Marc wants to share some thoughts and give advice to musicians and artists who are trying to make it in the world today. Usually he doesn’t care what photo I use, but he specifically asked that this one be posted here to make his point that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. I channeled this from him while driving around the Bay Area as he didn’t want to wait!

Diane: So Marc….I think you have a fair amount to say to musicians and artists trying to make it in the world today, but I think it’s also good advice for us all.

Marc: Yeah I hope so Diane.

Diane: Okay here it is.

1. Educate yourself in music or whatever field you are pursuing – Theory is great but also look at history – “from whence we all came”. Learn about the artists who are inspiring you and what motivated them.
2.  Be articulate – You will be asked many questions in interviews (he says he can’t remember how many he gave) and you need to know what you are talking about if you want to be taken seriously – which he felt he was. He said that you could ask him anything about the music and artists who inspired him and he would know the answer. “Knowledge is power”.
3. Learn to play a real instrument if you are calling yourself a musician – He said that you need that energy to pass from your soul through your hands – there has to be that repetitive connection otherwise the “muse isn’t going to answer”. And no, he doesn’t consider a computer an instrument.
4. Find an image you can live with – He said that he spent a lot of time working on his image (though some people probably wished he’d spent less LOL) and try to make it one that you can live with. He said that he knew artists back in his day who were doing their thing, but they burned out too soon. “The music business is 95% illusion let me tell you” but try to do something you can live with as you will be spending much of your time with it – especially if it’s out of your normal persona. (He kept showing me images of Bowie as Ziggy Stardust as an example of, I guess, something that you may not want to live with 24/7.)
5. Keep it real – He feels like he put himself under too much pressure to get the hits and he missed out on things in life that he would have liked to have experienced. He spent too much time worrying about what the next hit was going to be. “Try not to do that because one thing, it’s not worth it and for another, you’re not going to be as creative”.
6. Love yourself  – People will always tell you things that they expect from you  – music or art they want you to create on their terms – but you have to suss into the fact that it’s your life. You might have to make the decision if you are out there to do what you want or do you just want to make money – obviously it would be best to do both.
7. Don’t forget your fans – They may forget you, he says, but don’t forget them. When you get really big, there is a temptation to lose sight of this.
8. Stay true to yourself and have a life outside of your career – He said that he lost this too often. The reason to not put yourself under too much pressure and have a life is because you’re going to have ups and downs. If you make it to the “Top 10” in music,  you’re probably not going to be there forever or consistently, so you are going to need enough self-worth to not judge yourself by the charts. Trends come and go – you live through it.
9. Don’t take the star thing too seriously – He said that twice…..don’t take the star thing too seriously because it can be gone tomorrow.

Nowadays, he says that he’s not really seeing (unless you have a lot of money backing you) how anyone is going to get into the music “Top 10” (I personally am so out of music nowadays, I don’t even know if there is a “Top 10” anymore but that is the term he is using). He said that he had nothing when he had his first hit, but you can’t let that stop you because no one is going to believe in you except yourself – at least that is all you can rely upon. If you don’t have that faith, you won’t make it as easily. He’s not saying it can’t happen, but he says the road will be a lot more bumpy.

Marc said that the vibe in a lot of music today is too negative for him. He really isn’t watching anyone specific and feels that many of the people who are famous now shouldn’t be in his opinion. He is glad he was creating music in the 60’s and 70’s, but would love to be able to work with the technology we have today.

Diane: Okay Marc thanks for sharing!

© Bolan-Beaty Boogie

January 10, 2017