Gary Powell, Composer/Producer

by Gary Powell

Upon leaving academia, every career path in the music and media businesses immediately becomes unique. Successful individuals have each created their story, unless they came into their professional life as a legacy which is a whole ‘nother topic. Our unique stories is why global advice is so easy to get and so hard to follow; and is advice seldom effective in its practical application. Worse than that is the fact that the eduction we did get can be misleading or even harmful under the stress-test of a real-world artistic career. If you find that your cap and gown has left you disrobed or simply had nothing to do with who you are as an artist or how you earn money as an artist, then read on for the good news.

Whether the graduation robe was relevant or not, you will still have to find the success you desire….. yourself.

After working in the music business full-time since 1976, I still struggle to find time and money to produce what I consider to be the truest and best expression of my life and capabilities. Certainly, aspirations can fuel the search for perfect artistic and financially rewarding expressions. Also, maybe we have identified a mission for our music of some particular choosing. When aspirations are not enough or the poetic mission-statement fails, it might be time to take our dreams to the gym in the form of education; either formal or not. Figuring out what kind of education is right is the next challenge on the path to our unique selves. Oh, I forgot. You may already consider yourself educated. If so, continue reading.

We artists did not choose to study finance, accounting or business, so more than likely we will have to forge this new career path ourselves. Where were the courses in Entrepreneurship in the Arts when we were being educated the first time? Even in the height of my career, I continue to seek out mentors to discern some sage advice which might be applicable to my own psychology, circumstances and talent; all things which are in constant flux.

Other careers may have offered stability with dutiful profits and financial security. We didn’t choose that, did we? So, seek out music mentors, accounting and investment mentors and business mentors; seek out those who have walked a mile in the shoes you want to wear but haven’t even picked-out yet. Regardless the size of a mentor’s career, most successful people are surprisingly willing to help other aspiring individuals. Understand that their advice is not necessarily to be followed, but it is there to be integrated within your own circumstances. I’m still learning. I hope you will too. Whether the graduation robe was relevant or not, you will still have to find the success you desire… yourself.

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Filed by Gary Powell at 1:56 pm under Music Business Insight
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by Gary Powell

There is a point in the development of your performing career at which your own vision of self must become disordered. This is a time and place where your prevailing reality is challenged. For me it came at age twenty-seven in Los Angeles.

Let’s say you are a pre-teen who loves to perform. Maybe you are even talented in doing your literal and proverbial tap dance. Even the most jaded audience enjoy watching your youthful energy. You will soon be asked to perform for many talent shows, Rotary Clubs, weddings and funerals. You have sung the National Anthem dozens of times at sporting events. Yes, it feels great to be in such demand. Continuing on to high school and college, your fan club increases. By now, you have already successfully adjusted to having competition for the lead role in the school musical or ballet. You have usually won these auditions and the infrequent loss of a role doesn’t freak you out….BUT the “shift” still hasn’t happened yet.

During college your talent may be discovered by a summer camp director for boys or girls where you become the song leader, art director or dance coach. No doubt, several churches are offering you high praise to bring your talent into the fold. All this feels inspiring and motivating as now you are beginning to win scholarships and stipends. The next year you perform in a summer-stock theater. Yes, you are on a roll and are now chanting the “I’m being paid to do what I love!” mantra.

In the past, the seemingly harmless career seductions probably did not feel like seductions at all. Now they do! – Gary Powell

At this point you’ve come to terms in juggling auditions, competition from other performers, money issues, and holding a job along side your obscenely long rehearsal hours. But now comes the “shift”. At every step of your development you, the performer, thought that each of the opportunities you’ve experienced was about you. Each circumstance was earned by you and you proved your talent again and again, but now as you have matured you have noticed opportunities thinning out. Some opportunities expire expectantly like graduating from college. Other opportunities expire not from just loosing out to the competition, but loosing in a thousand other ways you had never even considered and in other ways that had nothing to do with you whatsoever. Other professional opportunities expire because you yourself have outgrown them. In the past, the seemingly harmless career seductions probably did not feel like seductions at all. Now they do! They were, at most, a major part of your continuing education and each of your performances was a mini-equivalent to your own record deal.

This is the shift. It is a simple yet broader understanding of yourself and your talent within a larger context; a context which can and must be continually negotiated for the rest of your life. Now you finally know that each of your shows and appearances were about what the show needed rather than about what you needed. As a young performer, the negotiations with yourself were processed internally and silently. Later these negotiations will be voiced and leveraged from all sides. Welcome to the magnificent world of the adult artist who learns to live and prosper through and beyond our losses, our betrayals, our self-doubt, our limitations and our competitors. When you arrive at this point, hopefully before age 27, you will stand in the spotlight you mindfully created and the mastery of your earlier professional life will light your way toward a prosperous future.

Helpful or Interesting? Then Copy, Paste and Tweet It:
Producer Gary Powell offers insight to negotiating your performing career path.

