Natalie Gelman Blog: Tales from the subway, the road & backstage

Comic Con 2011

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:30:48 GMT

I had a great time performing at Comic Con 2011 as part of the Music Lodge! Lots of comic VIP's and dressed up fans were stopping by to listen to some music and enjoy a little down time while listening to music. My favorite moment was a couple dressed up as characters from Captain America who had just gotten engaged stopped in to listen to music.

Here's a photo of me performing each day:

Photo Credit: LMT Music Lodge / Captain America Salute during Comic Con 2011

The Long Haul...

Tue, 10 May 2011 05:45:00 GMT

I've decided that everyone should drive across country at least once in their lives. Partially because our country is breathtaking and partially because I don't want to feel so crazy for having done it 3 times now! This last long haul I did alone and have to say that with all the information, media, content and stuff we have coming at us everyday it was such a welcome break from it all.

It's fun to travel with someone too and especially if you don't have a solid agenda to see where the road takes you. Last time driving west I got to do some beautiful sightseeing along interstate 40... (Sun studios, Meteor Crater...). This time I was coming from two shows in Texas so I took 10 across the western half of the country and while I didn't get out much because I was anxious to get to Los angeles and get working on my record I did take some great photos I wanted to share with you!

My guitar flies with the pilot

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:16:34 GMT

On my flight out to Sundance I was really adamant about my guitar not going in with gate checked luggage because I had shows and things to do as soon as I landed in UT... after arguing with the woman at the gate after she wanted me to gate check my guitar and I said that I was going to just ask the stewards if it would possibly fit she came running across the tarmac to yell at me in front of a plane full of people going to Sundance which was, obviously, very embarising.

Just as she did the pilot offered to just take it off my hands and put in the cockpit with him so long as it was in fact just a guitar. Thank you reasonable people!! I borded and as usual there was actually plenty of space in a dozen over heads. What happens is when there a full flight they start making everyone gate check their luggage and then everyone gets on with nothing and there is a ton of space in the overheads for guitars or for most of that luggage...

Anyways, I was so thankfull to that pilot and to JetBlue for coming through again for me so...

An Ode to Jet Blue

Jet Blue, Jet Blue
So many sweet strums I owe to you
Thanks for putting my guitar in the cockpit

Because you never know
What could happen below
If my ax was a suitcases target

So hear is the deal
I'm making with your jet appeal
I will always try to use you to fly

If your stewards are cool
Your snacks make me drool
And you keep my guitar safe in the sky

<3 Natalie ...& my Guitar

Solution - My word for 2011

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:00:00 GMT

You probably don’t know that I’m one of the most dream oriented and goal focused people out there. I’m always coming up with extensive to do lists and goals for the next year, next month, next 5 years… rest of my life… Anyways, the past two years I’ve made my list of goals for the year as usual but I also decided not to worry about them so much and instead to choose a word that would satisfy what I was really looking for in my life. I’ve done this the past two years and it had been great to focus on that word as my goal rather than getting lost in the list.

If you want to choose a word to guide you through the year read this post by one of my favorite bloggers Christine Kane: http://christinekane.com/blog/resolution-revolution-a-better-way-to-start-your-year/

My choices in words have led to much more rewarding and productive years and looking back I’ve always gotten exactly what I asked for. My word in 2009 was Courage and that was the last year I worked a part time job and the year I made the leap to being a full time singer/songwriter and touring artist - talk about needing courage! This past year my word was Clarity and I really just wanted it to use to clear out my physical stuff (I have a fantasy of living out of a suitcase with just my guitar and smart phone) and my personal sense of purpose and goal with my music and life. Well, like I said you get what you ask for - and probably what you need. That word worked throughout the year to bring beautiful people and experiences into my life very effortlessly but it also worked to wring out all the mental thoughts and gunk that hold me back and a lot of personal family things that were very difficult.

It started out easy and I didn’t take the hint until the year came to a close and I realized that everything was so difficult because I still hadn’t learned the lesson and moved on. I’m sure it will make for quite a few chapters in my book one day but anyways, I decided then, in the last few weeks of 2010 that the only possible word for this year was Solution.

I know that might not seem like a very glamorous word to anyone but for me solution is about making/finding a decision, having focus and moving forward. It’s about living at ease in the flow of life, committing to something and taking action. I’ve been incredibly indecisive this past year - and who wouldn’t be surrounded by a mess of their life. Picture yourself cleaning out a closet. You know how it gets very messy before you can figure out what to make of it all? That was me, except it wasn’t a closet it was everything. And some of it was amazing and beautiful and I knew it was the first thing I was putting back in that closet… and some of it has been so painful I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Anyways, I’m really excited and nervous about the word I chose to guide my year and I know it’s going to be just what I need. If you’re tired of resolutions and didn’t make any this year, or you gave up on yours already it’s not to late to use the spirit of the new year (yesterday was 1.11.11 after all!!) and decide on a word to guide you.

I would love to hear what you chose and why if you want to share send me an email (Natalie [@] NatalieGelman.com) or leave a comment below.

And even if you decide to keep the word to yourself I know it will still bring lots of what you need and want into your life!
Love,
Natalie

Dream Flight

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:55:00 GMT

As lots of you know I’ve been trying to sing on every one of the dozens of flights I’ve taken this past summer/fall. I even had an All You Can Jet pass with jetBlue for all the shows I had in various parts of the country in Sept/Oct and I really thought of all airlines they would make it happen.

It turned out to be on a Delta flight about a week ago when the stars aligned as I was traveling home from Arkansas by way of Memphis (which happens to be one of my favorite cities to stop into when I’m traveling the country).

I was really tired from a conference I had been at in the Ozark mountains and rather than put up the usual fight to get my guitar in the overhead near me I just let them gate check it. Next thing I know I’m sitting in my seat thinking about just how to position myself to sleep though the whole flight when I hear: “Will the passenger with the guitar please come up to the front of the aircraft.” Jeez, I’m thinking, I didn’t even put up a fight and this is when I get in trouble, what’s going on?

