Day 165 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #11)
What's going on? I am blogging every day now! Oh, my, there must be some mistake!!!
No, no, my friend, there is not. I am actually keeping FOCUSED... remember, I was having BIG trouble with that not long ago! Just read yesterday's blog and I honestly have to admit I am surprised how well I am keeping focused!
Got the Artbeat THANK YOU's out, got the Des Moines e-mail list updated, in communications with booking for MOTOR, and sent an e-mail to the guys about rehearsing for the 21st at the Coach House. Sent the CD to Jesse for the cover artwork, and Theo is, AS I WRITE, building that database of the Midwest venues. Good thing Ralph and I are not working together since he would not be happy doing the work that Theo is doing to get us BOOKED... building that database, sending out e-mails, follow-ups, etc. Is it really the job of an intern to do that sort of stuff WHEN YOU HAVE NO INTERNS???
We've already got venues from IL, IA, WI, & MN asking about rates & avails. Not bad, "Intern-Boy"!!! And what I like about the online database we are using to build our own is that there is ALOT of information on each record for each venue. Capacity, genres, lots of contact into including MySpace links, percentage of cover bands vs. original bands booked, it's AMAZING!
Next BIG project: Working on cleaning out my e-mail in-box. Turns out that the girl who books bands & artists for MOTOR already contacted me earlier this summer and I never got back to her! Can you imagine that? Her e-mail got LOST in my in-box! NOT GOOD!!! Boy, does that make me look like a disorganized flake, or what??? So, I am doing my best to get rid of 200-300 e-mails out of my in-box every night. (No, Honey, you really don't want to know how many are in there right now.) I hope I can do it. It will still take me a long time to clean out my in-box, but I now know the secret: FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!!
Also started submitting for more Sonicbids opportunities. I guess since we got the GAP one, I should keep the good energy flowing!
Gosh, it seems like a lot got done today. It really does help - this blogging thing. You should try it!
Peace, Love, & Light!!!
:)
Annie
Showing posts with label career in music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career in music. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 144
Day 144 of ANNIE B.'s D.I.Y. MAGAZINE (Post #7)
Well, earlier this week, I booked 2 more gigs at the Klavier Lounge in Germantown - they are gigs where I play mostly covers, but hey, it's better than waiting tables!!! I also got a gig at The GAP for their Born To Play campaign which celebrates their 100th anniversary or something cool like that! This is not a paid gig, but hopefully it will bring some exposure since they are doing a big ad campaign to hype up the whole thing!
Today, however, I did not do much for my career, in fact, I am a little behind, especially when it comes to Artbeat! I had a family crisis late last week and I am still working on resolving the crisis, but it will be resolved in the next few weeks. I was up at 5:30 this morning to get some flyers and a promo kit to "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, the opener for Artbeat. Then off to pick up my mom & deal with the family situation all day today. I got home around 3:30 and needed a nap. In the meantime, I am now blogging on a computer that is sitting on a desk that is so full of papers and projects in the middle stages, it's hard to keep everything straight.
So, here I am , trying to refocus, as I wrote about last week. The band is not rehearsing this week, due to people out of town. But we will resume next week Monday, and we are now looking for a bassist. Two interested players responded to my craigslist ad, so I will investigate this week.
Just wrote a new song tonight, perhaps another that will be pitched to someone like Katy Perry, or maybe we'll keep it and make it work for S.U.M. or the other project. It's too new to know what needs to happen with it.
I did have a meeting with HeyWhatever.info yesterday and they are now handling my websites for Annie B. and for Artbeat! They should be able to make Artbeat's online network a reality before July 31st, so I am VERY excited about that! I found out about the company through Jim, the owner of the Coach House in Big Bend. He uses them for his website, and they seem to be very cool people! Totally excited about the new relationship!!! They are not only going to build my websites, but they will help in marketing & bringing in traffic - which is really more important than the site itself, in terms of what's going to help you sell products online. Please look out for www.annieb.net soon!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
In other activity, the GAP store I am performing at in IL is very excited about the Aug. 20th show, and 15 sampler CDs for all store employees are being burned as I blog. Still undecided as of right now if I am bringing the full band or what. The sampler CD consists of "Everything", "You and Me", and "The Shining Light". I know that "Everything" is not a acoustic song, but we will be doing an acoustic version of that song at this show for sure.
I need to run off and drop off some quarter-page ARTBEAT flyers to Scott Berendt right now, so I will sign off for tonight...
Until my next exciting blog, have a GREAT evening, and keep loading your gun!!!
