Studio Time

Getting to know Barb and spend some time working with her transformed the way I think about arranging and performing music. She and her work have had a tremendous influence on me and so I’m really thrilled to share with you this episode of Studio Time with Barb Jungr.

In this episode we discuss:

• Barb’s introduction to music via the family radio
• The story of her parents moving to Britain after WW2 to build new lives
• The course she studied as an undergraduate - it certainly wasn’t music!
• How jazz and cabaret might be considered musical “approaches” rather than musical genres
• “I think where the edge is, is where things are interesting...and where you can think and where you can fly or jump off.”
• Nicolas Roeg - film director
• Cal McCrystal - theatre and film director
• Bill Hicks - comedian
• What Barb learned from sharing stages with comedians such as Alexi Sayles and Julian Clary
• Being invited by the British Arts Council to tour to the Sudan, Malawi, Cameroon and the Yemen
• On touring to different countries: “Oh God. It just takes the ceiling off your house! You see the world differently.”
• “I think all discoveries are really just about yourself... People go to Antarctica to find themselves... All quests are the same... We’re all basically just coming to terms with ourselves.”
• Why the term ‘solo artist’ can be a misnomer
• “The thing about your ‘own thing’, is that it isn’t just your own thing. I’m always working with musicians... It’s not like I’m standing there on my own on a stage.”
• When it comes to other songwriters there are many women whose songs Barb loves to listen to and sing, but she hasn’t chosen to record a ‘massive body’ of any of their work the way she has with men such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Jacques Brel.
• “In a moth-like, flame-like way, I’m drawn to disturbed laser-like ways of looking at the world.”
• On what fans enjoy about her work: “There’s something in the flavour of what any of us do that other people relate to.”

Follow:

twitter | facebook | website

One of the reasons I really wanted to talk to Eddie now is because he’s at a key moment in his career. He’s composer and lyricist for TWO major musicals - one that has just opened on Broadway and the other is set to open in the new year.

He describes the challenge of preparing two projects simultaneously, and as can be expected, it took us some time for to find a moment in his crazy schedule to record this interview. I’m very grateful to Eddie for making time on his Thanksgiving Weekend to speak with me from his New York apartment...and taking a moment away from his family, who you might occasionally hear in the background.

In this episode Eddie describes how he got started writing songs for his music theatre classmates, the joys and the challenges of collaborating on not one, but two musicals and I think you really get a sense of the master juggling act he’s pulling off. He’s a juggler with a BIG set of balls.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Broadway’s newest Boy from Oz, Eddie Perfect.

In this episode we discuss:

• Eddie’s first exposure to theatre - family pantomimes at the Alexander Theatre in Melbourne
• Writing songs for classmates at the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts
• His preference for writing from a brief, whether from a singer or giving a context for the situation or scene you want the song to serve
• “I love singers and it’s fun writing for a particular voice.”
• “One of the most satisfying things I do in my life is sitting in my little corner of whatever room I’m in making demos. I really love it, it’s like my little shed.”
• Finding an “Australian voice” in music theatre both in terms of accent and in content
• The lack of support, system or pathway for creating new musicals in Australia
• the possible impact for the Australian industry if productions by companies like Global Creatures have some significant wins overseas 
• Pitching and winning the role of composer/lyricist for Beetlejuice
• Mr Bungle
• Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse | Amazon | .pdf
• How to deal with the pressure and anxiety inherent in sharing your work with the world
• The place that awards have in helping you stay in the game
• What it’s like to be in the room (and the community) where it happens
• Juggling concurrent rehearsals for King Kong and Beetlejuice
• “There’s certainly enough on one show to keep you busy beyond your wildest imagination. Doing two shows is way too much - but I survived.”
• Who Eddie looks to for feedback, and his system for seeking and processing it
• “It’s hard. It’s so collaborative, and it’s such a strange dance, and the stakes are so high. It’s sort of terrifying but it’s also really lovely. There’s a real closeness that comes with that sort of collaboration.”
• Everything Was Possible - Ted Chapin | Amazon
• How you process the feedback you haven't asked for. How do you decide which feedback to pay attention to?
• Explore the visual design of Beetlejuice

Find Eddie’s shows online:

King Kong: Alive on Broadway

Beetlejuice

Follow Eddie Perfect:

Eddie Perfect website twitter

Tash gives us a behind the scenes look at her most recent performance on James Corden's Late Late Show as well as life on tour with Paula Abdul. Hear how she made the decision to step away from a very successful career in Australia to pursue her dream of living and dancing in the United States, and then how a serious injury threatened to bring her career to an early end. Along the way enjoy Tash's infectious enthusiasm for life and her unwavering spirit of generosity.

