –> 00:47:32.902
Cool.

00:47:33.502 –> 00:47:44.402
And we didn’t get to talk about where you’re playing next, and you can certainly say so here, but I know that you have all that stuff on laraprice.com.

00:47:45.102 –> 00:48:09.802
And if there is anything that you would like listeners to know about that you have in the coming year, knowing that this is not going to be published tomorrow, but if you have some exciting things coming up later in the year, by the time people are listening to this, we’ll be possibly into early July, so if you have some things coming up later in the year, or you just have kind of an ask for the audience or where they can find you.

00:48:10.902 –> 00:48:20.842
Well, then go to my website at laraprice.com, and of course you can follow me on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter under Lara Price Band.

00:48:21.442 –> 00:48:33.102
But I do have something coming up in July, and so I’ll be playing the Redwood City Music in the Square on July 20th.

00:48:33.502 –> 00:48:34.802
Oh, wait, 21st, sorry.

00:48:35.582 –> 00:48:38.402
Actually, I’ll be back in California that whole week.

00:48:38.862 –> 00:48:41.402
I was going to ask you if we’re talking Redwood City, California.

00:48:41.422 –> 00:48:41.822
That’s cool.

00:48:41.862 –> 00:48:48.962
Yeah, so I’ll be in Redwood City, and Biscuits and Blues on the 20th.

00:48:49.522 –> 00:48:52.022
But I mean, you can go to the website and find out.

00:48:52.322 –> 00:48:53.962
There might be a gig in Santa Cruz.

00:48:53.982 –> 00:48:56.962
I just added, so it’ll be like a four-date run.

00:48:57.542 –> 00:49:00.802
Homecoming, Leap Fund, with two different bands.

00:49:01.502 –> 00:49:05.202
Is this going to be your first time back when you’re performing since you moved to Austin?

00:49:05.742 –> 00:49:10.442
No, I’ve been back, I think, two other times, because I had some obligations to play out.

00:49:11.802 –> 00:49:14.962
But this will be a good fun run.

00:49:14.982 –> 00:49:17.162
It’s been definitely some months since I’ve been back.

00:49:17.622 –> 00:49:20.282
Will you be playing with Laura Chavez at any of those gigs?

00:49:20.962 –> 00:49:25.222
Laura Chavez is now playing with Nikki Hill.

00:49:25.242 –> 00:49:30.682
If memory serves me right, she’s going to be opening up for Sting this summer.

00:49:31.142 –> 00:49:31.982
I’ll be darned.

00:49:32.182 –> 00:49:36.642
She’s going to be unreachable pretty soon, if not tomorrow.

00:49:37.362 –> 00:49:41.862
Well, I’m so happy to hear that for her, but I know you’re going to have a fantastic band with you.

00:49:41.882 –> 00:49:44.142
Yeah, I’m excited.

00:49:44.242 –> 00:49:48.142
Those of you who have an opportunity to see Laura, she was always…

00:49:48.162 –> 00:49:59.222
I didn’t get out and see you enough, Laura, but you were always one of my favorite people to accidentally run into playing or to go out and see because I knew that it would work out, and I could pop in on one of your gigs.

00:49:59.742 –> 00:50:04.802
You still are so entertaining, and your voice is beautiful.

00:50:05.322 –> 00:50:11.662
And, you know, spending time talking with you today just kind of reinforced the beautiful person that you are.

00:50:11.682 –> 00:50:12.402
I really enjoyed it.

00:50:12.642 –> 00:50:13.322
And I do hope…

00:50:13.582 –> 00:50:16.862
There was a lot of other stuff I wanted to talk about, so I do hope that we can do a part two someday.

00:50:17.422 –> 00:50:17.762
Sure.

00:50:18.962 –> 00:50:19.482
Let me know.

00:50:19.502 –> 00:50:20.502
This is good for me too.

00:50:20.962 –> 00:50:21.502
All right.

00:50:21.502 –> 00:50:24.162
Well, I will wrap up here.

00:50:24.182 –> 00:50:25.202
Thank you so much, Laura.

00:50:25.802 –> 00:50:26.482
Yeah, you’re welcome.

00:50:26.502 –> 00:50:28.302
Hopefully your listeners get something out of it.

00:50:29.522 –> 00:50:30.302
Oh, you know they will.

00:50:41.391 –> 00:50:42.931
Hey, this is Robanzo.

00:50:43.111 –> 00:50:44.871
Thanks so much for listening.

00:50:45.191 –> 00:50:46.491
Did you know I’m also an author?

00:50:47.051 –> 00:50:55.151
Check out my book, The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, How to Get Booked and Paid What You’re Worth Over and Over Again, available on Amazon.

00:50:55.671 –> 00:51:01.331
And the book is also available in audio format as The Unstarving Musician’s Guide Podcast.

00:51:01.611 –> 00:51:03.871
Check it out wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

00:51:04.391 –> 00:51:09.991
Last but not least, are you a gigging musician, recording artist, songwriter, or touring professional?

00:51:10.271 –> 00:51:12.511
Perhaps struggling to get your music out to the world?

00:51:12.811 –> 00:51:14.311
Struggling to get the gigs you want?

00:51:14.851 –> 00:51:18.811
Pop over to unstarvingmusician.com and sign up for my email list.

00:51:19.191 –> 00:51:27.991
I will send you an occasional email with tips, expert advice, music, musician resources, and anything else I come across that might make your journey better and brighter.

00:51:28.571 –> 00:51:31.411
With much gratitude, peace, love, and more cowbell.