Turns out the flight attendant didn’t want to let my guitar travel underneath and had made space in the closet. I’m really thankful and as I tell him that he says “But only if you’ll play for us.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I say, “you all say I can and then it never happens. I’ve been trying to for a while, it’s one of my dreams to sing on a flight but you guys never let it happen. If you can make it happen I’ll be impressed.”

“Well, if you want to once we get up the air I don’t see why not.”

“Okay, as long as none of the passengers have a problem with it I’ll definitely be singing for you guys.”

At that point a few of the folks in first class who had heard the exchange between us agreed that they wanted to hear me sing. That felt better to have some people on my side.

Once we were up in the air and he came through with the beverage service I asked him if he was serious and if we could really make it happen. He said to just give him a minute to do a few more things.

I started to get ‘ready’ in my ‘greenroom’ doing some very quiet vocal warm-ups and thinking about what I wanted to perform (and putting on some lipstick). He brought over my guitar and asked me how I wanted to handle the performance. It’s always so loud in a flight and lots of you know how loud I sing but I didn’t think the acoustics of the jets would carry through to the back even from the middle so I said we should go through the announcement intercom a bit.

I went up to the front of the plane, said hello to some of the folks in first class who has encouraged me earlier and after Angel announced me and held the phone up to my guitar and voice while I sang. He had never heard me, I didn’t tell him I had any credentials so who knows what he (or anyone) expected to hear but I’m so happy they all trusted me and listened.

Here’s the awesome flight attendant who made it happen! If you have him on one of your Delta flights you’re lucky, he’s a hoot!

Enjoy the video to see the performance and some pictures that I threw in to stabilize the video turbulence.

Next up… Virgin Galactic! (If you know Branson let him know!)
-Natalie

Women's Redrock Music Festival!

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:15:00 GMT

The fabulous folks at the Womens Redrock Music Festival in Torrey, UT are hands down the most awesome crowd I’ve had the pleasure of performing for this summer. I played the festival a week or two ago (August 6th) and finally had a chance to put together this music video mash up of my time at the festival.

The day started out great and the town and park were too beautiful to take a nap I badly needed before the show (I know I’m such a hard rock star). Instead I went hiking and just made it back on time to shower and warm up (redeeming lateness rock star quality!).

About 10 minutes into my set the storm started to roll in full force. There was lightning, a little thunder but it was the winds that made me nervous. There were quite a few moments where I thought the lights, the banner, my mic stand or myself was going to blow over they were so fierce. Nothing fell down thankfully, though about a fourth of the banner ripped out of the grommets during my set and had to be taken down afterwards.

All the commotion made the show all the more incredible because the audience was just as relentless and expected a great show from me. I think it is one of the shows I’ll remember for a while because of that. :) We did capture some good footage of the show despite the crazy weather…

The other musicians were superb as well! If you are within driving distance of the festival I highly recommend heading over next year, hopefully I’ll be back too! My two new fav singer/songwriter gals are Becky Alter www.beckyalter.com and Leraine Horstmanshoff www.lerainemusic.com check them out for some very cool tunes!

Headlining the Northwoods Music Festival

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:45:00 GMT

I had an incredible time performing at the first Northwoods Music Festival in Superior, WI. I love touring in that region but it was my first time visiting the Duluth, MN/Superior, WI area. Except for Delta losing my luggage in Minneapolis for a few hours the whole weekend - which also coincided with my birthday - it was a lot of fun and I hope to be back in the area again soon!

The backdrop of the Barkers Island Pavilion was beautiful Lake Superior (the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area) and though it was a stormy looking overcast day it was still incredibly beautiful. Roger LePage from www.lepagefoto.com took some photos of me performing and at the festival...

Cross Country Tripping New York to Los Angeles

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:45:00 GMT

I’ve been in Cali for almost two weeks now but I finally have settled in and had a chance to upload the photos from my camera and whittle down my pictures of the sky/clouds/sunsets to the very best!

Besides getting a LOT more long distance driving experience I learned that EVERYONE has to start somewhere. At Sun Studios in Memphis they showed us a program for Elvis’ High School talent show… where they spelled his name wrong. I can’t even tell you how many times I name has been spelled wrong by venues. Even the Bitter End where I have been performing for years still spells my name wrong sometimes - I get excited when they don’t!

Anyways, check out the slide show and all the captions by scrolling over the picture you’re interested in. Enjoy!

Performance in the Sonicbids Office

Fri, 14 May 2010 05:20:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to perform for the great folks at Sonicbids at their offices in Boston, MA. I know some of you were able to catch the show across the globe and I LOVED hearing your requests and even that the show was being shown in the lounge of my favorite MA schools! But, In case you missed it or want to get a little glimpse of their office you can check out this video a quick clip of bits of two songs from the show!

I definitely hope to be doing some more live streaming as the summer goes on. I have to talk to some of my awesome tech and audio friends to make sure I can get it to sound and look great but be on the lookout for that in a month or two.

For those of you who are not familiar with Sonicbids, they are a great recourse for independent musicians to apply for opportunities in the music industry. I have performed at a few festivals, conferences, venues, won songwriting contests and more because of them - I’ll actually be at the Plymouth Folk and Blues Festival this Labor Day weekend in Sept because I found it and applied on Sonicbids a few months ago!

They are definitely worth checking out no matter what style or music you create or perform. You can also hear it from the founder Panos in this recent Huffington Post article.