In this episode we discuss:

• Performing with Paula Abdul on the Late Late Show with James Corden
• The process of rehearsing for the Straight Up Tour, including how they rehearsed with the LED screen technology 
• The audition process leading to Tash booking the Paula Abdul tour
• “Paula is an artist, a dancer and a choreographer all in one. We’ll literally be doing a count of eight and her eye will flick to you if you make a mistake. She’s got shark eyes”
• What it’s like to be on tour - the fun of hanging out on the tour bus and the challenge of enduring the long overnight drives between cities
• How to cope with your sleep being constantly disrupted by the travel schedule
• How and why Tash made the decision to leave her successful career as a performer in Australia to move to Los Angeles
• “I had always wanted to move to America...You watch the American Music Awards and all that stuff and you go Oh God, I’d love to dance for artists like that.”
• How getting to the final round at an audition to perform with Lady Gaga at the Grammy’s helped Tash see that she was on the right track
• “It’s tough to be so far away from home and to be really hustling more than you’ve ever hustled in your whole life for something that you want.”
• “You might be on top today but in a week, when that’s done, you’re starting from scratch.”
• Why some people give up before they can realise their dreams
• How the limitations of Tash’s O1 visa (which mean she can only be employed as a dancer) may have helped her hustle in LA
• What does Tash’s day to day/week to week hustle involve?
• The difference Tash notices between colleagues and friends in LA and Australia and the importance and value of having a group of loving, supportive friends
• “You definitely need a circle that’s there to love you, no matter what’s going on.”
• The injury that threatened to end Tash’s career as a dancer
• “I guess dancing’s always been the one main thing in my life. So if I’m not Tash Marconi, working and being this dancer that people watch...then who the heck am I and what am I going to do with my life?”
• How a last-minute audition gave Tash the push she needed to resume her career
• The value of sharing what you’ve learned with other people
• “The whole time i was going through that injury i kept thinking I need to share what I’m experiencing, and I need to push maybe more than I would have pushed myself. So that one day if someone else has the same injury they can see that it’s been done before and they will get back there. Maybe I’m someone to help them do it.”
• Why Tash writes her blog and who she’s writing it for
• “I think vulnerability is the most powerful thing you can have and it has the ability to change people’s lives and the world that you’re in.”
• How to cultivate and maintain a positive mindset, including her affirmation routine 
• Blog post: Could I Borrow Your Map? 
• “I have to accept where I am now, where I want to be, and love that place in-between. I plan to love the discovery, the unknown, and really trust that every step I take is going to lead me on the path that was drawn just for me.”

Find Tash online: instagram | blog

I've come to know Scott over the past year or two as we travel journeys that are similar in many ways. Although I learned more about Scott's history in this conversation, we share a musical background - mine as a pianist and Scott's as a guitarist. As we talked about his philosophy and approach to teaching guitar, I could see how he has transferred and transformed his strengths and success in the teaching studio to his online platform, becreativeonpurpose.com where he welcomes all types of creatives.

Scott embodies many of the qualities that I think are essential for an artist to thrive. He is intentional about the work he is doing, who it is for and why it's meaningful. I know that his wisdom and generosity have made a difference in my life and with any luck, in this conversation I've offered him the chance to do the same for you.