Well, earlier this week, I booked 2 more gigs at the Klavier Lounge in Germantown - they are gigs where I play mostly covers, but hey, it's better than waiting tables!!! I also got a gig at The GAP for their Born To Play campaign which celebrates their 100th anniversary or something cool like that! This is not a paid gig, but hopefully it will bring some exposure since they are doing a big ad campaign to hype up the whole thing!
Today, however, I did not do much for my career, in fact, I am a little behind, especially when it comes to Artbeat! I had a family crisis late last week and I am still working on resolving the crisis, but it will be resolved in the next few weeks. I was up at 5:30 this morning to get some flyers and a promo kit to "Darlin" Nikki Janzen, the opener for Artbeat. Then off to pick up my mom & deal with the family situation all day today. I got home around 3:30 and needed a nap. In the meantime, I am now blogging on a computer that is sitting on a desk that is so full of papers and projects in the middle stages, it's hard to keep everything straight.
So, here I am , trying to refocus, as I wrote about last week. The band is not rehearsing this week, due to people out of town. But we will resume next week Monday, and we are now looking for a bassist. Two interested players responded to my craigslist ad, so I will investigate this week.
Just wrote a new song tonight, perhaps another that will be pitched to someone like Katy Perry, or maybe we'll keep it and make it work for S.U.M. or the other project. It's too new to know what needs to happen with it.
I did have a meeting with HeyWhatever.info yesterday and they are now handling my websites for Annie B. and for Artbeat! They should be able to make Artbeat's online network a reality before July 31st, so I am VERY excited about that! I found out about the company through Jim, the owner of the Coach House in Big Bend. He uses them for his website, and they seem to be very cool people! Totally excited about the new relationship!!! They are not only going to build my websites, but they will help in marketing & bringing in traffic - which is really more important than the site itself, in terms of what's going to help you sell products online. Please look out for www.annieb.net soon!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
In other activity, the GAP store I am performing at in IL is very excited about the Aug. 20th show, and 15 sampler CDs for all store employees are being burned as I blog. Still undecided as of right now if I am bringing the full band or what. The sampler CD consists of "Everything", "You and Me", and "The Shining Light". I know that "Everything" is not a acoustic song, but we will be doing an acoustic version of that song at this show for sure.
I need to run off and drop off some quarter-page ARTBEAT flyers to Scott Berendt right now, so I will sign off for tonight...
Until my next exciting blog, have a GREAT evening, and keep loading your gun!!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
1 Month, 7 Days
Here's the skinny: I have been working on Milwaukee Artbeat for 6 weeks now, and that's why I have not been blogging recently. The event was last week Friday, and it really went over well. Had to get this event organized and I'm glad I did! It was a huge success and I'll be doing it all over again in July. I wish there was more about it online, but there's just not. However, you can read all about it in the previews that have been published:
In the Shepherd Express!! http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5928-a-cultural-community.html
In the Bay View Compass!! Twice!! http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/759, & http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/666
Had about 100 people show up and was able to make a modest donation to Express Yourself Milwaukee (www.expressyourselfmilwaukee.org). Did not make any money after that, but I spent close to $1000, so, to make my money back, have money to make a donation, and not actually lose money, well, that's pretty amazing! Ready to start planning the July ARTBEAT!!!
As far as my trip to CA, I have a good start on gigs lined up, and I need to work on that from now until I leave. This, an addition to doing my taxes and my parents' taxes. I hope I can get it all done, but I have found that my ablity to stay sober has really been coming in handy when it comes to getting everything done I want to get done.
I actually FINALLY put some pictures up on my walls tonight. I have been living here for about 8 months. I got some flowers from my boyfriend last Friday (to help create some good energy on ARTBEAT Day) and those are looking great. Doing what I can to create in my life and living space some good juju and feng shui.
Did get some bad news about a friend, my ex, in fact. He lost his very good job. I tried to get a hold of him and since he had a company phone, computer, and car, no one could get a hold of him. He ended up in rehab and hopefully he can learn to stay sober, but I can tell you, I know how hard it is. I do, I really do.