Thanks for stopping by!
Natalie

Cape May Singer Songwriter Festival OR Proximity to the Poop: Pt 2

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:35:00 GMT

Innocent bystanders who found themselves in the midst of the Cape May Singer/songwriter festival this past weekend were probably happily surprised to see so much great regional and national talent come in to perform in all the venues at their hidden getaway spot. I had a really fun evening showcase at the Pilot House on Sat night where some Facebook friends who didn’t even know I would be performing there were happily surprised and stuck around for the performance and to buy me a drink. It was so nice to run into people and see people really enjoying the live show. It is great to feel that what I’m doing is expanding and has been propelled in ways I can’t even imagine! Heres two pictures from the very beginning of the festival for you. Outside of the beautiful & historic Congress Hall... & inside one of the actual bathroom stalls was an old fireplace or maybe part of a food elevator service system!!! Always be aware of your proximity. ;) Getting to the festival Friday I was on the first panel about the new Paradigm in the music business and what artists can do to make it work for them. This business is so funny because there really is no one way and almost anything you swear by doing someone else will completely disagree with. I tried to give as much hard and true advice as I could and I think a lot of the artists there walked away with some good ideas. I think when its all said and done the two things anyone can agree on as far as taking your career to the next level and having success are: 1. Think outside the box, do it differently but do something and if it works for you, keep doing it. 2. Remember the humanity in this business, as in most, your greatest resource is other people. People like working with people that are easy to work with and that they LIKE. Be helpful, treat people with respect and more than ever your relationship with your fans is golden. They want and expect more of YOU than maybe ever before. So don’t be afraid to “Let it all hang out” as Brendan from Wheatus said. Hope that helps someone and I just wanted to put it out there that I really enjoyed being on the panel, talking to other artists and hopefully helping them move forward and expand. If you have any questions or want advice please feel free to shoot me an email (Natalie [at] NatalieGelman [dot] com). Also, if I’m in your area I would love to meet you and help you decide what you should do next for your solo career or band. Sort of like a music career consultant but instead of charging all I’m asking is that you buy me lunch. I would just love to share what I know so I can help you and maybe you’ll end up with more time to do the things that matter like make music! Hope everyone’s spring is getting colorful and great! There were lots of early spring bulbs poking through and some dapholils in bloom which wI spent some time walking down to the beach to watch the sunset at the festival with a PB&J but wasn’t thinking about how the 40 degree weather would feel much colder in the winds!! Still fun though… Talk to you all soon! Natalie

Big wheels keep on turnin', snow just keep on Fallin'

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:40:00 GMT

My winter tour is in full swing now. I just came back from a show in the mountains of North Carolina and this fun video was taken on the NC/TN border. It’s a little silly but I had a lot of fun at this “scenic outlook” and I even made a snow man and a snow dog there too!

So many shows are being added to the calendar and I couldn’t be happier. It has been a real treat to meet so many new and awesome people over the past few weeks. This tour has already taken me from my neck of the woods: NY, PA, CT, MA and VT to as far away as NC, UT and NE!!

I’ll put all the upcoming dates below and you can always find out more on the shows page too! All the college shows below are open to the public unless they have a “*” next to them so don’t be shy to come on out.

Stay tuned for more shows being added and if you see a round of dates I’ll be in your area but don’t have anything booked reach out because I would love your help setting something up! :) I’ll be doing street performing, performing at open mikes and generaly hanging out when I’m not playing set shows too so check out twitter for the very latest shenanigans.

Thanks for your support always!
-Natalie

Upcoming Shows - Winter/Spring
2/25/10 1:30 PM Flint, MI – University of Michigan - Flint

3/2/10 12:00 PM Chicago, IL - University of Illinois at Chicago
3/3/10 11:30 AM Fox Valley, WI - Fox Valley Technical College
3/5/10 9:00 PM Green Bay, WI - University of Wisconsin Green Bay
3/10/10 11:30 AM Godfrey, IL - Lewis and Clarke Community College
3/12/10 9:30 PM Urbana, IL - University of Illinois
3/17/10 8:30 PM Lebanon, IL - McKendree University
3/18/10 to 3/21/10 Austin, TX - SXSW tba / Street Performing
3/24/10 11:30 AM Newark, DE - University of Delaware
3/25/10 7:00 PM Chester, PA - Widener University
3/27/10 8:30 PM Cape May, NJ - Cape May Singer Songwriter Fest
3/29/10 12:00 PM Groton, CT - University of Connecticut Avery Point
3/30/10 12:00 PM Newark, NJ - Rutgers University Newark
3/31/10 12:00 PM Dover, DE - Wesley College
3/31/10 7:00 PM East Stroudsburg, PA - East Stroudsburg University*

4/6/10 12:00 PM Cape Cod, MA - Cape Cod Community College
4/6/10 5:00 PM Boston, MA - Sonicbids in-office performance*
4/7/10 9:00 PM Plattsburgh, NY - SUNY Plattsburgh
4/12/10 12:00 PM Crookston, MN - University of Minnesota Crookston
4/14/10 11:00 AM Fargo, ND - University of North Dakota Fargo
4/23/10 TBA Salem, OR - Willamette University

5/6/10 TBA Santa Monica, CA - BMI/Koffeehouse Showcase at Harvelle's
5/15/10 TBA Newport Beach, CA - Sons of American Legion Hall - Opening for Dave Mason
5/22/10 7:00 PM Las Cruses, NM - Las Alturas House Concert

Sundance is my "love and my drug"

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:22:47 GMT

A few weeks ago I found myself at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. I don’t often recommend that everyone I know go to some place or event (unless there is delicious food involved) but Sundance is one of those events that I think everyone should check out at least once in their lives.

It is full of so many creative people from all different disciplines and at all different levels of success. Besides their being many film makers, actors, set and costume designers there were a lot of performers there from artists and back up musicians to songwriters and film scorers.

I did have the opportunity to perform at the NY film lounge a few days. Here’s a video from that of me performing a new cover song. Its “Love is My Drug” originally by KeSha.

A huge thank you to everyone who made the NY Film lounge a really special place to retreat for some NY live music, NY cider and bagels and the opportunity to connect with other artists and creative people from NY state. They did a great job and they were volunteering the whole week long.

I even did some street performing while I was there! In 20-30 degree weather I have never felt like more of a trooper. But it was well worth it. I met some great people while I was street performing and actually has a really special moment while I sang Stevie Nicks “Landslide” looking out over the snowy mountains and all of Park City. There are a few pictures of my street performing too.

Check out my guitar up in the snow bank!