In this episode we discuss:

• Matthew speaks with Scott on the Creative on Purpose Broadcast
• two teachers who made a difference in Scott’s life
• discovering Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations via his 7th grade Latin teacher
• the guitar teacher who knew exactly what Scott wanted and was able to get him there as quickly as possible
• “There were teachers that just were not going to allow me to settle for less than the best  that I was capable of. And that was a completely new experience for me.”
• “I was going to do everything i could to listen to the aspirations and the intentions of the people I was teaching and try to get them to achieve their goals.”
• Music is a language. We learn language by using language. 
• At the earliest possible moment we should do what we do in public in front of others, share our talents with an audience and attempt to collaborate with others
• We don’t work music, we play music
• Part of playing is embracing the idea that sometimes things may not work out just the way we want, sometimes we will embarrass ourselves and make mistakes, but this is the path towards excellence. As musicians we have the opportunity to enhance our lives by enhancing the lives of others through sharing this gift
• Standing up and being seen. Speaking up and being heard.
• If you’re not nervous, you don’t care. And if you don’t care, you don’t belong up on stage
• Anxiety can be viewed as a gentle tap on a shoulder reminding you that what you’re doing matters
• If you serve the song instead of trying to make the song serve you, things generally go better
• Take all of your ego concerns out of the equation and concentrate instead on the craft. That’s really where the magic happens, where we truly begin to improve our own well being and our sense of happiness and accomplishment in what we do
• Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
• The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
• Footprints on the Moon - Seth Godin
• What To Do When It’s Your Turn - Seth Godin
• The balance of teaching what a student wants to learn vs what you believe they need to know
• Setting the hook: helping the student learn something that they’re already invested in within the first few lessons
• It’s important for us all to see that we are teachers. If we can accept that, we can seek to be the best teachers that we can be and enhance and elevate the lives of others
• Guided Guitar Lessons
• Creative on Purpose
• altMBA - an intensive, 4-week online workshop designed by Seth Godin for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead.
• “Working with others in collaboration makes good work great work”
• There is a system and a process that I’ve used to thrive in creative endeavours that a lot of people find difficult
• We have to have integrity and we have to engage others with empathy, We’re charged with the idea of service to others, not just serving our own selfish needs, wants and desires.
• Endeavor - Scott’s new book. How you can identify, develop and start delivering work that matters to the people you care about.
• Sometimes i think it’s best that we don’t turn the things we’re most passionate about into our job or career.
• I think it’s the holy grail if your vocation ends up being your career.
• “Cultivate your well being by aligning your values, your talent and your tribe.”
• What it means to be human, and what it means to be happy
• The Stoic Creative - Scott’s first book
• Negotiating the tension between wanting to stand out and needing to fit in
• Fear only shows up when you’re putting yourself on the hook, because fear wants to keep you humble and hiding.
• The importance of curiosity and courage

Follow:
Creative on Purpose website podcast 

Endeavor Book website 

Liz and I studied jazz together at the University of Adelaide before she and her husband Andrew moved to LA to write and produce music for records, television, films, games and more.

Her work in the studio has contributed to the success of hit albums and her songs have been featured in hundreds of tv shows and films.

Liz and Andrew recently took to the stage of the world famous Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood at the debut live performance of their new band All Good Things. In this episode we discuss its origins as "the band created by its fans", we break down the odds of "making it" in the music industry, discuss the best skill to have as a songwriter and consider how having the rug pulled out from under you can actually be the catalyst that leads to your next success.

In this episode we discuss:

• The origins of the ‘epic rock’ band, All Good Things
• The European music market’s appetite for rock music (Tim Henwood from Palace of the King was my guest on Studio Time ep #01)
• How the #agtarmy got started. The band has pockets of fans who are also into comic books, super heroes, wrestling, anime and military and through keeping engaged with their fans online their audience has grown
• “We spend a lot of our day, when we’re not in the studio, reaching out to our fans”
• Classic Rock call All Good Things “the band invented by their fans”
• Why Liz and her husband Andrew left Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland to move to LA
• Sandy Roberton - Producer Manager
• Production Team The Matrix
• Avril Lavigne - listen to “Let Go” on Spotify
• “We discovered that what we were doing, was in fact being producers.”
• “All we really want to do is make music.”
• Breaking down the odds of those who “make it” in the music industry
• “The competition is definitely a lot fiercer now”
• The best skill to have as a songwriter is to know when it’s NOT working…when to toss an idea or put it aside
• “Taking the emotion out of it took the longest, and was the hardest thing to learn. But once I got the hang of it, that was when we really started to write good songs”
• ‘Tonight’ - Now and then there’s a song that you don’t have any faith in…that just has a life of it’s own
• The benefit of taking a break when you’re feeling creatively stuck
• Tips on how to keep your ideas fresh
• How long it usually takes to write and produce a song from start to finish
• All of the emotions and people’s life experiences are universal.
• “Write from your heart. Try to remember back to a time when you felt like that and how you reacted, because chances are that’s how everybody reacts”
• How the business model of being a songwriter and producer changed with the advent of digital downloads and then streaming
• “People are really diversifying in the ways they’re making money”
• Advice to someone coming into the industry now: diversify, have a lot of strings to your bow, and don’t be dazzled by the big label artists. Don’t be afraid to be on something you think is great with an independent artist.
• Often you’ll make more money releasing your music yourself than you ever would working with an artist who’s signed with a major label
• Thoughts on the change in the US political climate from someone who chooses to be an American citizen
• “We realised that the ugly side of America that we thought belonged in the history books was in fact alive and well. It had just been dormant, waiting for a leader.”
• Liz’s first experience as an activist was as a coordinator of the Women’s March of Los Angeles which brought together 750,000 women
• “It’s funny how something as un-rock and roll as having a kid can be the catalyst to make you work more efficiently, make better business choices and become a more responsible citizen. It’s funny how that works out.”