Today I was able to get posters e-mailed to a venue in Des Moines, I moved all the stuff that needed to be moved back after the ARTBEAT show on Friday (that was a TASK,) delivered a throne to a musician who left it at the venue on Friday, I got both my acoustic guitars fixed, and that's a load off... my new Taylor has had this rattle (I just bought it last fall)! The amazing guy at Cream City Music really did a great job. Got all my Thank You's out for ARTBEAT supporters/helpers, started working on the press release for the success of Artbeat, and got the new cover art going for The Kiwi Cafe CD. I received some good feedback & suggestions on how to make Artbeat even better next time, and those need to be filed. One of my biggest problems is my lack of organiation. Too many papers, too many things pending, not enough prioritization. It makes it difficult for me sometimes when I am looking for a paper I knew I wrote something on, and it takes a few minutes (or longer) to locate it. I wish I had a better system in place. I guess that's how my brain works. No real method to the madness, but somehow an effective madness.
How can I get organized? I could make a public statement to you all about spending 1 hour a day organizing, and report back to you on a regular basis, until this place is organized. Might not work 100%, but I bet it would help.
OK, I am making a public statement: I will spend an hour a day organizing all this stuff until it's completely organized. (When I am home, of course.) Did I spend an hour today? Not yet. Can I spend an hour right now? You bet. See you in an hour.
In the Shepherd Express!! http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-5928-a-cultural-community.html
In the Bay View Compass!! Twice!! http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/759, & http://bayviewcompass.com/archives/666
Had about 100 people show up and was able to make a modest donation to Express Yourself Milwaukee (www.expressyourselfmilwaukee.org). Did not make any money after that, but I spent close to $1000, so, to make my money back, have money to make a donation, and not actually lose money, well, that's pretty amazing! Ready to start planning the July ARTBEAT!!!
As far as my trip to CA, I have a good start on gigs lined up, and I need to work on that from now until I leave. This, an addition to doing my taxes and my parents' taxes. I hope I can get it all done, but I have found that my ablity to stay sober has really been coming in handy when it comes to getting everything done I want to get done.
I actually FINALLY put some pictures up on my walls tonight. I have been living here for about 8 months. I got some flowers from my boyfriend last Friday (to help create some good energy on ARTBEAT Day) and those are looking great. Doing what I can to create in my life and living space some good juju and feng shui.
Did get some bad news about a friend, my ex, in fact. He lost his very good job. I tried to get a hold of him and since he had a company phone, computer, and car, no one could get a hold of him. He ended up in rehab and hopefully he can learn to stay sober, but I can tell you, I know how hard it is. I do, I really do.
Today I was able to get posters e-mailed to a venue in Des Moines, I moved all the stuff that needed to be moved back after the ARTBEAT show on Friday (that was a TASK,) delivered a throne to a musician who left it at the venue on Friday, I got both my acoustic guitars fixed, and that's a load off... my new Taylor has had this rattle (I just bought it last fall)! The amazing guy at Cream City Music really did a great job. Got all my Thank You's out for ARTBEAT supporters/helpers, started working on the press release for the success of Artbeat, and got the new cover art going for The Kiwi Cafe CD. I received some good feedback & suggestions on how to make Artbeat even better next time, and those need to be filed. One of my biggest problems is my lack of organiation. Too many papers, too many things pending, not enough prioritization. It makes it difficult for me sometimes when I am looking for a paper I knew I wrote something on, and it takes a few minutes (or longer) to locate it. I wish I had a better system in place. I guess that's how my brain works. No real method to the madness, but somehow an effective madness.
How can I get organized? I could make a public statement to you all about spending 1 hour a day organizing, and report back to you on a regular basis, until this place is organized. Might not work 100%, but I bet it would help.
OK, I am making a public statement: I will spend an hour a day organizing all this stuff until it's completely organized. (When I am home, of course.) Did I spend an hour today? Not yet. Can I spend an hour right now? You bet. See you in an hour.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Day 1 (actually, Day 2)
Ok, it's actually Day 5706 on my way to winning a Grammy... which is one of my 5 major career goals. I promise to post blogs here until I win a Grammy, and when I do win a Grammy, YOU can say you followed me all the way there!
I will hopefully keep blogging here even after I win that Grammy, but I am now obligated to blog here until I do win one. I have made a public statement, and I will come through.
So, like I said, it's probably more like Day 5706 (somewhere between 15 & 16 years) since I wrote my first song that I actually kept and recorded, and considered myself to be a bona fide artist... (That song was called "Follow Your Heart," and I wrote it in the summer of 1993. I could probably still sing & play that song today if I needed to. I have since written well over 300 songs. Some of 'em are pretty good, some are great, and some are not so good and you will never, ever hear them.)
