Lunch, Process, and Not Needing the Like
I was having lunch with a friend yesterday. He is a good friend β not one I see a lot, but one of those people where we just pick up right where we left off. Those people are valuable.
He listens to the stuff I post, and I think he reads the blog lightly. It came up over lunch. He said he was surprised at the acoustic nature of the demos coming out right now, so we just talked through my process and what I am doing.
Later, I was sitting in my chair β as I often do at night β reading and doing whatever it is I do there, and it occurred to me that at no point in the conversation did I wonder whether he actually liked the music. And that was a real revelation.
It is so rare to be in a place where you are focused on the process, truly satisfied with the work you have done, and confident enough in it that you are not worrying about whether someone else likes it. In one sense, that is the entire point β the big goal is for someone to find the music and like it. But the other side of it is just trusting that the work will reach the right person.
In today's DIY music set-up, we really do have the opportunity to tell the world what we are doing. One of the other things we talked about yesterday was finding the smallest possible audience. When you are young, you beg your friends to listen to your music. These days, you can just calm down and try to find the actual audience that fits whatever it is you are making.
Realizing that I am not out there trying to get in-person βlikesβ was surprisingly refreshing. Almost proud of myself, really.
Good job JD!