First photo by JL Cummings

The best part of the festival is by far going to see the movies! I only got to see one but it was really special to meet the directors, actors and other people involved in the making of the film and almost feel like I am a part of their creative process because there is this awesome feedback and Q&A part at the end of each screening.

I’m planning on going back to Sundance next January and I can’t wait!

xoxo
Natalie

Meatball Sundae - It's about them

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:55:00 GMT

If you’re an artist you probably have done your fair share of promoting your next show, album or newest youtube video with fliers and email blasts. That’s great, you are getting yourself out there and trying to reach someone. But, if your yelling at them (and its highly likely that you are) they will not only ignore you and feel angry about the interaction but the permission you once had to use their most precious commodity, time, is now at best framed badly (potential customers will consider you an option but be sure that you’re not the best choice) and at worst totally lost -they will unsubscribe, delete your emails and tell their friends just how awful you are.

Bands and artists do this all the time when we blast out show information to people who can’t make it with no other relevant information in the email for them (a video, news, etc). Somewhere along the line the fan opted to be on your email list but you have to realize it is not about you. It’s about them. They don’t really care about your music. They care what that music can do for them, how it relates to them, how it makes them feel and if they share your music with friends does that make their friends love them (your fan) more because they shared an exceptional product with them.

It is not about you. Not when you put out a record, not when you’re on stage, not when you write a song or write a blog.

This blog, if I’m doing this right, should be about you. It should help create a moment that takes you out of your systematic way of doing this and challenges you to grow and think differently about the world around you so you can grow. And that’s what the best records, performances and songs do.

Seth Godin’s book Meatball Sundae encompasses a lot of ideas from his other books and connected them for me. In the interest of writing a shorter blog than I did yesterday so you (like me) can get to implementing some of this stuff I’m going to bullet point what else I think is most important and how it applies to what you are doing and how you could do it better.

* In a few of his books Godin tells a story about being in a Walmart office and seeing “You can’t out Amazon, Amazon.” You can take from the greats but you will never be able to beat them at the game they created. For instance I can’t out Jewel, Jewel. I’m not even sure she could (most fans of hers are more fans of her early albums). So even when you’re putting together another album don’t try to outdo something you did before. Just make the best thing you can at that time. Maybe that means making only a video or putting out the story behind each song in the liner notes. Above all it means be authentic and be yourself.

* If you approach every interaction, from booking a show, selling your merch to fans, sending out emails and interacting with fans at shows with the question “How can I make your job/life easier?” how would that change your business.

* With email and interactions your clients and fans expect fast responses to their emails and questions or they will start to write you off. Short of outsourcing that to someone how can you get back to people faster to grow those connections.

* “Its not us and them, its us and us.” Old media used to be just a few people talking and selling to the masses. Now clients (and fans) are the media. With the use of forums, blogs, youtube and social media your fans and their opinions can be more important then a review in Rolling Stone or an appearance on Oprah or Late Night. Stop dreaming and instead ignite your network of fans by giving them the tools to promote for you. It’s far more realistic and profitable. Instead of yelling at your fans with a megaphone give it to the people who want to spread your music.

* Can you create merch or music that is new and novel? Something so different or the best that people will seek it out? Could you sign everything? What if you raised the standard of quality on everything? I personally don’t sell a CD if there is even a small crack in the jewel case and have been considering special shipping options so getting something from my store is like opening a gift. What if you wrapped your CDs and merchandise like a gift before shipping them out or if your music only appealed to a small but very connected group of people because it was all recorded and produced on an iphone. Do you feel confident enough in your product or performance to offer a money back guarantee? If not, why not? How could you change it so you did?

* “What are your self imposed (but unspoken) limits on your growth?” Did you say you couldn’t offer that guarantee? Is it because you think you’re not good enough? Could you ever be good enough if you’re limiting yourself? Maybe you limits aren’t how good you could be but realizing how good you already are a great artist and that you do deserve to be paid to perform. While giving away some stuff for free your songs are worth something. It goes back to creating moments and feelings that other artists can’t help your fans feel. “If you can’t offer something more than a commodity [CD / average performance / average love song] someone else will sell it cheaper.”

* “The web is the biggest haystack in the history of mankind and you’re just a tiny little needle.” It is useless to try to interrupt people that are disinterested. You can leverage what your doing and help people find you by creating something remarkable and then putting it out there where your fans would like to find things. Godin talks about how in the long run having more variety leads to more sales and he is talking about flavors of soda, cereal etc. but I want you to think of it as variety of connection. Some of your fans only want to be emailed but I be a lot of them would love to hear from you ever day via text messages or twitter etc.

Thanks again for reading. I hope it got some ideas moving for you. These books have been a blast to read and I’m very thankful for them being written by Seth Godin and I look forward to reading more of his book. Thanks again to Derek Sivers for choosing me as one of the artists for this project as well.

And thank you to you for reading!
If you want to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Myspace or by Email all the links are right here in this sentence. :)

Enjoy making music and sharing it with more people than ever possible.

The Music Business Fairy Tale Ending

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:10:00 GMT

Once upon a time an A&R of a record label from a kingdom far, far, away would come down from the sky, tap you on the head, make you famous and shower you with gifts, trips to Neverland and even fairy “dust” for as long as they could pump advertising out to everyone in villages around the magic forest.

Everyone rejoiced. You road white horses who had white horses to carry your gear and Little Red Riding Hood was your biggest fan.

One day you were sitting on a wall and noticed a funny looking egg sitting next to you. “Oh! It’s the president of the record label, Mr. Dumpty.” You were very excited to see him and tell him about your new idea to save the villagers from the giants by giving away your music so they could play it when the giants attacked to put them to sleep. Not all the villagers had enough gold to pay the kings taxes and buy lovely lute stylings and the remix on cassette.

“‘Excuse me… Mr. Dumpty…’ He must not have heard me, maybe he’s asleep, after all he has been running Mother Goose Records since a long, long time ago. I really want to speak with him though. ‘Mr. Dumpty! Mr. Dumpty!! …Oh no!!! I must have startled him, he’s fallen and… Call the Kings horses and text the Kings men.’”

