Stacking Skills

“We are defined by what we create in love.”

-Makato Fujimura

. . .

I was in a band starting at the age 14 with a few friends a little older than me. We practiced in the basement, and even played about a dozen shows together at youth groups and parties. We thought we’d make it big. Listening back, we were pretty terrible.

But we learned a lot. We learned how to stand onstage for 30-45 minutes and be somewhat entertaining. We learned how to memorize music. We learned how a mixing board worked. We learned how to compromise on creative points. We learned what the cheapest food at gas stations were at 1 AM in the morning.

And we had so, so much fun.

Then I was in another band at 16. Same deal: learned more skills, thought we were going to be uber successful, and we weren’t. Still had a great time.

Same at 18. Same at 23. Same at 25. Same at 28.

Learned how to negotiate deals with venues, to program synthesizers. Learned how to unlock steering columns on vans when they locked up on tour. Figured out the best strategy for distracting drunks away from picking fights with bandmates. Learned tricks to create moments onstage that got the audience’s attention. Learned what the cheapest meal at Taco Bell is (it was a cheese roll up, with a side of grilled chicken that you folded into the cheese for a makeshift quesadilla that only cost $1.50 each).

Then I moved to Nashville and started playing with artists and bands that were already successful. Very different vibe: tour buses, rented rehearsal spaces, big crowds every night.

And again, I learned a lot. Learned how to communicate with a monitor engineer. Learned how to pick the right gigs. How to prepare music for an artist that has had hits for 20 years. Learned what audiences expect in a crowd of 10,000 versus 500. How to balance a family with the turbulence of working in the music industry. Learned what food to request for after the show, so I don’t get a stomach ache bouncing around the bunk on the tour bus.

. . .

Skills stack layer on layer for years. Not because I’m trying to strategically improve skills so I can get better gigs. But because I have a deep love for the music, and the people I am surrounded with while making the music.

And the wonderful privilege of getting to do something for a long time is having more and more tools to offer up in love when the moment is right.