May
Spotify Itself
An open letter to my fellow artists and musicians:
We have nothing to fear, even Spotify itself.
—
Living in Nashville, I’ve had many conversations with fellow artists about this service. To my great surprise, most of them have regarded Spotify* with disdain. They see it as an inevitable detriment to an already eroding industry, or worse, an evil attack on their personal livelihood.
This boggles my mind, and I’m not just saying that because I enjoy the word boggleº (which I do).
Payouts. I can’t make it three sentences into a conversation with a Nashvillian before this comes up.
“It’s insane! You have to get a bajillion plays before you get just one dollar!!”
My friends, you have just completely missed the point. Actually, you’ve missed a couple of points. Spotify isn’t the enemy. I’ll mention the real threat later, but first…
May
Daily Inspiration
At ten o’ clock every morning, my phone buzzes.
Reminder: Get inspired.
It doesn’t take much for me to feel daunted by the professional/financial challenges of pursuing an entrepreneurial lifestyle. The thought, “Seriously, what am I doing with my life?” often crosses my mind while a blinking cursor taunts my creative ability. And if I’m not careful, that thought can begin to erode my confidence and kill my productivity.
One of the best ways I’ve found to get out of that thought-jail is to feed on inspiration. Maintaining a healthy level of inspiration is vital for me. So just as I take a lunch break to refuel my body, I’ll take inspiration breaks to revive my soul.
—
I was recently talking about David Robinson with a friend, and we remembered this his Hall of Fame speech, given a few years back. Today it serves as my inspiration to take pride in my name, to leave a legacy, and to live a life of honor.
Get inspired.
May your fruit always be by the foot,
B
Apr
The Mo(ve)ment - pt. 3
“Don’t play without feeling something. What you play is what you become, so please try to feel something!” - A.L.
—
I’m wrapping up this train of thought with a tip of the hat (and some mixed metaphors).
I did what I could in my first post to illustrate what the moment is all about for me: a hidden escape door to another world, like Lewis’ wardrobe in a song. And in part two, I wanted to give you an idea of what the moment can become when paired with the drunken joy of our Creator*.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen somebody exemplify what I was saying in those posts better than my hero, Abe Laboriel. So I thought I’d show you some cool videos of him I found on this cool new website I found, YouTube.com.
—
I was introduced to Abe about 6 years ago when I saw this instructional video at school. Watch some of it. Get your mind blown.
Obviously he has some chops. But what is equally impressive is just how much joy he carries. It’s like he’s caught up in a dance, putting on display an exchange of lovin’ tenderness. He so savors the moment.
Apr
The Mo(ve)ment - pt. 2
Don’t try this at home. Actually, don’t try this anywhere. I’ve done some smart things in my life, and I’ve also done some stupid things. The following is one of the stupid things…
I decided to conduct an experiment on New Year’s Eve some years back. I was playing bass guitar for a party among friends, just some casual grooving with a couple of buddies. I knew from previous experience that a little bit of beer actually affected my playing positively. I was more relaxed, I grooved easier. So when I could, I’d enjoy a brew before I performed. That got me thinking…
Apr
The Mo(ve)ment - pt. 1
It’s all about the moment for me.
—
The book was A Farewell To Arms, the class was American Lit. I was 17 and tired of reading stuffy analyses of an otherwise enjoyable story. So I put the critical references aside and decided to stop studying for a while.
My parents had turned part of our basement into a guest room. I liked to study there;˚ it was cool, dark, and quiet. In this moment I got up from the desk, flicked off the light and sat upright on the bed, resting against the headboard. It was Walkman time.
Taking a break from what I usually listened to, I put on Appalachian Waltz, the first brilliant collaboration of Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O’ Connor. On came the track, “First Impressions.”
And there, in the cool, quiet darkness of the guest room, was the moment.
Apr
New Album!
Hey everybody, I have BIG NEWS!
I have a new album coming out soon! I wanted to tell you about it sooner, but I had to keep it under wraps because of my collaborator’s label.
And who is that collaborator? I’m glad you asked.
This is so exciting. It’s a dream come true for me. I am very honored to announce that my new album is a collaborative effort with none other than… R. Kelly!
We’re calling it The Bounce Bounce EP.
It was such an honor to work with Mr. Kelly. What a class act! I was very nervous early on, I mean who was I to be working with such a legend??But R. was so encouraging through the whole process. He had a lot of fresh ideas that took my songwriting, and really my entire sound, to the next level.
Although I can’t play it for you yet, I do have a sample from the EP for you. This is a clip from a song Kels and I wrote together called, “On Your Mind”
Yes, it’s a slight departure from my previous stuff. But I learned from Mr. Kelly that every artist has to stay on the edge, to always be looking over the next horizon of life’s soundscape. Or has he often put it, “Woo.”
I can’t wait to show you guys the rest of this project! Stay tuned for the official release date!
We don’t see nothing wrong with a lil’ thumbs up!
B
Mar
Here’s a clip of my “500 Miles” cover from last week’s web show. That’s the lovely and talented Jessie Parker singing with me. She gooood.
Mar
Good Whiskey
My roommate Jamie brought home a new bottle of whiskey. And not wanting to be impolite, I offered to help him drink it.
It was alright*.
Like the pretentious drinker I am, I commented on its lackluster character. But just as my snobby nose was in mid upturn, Jamie pointed out something interesting. “You can’t really judge it yet,” he said.
The fact is that most “good” whiskey is aged for some time, like over a decade. The distillery where this whiskey came from though, has only been making the stuff for maybe five years. So while this bottle wasn’t particularly impressive, we won’t really know the quality of the brand until the whiskey has had time to age. Because it is in the aging process that the richness of the drink comes through˙.
Mar
A clip of this new song from last week’s webbed tour, taken from a nearby iphone. Enjoy!
You can catch the next live show here: http://www.stageit.com/blake_stratton/
Mar
Honorables: Clark Richard
If you have found any enjoyment from my songs, any appreciation for my lyrics or melodies, you oughta thank a man named Clark Richard.
I don’t know what this town remembers, but these street signs read like old love letters now.
That’s from my song “Bellevue,” and it might be my favorite lyric I’ve ever written. But I probably would never have written it if it weren’t for Clark.
Demos