But they can’t put him back together again. It’s too late. The big bad wolf takes over Mother Goose Records, dropping you and almost all the other stars from the label.

You still have the idea and want to share your golden songs with the villagers. You start to make more lovely lute stylings records at home in your ginger bread house. When the record was done you burned them on your granny smith computer and gave them to the villagers for free. Taking care of their fear of giants and in turn they took care of you - giving you their frequent fairy miles to take a tour back to Neverland and sending owl post to relatives and friends far, far away spreading the message of your music. Everyone rejoiced.

Things will never be the way they were in Wonderland ever again.

The Beginning.

You’ve all heard that story before, or maybe a lot of those stories before. Why not compare the ridiculousness of the music business to a fairy tale?

As an artist I would love to find a great team and a fabulous label to handle the work they love doing while I do what I love to do as I said a few blogs ago. But before that comes together I need to sort out what my story and message is and make that work on a smaller scale. There actually is no need for a huge infrastructure till there’s a huge demand.

The latest Seth Godin book I read was All Marketers (Are Liars) Tell Stories. My job with this project from Derek Sivers is to talk about how this applies to artists and musicians and I think so far it’s a toss up between this book and Tribes, which has more hard content to help you grow your career as an artist.

As many of you know I am a street performer. That is a big part of my story. And I don’t just street perform anywhere. I generally street perform in the subway. I used to think it was the perfect way for me to let new people hear my music, promote my shows and that it was the perfect way to release how stir-crazy I get if I haven’t performed in a while.

The truth was though that is was actually one of the central themes of my story. I represent NYC for a lot of tourists that have run into me down there and in a way I have taken that on the road and branded myself with the street art of NYC in my promotional materials…

These are literally hand folded out of recycled Village Voice Newspapers and spray painted with a stencil I hand cut.

It was a ton of work but they were incredibly fun to make and they also work with some of the other messages and story I have: I care about the environment and recycling is one way I do that, I also like for someone to get one of my Cds, cards, t-shirts or anything from me and notice that it’s a little different and that I took the time to make it special for them.

I also took a lot of time branding my booth at a conference last year and got so many compliments that it was the coolest booth at the conference. It had maps of the subway instead of a table cloth and I had markers so people who stopped by could actually graffiti on the table while listening to my music. They also walked over a big yellow line to step into my booth representing a subway station. I even made a fake subway sign!

I’m telling you all of this because it was a big lesson in branding. The truth is it all happened by accident so I can’t really take credit but I realize it was the most important thing to establish a clear and easy story of who I was for these conferences. I had a new logo that a friend of mine www.KristenTerrana.com designed and knowing all about my street performing she made a beautiful silhouette of me performing between two trains with my initials. Knowing that would be my banner I kept pulling from that them and came up with some great ideas that I didn’t even get to use (a sewer rug by the entrance and a trash can for another table/listening station).

All of my promo materials either had that logo on them as well or a picture of me performing or in the subway. It was a simple clear message and in my follow up with attendees everyone remembered me as the girl from NYC with the awesome handmade CD’s. I actually booked a bunch of shows because it was different and exciting -and hopefully because my music was good too!

The next year (this year) was the real proof that my branding and story worked. I applied to showcases at the conferences and with only a 6-9% chance of getting them each time I applied I got 5 out of 8 of the showcases I applied for with a video that was branded with my clear street performer from NYC message.

I’m telling my story and why/how I think it worked because I want you to realize how important it is to have something that separates your music and what you do so the people that do give you the time of day remember it even in the worst of situations – a conference where they meet so many other artists, magicians, contortionists you name it.

If you’re not good at realizing what someone thinks of to describe you try asking some other performers and friends, you family and your fans. Don’t take offense to what they might say. You may think you come across as an intellectual renaissance artist and people may just see you as an emo-folky.

I’m talking about this from a point where you already have played some shows and written some songs and decided you wan to make a go at being an artist because I also think there are so few mistakes you can make when you are just starting out. Its more important to get out there at open mics, house parties and wherever you can to try out what you’re doing and see if its working as you go.

One of the most important things Godin said in the book for me was: “You have to believe your own story.” If you aren’t sure that you’re the best emo-folker or the best renaissance troubadour from far, far away how are you going to keep striving to be that and gain your fans trust and love. I think using the power of manifestation through envisioning your perfect story is a great way to get moving in the right direction. If you want to find out more about that check out the movie The Secret or google Vision Boards.

Once again it is very much about authenticity but the story is what sells the song. If you heard Reba and Taylor Swift singing about hard times which one would you believe. I know I would want to hear Reba’s song. But if it was about young love I would listen to Taylor Swift.

The song is your most powerful marketing tool as a singer/songwriter or as a band. People will decide what kind of person they think you are based on the songs you sing. And if you have a hit song about living in the country and being one of the guys that’s what your image is going to be till you have another hit song about being the prom queen and going on to cheer for the Dallas Cowboys.

I’m using a lot of stereotypes here but I think you will agree that we are all really confused about who exactly Miley Cyrus is between putting out the beautiful country ballad Climb and the Popified Hip Hop song Party in the USA.

I think she can get away with that because she’s huge right now and I think as you grow your career you should try to define your sound and image clearly. Keep experimenting but make a definite mission statement and story about who you are and keep that in mind when your writing, taking photos, designing your website and even choosing venues to perform at.

I know I have written an incredibly long blog and if you’re still reading I applaud you but I really do want to stress that if you have no story at all you will reach the comparable amount of people. Sorry to put it pretty harshly but you must realize what it is about you that’s compelling as an artist and start magnifying those things.

That’s step one.

People need to notice you to even decide if what you made or the product your selling deserves any of their time to check it out. If your story is compelling they will. If you have a fabulous Purple Cow and treat your customers incredibly well they will come back to you. And if that story is easy for them to remember and tell they will tell their friends and family too and that will spread faster than any other marketing you could do.

I hope you’re never stuck inside a bad fairy tale but it just might be better than being no where at all.

