Someone records a video of you playing/singing a song at a party and then they send it to you. Do you make it available for others to view/listen to, then tell them about it? If you performed fairly well and are not too embarrassed about it, Yes.
As evidenced from the Archives of this blog, I don't post very often. Looking back, I maybe average about one post every two months. I can see myself posting more often if I ever reach retirement status, and in the absence of a day job, use the extra free time accordingly. Until then, I only post when there's something fairly newsworthy, and this may qualify.
The main reason is there's not much to post about when your blog is about you writing songs, recording them, and then releasing a baker's dozen of them every two years or so. If I'm not writing about those topics, as I have occasionally, I try to find a way to tie it to them, as the hobby of writing and recording is the primary focus.
I don't perform very often either, so when I do, I might as well make you aware of it, even after the fact, and that is the newsworthy topic this time. The point here is due to not being a performer, I'm not like the typical songwriter/solo artist who would post about their live gigs, available merchandise, and/or their wild and crazy travel experiences.
I played live and solo recently in front of a small enthusiastic group of people and unbeknownst to me, my sister Courtney recorded video footage of it on her iPhone. I subsequently got said footage from her and uploaded it to my live YouTube channel so others, like you, could also enjoy it. It gives you an idea of what it would be like for you to watch me play live, and it shows you I'm capable of doing it, and further, I suppose it shows proof that I'm the person behind the studio albums you may have heard.
Here it is (https://www.youtube.com/scottcooley/community):
Luckily, nowadays everyone has a phone with them they can record video with wherever they are, and whether you want them to or not, they will take photos and videos, then upload them to social media whether they have the permission or not of the people who appear in them.
It's a cultural shift we've accepted. A couple decades ago, it freaked me out when I'd go to a party one day, then see an unflattering photo of myself posted to Facebook the next day, but you have to get used to it. In this case, I was somewhat pleased with how I looked and how I performed, so it was all good.
Said video above was from a recent family get-together with the paternal branch of my relatives - mostly cousins - during which I played my guitar while singing one of my original songs in a living room at one of their houses. Kicking off the holiday season between Halloween and Thanksgiving turned out to be a convenient time this year to revive an annual reunion that had been cancelled due to Covid the last few years.
A good time was had by all, and it felt good to make people happy by playing some music for them. As you can see, my song "Mackinac Island" was a crowd pleaser. It almost always is, for reasons I can't quite explain. I used to feel like I've written so many other songs, catchy songs, deep thought-provoking songs, beautiful songs, serious songs, love songs, etc. that I wish people would appreciate as much, but they don't really, and now I accept that.
They love the one about a place they are familiar with that has a swear word and is funny. I get that, and I feel very fortunate to have written such a song!
Hope you enjoy it too.
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