It's Like Getting a BAD Haircut
Oh man I’ve had some doozies in my day! That bad haircut where I had to wear a hat for three months because my hair was so short. The time in college when the guy at Astor Place asked me what do you want in the back and I said anything but a V shape and he gave me a V shape. (That one taught me to say what I want, not what I don’t want. Or the time my hairdresser was absolutely on something and did everything he had told me should not be done to my hair - use a razor, angle forward, bangs - OMG!! He didn’t follow his own instructions.
I know you’ve been there and it seems so silly, so basic, but a bad haircut ruins everything. And you know why?! Because you don’t feel seen for who you are, in your best light, in a way that represents your personality.
It seems so trivial, but it’s not. IT’S DEEP. One of our most basic human needs is TO BE SEEN, APPRECIATED and LOVED for Who we are and if you’re showing up not looking like / feeling like yourself it’s horrible.
Managers tell me all the time, artists don’t really know who they are and knowing who you are is the key to success.
Artists big complaint is co-writing is stressful, because often their experience is that others are writing to get a cut on the album, they’re trying to “write a hit”. They are not writing looking at who the artist is.
So what happens to artists if they don’t really know who they are - the manager or the label, SOMEBODY ELSE starts to tell them who they are and then they’re making music and taking photos and putting out material that doesn’t quite feel right, which leads to feeling like an imposter. Unhappy with the “Success” because you’re singing songs you don’t feel are you. It’s a misrepresentation. PAINFUL.
I’ll tell you if you want a new haircut - take PHOTOS of the haircut you want - you can’t describe the haircut you want, you have to show it. This applies to everything you are as an artist. You need to speak the language of each element. Use AUDIO to point to the sound you want, IMAGES for look, get specific and clear to inspire you and the people you work with and you need the tools to communicate what you want.
I remember a major artist - we were working in Electric Lady Studios and they had 3 huge story boards in the green room. A collages of images, sentences - it looked like an illustrated book and it immediately gave me an emotional feeling, put me in a decade, an artistic genre, colors that told me it was dark, victorian, other worldly, gave a tone to the album. It was amazing! and so so effective..
We need the language to communicate who we are and how we see our vision in your sound, your look your photography and your art direction. I’ve spent years working with artists, developing so many explorations to help them get so clear and excited about who they are on such specific terms and have the tools and the language to then communicate that in order to get your brand to truly represent who you are and to change as you change. Creating a life and career you LOVE and that RESONATES.
SHOW UP BEING YOU!
You can rock a lot of different haircuts, you’re style and expression is gong to change throughout your life and career. So your art will express every version of you. You just need to be able to communicate the changes as you go!!
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If you’re interested to know more about my method and specifically how to accomplish getting YOUR unique insights to create your next project, build a congruent brand check out my course COMPASS! for professional artists.