Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles with a group of my girl friends. It was one of the most exciting experiences in my life--and certainly a pivotal moment in my life as an artist. For me, being a general ticket holder, there was no red carpet, no paparazzi, no special escort into the Staples Center, no limos, no on camera seating. But none of that mattered, because I was at the Grammys! And as I sat there in my nose-bleed seat, three of my best friends sitting next to me and living in that moment, I promised myself that I would be back again in 2012, not simply as an audience member, but as a nominee. It's the wish of every artist out there and there's no doubt that it takes an incredible amount of work and hustle to...
Conventional wisdom asserts that up and coming artists (such as myself) must build their local audience before they can reasonably expect to garner a national or international following, and that in order to build said local audience you have to gig, gig, gig. So it would seem that gigging in one's hometown would be simple: You show up with your band and your gear, plug in, and rock the hell out. And at the end of the night, you're sold out of CDs, you've added more names to your ever-growing email list, and you're walking away with a fistful of cash. Oh, and you're booked solid for the next however many months, playing all the coveted spots in your city until one day, like magic, a band with an even bigger name and bigger following than yours taps you to open for them on their world tour. You give a...