Ahoy! From the first day I started playing bass in high school I knew I wanted to be a musician. Not everyone around me was as excited about this life choice as I was. For the past 20 or so years I have been asked what it is I do for a living. I've shared on this blog the different ways I have labeled myself over the years, in particular, that I am a self-employed musician, not an unemployed musician. I have made my living wages from music endeavors for years now. There have certainly been times when I've had day jobs, but only as a short term fix while my music life was in flux. Today I want to share yet another way of expressing yourself to those pesky relatives when they complain that you “need to get a real job.” Today's advice is simple: You are a musician. That's it. You don't have to label yourself as a teacher, performer, youtuber, and anything else that comes with your daily life. Being a musician means you are all these things and probably man...

Ahoy! Today I'd like to talk to you about my recent experience with a challenging video game. It does come back to music though, I promise, so hear me out. I set a pretty high goal for myself this year. I'm going to finish all three Dark Souls video games. For many of you this may seem like an odd goal but I'm a gamer and I've long heard about how difficult this game is and have never played through them. I'd seen a couple reviews lately for the remastered release of the original game and decided it was finally time. I got a copy and began to play. This game is punishingly difficult. For anyone who doesn't know, the ad campaign ran the slogan "Prepare to Die" and within just a few minutes of starting the game I was already dead. Several times over in fact. The game gives you no directions, no hints, no clues, no sense of how the mechanics work except for a very minimal tutorial. All this to say that the game lived up to its reputation as being diff...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish! Congratulations on reading this far - I was scared to mention politics in the title due to our current political situations. This week, The Killers released a music video for their song, Land of the Free . They went old school, calling it a short film just like Michael Jackson used to. Did I mention Spike Lee directed it? I find it quite difficult to argue against the lyrics or the portrayal of the situation in the film, however, I'd rather you take a look and a listen and see for yourself. More importantly, I'd like to raise a point about politics in music as this is a topic that I think about often, and I've been thinking about it for at least 20 years. I find that I can usually group listeners into two general categories: those that hate it when artists get political and those that discuss the politics presented by the artist when it holds enough of their interest. The people that hate it, really hate it...

Ahoy! Time for another edition of Fin Mail, Heard style. One of my favorite musicians of all time is Dave Matthews. On Wednesday of this week, January 9th, he celebrated his 52nd. In honor of him and what his music has meant to me over the years you’ll find my letter of appreciation along with a few links to help get you familiar with his music if you’re not, and will give you an inside look into my favorite tracks of his if you are. Who are you inspired by? Leave us a comment or shoot us an email and let us know! Dear Dave, Happy Birthday! I hope you got to spend your day relaxing with family and not on the road travelling to another show. You music has been one of the largest inspirational forces in my life both as a musician, and as a human. I remember countless hours as a teenager lying on the floor of my room blasting Under the Table and Dreaming , Crash and Before These Crowded Streets. No matter what was happening in my life your music always fit as the perfect b...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish! A new year is here! That's right, it's 2019 and I know you're all feeling the weight of those resolutions on your shoulders. For the first time, my resolution is based on music and I kind of, accidentally, on purpose, turned one idea into three... And I thought if I wrote about them here on The Music Bowl, it would amp up my determination. My 2019 resolution was inspired by a post from this very blog. Heard wrote about listening journals and I cannot believe that in all my years working on music, I've never kept a journal for listening. Well, this is the year! I'll even share my first album with you - here's the opening track: 100 albums is the goal, but I won't be disappointed if I don't quite reach it, and I'll even be a little surprised if I manage to keep track of all the music. Just having the resolve to attempt this kind of record keeping caused me to dig in with my own practicin...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish! Last week, Heard and I revealed our 2018 Shortlist for the best albums. In our last post of the year, we present our Top 5 Albums and our picks for Album of the Year. We cannot believe the amount of great music that came out this year and, as fans of all types of music, we think the records listed below deserve some attention. As always, we want to hear from you - drop us an email or leave a comment and let us know what you listened to in 2018. Shark's in the water! See you next year! Heard's Top 5: 5. Dave Matthews Band "Come Tomorrow." Even as a lifelong DMB fan this album wasn't a shoe in for high honors. The past few albums have taken several listens for me to get into. Not this one. From the first listen I was a fan and seeing most of these tunes live only confirmed a top 5 spot. 4. Circles "The Last One."  If you're a fan of progressive metal you don't want to miss this one....

Ahoy! What an amazing year we had for new music!  Last year you may recall that The Wonderfish and I only released a top 5 before we announced our picks for Album of the Year. This year we genuinely couldn't just give you all 5 albums each. Instead, we revamped our Album of the Year process. You'll see below that we each listed our top 5, and one of those 5 will be revealed next week as our respective 2018 Album of the Year. The remaining shortlist consists of 15 albums that at one point were either in the running or just too good not to promote. Make sure to check out anything you haven't heard and stay tuned for next week's reveals for Album of the Year! What's on your list? Until next time, Heard Heard's Top 5 (in no particular order) Lydian Collective - Adventure Circles - The Last One Rubble Bucket - Sun Machine Donny McCaslin - Blow Dave Matthews Band - Come Tomorrow Heard's Shortlist (in no particular order) Aaron Parks - Little Big ...

