
We're ready, for sustainable jazz touring, are we?
Getting an invitation (read all about that part of the story here) was a blast.
Reaching the point where you're ready to share your music with audiences is a significant step—sometimes a leap, sometimes a fall.
However, it’s scary and takes guts, time, practice, and a lot of investment. I mean real, actual money.
It takes a long time before being a musician isn't just a money dump.
Becoming viral or winning The Voice or becoming a YouTube sensation might seem like an easy way; it’s one of the ways, but
it’s very unlikely and incredibly hard to achieve. Ask any GOOD influencer. It’s a tough job. And jazz influencers are a rare breed. You can spot them in the wild if you stay very still for 300 years.
Five figures at play
Anyway, becoming a paid musician is a long journey. We’ll speak more about barriers in our next blog post because it’s a whole different topic. Oh, I’ll share some stories; oh, you will get some gossipy times too.
But today, we’ll focus on the part that Aarhus wanted us to play at their festival, and this in itself is a joyous moment for the band, because Aarhus is the first city outside Lithuania to show interest in us. Nonetheless, moving 18 people from one country to another, paying them salaries, ensuring there’s a roof over their heads, and that they won’t starve, is not that joyous. Because it costs a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Like it’s five figures, not four.
Moreover, today we talk more and more about sustainable touring. Even if we had enough money, would it make sense to go to a place where very few people know about us, play there for an hour, and go back home?
In our case, no. It doesn’t make sense, but it also doesn’t mean that we don’t believe in touring. Reaching out to new audiences, collaborating with other countries and musicians there, learning about new cultures, and experiencing different rhythms of jazz life is essential. And rewarding.
We're not arrogant we're just sensitive
This job has to be rewarding because otherwise, you’ll lose your spark, and it’s so hard to ignite it again. Rewards for musicians are sometimes as simple as applause and appreciation from the audiences they play for. At least respect. Like if you sit at a jazz club and your phone rings… I mean, you know what I mean. And also, and I cannot stress this enough… YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET TO YOUR COATS!!! LET THEM FINISH THEIR SET, PLEASE. So musicians usually, when they complain about bad audience, or little audience or rude audience, they're not angry at the audience they're just doubting what's the point at that moment. And sometimes the audiences are horrible, but in any way, playing for empty halls and feeling unwelcome can be devastating.
And here we had to pause. What can we do to make this fulfilling, useful, and efficient for Denmark, Lithuania, JJAZZ, and Kemaca? We will definitely need governmental support, reach out to various investors… Why would DK and LT fund us?
A new dress
In other words, how do we sew a dress that fits us nicely, is beautiful, made from sustainable materials, you can wear it multiple times, and leave it to your children?
And here comes Lukas with a bunch of ideas, and he meets me, Doroteja Budaitė , and I have ideas as well and now we’re not only performing twice, we’re having a showcase, a networking session, a live recording, and another concert in another city.
Caught your eye? A bunch of info on how we are putting a different touring dress is coming up soon. Stay tuned ;)
Comments