"Being a musician isn't always easy" talk about an understatement.... It is actually an extremely difficult profession for most people that elect that road. In this quickly evolving world of consumerism we live in, it seems like music careers are being launched, digested and discarded in an increasingly shorter and shorter life cycles.
Bands and Artists are putting out albums that are just a collection of filler songs around less than a handful of singles. The music Industry has basically reinvented itself in less than a decade and has left the old guard in limbo, made room for a plethora of non-experienced musicians and dead smack in the middle are the driven few willing to adapt. All this amid a economic downturn that has impacted the industry top to bottom. Meanwhile, the attention span of the masses is dwindling faster than ever because going "Viral" and/or "Bandwagon Hopping" from trend to trend has become a hollow standard for success (for some anyways). One would think this has left very little room for artists with real substance and deep expression.
Bands and Artists are putting out albums that are just a collection of filler songs around less than a handful of singles. The music Industry has basically reinvented itself in less than a decade and has left the old guard in limbo, made room for a plethora of non-experienced musicians and dead smack in the middle are the driven few willing to adapt. All this amid a economic downturn that has impacted the industry top to bottom. Meanwhile, the attention span of the masses is dwindling faster than ever because going "Viral" and/or "Bandwagon Hopping" from trend to trend has become a hollow standard for success (for some anyways). One would think this has left very little room for artists with real substance and deep expression.
But on the contrary, in the little over 3 months that I have lived in Los Angeles, I have found that the heartbeat of music is still alive and beating beneath the Hollywood sign. The albeit difficult to uphold art of truly expressive music is being kept alive by the few, the brave, the unrelenting MUSICIANS who are still out there in the trenches of night clubs, jams, open mics etc... They continue to fight the good fight for the love of music, tradition of art, culture of expression and to share the beauty they each possess within with the rest of the world one note at a time.
So what does any of this have to do with "We are the World"? Well, I believe that every person has a purpose a destiny and a role in the bigger picture that we are all tied into. In my opinion musicians like all other artists (comedians, actors, writers, painters, dancers etc) serve their purpose by expressing what most people can't.
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent” - Victor Hugo | So my advise to any young aspiring musician/artist out there wanting to walk the road less traveled is stay true to yourself and the music its not just for you its meant to be shared with those who need a way to express |
the joy, pain, wonder, loss, longing, excitement, laughter and love that you have so carefully and skillfully poured into your music & performances. So to all all my fellow musicians remember "We are the World" we write the soundtrack to each others lives, we make it a better place by sharing our gift, we are the voice of many and it will always want to be heard. Blog #1 by Ash Jangda