I am blessed to be involved with music.

Two weeks ago on a Thursday, I had a night that took me back to my youth and made me realize how blessed I am to have grown up in a musical family, that I inherited what talent I received and my love of music.

I get a lot of submissions of artists, literally from all over the world (seriously....Argentina, Russia, England and more) . Some are looking for a manager, some are looking for a label. Some are looking for both.

It isn’t often that I receive demos that I can go forward with. Some don’t have the talent required. Some are awful, some are good. They are good but good doesn’t often succeed in the entertainment business because there are so many people that are good. Exceptional is what I am looking for because even with exceptional talent, a good manager or label exec knows that there are still so many obstacles in your way. The fact is that even with exceptional talent the odds of you being successful are very small. See my post The Business of Music - Improving your odds for more on this.

But every once in a while I get a submission that is heads above the rest. An artist or band that is extraordinary. Anyway, maybe two months ago I got one of those. Not wanting to trust my opinion alone I gave it to some folks who know and love music and understand the business for their input. DJ’s, Super Fans, label folks and others that I value their opinion. The feedback I got from folks was that the music and lyrics were very good, and the demo was well produced. The consensus was “this could be a winner.”

So, I started talking with the folks, in this case a band headed by a female who has a voice that is somewhere between Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin. Her voice is unique enough to differentiate her sound from the many others that are out there.

Anyway, we talked a little and I made arrangements to drive about two hours to see them. As it turned out I got to the club and only got to hear two songs. But they were an impressive two songs.

So the artists and I talked afterwards for an hour or two and decided to head back. We had made arrangements with the musicians co-op in the town to stay overnight. The artists were staying there as well.

We ended up sitting on the front porch on a beautiful night with a guitar and talking and singing until after 3 in the morning.

It took me back to my college days. And I was revived and refreshed ....and I once again knew why I loved doing what I do and being part of the “Community of Music.”