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Filed by Gary Powell at 11:12 am under Music Business Insight
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by Gary Powell

Okay, nearly everyone has chimed in with a positive response to my suggestion of learning how we can help each other online in a more direct and meaningful way. There is nothing new about this strategy for any of us. Making it spring forth into computer code, that doesn’t just flirt with its self-serving image in the mirror, is the real question. We can become so focused on our own outreach that these efforts for our friends can eventually be overlooked or forgotten. I would like to see us all support and point our audiences to the people of our choosing. No record company needed. No art galleries needed; no telephone, satellite TV or newspapers needed to tell us who’s who while taking not only their clients’ money but our money too. Do we really need this kind of help in deciding who we really are. Thanks, but no! We’ll take it from here.

I’m assuming social-media guru, Tom Parish is the one of us with the most experience in managing any online presence. He’s the one who actually makes his living teaching people about leveraging social media toward specific goals. That said, I’m proposing that social media is just one of many strategies we should be using. Somewhere between the smokey back-room deals, the two-martini lunches, the Wednesday-night church suppers, the untoward affairs of the politically afflicted, or even just good friends who hold each other in high regard, that this is where real connections and deals are made. FACT: I have NEVER secured a job that I applied for. However, when I was referred by someone or I was found simply by chance and given the opportunity to present myself, I have never NOT been offered the job. (Sorry for the double negative, Emma. I just liked the way it sounded.)

“The other dancers will only look at themselves in the mirror. They’ll never even see us.” – Mitch Pileggi, actor

In year 1980 Mitch Pileggi, X-Files’ Agent Skinner, dragged me to a modern dance class as part of his training to be an actor. I said, “Shit, Mitch, I can’t dance. I’ve never taken a dance class in my life and all those real dancers are going to be starring at us. “You’ve got to be f’n kidding me” he barked, “Gary, shut up. The other dancers only look at themselves in the mirror. They’ll never even see us.” We went. Mitch was right.

“Blog, post video and photos, but quit looking in the mirror long enough to give a little support the people you would like to see win. We can no longer choose to sit idle while we wait for our big break. That paradigm is over. We are our big break.” – Gary Powell

Maybe we should hold a small seminar for ourselves and stir this around and see what happens. I’m not much for clubs, or joining things, or meetings for that matter. But, I don’t want to miss an opportunity for us all to get really smart and effective at helping the people of our own choosing. We have already hired Tom Parish as a moderator for us once before. He’s been so helpful to me in the past and is great at wakening our individual spirit. But we too easily slip back into old patterns.

After blogging now for five years straight, I’ve noticed that there is an obstacle to our successfully joining forces in supporting one another in our artistic or business interests. We’ve all been groomed throughout our lives to believe that talent and product is presented to us only through proper channels like universities, television, newspapers, magazines or movies. Our lizard brains have been too institutionalized to even conceive of promoting and helping the people of our choice. So, most of us go the promotional route alone with the same results as before; wasted time and money. Well, it’s time to wake up and understand that Louis Prima (Big Night) is not coming to dinner and we should have never waited for Godot. Not one minute. Let’s help one another open our lemonade stands. It’s so easy to do now that we have the technology and we all win.

Join me on my Facebook Fan Page.

For further reading: Christine Herron has spent her career finding new applications for infrastructure technologies.

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Filed by Gary Powell at 5:23 am under Music Business Insight
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The Gary Powell song, “Obscura la Noche, Obscuro el Dia” (Dark the Night, Dark the Day) was signed by Powell’s Austin music publisher Jesmax Music, BMI for placement in the Gabriel Folse film, “Guilty.” The song is performed by Los Angeles singer, Sara Traina, who was referred to the song’s producer Gary Powell by Hank Olguin, who also translated the English lyric to Spanish.

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Filed by Gary Powell at 1:07 am under Jesmax Music, BMI
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Miramuse is happy to finally announce the release of the instructional guitar DVD, “Philippe Bertaud: On the Music of Heitor Villa-Lobos.” After shooting this three-camera video production in Gary Powell’s studio, the release had been stalled in the ever-deepening abyss of securing the synchronization rights for the usage of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’ music. The process of securing the rights took thirty months of research, complete with many dead-ends, confusion, and the kind of bureaucratic communication of which only a snail could be proud.

This is the first release for Miramuse to be distributed worldwide by Carl Fischer Music in New York. My special thanks to lifelong friend and musician, Rae Moses and to Chris Scialfa for his steadfast support, and of course, the charming Frenchman, Philippe Bertaud, for his undeniable patience.

Filed by Gary Powell at 8:37 pm under Miramuse
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by Gary Powell

My lifelong friend and movie producer, Cynthia Coury of Poppy Productions, offered me the opportunity to write a song for her movie, “You’re So Cupid!”. She suggested that Malese Jow, who plays the role of Megan, sing the song. Good choice. Malese had early success in her life in front of the camera and is known world-wide for her role as Geena Fabiano in the hit Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous” and more recently as Anna in the popular TV series “The Vampire Diaires” seen on CWTV. I’m happy to welcome Malese to the collection of talented singers who work in my studio.

For the first time, Miramuse is offering an “Instrumental Version – No Lead Vocal” for those singers who wish to sing the song themselves. Miramuse is a cooperative recording label only for the releases of producer and owner Gary Powell and his clients.

“The Perfect Love” – Now Available for Worldwide Download from These Stores:

Filed by Gary Powell at 10:59 am under Miramuse
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