An Invitation to the Dance

Here we go into yet another new year.

2010 has been one of the most productive years for me as a composer, and as a guitarist. I put out 2 new CDs and wrote a ton of music; downloads are up (and I’ve tried to make sure that the uploads aren’t down). Also, 2010 brought me a lot of new “fans” especially on Facebook, and I want to thank everyone who has supported me.

So here comes 2011; this year is full of all sorts of possibilities. I’m hoping to actually hear my symphony played, as well as my string quartet. I have music in the hands of some key people, which I hope will result in some publication and/or performances. Some new videos will show up on Youtube, and there may even be a new CD of instrumental music.

The quandary is: how to build a bigger fan base.

I have a very strong group of followers here in Chenango County, and surrounding areas. [Sidebar: did you know that if you take every man, woman and child in Chenango County and put them in Yankee Stadium, you won’t have a sell-out?]. It has also been suggested that my videos would be more popular, especially with a younger crowd, if I included a 14 year old girl listing all the music she has on her ipod. I have often wondered what makes that so interesting.

Someone suggested that, to get a bigger fan base, I would need a bigger fan; and then I’d have to decide between a floor fan, ceiling fan, or one those big barn fans that you used to see on every episode of the X-files. You know, the ones in the big warehouse with the dark blue lighting? But I digress.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to live in an area where there is a base where there would be more fans to build from. But the Musician in the Middle of Nowhere is just that: in the middle. That means that I’m equidistant from everyone and everything and everywhere. And that’s especially true on the internet.

So, here we come to the invitation. I’m going to ask anyone/everyone who is reading this to help us out. If you would be so kind, send a link to my music Tom's website or Youtube or CDBaby, to 10 of your own friends.

And no, this is NOT a chain letter. I couldn’t figure how to put a chain in an envelope anyway. Of course, if you put a link in an email, does that make it a “chain link”?? After all, mail (as in armor) is made of chain links. Is this too many puns? Ha! There can never be too many puns. And there can never be too many fans.

Can you, will you, help?