I Couldn't Resist This.....

Who or What?

The other day on a musicians forum on LinkedIn, someone asked the question, 'Which is more important: who you know, or what you know?' My response:

Who you know-- agents, talent buyers, people who can refer you -- is important. But maybe more important is 'what' you know, and not necessarily in terms of musical skill levels. Knowing how to get along with people is the most important skill to have. With that, you can meet whoever you want to know and convince them to hire you and pay you what you're worth. When it comes to picking sideplayers or bandmates, I'll choose the merely competent easy-to-get-along-with player over the egotistical or high-maintenance phenom every time.

On a slightly different tack, what you know in terms of what you do makes a big difference. For example, instead of trying to play the same stuff everyone else does, I get most of my performance opportunities by playing and marketing niche music, including Cajun and zydeco, reggae and ska, bluegrass and old-timey, Irish, and Christmas--all of them a bit harder to find than regular pop, classic rock, blues or jazz. Then I do my best to make sure Who I Know knows What I Know.

Mtn Brew's current schedule:

Mar 16
St Pat's Day Party
Bonita Springs, FL
private

Mar 17, 12:30-2:30pm
St Pat's Day Party
Auburndale, FL private

Mar 17, 7-9pm
St Pat's Day Party
Mt Dora, FL private

Call us: 407-877-3010