I need to be at the SnowGlobe Festival in six days. I know it doesn't sound like a heavy burden, but it has actually become one. There's a strange side to the "business world" of music - and I'm going to delve into it for a moment here.
How many festivals happen across the globe each year? 100? 200? All I know is there are a ton, and I'm tasked with picking the "cool ones", and then involving Earmilk. As you may have noticed, we give away a lot of music for free here, so I feel a responsibility to the artists I'm friends with to make sure these guys and gals get their bills paid.
I picked SnowGlobe Festival to be my New Year's Eve event of choice for a few reasons.
Download: Black Ceiling - River
Download: Black Ceiling - Girl Money
Download: Black Ceiling - Goodbye Horses
1. I love Lake Tahoe. The prospect of splitting time between the slopes and the shows is f**king awesome.
2. I lived in Northern California for a while, so I knew a few of my old friends would come and see me.
3. The lineup looked pretty damn good. I just saw Bassnectar and Pretty Lights in Atlanta (both shows), and they slayed it.
4. THREE days. C'mon. That's awesome. You know it.
So why on Earth would I be so stressed out? Well, mostly because I'm at a diner in San Antonio, Texas. Remember that whole thing about me hitching across the United States? I wasn't kidding. I've been on the road for three weeks now, and I'm really tired. I haven't been sleeping well. I was sick for two days in Austin.
I told the SnowGlobe people I would do something impossible, and I'm looking at six days and 1,800 miles. I need to average 300 miles every day. That's roughly five hours on the road. With roughly 10 hours of daylight to work with each day, those odds get narrower.
Since I'm doing something really big and interesting, our friends at SpiritHoods wanted me to guest-blog over on their site. Since I love SpiritHoods, I said, "Well of course." I didn't think to myself, "Oh right, that's going to take a ton of time I don't actually have."
Download: Travi$ Scott - Sick(Prod.TRVI$ SCOTT)
Download: The National - I Need My Girl
Then there's the "I'm making a film" aspect. I'm not sure how many of you have ever made your own documentary film - but I haven't. I'm making my first, as I type this. (Seriously though, it's rolling while I click clack away.) I'm hoping this movie ends up funny/not sucking.
One more thing: The SOUNDTRACK to this film needs to happen in less than 30 days. I think that part will end up easier than I thought it would, but it still requires some delicate hula-hooping through contract-land. (And I can't even tell you how much I hate dealing with songs/labels/rights/etc.)
What's the takeaway from all this? I'm having an amazing amount of fun. I have never felt so free in my entire life. I feel so free, I extended this adventure indefinitely. It was going to end on New Year's Eve, but I'm not ready for it to be over. Meeting new people and experiencing new things is really the core of what gives me joy, and I'm not giving that up just yet.
Download: Daughter - In The Shallows
I suppose I just have to put it all in perspective: I'm stressing out about being completely free and going to spend three days with some amazing friends (and some readers too!) at an AMAZING three day festival in Lake Tahoe. SnowGlobe is going to be insane.
So let's step away from the "business aspect" of all this promotion stuff: I want y'all to come out and hang with me if you can. Even if you can only do a one-day pass. I think the one thing that really sets Earmilk apart from the rest of the blogging world is how connected we've been to the music and our readers. I don't answer every single of your emails, I know. I just don't have time. I'm sorry. I wish I could. (Hey wait, I have interns now... maybe I can... *evil laugh*...)
But seriously though; I love meeting Earmilk readers. It's funny because I look at how many people read Earmilk sometimes, and I'm blown away. I never think about it in real terms. So if you're going to be in Tahoe for SnowGlobe, I want to meet you and shake your hand. I know a few of you will be there, and I want you to come party with me. Pop over to the SpiritHoods tent and ask the spokesmodels where I am. They'll probably be able to tell you where I am. (Depending on my level of sobriety.)
I'm not sure what my guestlist situation is like for all the afterparties, but I'm going to ask Chip (pretty please with sugar on top) for a few guests spots for Earmilk readers that make it out to party with me. If you're lucky, you'll end up on camera for the documentary and then you can tell all your friends how awesome you are.
Alright, I think it's time I leave this diner and hitch off west. See you soon!
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