Trick or Tribe?

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:20:00 GMT

Everyone wants to belong to something from the time we’re very little till the time we die. It’s part of how we cope with life. Its also important that we decide what we don’t want to belong to -though I think a lot of times that’s decided for us.

I grew up feeling like an outcast till I went to an arts high school and found myself in a group of outcasts just like me. I think a lot of artists and entrapaneurs can relate to feeling like they didn’t belong. Can you blame us? We’re usually the people that shake up social norms. Asking “Why?” constantly and challenging the world around us like it’s in the job description -it is. We should constantly be looking for a better way to write a song, tune a guitar or grow our fan base.

I’m going to talk about Seth Godin’s book, Tribes, which you might have caught on has to do with a tight knit community that is really excited about a cause, product, artist or anything really that matters a lot to them and the reasons, benefits and necessity for the tribe. The book was full of great content that a lot of artists can apply directly to building a group of not only fans but empowered allies that are within themselves incredibly connected to each other self motivated people to your mission as an artist. I realize that last sentence may have been a little dense but bear with me.

When you are a part of something, when you love a product, artist, movie, city… what do you want to do? Connect with other people who also love it. And if you can connect with those people you are persuaded that since you are both onto something it couldn’t just be a fluke. You can’t be crazy thinking that Patty Griffin (she’s my fave!) is the best singer/songwriter or that Columbus, OH is a surprisingly cool little city if you find other people who feel the same way.

Once you decide you know what you know, and your passionate about it, you’re going to tell as many people as you can. I know I have personally told at least 25 people how much each of those things are awesome and should be checked out.

So what does this have to do with you and your fans?

You have an opportunity as an artist or band to be the leader of your own tribe. I realize that can sound very daunting and like it’s a lot of work but if you have been getting your music out there performing live, releasing albums and getting involved with social media you have probably already established a small tribe without even realizing it. Quite often if I go back to a certain town to perform there is a small but definite group of people there I can not only count on to show up and make me feel like driving for 10 hours to perform for 1 or 2 was absolutely worth it. They are the people I think about when I book shows and look forward to seeing again and sharing new songs with.

The truth is that I have not been so great at actually leading them and I think they would feel a lot more appreciated if I got my act together and set up even more of a community for us. Seth Godin says in Tribes that one of the most important things to empower your tribe is to give them the tools to contribute, track the tribes progress publicly and above all be transparent. I titled this blog Trick or Tribe as a reminder of that last point. If you are trying to trick your fans and tribe or even yourself people will know and it just wont work. People wont respond to what you're doing because they can sense the fact that you're not being honest with yourself.

In the next few weeks I’m going to work to change that. I have been thinking about putting together a street team or exclusive fan group for some time. I’ve toyed with the idea of sending out a special email with exclusive news and I might still do that. It might also be great to start a forum and special section on my website that gives my tribe the tools to share my music and provides a home base for us to communicate as a group and gain some momentum. Like I said before, once the ball starts rolling, once I realized that other people thought Patty Griffin was –the best ever- I wanted to share it more and invite people to belong in my tribe.

I don’t think tribes are just for fans either. As a musician I know a lot of other independent artists that I regularly set up lunches and coffee meetings with to swap ideas and encourage each other. I think it has made a big difference in how my career has advanced and has helped the people I connected with because I shared as much as I could with them. I also took note of things they were interested in and try to regularly stay in touch and send a message if I see something they should check out.

Leading a tribe of your peers including not only musicians and artists but also business and entrepreneurial types can be extremely beneficial. Besides realizing how much you have to share with each other you will also find yourself lifting each other up as your careers progress. Reach out and surround yourself with people that are passionate about what they do.

Start your tribe, and then start a few more tribes. Make them as exclusive or inclusive as you want – there yours. Have fun.

Are you a double dipper? Don't be!

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:15:00 GMT

I'm not talking about onion dip or salsa - by all means go ahead on that one. There is another kind of dip out there you should be aware of though...

In my last blog I quoted from Seth Godin’s Purple Cow: “Are you making very good stuff? How fast can you stop?” I started reading his book, The Dip, next without realizing it was about just that (quiting what you should), which I found pretty ironic considering that it encompassed one of the main points I took from Purple Cow.

As an independent artist I realized one day that I wear a ton of different hats that if I was just an artist (with a team or a label) I wouldn’t have to. I made a list a few years ago of all the things I do for my career that someone would do as part of my team if I had one: Marketing, PR, Booking, Tour Management, Travel Arrangement, Accounting, Production, Graphic Designer, Project and General Management, Shipping Manager… Coffee Girl. Wearing all these hats can be a bit overwhelming and depressing or maybe it’s exhilarating if you appreciate yourself for all your work on multiple and very separate tasks -or if you just have a unique affection for head accessories. The truth is though, that you need to quit the stuff you don’t do well or just shouldn’t be doing and focus on being the best at one thing.

I think that Godin would agree with me that it’s important to have a taste of all of those jobs and realize the work they entail because he recommends that everyone involved with a product be involved with it’s marketing. I think it has definitely benefited me and made me realize how important just the right people for the team I am assembling are to my success as an artist and as they come together I will appreciate how much work it takes to do any of them exceptionally.

I have gotten very good at a lot of those “hats” but the truth is I would probably be a lot better at the stuff that mattered if I didn’t do so many of them. Time and talent are my biggest resources and over time, if I’m going to grow, its absolutely necessary that I let go, quit as Godin would say, all of the stuff that I just shouldn’t do and someone can probably do better. Not to mention that they would enjoy doing it a lot more than I do.

It’s more important than ever to be the best at what you do because we have such a global community now and people have access to products, or music, that may be more of what they want. Going back to Purple Cow you should pick your niche and then strive to be the leader and the best at what you do.

Isn’t it a tragedy to go after something half-heartedly anyways? I know I have felt that way when I realize I am too immersed in the business of my career and need to just listen to music, play for people and write some songs about what I’m feeling and learning.