Discover:

SuperPop: website youtube
All Good Things: website instagram youtube spotify 

My guest on this episode is the soprano, cabaret performer and one of the stars of Victorian Opera's Lorelei,Ali McGregor.

Ali trained as a classical soprano and performed as a Young Artist with Opera Australia before she was lured into the world of cabaret.

Her credentials on that circuit are held in such high esteem that she was appointed as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival - for two years she steered the ship alongside Eddie Perfect and for a third she took the wheel on her own.

Ali performs around the world, and I have joined her in various cities around Australia as well as Hong Kong and Edinburgh, where she is a festival favourite. I talked to her in Melbourne, where she is rehearsing Lorelei, the show she convinced Victorian Opera they should make.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with the soprano who ran away with the circus, Ali McGregor.

In this episode we discuss:

• "I think all art is a conversation, It really only finds its true calling when it has another’s gaze (or ears) upon it."
• How the opera singers from Covent Garden who sang after-hours at Wilton’s Music Hall inspired Ali’s show Opera Burlesque with Antoinette Halloran and Dimity Shepherd.
• At one time [when you went to the] opera you’d play cards, drink and eat salami in the balcony. You’d throw stuff at the stage if you didn’t like it and cheer if you did. Opera is such a refined, high art these days that I think it’s lost some of its bawdiness.
• Miss Behave Game Show
• Any art has its extremes
• I’m a big believer in collaboration and really finding fantastic collaborative groups of people.
• I do believe I have pretty awesome taste in people.
• The flow on benefits of gifting someone(s) with your trust
• Letting down my defences and trusting the room full of creatives was a massive challenge. It was shocking to me how much of a challenge that was.
• How her three years as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival continue to inform her work as an artist.

Follow:

Ali McGregor website facebook instagram

Lorelei Victorian Opera book tickets

My guest on this episode, Jen Waldman, is a theatre coach and Executive Director of her own acting studio in New York City, a speaker and official optimist with Simon Sinek's Start With Why team, and co-host of The Long and The Short Of It podcast.

Our mutual friend Peter describes Jen as a human stethoscope - suggesting that she's an expert at getting to the heart of a matter. As you'll hear in our conversation, she trained as an actor and made her Broadway debut in Maury Yeston's musical, Titanic. She was in the Broadway company of Wicked and toured the US as Nessarose.

Using her background in the arts, Jen also speaks to audiences in business, education and public service -encouraging creative thinking and imagination, so that people everywhere can cultivate new ideas and share them with the world.

I've been looking forward to sharing this conversation with you. In this episode we discuss how as artists we can claim more responsibility for the impact of our work, Jen offers her perspective on the state of the New York theatre industry, you can learn how to make yourself indispensable as an artist, how discovering her WHY changed everything for Jen, learn why it might be time to get new headshots and how to seek and filter feedback that you can use.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with the human stethoscope, Jen Waldman.