That's when it all began, when I first started dreaming of winning a Grammy, and having my other 4 career goals. Those would be (1) hearing my songs randomly on the radio, (2) headlining for an audience of 10,000 or more, (3) going on a world tour with a real tour bus and real riders and hotel rooms and all that stuff, (4) I actually forgot the other one, but I will let you know if I remember what it is. Those first few are the best indicators that I've "made it," I guess you could say. I have actually toured the U.S., but it was in my car and most nights I did not know where I would end up crashing. I crashed in my car a lot that year.
Perhaps I have already "made it," since I only play music for a living. Isn't that reason enough to celebrate??? I also get some hosting gigs, but that's also being in the spotlight, so it kind of counts. (Sorry about the narcissism/need for attention. Maybe I didn't get enough attention as a kid, being 5th out of 6?)
Anyhoo, so I'll call this Day 1, since it's Day 1 of Blogging 'Til I Win A Gammy. Even though it's really Day 2, since I'd like my "start date" to be March 1. That will make my life easier... to have Day 1 on the first day of the month.
So I'll be writing about the things I am doing to "make it." The little tasks I perform every day or every week, what I am doing to get bigger and better gigs, other things I am doing to move my career forward towards that Grammy and my 4 (today it's only 3) other goals.
It's kind of like getting a chance to be behind the scenes and say "I knew her when..." in case I really do make it to the "Big Time." Wait a minute! "In case"???? Nope. That stops right here. Half the way to success is attitude and believing in yourself. Actually, it's more than half.
So, WHEN I make it to the big time, you can say you knew me when I was on Day 1 of my Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy"!!! How fun would that be????
OK, so let's get started...
What did I do today?
Well, I slept at a friend's place last night (still trying to decide if this guy is my boyfriend... ??????) and he had to be at work at 6:15 so I was up at 5:50 and home by 6:30am which is very unlike me. I did get a lot accomplished today and that's because I got a huge jump-start on the day.
I helped shovel snow and had a great breakfast (like I do every morning... not the shoveling part, the breakfast part!!!) Had to be at a producer friend's house to edit a promo for www.milwaukeeartbeat.com - Milwaukee Artbeat is a new artist showcase I am producing and hosting. Fun stuff. Please visit the website for more info.
Got done editing around 2pm but then I got a call from the place where my parents live regarding my pop. He's got dementia and that can lead to aggressive behavior for some. Oddly enough, the video producer I am working with (www.xfactafilms.com) is also a social worker so he knows all about it... we talked about stuff for almost an hour.
Then I headed over to Bukalou, our web people for Milwaukee Artbeat, so they could upload the video. Hopefully they'll be able to do that tomorrow or sometime this week.
Send me an e-mail when you see our trailer up at www.milwaukeeartbeat.com, will ya?
Got home around 4 and sent out a few e-mails. I am trying to get 88.9 and the local arts/entertainment papers to sponsor Milwaukee Artbeat so I left a few phone messages, too.
Ate a turkey sandwich. An exciting day so far!
Also waiting on word from the House of Bricks in Des Moines to see if I can open for G.B. Leighton when he comes through. I know, Des Moines is 5 hours away, but I am headed down to L.A. for a Shut Up Marie reunion show at the end of April, so I'm trying to make that part of my trip down.
Went to the bank, they let me sneak in right as they were closing.
E-mails, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Last.fm, and Eventful came next. How can people keep up with all the online networks you have to do these days? Bugsy and I agree - it's a 40-hour a week job!!! And guess what....... now I have ANOTHER thing to do online... my "Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy" blog!!!!!!!!!
Next up will be laundry (that's a break for me - most of the evening I am at my computer). Then I need to create a cool loop for the trailer. We're trying to fix the audio on the trailer, and that's my opportunity to put in a different loop for the background music. I enjoy that stuff... actually doing MUSIC instead of promotion, e-mailing, press kits, and all that jazz.
Last thing is to make my "to do" list for tomorrow, and I'm trying to read a little from "The Prophet" before I hit the hay these nights.
UGH!!!! I forgot to get a Thank You card for Nick at Sunny 97.7 in Fond du Lac!!! He interviewed me on the station last Thursday morning. Thanks, Nick!!!!!!!!
Have a great night. See you again in a day or two!!!!!!!!
I will hopefully keep blogging here even after I win that Grammy, but I am now obligated to blog here until I do win one. I have made a public statement, and I will come through.
So, like I said, it's probably more like Day 5706 (somewhere between 15 & 16 years) since I wrote my first song that I actually kept and recorded, and considered myself to be a bona fide artist... (That song was called "Follow Your Heart," and I wrote it in the summer of 1993. I could probably still sing & play that song today if I needed to. I have since written well over 300 songs. Some of 'em are pretty good, some are great, and some are not so good and you will never, ever hear them.)
