Mom: "What you need to do is
start off with a song that has some pizazz...To tell everyone, 'I'm here!' Then you should do one of your deep, existential love songs,
then you should do a quiet one and then end with a bang."
Daughter: "Well, this really brings up a good question: Am I making art for my audience, or am I doing it for myself?"
Mom: "That's true."
Daughter: "I just think that most people create because they
have to. It's not really a choice. They don't sit down on the couch after a break-up and think, 'How am I going to write about my broken heart in a way that will please the crowd?' They just puke the song out."
Mom: "I know."
Daughter: "But, you're right. If I
choose to perform, I am
choosing to share my music with people, mostly strangers, who are spending time and money to be near my music, I should probably aim to please."
Mom: "That's right." (cue crickets to indicate awkward silence)
"Just know that I think 80% of what you did was just great. If I give you any feedback at all, it's only because there's a little room for adjustment in that remaining 20%."
Daughter: "Listen, I would
love to see what I could accomplish if I had time to market myself. But marketing art is different than creating it. And if I had time between working 45 hours a week, training two nights a week, going to Spanish class, looking for a new job, looking at schools, producing a CD and rehearsing..."
Mom: "Oooh, I always forget that you have to
rehearse! I guess I think it just happens. "
Me - I mean, Daughter: "Stuff almost never just happens
."
Mom: "I know, I know. I just love your voice. That's all."
