The music industry is tough. I know, leave it to me to point out the obvious. Trust me, I'm coming to a point. It forces musicians to develop a tough exterior, which can sometimes cause them to miss out on things. Things like love. I'm not talking about romance. There is a special kind of love reserved for original musicians. Did you know that? It took me a long time to realize that I was in love with music. Again, I'm not talking about romance, so don't go thinking I'm some kind of weirdo. I didn't always understand that everyone doesn't feel the way I do about music. Sure, everyone enjoys music. But it took years of me shoving music onto people to realize that they don't care about it as much as I do because they don't get the same feeling I do about it.
Let's just talk about it: fandom. I'm not talking about obsession or being a stalker or living and breathing one musical act. I'm talking about fundamental admiration not deeming one mental. Haha. Did you like that? I just came up with that off of the top of my head. Sorry, let's move on. Connecting with someone you've never met through feelings and experiences can really be an outrageous thing. Let's face it, there are feelings that we all have at some point, and sometimes those feelings are hard to express. Musicians are those who have the talent to not only put those experiences into words, but also reconnect with and convey the emotion those milestones in life create.
I'm all over the place, but I'm just going to go with my train of thought here. Another reason being a musician can be difficult is just what I said a moment ago. They reconnect with those emotions every single time they sing the songs they wrote about them. Any great musician will take themselves back to that place that pulled those words from their heart to the paper. They do that for you, for us, the ones who love their music. They do it for the people who need to be healed from an experience they've also went through. In a way, they're giving something really important up to be able to connect with and heal us. They're giving up the opportunity to heal their own emotional wounds. They're giving up closure on what can sometimes be a sad or painful experience.
This is why live shows are such a beautiful thing. This is why concerts are never going to be obsolete. And this is why music is so powerful. The industry and sounds that come from it are constantly changing. But there is one thing that will never change: people love music for the feeling it gives them. They get feelings from lyrics that they can identify with. So, in a lot of ways, people connect with musicians who are (or have been at some point) a lot like themselves.
Call me a thrill-seeker, I'm always searching for those feelings, and often I find them. I've found them in Oscar Bell, who is a legend and he doesn't even know it yet. Every single original piece from him is like a gift from heaven wrapped in gold and warmth. I've found it in Rebel Revive, who somehow manage to simultaneously rock my world and bring me to tears. I've found it in Shout London, who I could write about for days, but let's just say they get relationships, every kind. I've found them in Kristina Grafer who, without knowing it, has helped me find parts of myself that I had left behind a long time ago, parts of me that needed to resurface. She managed to help me do that in just the right way, and for that I will be forever grateful. I've found it in Jay Mont, who has reminded me how much I really do love hip-hop and R&B when it's presented as an art form rather than an excuse to be gangster and tell the world how much money you have. He's reminded me that it actually is an art form, and it can be beautiful and extremely therapeutic. I've found it in Sam Brown, who virtually handed me happiness, which is a nice thing to own.
The more I think about it the more I also realize that these people, these artists I have just mentioned are also the ones who I've seen put forth the most effort in their music and in getting it heard. These are the ones that put in the sweat. Yes, sweat. Sweat, and hours, and stress and... tears, I can only imagine. These are the passionate ones. If you listen to absolutely nothing else I've ever told you, be assured that this much is fact: that list of artists I just spouted is a bunch of people you could really benefit from listening to, even if country is your favorite genre (which by the way, there is none of on that list). Okay, okay, I'll be more straight forward about it... That list of artists I just spouted is a bunch of people you could really benefit from listening to if you are human. If you're an alien, it might not do you any good. Otherwise, I have no doubt that therein that list lies magic for you in the very least with ONE of those artists.
I want to apologize for jumping all around in this post. Something an artist I really admire said to me got me on the train of thought that started this post. Here's the station that train was originally headed to (sorry about the detours):
I see a lot of talented artists missing out on the love that their fans are trying so hard to send them, and that's a tragedy. I have had the pleasure of communicating with several artists over the past couple of years. Some of them want you to listen to their music, and that's all. They don't want to hear about the way their music makes you feel. They don't want to hear about the reaction people you've shared their music with have had. They just see you as a number that has dollar signs in its pocket. But then there are the ones who accept that love, and actually love you back. And I can tell you that that is something irreplaceable. No amount of work, intelligence, beauty or promotion will ever top that, at least not in my eyes. Building relationships with people is a fundamental action in the music business. And I believe that it can help not only to build a stronger and more loyal fanbase, but to fill a void that often happens to an artist later on in a musical career. The ones that throw up a wall and see their fans as figures on a chart will, at some point, be miserable no matter how much monetary success their career brings. I speak only as an outside observer, but trust me, I'm observing constantly and closely.
I want to thank Oscar Bell, Rebel Revive, Shout London, Kristina Grafer, Jay Mont, and Sam Brown for being the type of artists that make ear oxygen, work hard to share it, and love back.
I also want to thank all of the other musicians out there that I have yet to find on my journey that are waiting to love my love for their music also.
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