ryan mintz's music page!

Yesterday on the plane ride to LA, an Alanis song came to mind:

"Unprodigal daughter, and I'm headed for the West
Disenchanted daughter, and this plane cannot fly fast enough..."

It's a song that captures her energy and defiance about moving to LA for her music career. I may not be unprodigal or disenchanted, but I am pretty darn excited. In fact, the past couple days I've gone from giddy smiles to incredulous tears. It's one of those surreal moments, like your 10th birthday party or your first time in a foreign country, when you can't believe the day you've been waiting for is finally here.

And speaking of foreign countries, I realized that my flight to Paris was exactly 1 year ago--to the day--of my flight to LA. 6/6/06 and 6/6/07. Now, I'm really big into dates, so I can't ignore the significance of this. Last summer, it was 2 months living abroad to fulfill my travel dream, and this summer it's 2 months working on a record to fulfill my music dream. There must be some cosmic meaning to this, but that's about all that my mind can figure out for now.

So, my next 2 days are full with producer meetings. I'm feeling anxious and excited. Each producer has different strengths, so now it's time to meet everyone, and see how we vibe in person. I think so much of it will come down to the relationship. I want to feel really comfortable with the producer, feel confident of their ability, and know they will be dependable and available. On the technical side, everyone has great demo reels, seems comfortable with my budget, and is experienced in the acoustic/folk/pop space (except the punk rocker, but that's another story).

In case you're wondering how I found these producers, it's been a long road. First I tried following the advice I heard most... listen to records I like and contact those people, with no shame or fear. So I contacted the producers of Matt Nathanson's "Beneath These Fireworks" and Lisa Loeb's "Tails" ... but didn't have luck with either one. Then I bought a music magazine that had a special issue listing producers. I browsed through the listings and spent hours listening to demos, but only found one truly compelling option, which is one of my meetings today. Then I placed a free ad in the same music magazine, and that's how I actually found most of the people I'm meeting with. Within days, I was getting a steady stream of replies. It wasn't a deluge, like if I'd placed a Craigslist ad, but the people who did reply were interested and serious, and a few genuinely liked my music. I have to admit, it was really cool to be getting all sorts of calls and emails from LA while I was doing my work in Chicago. Every time I saw an 818 or 310 area code on my cell, I smiled, knowing the album was right around the corner.

Part of me feels unfinished, like there are so many more producer websites I need to check out that I never got around to. On the other hand, I do feel good about the people I'm meeting with. Plus, because most of them came from my ad, I realized there are distinct benefits: they sought *me* out, they are looking for work, and they like what I do. I could browse 50 more sites and still not find someone who's available, in my budget, and likes my music.

Then there's another small part of me that thinks... maybe I've placed way too much emphasis on the producer! The main thing is to make music.
I'm here to make a record. I'm here to jumpstart my career. I'm here to indulge in my musical passion. I'm here to bring my songs to the next level. I'm here to share my music. So, just pick a producer and get on with it, right? :)

And to close, another quote from the same Alanis song...

"I hit the ground running, although I know not what toward
I hit the town reeling, forgetting all that came before
I felt primed and ready, once surrounded by the pawns
I felt culture shocked, but dissuaded I was not"

Peace, love, and music... Ry