The Mindful Musician

One of my most interesting experiences in music has to be the time I toured with the band of a spiritual teacher(read: cult leader.) I was the only one in the band who was not a devotee of his. Well, about 10 years later, this teachers community dissolved amidst scandal. For the first time since then I talked to his 2nd in command who was the guitarist in the band. I finally got some answers about what was going on behind the scenes. This guitarist, Stas Mavrides, also happens to have had a very colorful career in the music business. He has toured with the Beach Boys, recorded several award winning albums, and has a new album out with his band Baraka Moon.

For More Information:

www.facebook.com/BarakaMoon

www.barakamoon.com

and visit me at:

www.mattoestreicher.com

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As musicians we are always meeting and working with new people in new places. For this episode I asked several working musicians about their worst experience in the music business - how they dealt with it, what red flags there were going into it, and how they would advise someone else to prepare for and navigate through these types of experiences. Episode 24 features a story by musician/producer Travis LaMothe

Travis La Mothe Bio:

With first club gigs starting at the age of 15, Travis has been actively performing for 23 years. Studies with Frank Giguere, Casey Scheurell, and Steve Wilkes, allowed a quick evolution in Travis' skill set. Amassing performances in percussion ensembles under the direction of Sal Raniello (Hartford Symphony Orchestra,) live performance became a place to thrive in all genres.

Attempting to live up to his influences and working at creating his own, Travis spent six years touring with New England regional act Rane (Tides Records), opening for numerous national acts including the Barenaked Ladies, Ozomatli, Santana, and Tom Petty and playing almost every room in New England. After multiple albums and recording credits with the group, Travis left to pursue other musical worlds.

After winning the 2006 Hartford Advocate's "Best Drummer" award, Travis went on to play with several Advocate-acknowledged bands including The Bill Carleton Band, and Jet Black Jane. A jaunt into the jazz world helped Travis to see a different side of performance after spending 2 years as a member of the house band for WOR radio in Manhattan. He also joined Hank Agency artists "Jimmy and the Hat Tricks" for a 3-year stint in general business music. He was called to play with The Last Goodnight (Virgin Records), and subbed several gigs with Girls Guns and Glory (Lonesome Day Records) as well. All of this while maintaining 10-20 private students for the duration.

The pursuit is endless, and Travis currently plays pick up gigs throughout New England with many talented groups. He has also begun establishing himself in the production world. After opening his small studio "Sunderland Sounds" in Sunderland MA, Travis has already cut a few spots that you've likely heard on the radio…

To reach Travis for gigs and/or production inquiries:

[email protected]

860.604.7414

Samples of performances/work

Performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs4Z7N3e-oE

Commercial Spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_xL9wlORDI

Telefunken demo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28-jmeeGqFY

Theme music: "Funky Digital" by Matt Oestreicher

Follow Dmitry Gorodetsky: @tallbassist on instagram

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Thank you!

Bassist Dmitry Gorodetsky on the Mindful Musician Podcast talking about how to navigate the music scene as a freelancer.

Some topics that come up:

How to play well with others -

listening well,

working without ego,

the importance of authentically connecting with the people around you,

How to work in New York vs Los Angeles

Dmitry's very interesting musical upbringing in Belarus (former Soviet Union)

and much more

Adam Rafferty is a masterful musician and educator. His solo acoustic guitar performances of songs like Superstition and Billie Jean have earned him millions of views and admirers. He is often found touring the world with his guitar. Also find him here: http://www.adamrafferty.com/ and study with him here: http://www.studywithadam.com/ Other things/people discussed in this episode: http://www.daniloperez.com/ http://www.mikelongojazz.com/ goal setting exercise that Adam mentions: http://aaron.com/2013/08/13/the-best-goal-achievement-strategy/

Adam Rafferty is a masterful musician and educator. His solo acoustic guitar performances of songs like Superstition and Billie Jean have earned him millions of views and admirers. He is often found touring the world with his guitar. Also find him here: http://www.adamrafferty.com/ and study with him here: http://www.studywithadam.com/

Most musicians now know Ari Herstand (pronounced Ar*ee Her*stand) as the guy who has helped them fly with their instruments, book national tours, get songs placed on TV and make more money with their music career - without the help of a label. Herstand's music business advice blog, Ari's Take, was nominated by the LA Weekly as the best music blog in Los Angeles and has become a go-to resource for DIY musicians worldwide. He released the preeminent book on the new music industry entitled, How To Make it In The New Music Business (Norton/Liveright Publishing) on December 20th, 2016. It was the #1 best selling New Release in the Music Business, Performing Arts Industry and Entertainment Industry categories on Amazon. Ari Herstand is a DIY musician who has played over 600 shows around the country, has opened for or toured with Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, The Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, has performed on Ellen, and has had his music featured in countless TV shows, commercials and films. He currently fronts the funk band Brassroots District and is a member of the acoustic trio Young Canyon. Herstand is a staff writer for Digital Music News and has also written for many of the top musician trade magazines and websites including Music Connection Magazine, American Songwriter, Playback Magazine, CD Baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, Roland, Discmakers, ASCAP, Hypebot and others. He has been a featured speaker at SF MusicTech, SXSW, ASCAP Music Expo, CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference and in music business classrooms worldwide. As an actor, he has co-starred in TV shows including Transparent, Aquarius, Mad Men, 2 Broke Girls, The Fosters, Sam & Cat and Touch. Visit him: ariherstand.com His Blog: aristake.com Upcoming appearances: ariherstand.com/appearances Sign up for The Mindful Musician Mailing List here: www.mattoestreicher.com