In this episode we discuss:

• making the move from Southern California to New York to study theatre
• “It’s really important to live in a place you love.”
• exploring the connection between creativity and serendipity
• the idea that creativity is the ability to find the link between two seemingly different things
• Jen's work as a coach at the Jen Waldman Studio in NYC and the Reboot Program
• claiming more responsibility for the impact of your work
• the theatre industry in New York is pretty busted and broken
• the myths that actors have been about what they are allowed to do or be
• how to identify the myths, deconstruct them and then seek the actual truth
• how to make yourself indispensable as an artist (even when you’re interpreting the work of others)
• Linchpin, by Seth Godin is required reading in Jen’s program
• Start With Why - Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action
• Find Your Why - This book by Simon Sinek, David Mead and Peter Docker outlines how to conduct a WHY discovery process
• how you can look at opportunities that present themselves through the filter of whether or not they reflect your why
• the impact that discovering her why had for Jen
• you don’t have to be feeling stuck to experience an “aha moment”
• Simon helped Jen realise that her core skills weren’t industry-specific
• how to think about who you do and don’t want to work with
• “As an artist it’s really important to me to understand where the science ends and where the art begins.”
• A Second Chance - a book by Cat Hoke about new starts, forgiveness, shame and the power of possibility
• “I do believe that we tend to marry our dreams and then feel a sense of obligation to pursue them even when our circumstances or desires change.”
• Let Us Not Confuse Waiting In Line With Productivity
• “You are a self identified creative.” So who gets to decide your identity and character?
• reclaim the time you might have spent waiting to be picked and invest it in innovating new ways to get your work seen by the people you want to see it
• if you want something, you must immerse yourself in the world that surrounds the thing that you want
• resumes are sunk costs on display. can we put the resumes away and put the work first?
• Sunk costs are a gift from your past self to your present self, that you can choose to either accept or reject.
• Ignore Sunk Costs (blog post) by Seth Godin
• why it may (or may not) be time to get new headshots. [Ps. Kurt Sneddon captures amazing headshots.]
• Thanks for the Feedback - Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
• how to offer yourself feedback - "generating an objective eye that allows you to witness your own storytelling and your own technique so that you can identify what could change, and then change it"
• ask yourself Who is it for? What is it for? What change am I seeking to make? Sometimes the most powerful question you can answer is Who is it NOT for?
• See and Be Seen

Follow:

Jen Waldman Studio

The Long and The Short Podcast with Peter Shepherd, the Human Periscope

My guest on this episode is is the author of MotivatedMastery.com, co-creator of The Observers and Head of Content at CreativeMornings, Paul Jun.

I first discovered Paul when I signed up for Seth Godin's altMBA program in January 2016. As its website says, the altMBA is an intensive, 4-week online workshop designed by Seth for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead. When I applied I certainly didn't think I was performing as highly as I could, and I was excited about surrounding myself with people from around the world who were all seeking to lift their game. Those four weeks transformed the way I thought about myself, the way I understood the people around me, and it allowed me to reimagine my own place in the world.

Paul was one of the coaches in that program, and I noticed that he was wise and deeply philosophical for such a young guy. I began to read the articles he posted at motivatedmastery.com and his book Connect the Dots.

He later served as the Community Manager at altMBA, finding ways to continue developing connections throughout the program's community. As the lessons and projects came to a close and the students became alumni there was a strong desire to have a way to maintain the energy and camaraderie that had grown inside the course. Paul designed ways for alumni to stay in touch, support our colleagues' work and celebrate their successes.

In September 2016 Paul joined CreativeMornings — a breakfast lecture series in over 180 cities that connects and celebrates the global creative community as their Director of Content.

This year he co-created The Observers, a curious community dedicated to photography and books.

This was the first time we'd actually spoken, and I was thrilled that we got to spend time talking about one of our favourite subjects. Paul's passion and enthusiasm for community shines throughout.

