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The Yard Sale

Last July, my husband and I decided to have a yard sale to raise a few dollars for an upcoming visit to New York and get rid of a few items in the process.Simple enough.I spent the earlier part of the week sorting through and pricing an assortment of books, CD’s, clothing, furniture, and other items. I made brightly colored paper signs and hung them on neighborhood telephone poles.The morning of the sale, I woke up at first light and displayed our offerings on the front lawn.

“This is the tiniest yard sale I’ve ever seen,” my husband wryly remarked.

I agreed and couldn’t help but laugh.I guess we are minimalists.Still, I was confident that what we had for sale were quality items and certainly not junk.

For the next couple hours, we sat in chairs under the shady linden trees that lined our driveway.Luckily for us, it was unseasonably cool and this was a unique opportunity to enjoy our property as we waited for people to arrive. Gradually, a few people did stop by, as it were, but most were not interested in what we had to offer. We wondered, was it the small size of our spread, the trees that blocked the view, or the busy road we were on? Was it the items we had, or didn’t have, for sale? It could have been any number of these things.I flipped through an issue of Vintage Guitar magazine and thought about our life experience.

Regardless of who we are, at some point we present what we have to offer to the world around us. If things go to plan, we fulfill a need or purpose and are rewarded for our efforts. That doesn’t always happen. How many times do we feel ignored, invisible, misunderstood, or unappreciated? We ask ourselves,”What’s wrong with me? Am I not good enough? What do people want? ” What am I missing?”

Those of us who are artists, writers, musicians, performers, and the like experience this regularly. Even if we work hard at our craft and believe in what we do, what if people fail to recognize it’s worth? There is a constant nagging that we are not doing enough or, worse yet, that we ARE not enough.

In the marketplace, something is considered to be worth what people are willing to pay for it. This relates to the theory or so called Law of Supply and Demand. During the COVID 19 epidemic, toliet paper would seem to be a very precious commodity.Then again, at the end of the day, it’s still TOLIET PAPER and nothing changes that.Think about it.

As I have said in the past, creative expression can be a form of entertainment but it also provides a service and fulfills a need.It helps document the human experience and process emotions. It can plead a cause or give a voice to those without one. It can give identity to those who feel forgotten.It helps us feel connected. I don’t think this is service is fully appreciated or recognized in our culture at the present time. Art would seem to be valued only as a vehicle to sell a product.

Sometimes successful artists are accused of “selling out”, what ever that means. If it means making what you do available to the widest audience possible, I am all for it. If it means changing or diluting your work in order to do so, then, yes, I have a problem with that. There is a bigger dilemma that artists face than selling out, in my opinion, and that is something I will call ” selling off”. Selling off is devaluing what you do to such a degree that you are willing to give it away for little or no compensation. This statement begs the question that if you have something to offer that you believe is of value and importance and no one around you recognizes it as such, what then? Do you change it? Give it away? Throw it away? Undoubtedly, these are questions I have asked myself before and there isn’t always a simple answer. We, as individuals, must decide what is valuable to us and why, regardless of what people around us think.

All said and done, we managed to make a few dollars that day but I was surprised what people bought and what they passed over. One kind woman noticed the cast iron dumbells we had for sale and remarked, ” I saw a pair like that on Ebay going for $500. You should sell them on line.” I thanked her for the advise and took them inside. When I did check on line, I didn’t see any listed for $500 but they were fetching considerably more than the $3 I was asking. Sometimes we are too quick to unload what we have without any idea of it’s potential worth.

I decided to keep the dumbells as well as a few books. I gave the other things that didn’t sell to charity.I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving things away, if you can do so freely, without regret. It’s just STUFF after all and if I really wanted to get the best possible price for my items, listing them online would probably be the way to go but I didn’t go to the trouble.

You could say that I got more from the yard sale than I bargained for.

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Big Trees Fall Hard

Memphis, Tennessee is home to some enormous trees. I have heard that it has more large trees than any city in the nation. I have no idea if that is true but if it is, it wouldn’t surprise me. I gaze up at these magnificent structures when I am out for a run, walking the dogs, or out in the yard. Unfortunately, when storms roll through, and they frequently do, we lose some and when they come down, it’s devastating. They are the cause of numerous power outages. They damage homes, block roads, and crush cars. Only when you see them brought down to the ground can you truly get a sense of how huge they were.

