"Gear Junkies" editorial by Patti Greene

"Gear Junkies" is the free, premier weekly newsletter sent via email to the Alaska music community. In each issue, the Goddess of the Anchorage Music Scene, Patti Greene, writes an editorial on "music politics" and we post it here! This week, Ms. Patti didn't put an editorial in "Gear Junkies" since she has been runnin' like a banshee between gigs with Lulu and the Aqua Nets and flyin' off to Kodiak with the Mr. Whitekeys show. We are printing one from February.

Greetings, Gear Heads! This month we're celebrating a fundamental law of the Universe: "Change or Die". (That goes for Gear Junkies, too; you'll notice that the format has changed a bit.)

"Change or Die" means taking hard look at what it is we're trying to do in the music biz, whether it's to improve as a player, start a band, find more work, carve out more venues for live music, or to learn how to decrease our reliance on the alcohol industry.

Yeah yeah yeah we know you're just in it for the love of playing, there's no better feeling, you don't want to know more about business blah blah blah. But if you wish to indulge in this passion, you must also accept some responsibility for the overall health of the biz, because every time you set foot onstage, YOU are representing all of us in the music biz, and "the biz" means anything from participating in a VFW jam to planning that big show/tour later this year.

Live music, as it's currently packaged, is in decline, but I got news for you -- it's always been in decline. Always. Radio scared the hell out of musicians. So did the Depression. So did the Beatles. So did disco, MTV, and --- well, you get the idea. Live music has survived because of creativity and business smarts. It will be kept alive by those of us who figure out a way around the obstacles. It'll be redefined by those of us who are motivated enough to learn our craft, who aren't afraid to take creative risks, and who can get past the big steaming piles of ego issues.

Last week I mentioned an article that suggested The Beatles were an excellent example of successful business planning. If you're interested in learning more about it, drop me a line, I'll send you the piece. Stay warm 'n' happy, kids.

--- Patti Greene, editor