The message, Jeeves!

Hellooooooo, Comrades!

And what a beautiful spring morning it is here in Maryland. I read on the news last night that Maryland is the 10th least-relaxing state in the US. Cool! Just wait till I get that new amp...

As I journey farther along in my music career, I'm getting to meet more and more people. Wow, there's some uptight musicians around here! Holy smokes, they certainly take themselves seriously. And their music, too. It feels like a high school of old people trying to keep a club exclusive.

Now, comrades, here's a news flash for you. Nobody really cares about you.

Say whaaaaat? Let me elaborate.

As I see it, there's three elements to a musician: Themselves (personality), their sound, and the song's message.

All three are essential, and the last part seems to get forgotten a lot. To use an automotive analogy, think of the musician as a car, the sound as the skill in driving, and the message as the contents of the vehicle.

If we have a beautiful piece of pottery that we would like to bring to a friend, we need a vehicle with which to transport it, and, of course, we need to be able to drive.

I'm seeing a lot of people, including myself, getting stuck on how fancy the car is (recognition as a musician) or how fast we can drive (the sound.) But all of that is more than irrelevant if there's no point to the trip, and no gift in the car. I say "more than" because after a very short while, it's downright annoying, not to mention pretentious.

I was talking to my mom about this recently. She's an artist, and her work helps people all over the world find real. She said "Josh, I take my work seriously, but not myself so much."

It just could be that a song you wrote will save someone's life. So promote it, shout it from the rooftops, and tell people it's the greatest, because it just might be.

But lighten up a bit when it comes to yourself. We're all in this together.

Vive la Revolution!

- Josh

PS. Hey all you snobby DC music scene old people...Consider yourself overthrown! "I have here a list!"