u/BustinxJustin

I went to school for this about a decade ago. Got sidetracked afterward chasing money and never really followed it up. I'm on rotational work nowadays, I miss the environment and I'm trying to volunteer on my downtime (Grip, PA, Towel Boy, don't care).

I live out of a modestly active city and I'm finding I don't really know where to look anymore. The advertised spots to seek work are fairly dry. Im on a couple lists, but I'd imagine I'm at the absolute bottom of them.

Wouldn't say I'm discouraged, just prefer to be proactive whenever I'm able. Honestly considering applying country-wide and driving wherever I'm accepted for a stint.

If you were in a similar position, what would you do to get the wheels turning?

..

The complaint has always been there, but I have to wonder if it's all coming from the flaky, strange, seemingly always drunk "musician" caricatures who aren't getting along. The more I learn, the more it all seems to write itself, and it seems like beyond basic competency, it comes down to passable taste and reliability, with an obvious nod toward networking.

I'm not talking about international notoriety, but keeping your job and being a competent, reliable producer with room to scale is seeming more like a very realistic goal the further along I bring myself. Even entertaining higher aspirations, some genres seem to have the same 4-5 names on endless rotation, some vanish for years between projects. It just seems like there's plenty of room to grow into the conversation if you're able to deliver something novel, and have a job and some capital to push you along.

I went to school for another area of media years ago. The culture conversations always emphasized just being where you say you're going to be, and being prepared. Seemed like the bare minimum, I couldn't imagine not doing that, but I've found that you can't even expect a "can't make it" message from a lot of creative types.

It's late, I could be thinking in the wrong direction, I don't have all the information, but I'm genuinely curious if the talking points have been blown out of proportion my whole life.

E: Didn't expect this to be a popular speculation, but I still find it bizarre to see people on the music business subreddit get defensive or dismissive at the idea that an indie artist can make space for themselves if they treat it like a business. Oddly useful insight.

Noticing something odd. When I'm trying to play an existing song, no matter the speed, my hands just will not work with me. One hand at a time and I can hit everything about perfectly. Both hands and it's a mess.

In my own writing though, or when I'm just picking a key and playing around, I have almost no issues. Still need some practice of course, but it sounds like a full piece, it feels right, and I'm not struggling nearly as hard.

It's just making me wonder if focusing on training independence/synchronization is the best way through. My hands are doing the job fairly well according to my needs, it's just in this particular context that it falls apart. I get the sense that the barrier might be elsewhere.

Feel familiar to anyone?