In this episode we discuss:

• What it means to surround yourself with a community that inspires you
• Seth Godin’s altMBA and CreativeMornings
• Paul’s experience of the community in Brooklyn
• How he thinks about his process of “learning in public” as he develops as a photographer
• How the power of learning with other people accelerated his proficiency as a photographer
• “You gave me the opportunity to make this photograph of you, to take that chance, to connect with you and just capture this moment, right here.”
• Edvard Munch - The Scream, and his photography
• How the right photo can help you reimagine your identity and change your narrative
• Bill Wadman - portraits and editorials. [Check out his Dreamscape Series, my favourites are Moon, Tattoo and Tree.] The portraits here are stunning.
• The beginnings of The Observers, a project where acclaimed photographers talk about the photography books that have influenced them
• Wesley Verhoeve - photographer. Curator at the International Center of Photography in New York and co-founder of The Observers website and instagram - photo books recommended by visionaries.
• [When we began The Observers] “there was nothing out there that really highlighted the power of photography books as a resource for inspiration, learning and ultimately becoming a better photographer. We love books, we believe in them and we also believe in community and learning together. Could we ties these things up in a simple and clear way?”
• Defining what success looks like before you begin a project
• Being intentional about the platforms on which you can and can’t be found
• “We were just super intention about what social platforms we were going to be on, what ultimately we wanted to grow and where we wanted to meet people.”
• The power of starting small and then growing
• Joel Meyerwitz - one of Paul’s favourite photographers
• Greg Lutze - founder of VSCO
• Tina Roth Eisenberg (Swiss Miss), founder of CreativeMornings
• Talking about The Observers “It finally took me eight years to build something the right way.”
• The benefits of collaborating with someone to build something rather than doing it yourself
• “How can we make this as simple as possible, so that because it’s simple…it’s beautiful?”
• Jeffrey Phillips - “He can capture someone’s entire being with a few simple lines.”
• How difficult it can be to commit to true simplicity and purity of purpose
• Examining your heroes’ influences and noticing the patterns, connecting the dots and exploring how you can integrate those ideas into your own work
• Wide and shallow vs narrow and deep
• What are sunk costs?
• “By starting small, intentionally, and very laser focused, you ultimately can expand in an authentic and natural way.”
• Taking the observation “Hey, this doesn’t exist” and then asking “Does a community of people who are interested in this exist?”
• “100% — I am a strong believer and evangelist for growing your newsletter list!”
• Seth Godin on Permission Marketing
• “I truly believe that out of any platform, email is direct connection.”
• On being conscious with your newsletter - the flow of it, the tone of your email, what you’re giving your readers, what you think they need on their journey and meeting them where they are
• The value of communicating with your audience via email vs social media
• Connect the Dots: Strategies and Meditations on Self Education
• The power of online communities and how valuable it can be to spend time with your online friends and  tribe in person
• “It’s like a flower growing at warp speed.”
• There’s a beauty to online communities when the environment and context is tailored to bring the right people into the room, who share world views and an attitude of wanting to open up and learn. In this context connection and trust seem to be accelerated.
• “Don’t feel shame in having an online community where you really feel like you belong. It’s worth experimenting ...

You know it seems to me, that as a rule, people don’t pay a lot of attention to viola players. If I asked you today, there’s a fair chance you could name a couple of violinists and a cellist or two, but viola players rarely get noticed. Which is why, when I saw that an instagram account called That Viola Kid had 120,000 followers, I sat back and took notice. The thing is, not only is this guy a boss on instagram, the kid can play.

As a lapsed viola player myself, I was really curious to see what was going on with this account and the guy behind it. With a slew of engaging content on instagram and a thriving youtube channel as well, I reached out to That Viola Kid to see if we could talk. Neither being a classically trained musician or a big deal in social media is unusual on its own, but from the outside it seems an unlikely combination.