Ahoy! As we near the end of 2018 the Wonderfish and I will be discussing this year's “best” new albums (best according to us at least). Last year was the first year we named an official Album of the Year and I knew going into this year I'd need a better strategy for listening to so much music. When 2018 rolled in I was also 3 semesters into my graduate work as a jazz performance major and constantly discovering new music (new as in new to me). I set myself the lofty goal of listening to an album a day for the whole year and, because I know life gets crazy, used a minimum of 20 albums per month as my fall back. Here's what I found out. I want to clarify one thing, I'm using the term “album per day” to reflect the average number of albums. I do honestly strive to listen to one album everyday but some days that's not feasible so I catch up on long drives and listen to several. I also tally an album each time I listen to the whole thing, regardless if I've ...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. With Disney's updated Mary Poppins hitting theaters this December, I think it's only fair that we spend a few minutes discussing the Sherman brothers.  Even if this songwriting team sounds unfamiliar to you, it's almost a 100% guarantee that you have heard, at the very least, one of their songs in your lifetime.  If you have children, you've probably listened to their songs more often than you think.  They are the musical masterminds behind Charlotte's Web , The Aristocats , Bedknobs & Broomsticks , Snoopy Come Home, The Sword In The Stone ,  Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day , and many other beloved family films. The work of the Sherman brothers stands the test of time.  Perhaps you've heard of the film, Saving Mr. Banks   in which the Sherman brothers, Robert and Richard, are played by B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman.  For a songwriting nerd like myself, this film was a gift.  Cert...

100 Days of Practice Ahoy! It should come as no surprise that in order to be a proficient performer, you need to practice. I've written before on different ways to structure your practice routine and today I'd like to share an extra challenge to help motivate you. The challenge is called 100 Days of Practice. This is absolutely not my idea and you may have heard about this from any number of artists. I discovered this via the amazing violinist Hilary Hahn. If you're unfamiliar with her playing definitely check it out, link below. Anyway, the challenge is simple, practice EVERYDAY for 100 straight days, and post a portion on social media. Hilary posts a one minute clip on Instagram that most represents her session that day. What you post is entirely up to you so be creative. The point is simply to practice everyday. A few things to help guide you: First, set a goal. This can be a large goal for all 100 days (like learning a challenging piece) or small daily...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. On Wednesday of this week, November 7, Joni Mitchell turned 75 years old.  In honor of one of my favorite songwriters, I thought I would send the second letter of our "fin mail" series to her.  Below is my message of gratitude and, if you are so inclined, you can listen to some of my favorite Joni tunes - there are plenty of links at the end of the post.  As you will read, she had quite an impact on me and my songwriting.  We all have our sparks - the artists and innovators - who inspire us to reach higher.  Joni Mitchell is one of mine.  How about you?  Who are your sparks?    ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Joni, Happy Birthday to you!  I hope you were able to celebrate in every way that you wanted to.  It's about time that I send you a message of thanks.  Your music has inspired me since I was little girl.  Some of my fon...

Ahoy! Growing up, there was some apprehension from my parents around my desire to be a musician. Society (at least in the US) doesn’t view it as a “real job” and now as an educator I hear many students saying things like “my parents want me to find something more stable.” These views are not limited to music but transfer to all the arts fields. American culture definitely views musicians as “less thans” unless their cranking out Top 40 hits that have little to no musical value. The life of a musician is certainly atypical compared to a 9-5 job but is sustainable and can be a viable career path. First things first, I’ve never worked harder in my life than the times that I lived solely based on my music income. I’ve noticed that most people think I only “work” for the 2-4 hours I’m playing that night's gig. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The amount of effort it takes just to book the gig would stagger most people but then factor in personal practice time, band reh...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. Lalah Hathaway is up for quite a number of Grammy awards this year with her new album, Honestly . The R&B vocalist is popping up more and more in our mainstream media. I do not profess to be a Hathaway expert by any means, but ever since I saw her sing with Snarky Puppy for their 2013 album, Family Dinner: Volume One , I've been following her career.  When we started this blog last year, I knew right away that I would want to post about Lalah Hathaway. I finally got around to watching Girls Trip and I caught a glimpse of her singing toward the end of the movie, so the time is now. Do you know what? Lalah Hathaway can sing two notes at once. That's right, you read that correctly. When I saw her video with Snarky Puppy, I kept rewinding it because I thought my ears were deceiving me. How was this vocalist singing two notes at the same time? I must have listened to that part of the song 10 times in a row. I finally ga...