The bright side of all of this is that when you’re doing what you love and focused on that one thing that you want to be the best at the little upsets will matter less and The Dip won’t feel so tough I think. I want to say a bit about that because I know a lot of people haven’t read the book and don’t know what I’m talking about.

The Dip is the time when after some success whatever you’re trying to do gets tough. It’s no longer fun like it was when you first started and you’re trying to decide if what you want is really worth all the work, fear, struggles and set backs your experiencing. We all experience those moments and those times in our lives. Right at the top of the book Godin says: “I feel like giving up. Almost every day, in fact. Not all day, of course, but there are moments.”

I read that and felt like I wasn’t so alone anymore. Here was a Bestselling author admitting that it’s tough. It would be so much easier to just lie in bed all day and be mediocre but that’s not what I want in my heart.

The point is, all the tough stuff, The Dip, is called a dip for a reason. If you work through it you will come out on the other side a much better musician and so much better at that thing you do that you will be the best at. Even better is, if you face it head on, realize it for what it is, and charge thorough it you will appreciate it for the challenge it is and get to your goals faster.

I’m going to do my best this year to make charging through dips a habit. I have been wearing a lot of silly hats for a very long time so hopefully you’ll see me passing those on little by little to people who will like booking, managing and dealing with all of that business stuff a whole lot more than I do.

I know a lot of you made resolutions for the new year and I want to implore you to push through any of your dips too. Whatever you do don't be a double dipper. If your going to quit, quit early because it was the right thing to do for you and focus that energy at working through what you really want and the dip it takes to get there once. If you're going to be the best at what you do or just loose those holiday pounds it's not worth the time to quit, get momentum to start over and find yourself back in this dip some time in the future.

If you want to pick up the book or check out Seth Godin, he has a cool blog at www.sethgodin.typepad.com Tomorrow I’ll be blogging about his book Tribes as it applies to my career so stop back.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, "Purple Cow"

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:40:00 GMT

I love performing and writing music that is honest, speaks to where I am as an artist and hopefully connects to someone. Lately I have been thinking about how I can make my songs and performances more entertaining and exciting. It’s hard enough to put out an album or go on tour with a major or indie label behind you let alone to go out and do it by your lonesome as an unsigned indie artist.

I try not to think about that and just be fearless and do what I love as much as I can. The most important thing I have found to keep myself on my path is to continually renew my motivation and inspiration by finding out about other peoples stories and success.

A few week weeks ago Derek Sivers, whom many of you know as the founder of CDBaby but he also has an incredible blog, sent out an opportunity to his subscribers. If you were a working musician and had a blog you could reply back, tell him about yourself and he would choose a few people to send out copies of some of Seth Godin’s and Hugh MacLeods books. I have a reading list a mile long but Godin’s have been high on the list for a year! I applied and was chosen as one of two to read Godin’s box set and blog about how I could use those techniques and apply them to my music career. I was already slightly familiar with Godin’s ideas but really excited to get the books and dig in. I'll be blogging about each of them over the next few days so please stop back to read and reply to more.

I started with “Purple Cow” which talks about how by creating a remarkable product that fills a small niche you will have a much better chance at success. I had been trying to figure out the trick to it all (success) for a few months. Thinking about how to write songs that would be more popular and a show that would entertain more. The truth is I think I was getting away from what it is I do as a singer/songwriter and the truth of my music and performances.

A few months ago on tour someone got up and walked out of my show saying “shut up” because they felt I was talking too much between songs. I learned a few years ago that to be truly loved you have to be truly hated but I had never had to put it to use till that night. I thought about it a LOT as we drove around the country and I kept wrestling with trying to decide how much of my story is too much, how much of me is too much? But that’s exactly it, my story is my “Purple Cow.”

Being myself and balancing out the fear of being liked or not is what it came down to. Its GREAT to want to change and BE better but to put on a façade is a waste of your energy. A few weeks after the performance I had a showcase at one of the NACA conventions and just went in and did what I do best. Being me. Maybe even being MORE of me than I had been in a while. I wasn’t trying to be extra bubbly, friendly, nice or whatever. I didn’t even realize I was doing anything but I kept thinking for the past few months about why I had so much fun and that conference, made so many friends and booked so many shows. I realized it has to be because I was me. I had fun during my showcase, didn’t hide any of my political or religious views to try to tone it down for someone who wasn’t into that and actually left to see a movie with a friend when I felt a little burnt out from the conference.

It is a lot to realize that you and your story are remarkable in and of itself but you are. Trust that you’ll meet the people you need to, be where you need to be and everything will be okay. Just show up and be the best YOU.

At that show where someone walked out there were a lot of folks there to check out what I was doing. Some left and said I had a great voice, or they liked a particular song or something as they were leaving but with them were a handful that stuck around to meet me ask more about being on the road, street performing, the rollerblading tour and all my other stories that I share in between songs.

You can’t touch everyone the same way, as Godin says in “Purple Cow,” some people will get it, some will hate you for it and some just won’t care. The ones who do love my music and what I do will share it with friends and help me more if I am more of what they found unique in the first place. Eventually it will lead to more fans than if I tried to reach everyone by myself with a mediocre (waterd down) version of me.

It’s a slow process to build your fans or following of any product one at a time but just be the best version of yourself and write the best music you can and your going to have an easier time because your fans will spread and market it for you. Invest your time into what you loved doing and those same fans will be happier because of it. I know I sure would love to spend more time writing music and performing than thinking how much of a budget I have and deciding what to spend it on to market my tours and career. I love getting more from the brands and bands that I love too. So keep creating, honing what you do and finding your truth and you'll be fabulous. The more you do of that the more we will hate and love you and you'll have less people who just don't care either way.

All of that said thinking outside of the box in your marketing and physical products is really smart not to mention fun. I did some brainstorming about what would really exciting for me and for people at my show and in my promotions. I came up with some crazy ideas including one I might even use that I’m saving for now but I will run down some of the other outrageous ones in case they might amuse you or spur some ideas!

