So I finally got a chance to meet Phil Jimenez, which was really fantastic. It was the first time I got to someone who knows the music business (beyond East European folk music, but that's another story). He was friendly, and he wasn't afraid to be honest, which I really admired. Bluntly, he told us that if we want to make it in the modern music world, all of our songs need to have a catchy chorus to sing along to. Personally, he's sent out people he didn't believe were mainstream enough. It's a nasty world out there.
We all played our song for him and he said something interesting. "It seems like all of these songs are songs your parents would be okay to hear. I want you guys to get more adventurous." It made me think of something I read in the Empty Space that's stuck with me ever since I read it, something along the lines of "The artist gives the gift of himself and sacrifices himself to the audience." If I want to be an artist, I need to be willing to share deep parts of myself, and give them up to the audience for judgement and ridicule.
I took Jimenez's request as a challenge, and attempted to write a song that would not make my parents happy. It still needs work, but I think I might be going somewhere with it.
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