Join me as I dive deep into classical music, social media, story narratives and hip hop, with the best violist you know, That Viola Kid, aka Drew Alexander Forde.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Drew’s mum began cultivating a love for classical music in him from a very early age
• How he chose his instrument: “I was always looking for a way to express myself melodically, which is ironic, because I play the viola.”
• Training yourself to be patient and have long term goals if you wanted to have any longevity in the social media space
• “My goal is not to be the greatest violist on Planet Earth. I want to be the best violist you know.”
• Why chamber music is the entry point to invigorate a new audience for classical music
• GroupMuse - host your own chamber music house party
• When trying to discover a way to be noticed, Drew asked “How would I get somebody to come to my concert?” To answer his own question, he challenged himself to become the online “big brother” of a lot of younger kids who play music.
• How Drew’s audience has grown up alongside him. “There’s a kinship and an attachment that we’ve created.”
• Creating a network where people feel like they’re seen and heard.
• Social media is Reality TV 2.0 - where people can take a voyeuristic look into what their life might have looked like.
• Wisecrack - a youtube channel that covers the philosophy of modern media
• How we’ve changed the way we think about classical music
• Rethinking the way classical music is presented and consider the possibilities of educational, interactive performances
• Leonard Bernstein and the Young People’s Concerts single-handedly engendered and created an incredible new audience for classical music
• The art doesn’t have to change, but maybe the way we present it does.
• Duality
• How To Make Money as a Musician
• “The best part of creating your own music (especially with lyrics) is that it allows people to have an intimate conversation with you, and you with them.”
• Shape of You
• The ways artists can invest in social media
  • Creating a story narrative
  • Engage your audience by asking them questions
  • Create content that you would want to see
    • Help somebody
    • Help them learn a new skill
    • Help them feel better
    • Answer questions & problems
  • Help people understand what you do
  • Don’t worry about going viral. Focus on spreading the largest foundation you can.
  • The more content you have out there, the more likely you are there to stay
  • Do it consistently, because you never know who may discover content and when
  • You’ve got to be in the long game
• How to develop a story narrative
• “Imagine yourself as a tv show that has (hopefully) 80 seasons.”
• The similarities between a story narrative and music’s sonata form.
• The importance of building community and #playhomieplay
• Focussing on the depth of engagement with your followers can help you become platform-proof

Follow: Drew Alexander Forde instagram youtube patreon website

My guest on this episode is guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Tim Henwood.

I got to know Tim while working with him in musicals like Kinky Boots and Mamma Mia, but most of the world knows him from his hit songs and string of successful Australian bands. He’s been a key player in The Superjesus, The Androids, Rogue Traders and is now the front man of Palace of The King.

In this episode we discuss:

• Tim’s beginnings as a classical guitarist
• Playing Kiss songs in the garage with his cousin Kevin
• His first gigs at the age of 12
• How Tim left school at 16 and began an apprenticeship as a carpenter where he was “a little kid in a grown up world”
• “I learnt if you work hard, that not only is the end result better, but essentially you get rewarded better.”
• How a crazy Spaniard taught Tim how to diffuse tense situations
• The early days when he was “the junior” and earning less than everyone else on the gig
• The asset of being the young guy in the band and the value you can bring
• “I don’t want to have a life that’s based on making money.”
• “If you’re a good person, people are more inclined to want to help you.”
• “My 16 year old self would have had a heart attack and said ‘you’re kidding me! You mean I’m going to do all that?!’”
• Facing the idea of being a heritage act
• About putting music to the side — “I’ll go down in flames before that happens.”
• How Palace of the King started when Tim was invited by three younger guys to become the singer of their band
• A year of Tuesday night residencies, and touring the country playing over 100 shows a year
• Drawing against his home loan to fund his belief in the band before it had started paying its own way
• How the paradigm of the music industry has changed over the past five years
• You have to play anywhere and everywhere and prove yourself
• "People will help you if you help yourself."
• Having to weigh up opportunities and decide whether to go with what you know or try something new.
• It’s good to be a loud, powerful rock band. But if you’re too loud on stage it’s going to sound like crap out the front.
• The experiences become songs.
• I was basically trying to fast-track the 10,000 hour rule for the (younger) guys.
• "We run ourselves like a 70s band that exists in 2018."
• Great riff-y, blues-y rock music.
• "The reality is we’re punching above our weight (for an indie band), but my ambitious, creative side makes me want to stay in the game and I ask myself 'what can I do?' to make the next record more successful."
• "A lot of older people bitch and moan about the music industry, and they’re wrong!"
• Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse | Amazon | .pdf
• "I’ve been in the situation where I’ve had the quick success in the past, but it actually didn’t help me long term."
• Building a relationship with [Palace of the King] fans. "I want them to trust we’re going to make a great record, they trust we’re going to play a great gig. They know we’re in it for the right reasons and they genuinely love the band."
• You have to build a fan base, a legitimate, real fan base, who will always be there for you. Otherwise you’re really wasting your time.
• "I love doing everything I do. 16 year old me would be rapt at doing a theatre show."
• Bob Lefsetz - Star/Journeyman
• "I did it. I did what I set out to do. If it’s now, it’s now...and there’s no regrets."

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