- Having live birds at a big show bring special VIP passes to randomly selected people at their seats. They could be passes for having dinner with me afterwards, coming backstage, or maybe even getting to write down a song request or message on the birds paper and sending it back to me up on stage to be performed or told.
- Riding a horse to my gigs (I would LOVE this one – if you have a horse and are near one of my upcoming shows PLEASE let me know!!).
- Performing on a flatbed truck in NY or even better - across the US. Maybe the tour path is mapped out and the whole thing is live streamed among multiple cameras (one of me performing, one of what I see, one of what the front of the truck sees). People can watch along and “travel” with me to places they have never been before.

I’m sure you have lots of ideas too about how/what you can do to be remarkable and exciting in just being you and having fun. Please share them in the comments or send me an email and I might share it in a blog no matter how far out there you think they are.

Don’t be afraid to be you and not just another colorful (or dull) fish in the sea. Being a “Purple Cow” in an ocean of fish will help you stand out and get noticed! You have to be remarkable if what your doing is going to get noticed because otherwise its just more noise - and most of all -

BE YOU.

I’m going to leave you with these quotes from the book that I love: “The Opposite of ‘Remarkable’ is ‘very good.’” “Are you making very good stuff? How fast can you stop?”

Holiday Show recap, video and pictures!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:55:00 GMT

It's hard to believe that just a week ago I was getting ready to go on stage for a big holiday show at the Bitter End in NYC! I was soooo anxious about the show because we put a lot of work into it and I was performing all new holiday songs I hadn't performed live before. I also wrote a new original holiday song to perform at the benefit.

The show was supporting and raising awareness for children of incarcerated parents and all proceeds went to In Arms Reach (www.InArmsReach.net) a charity that works with NYC children of incarcerated parents. The favorite song from the night was by far my cover of Silent Night that I performed with my dad on violin.

I wanted to make sure everyone had a LOT of fun and even the grinches in the audience left in the holiday spirit! We got a bunch of holiday hats as well as jingle bells, dreidles, little drums, tambourines and of course candy!

We had great sponsors on board for the show I had a lot of fun with all the raffles, giving away my CD as well as great gifts from our generous sponsors: Starbucks on Chambers and West Broadway in NYC, The New York Islanders and The Ink Pad a rubber stamp store in the West Village. We also raised a lot of money for the charity with all of the proceeds from the raffle and from the door going to In Arms Reach.

Thank you to everyone who came out and to those of you who supported me and the charity with a donation or words of encouragement! You made it a really special night for me and I can't wait to kick off all the shows coming up next year!

On stage at the show...

Sending you holiday cheer!
Natalie

Florida Tour with Dave Mason and Work Vessels for Veterans

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:47:54 GMT

There’s nothing better than escaping a cold Northeast winter for some FL sunshine… except maybe escaping Canada for Florida sunshine. I got to do just that and play a few shows with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason of Traffic a few weeks ago. We toured St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and the Daytona area playing music and raising money and support for Work Vessels for Veterans www.WorkVesselsForVeterans.org.

Griffin and I started driving down Tuesday afternoon after a show in Bucks County, PA and we made it there just after a hurricane left on Wednesday morning at about 9:30 AM by this…

It was veterans day and Dave performed a great show with all proceeds going to Work Vessels!

Here’s a photo I took of him and the band performing from backstage through a flag…

And one of my performance...

I had one of my NACA showcases back in CT in the middle of all the dates so I had to fly back to CT and I actually ran into my College President from UMiami, Donna Shalala in the Philadelphia Airport – small world! I gave her a CD and a few days later she emailed me to say it sounded great. Really sweet woman and an awesome role model, she is one of the reasons I’m proud to be a Hurricane!! (sorry I didn’t get down to South Florida everyone!)

The showcase went well and I flew back from CT to Jacksonville (Gator country I know!) and got to perform at this beautiful outdoor venue called The Jacksonville Landing with Dave.

Here’s some photos from the view behind the stage and of me performing…

There are more photos from that event by photographer Craig O'Neal in the live photos section my website.

I met some really awesome people at the show and one fan actually had me sign his head! That was the first time I’ve signed a head before, here’s photos of that in progress!!

The next day we were down at the White Eagle Lounge in Korona, FL. They had a huge event set up with lots of performers, vendors and support going out to the veterans from all of us. It was a great crowd with some really fun moments on stage and walking around my first biker rally! I met a sweet artist who hand makes these beautiful candles and gave each of us one. It made our car smell sooo good on the way home I really don’t want to burn it just yet!!

Here’s photos of me performing...

and the Work Vessels for Veterans booth…

We had two beautiful shirts donated for the raffle by Alpine Stars www.AlpineStars.com that you can see in the picture. They outfitted me for the tour and I am so lucky because they are the most comfy but still stylish shirts and jackets, definitely check them out with the holidays coming up. They have a cool mens line too!

Here’s a pic of my in my Alpine Stars Jacket and top in Jacksonville…

Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about all the different parts of my tour as much as I enjoyed being on it, having lots of different experiences and meeting all of you!
Natalie

NACA Fall showcases and conferences

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:01:53 GMT

I was so lucky this fall to showcase at three NACA conferences. In case you’re not familiar with them they are booking conferences that schools across the country attend regionally to book artists, magicians, hypnotists and really any kind of entertainment to come perform at their schools.

I showcased at the regional conferences for Mid-Atlantic, Mid-America and Northeast and have some pictures of the booth and my showcases for ya!

If you were at the conference and have a picture of us definitely put it up in the comments section below, I would love to see it! And if you weren’t there but will be at the National convention coming up in February I will be your roving artist showcase on Valentines Day!!! :) Thanks for choosing me and it was great to meet you all!

~Natalie

On stage for my Sampler Showcase at NACA Mid-Atlantic...   And a close up from the performance...



The girls holding down the booth at Mid-Atlantic with some students we met... And a pic of our fancy booth by itself!

Doing the Chicken Dance at the Hofbrauhaus in Covington, KY...

My Roving artist showcase in Covington, KY! I sang all day long from 11am - 12am!


And my kitty halloween costume at NACA...