Ahoy! Most musicians have probably heard the phrase “Music is a universal language.” You may have said the phrase yourself at some point. Especially if you’re a music educator (in the USA) the line has probably come up while trying to justify your music program to administration or local parents. But if it’s so universal then why do I get so many classical friends asking me how to play jazz? Or why can’t I immediately sound like a true bluegrass player? Why are the concepts of groove and pocket different in rock and r&b? Music is not as universal as people often assume it will be. I’m not the first person to say that music is a language or that there isn’t a large degree of common ground between genres. If you haven’t ever heard Victor Wooten speak on the subject, the link is posted below. Music can, and should, be taught like any other language. Through complete immersion, slowly over time. For most of us, especially if you’re currently a professional musician, this was th...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish.  It's time for Fin Favorites, where we present great films about music and three reasons why we think they are worth your time. This week, we're examining Morgan Neville's 2013 release,  20 Feet From Stardom .  If you want official film reviews, you'll find the links at the end of the post along with the trailer and an 11-minute TimesTalks interview with the director and three of the film's stars, Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, and Merry Clayton. Why should you watch 20 Feet From Stardom ? 1) You will be shocked to discover how many hit songs the same group of backup singers are a part of.  I won't spoil the revelation for you, but I guarantee that song count is much higher than you think.  Through this brief history of hit songs, you'll notice how critical backup vocals can be. 2) You get to hear and see the voices.  You see the work that goes into recording a song.  It is rare to witness musicia...

Ahoy! It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get at a computer and even think about blogging. Between finishing grad school, traveling for gigs all summer and relocating for a new job this September, I was busy! During all that time I’ve been constantly surrounded by all types of musicians; college freshman, full time professionals, weekend warriors, high school students, and casual listeners alike. When it comes to music I always ask the same two questions: what are you listening to these days and who have you gone to see live recently? The first question gets a wide range of answers, from “Oh I’m mostly checking out podcasts” to “I don’t even know where to start because I listen to so much.” Personally I’m usually on the latter end of that spectrum as I’ve been listening to an album a day this year. More on that later. The second question however, usually gets the same answer, “I haven’t been to a show in a long time.” I simply do not understand this. Now I full...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. If you are anything like me, you have a hard time keeping up with all the new stuff . You know, new movies, television shows, comics, memes, music, remixes, deluxe editions, and John Mayer music videos (featuring premium content!) all over the place. Then there are the video games, the newsletters, the causes, and books, national anthem performances, photos, hashtags, Pinterest boards, podcasts, product endorsements, Gordon Ramsay ventures, and I could go on and on and on. Face it. There is new content everywhere all the time. We cannot possibly keep up with everything. But, we can stay connected. And we tend to our own little corners of the universe as best we can. In terms of music, we've had a slew of new releases thus far in 2018. It is now the middle of June, which means it's time for the Half of the Year Hear . That's right, we've narrowed the never ending list of new albums down to a select f...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. Summer is upon us! We here at The Music Bowl want to let you know what's bubbling to the surface in the next couple of months so you don't miss any of the music goodness. What's coming up? 1) NEW POSTS Next week, we'll introduce our "Half of the Year Hear" where you can check out some of the year's new albums with us. Fin Favorites start this month! The Wonderfish will introduce you to films about music that you won't want to miss, such as 20 Feet From Stardom , It Might Get Loud , Whiplash , and Sound City .   What is summer without summer concerts? We'll be discussing summer tours and festivals - the pros and the cons, yes, but also the sheer joy that is meant to take place. 2) NEW SHOWS Heard has some gigs!  I have some gigs!  Yes, there are even a few Heard and The Wonderfish gigs this summer! You can keep up with our show schedule on our website . 3) NEW SONGS &...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. In case you missed last week's post, we talked a little bit about how music can change someone's mood. I used Kendrick Lamar's performance on Saturday Night Live of the song I as an example of a performance that pushes me to work harder as a musician and songwriter. This was the first time I saw Kendrick perform live and I will never forget it. I was mesmerized. I had heard of Kendrick Lamar and listened to a few of his songs off of Good Kid, M. A. A. D. City prior to the show, but I hadn't listened to any of his albums in full. This song changed that. And, honestly, I haven't tried to learn the lyrics of a hip hop song word for word since my college days. This song changed that, too. This is the power of music. So, after seeing this, I promptly purchased his To Pimp A Butterfly album and gave it a couple of listens. I thought it was incredible. In 2016, he released u ntitled unmastered and Damn in 2...

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. Let's talk about mood this week, shall we? They say that most musicians, particularly ones that perform live, are especially good at reading a room. This is probably a skill that one can improve on the more gigs, or performances, one plays. Now, some musicians read the room and adjust what they are doing accordingly. Others ignore the mood of the room, or don't even attempt to read it in the first place. I am the type that constantly tries to get a sense of how the audience is responding to the music I'm playing. I want to create an experience for the listener, and if I notice there is not much of a response in the audience, it pushes me to put even more energy into my performance. Music is a powerful mood setter all on its own. As we previously discussed, music is incredibly personal, too. There are certain songs and certain artists that can always make me smile, make me think, and me me want to play my guitar. It ...