This weeks guest is Andrew Hitz Andrew Hitz is an internationally renowned soloist, clinician and speaker having appeared in over 40 states and 30 countries including Japan, Brazil, Russia and Singapore. He recently ended a 14 year tenure as the tuba player for Boston Brass. Andrew has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound and the Marine Band of Mexico. Andrew currently teaches tuba and euphonium at George Mason University and Gettysburg College. As an Educational Ambassador for Jupiter Band Instruments, he appears all over the world as both a teacher and performer. Andrew has presented at over 20 state music educator conferences and taught master classes at some of the finest music schools in the world including Juilliard, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore. He has also spoken about entrepreneurship and music business at many colleges and universities including Carnegie Mellon, the University of Georgia and the University of South Carolina, where he appeared as a thought leader specializing in marketing and social media at The Savvy Musician In Action Retreat. full bio at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/bio/ Andrews digital media company: http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/ Andrews "The Entrepreneurial Musician" Podcast http://www.andrewhitz.com/tem/

EPISODE NOTES NOTES Featuring Buddhist Teacher, Author, and Award Winning Musician David Nichtern Davids New Book: Awakening From The Daydream http://davidnichtern.com/awakening-from-the-daydream/ David will be teaching a workshop at Kripalu Center For Yoga & Health from Oct 16 to Oct 21st https://kripalu.org/presenters-programs/awakening-daydream-meditating-wheel-life His course entitled "Creativity, Spirituality, and Making a Buck" is available on creativelive.com https://www.creativelive.com/courses/creativity-spirituality-making-buck-david-nichtern All music from the podcast is by David Nichtern Intro music: Thank Kevin from his album From Here to Nichternity Full song at the end of podcast: Moon of Tunis from his group The Beyman Brothers (with Christopher Guest) The young jazz piano prodigy that David mentions: http://joeyalexandermusic.com/ The young man that David and I pay tribute to at the end of the podcast: http://mrisaacallen.com/ David Nichtern Full Bio: David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. This tradition combines a contemporary, secular approach to meditation with the ancient practices and philosophies of Tibetan Buddhism. David was one of the initial American students of renowned meditation master Trungpa Rinpoche and studied closely with him soon after his arrival in the United States in 1970. David has been co-director of the LA Shambhala Center and Karme Choling Meditation Center in Vermont, as well as Director of Expansion for Shambhala Training International and Director of Buddhist Practice and Study for OM yoga. He has been a featured writer and regular contributor to The Huffington Post and leads meditation workshops around the world and online. David also works individually with meditation students in person and via Skype, and has created and taught meditation teacher trainer programs for OM yoga, Empowered Yoga, Kaia Yoga, Metrowest Yoga, True Nature Yoga (Tokyo), and Journey Meditation. He has also been a business consultant with companies creating a variety of offerings integrating meditation in a larger health and well-being context – including Balanced Athlete, Journey Meditation, The Center for Health & Healing, and Om Births, among others. His new book "Awakening From the Daydream: Re-imagining The Buddha's Wheel of Life", will be released by Wisdom Publications on October 4, 2016. He has several online meditation workshops available through CreativeLive.com and a DVD/CD package OM YOGA & MEDITATION WORKSHOP, created in conjunction with yoga teacher Cyndi Lee. David Nichtern is also a well known composer, producer and guitarist – a four-time Emmy winner and a two-time Grammy nominee. He is the founder of Dharma Moon and 5 Points Records. David has recorded and played with Stevie Wonder, Jerry Garcia, Lana Del Rey, Maria Muldaur, Paul Simon and many others. Among his many credits in records, film and TV, David wrote the classic song "Midnight at the Oasis" and composed the score for Christopher Guest's film "The Big Picture". As the Beyman Bros, he collaborated with Guest and CJ Vanston on an album "Memories of Summer as a Child", and has produced multiple records for Grammy nominated kirtan performer Krishna Das as well as touring frequently as guitarist with KD over the last 10 years.

For this episode I sat down with 3 up-and-coming artists to share insights about building a career in todays music business. Check them out and hear there music here: Lev Allan-Blitz levsongs.com Tori Schachne trapnoir.com beyondraremusic.com Nick Depuy http://nickdepuy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Nick-Depuy-Music-121267417956474/?view_public_for=121267417956474