That's when it all began, when I first started dreaming of winning a Grammy, and having my other 4 career goals. Those would be (1) hearing my songs randomly on the radio, (2) headlining for an audience of 10,000 or more, (3) going on a world tour with a real tour bus and real riders and hotel rooms and all that stuff, (4) I actually forgot the other one, but I will let you know if I remember what it is. Those first few are the best indicators that I've "made it," I guess you could say. I have actually toured the U.S., but it was in my car and most nights I did not know where I would end up crashing. I crashed in my car a lot that year.
Perhaps I have already "made it," since I only play music for a living. Isn't that reason enough to celebrate??? I also get some hosting gigs, but that's also being in the spotlight, so it kind of counts. (Sorry about the narcissism/need for attention. Maybe I didn't get enough attention as a kid, being 5th out of 6?)
Anyhoo, so I'll call this Day 1, since it's Day 1 of Blogging 'Til I Win A Gammy. Even though it's really Day 2, since I'd like my "start date" to be March 1. That will make my life easier... to have Day 1 on the first day of the month.
So I'll be writing about the things I am doing to "make it." The little tasks I perform every day or every week, what I am doing to get bigger and better gigs, other things I am doing to move my career forward towards that Grammy and my 4 (today it's only 3) other goals.
It's kind of like getting a chance to be behind the scenes and say "I knew her when..." in case I really do make it to the "Big Time." Wait a minute! "In case"???? Nope. That stops right here. Half the way to success is attitude and believing in yourself. Actually, it's more than half.
So, WHEN I make it to the big time, you can say you knew me when I was on Day 1 of my Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy"!!! How fun would that be????
OK, so let's get started...
What did I do today?
Well, I slept at a friend's place last night (still trying to decide if this guy is my boyfriend... ??????) and he had to be at work at 6:15 so I was up at 5:50 and home by 6:30am which is very unlike me. I did get a lot accomplished today and that's because I got a huge jump-start on the day.
I helped shovel snow and had a great breakfast (like I do every morning... not the shoveling part, the breakfast part!!!) Had to be at a producer friend's house to edit a promo for www.milwaukeeartbeat.com - Milwaukee Artbeat is a new artist showcase I am producing and hosting. Fun stuff. Please visit the website for more info.
Got done editing around 2pm but then I got a call from the place where my parents live regarding my pop. He's got dementia and that can lead to aggressive behavior for some. Oddly enough, the video producer I am working with (www.xfactafilms.com) is also a social worker so he knows all about it... we talked about stuff for almost an hour.
Then I headed over to Bukalou, our web people for Milwaukee Artbeat, so they could upload the video. Hopefully they'll be able to do that tomorrow or sometime this week.
Send me an e-mail when you see our trailer up at www.milwaukeeartbeat.com, will ya?
Got home around 4 and sent out a few e-mails. I am trying to get 88.9 and the local arts/entertainment papers to sponsor Milwaukee Artbeat so I left a few phone messages, too.
Ate a turkey sandwich. An exciting day so far!
Also waiting on word from the House of Bricks in Des Moines to see if I can open for G.B. Leighton when he comes through. I know, Des Moines is 5 hours away, but I am headed down to L.A. for a Shut Up Marie reunion show at the end of April, so I'm trying to make that part of my trip down.
Went to the bank, they let me sneak in right as they were closing.
E-mails, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Last.fm, and Eventful came next. How can people keep up with all the online networks you have to do these days? Bugsy and I agree - it's a 40-hour a week job!!! And guess what....... now I have ANOTHER thing to do online... my "Blogging 'Til I Win A Grammy" blog!!!!!!!!!
Next up will be laundry (that's a break for me - most of the evening I am at my computer). Then I need to create a cool loop for the trailer. We're trying to fix the audio on the trailer, and that's my opportunity to put in a different loop for the background music. I enjoy that stuff... actually doing MUSIC instead of promotion, e-mailing, press kits, and all that jazz.
Last thing is to make my "to do" list for tomorrow, and I'm trying to read a little from "The Prophet" before I hit the hay these nights.
UGH!!!! I forgot to get a Thank You card for Nick at Sunny 97.7 in Fond du Lac!!! He interviewed me on the station last Thursday morning. Thanks, Nick!!!!!!!!
Have a great night. See you again in a day or two!!!!!!!!
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