Over the last 3 to 5 years, we have lost some high profile, influential musicians such as David Bowie, Prince, Tom Petty, Aretha Franklin, and Lou Reed, just to name a few. It’s still shocking to realize that a large part of my musical influence has been wiped away in such a short span of time. I assumed I would always be able to lean on these artists, psychologically at least, as part of our culture. Like tall trees with huge canopies of branches and leaves, they were part of the landscape, weathering the storms, and providing shelter and shade come what may.

With influential people, whether they be celebrities, family members, or loved ones, it can be difficult to remember or imagine a time when they weren’t there. It is hard to believe that they, like us, were only tiny seeds, full of potential locked inside them. One day they would break open, take root, expand, and flourish.

It is easy to feel hopelessly insignificant measuring ourselves against the towering achievements, talents, and personalities of people that have gone before us. Yes, it is true, there will never be another ” so and so ” but that doesn’t mean that our contributions don’t matter. On the contrary, when big trees come down, it creates space for the sunlight and for new growth.

Many times you hear an artist talk about how they were influenced by another.

” The first time I saw Tina Turner, I knew I wanted to be a performer “

” When I heard the Clash, I decided to start a band “

Music is more than just sound, rhythm, and words. It represents an exchange of ideas and feelings. It can reflect an authentic experience from a specific time, place, and culture and yet, simultaneously, be timeless and universal.

This is one of the many things that the music industry is unaware of; the fact music listeners aren’t always predictable. They are frequently underestimated. Given the chance, they can be open to different and new sounds and ideas. They can surprise you.

As I sit here, I can hear the sound of another musical giant coming down, making a dull thud, crashing into the earth.

Remember this; when big trees fall, they create space for others to grow. They allow seedings on the ground to take root and find their place in the sky.

Is there a particular artist or influencer that has inspired, or continues to inspire you to create?

Has the loss of a ” Big Tree ” in your life been the catalyst for a major change?

Let’s celebrate our influences and explore our ” roots !”

Leave a comment below

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Less Promotion More Devotion

I can’t remember exactly when it was but the phrase “Less Promotion More Devotion” popped into my head. I quickly jotted it down. Not only does it sound catchy but it is a thought provoking concept.

One thing I have admittedly fallen short on in my musical and creative endeavors is self promotion. Although I believe in my talent and stand behind my creative work, when it comes to talking to others in an attempt to “ sell “ who I am or what I do, I clam up and wince. I doubt I am alone in this. Sadly it would seem my lack of zeal in this area has kept me in the shadows while others have experienced more exposure and success.

That being said, how can I make a case for LESS promotion rather than more and where does devotion come into it anyway?

Good question

Promotion is something we are all familiar as it relates to advertising. Promotion creates awareness about a product or service in an attempt to generate sales and income.

Come to think of it, is music a product or a service? I think it’s both. Songs, recordings, and live performances can be viewed as a product but music itself is a service that fulfills a need. What is that need? That is the question that I find most intriguing.

In business, creating an image to promote a product or service is nothing new. However, in our present time, many people are using social media to create their own personal “ brand “, curating specific photos, text, and videos in such a way to reflect a desired appearance. My concern is this; do we value the representation more than the genuine article? Has the appearance of doing something replaced the act of doing it hence the phrase, “ if you didn’t post it on social media, did it really happen? “

When it comes to music, I have always loved material that reflects actual life experience the most. It can tell a story, vent a grievance, aid in celebration, adoration, or worship.It documents history and reflects different cultures and sub cultures and their values.I fear that we stand to lose this.

While musicians, like myself, make use of the present technology to reach their audience, as they should, the challenge is to prioritize the content over the image used to promote it. Image has always been important but I troubled by how overwhelmingly dominant it is in our culture today and how it seems to eclipse human interaction and experience. Hopefully in the coming days, music can help us sift through the difficult questions that face us in this “ Information Age “ as it has it has in the past.

This is where devotion comes in. Devotion is defined by Oxford Living Dictionary as “ a love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or activity”. It’s easy to get thrown off course in our day to day lives when we lose touch with what we love, what motivates and inspires us.

Can you remember the energy and excitement you felt, in the moment, when you were involved with something or someone you were passionate about?

Yeah, we could all use more of that.

Yes, promotion and making money are important, essential even, but devotion is what should be “ driving the bus “ and what we are devoted to most defines who we are.

This is where I am going to leave it, for now.

What do you think?

Does music have intrinsic value other than the revenue it produces? Does music have value to your life personally?

How do you feel about the role that social media plays in our personal lives? How has it changed our view of ourselves? How has it changed the music scene?

I would love to hear from you. Post comments below.