Music is a shortcut to your emotions. That’s why I feel privileged to work with music and with musicians. You get a smile on your face when you hear a certain rhythm, melody, timbre, text. Three years ago, many people had this experience with the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Other songs make us sad and we cry. Billboard published in February a list of 50 songs that we can dance to while they make us cry. Songs can also […]
The suicides of Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) last week and of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) last May made me feel very sad. Some people used it to start a discussion about the mental health of musicians and of people working in the music business. Lisa Gritter published a Dutch article in Vice this week with a very personal story about her own burn-out and about the reactions of colleagues and others in the music business. It seems that many of us […]
I love watching the stars at this short, warm nights! For people, being a star means that you are in the spotlights, that others notice you, that you are famous. We admire you, you inspire us. All the admiration does something to you and your ego. Your ego is blown up big way! Like a balloon. That’s how people with an imposter syndrome experience it. They still feel the same as they were before they became famous. They are anxious […]
When describing what they do, some musicians compare themselves with an apple tree. They start with the blossoming enthusiasm for their music. They have to invest first, in order to harvest the ripe apples later on. That’s when they share their talent with the world. Other musicians compare themselves with a diamond. They want their music to shine. They want to show the world how precious they are. One important aspect combines both comparisons and it often forgotten: for the […]
Two weeks ago I went to the ILMC conference in London and visited a workshop about mental health of artists. The topis was addiction in the music business, with musicians and with everyone else working int he music industry. The session started with the introduction of Music Support (later more), followed by a speech of psychotherapist and addiction-specialist Christophe Sauerwein. According to Sauerwein, about 15% of the population is receptive for addiction. While ‘normal’ people use drugs to escape reality […]
Mental coaching is quite common in sports. Many athletes use it to enhance their performances. They become more motivated and happier with mental coaching, they are more focused, run faster, react quicker. The effect of mental coaching has been proven by the registered improvement of the performances. With artists it’s different, especially with rock-musicians and DJ’s. While athletes perform at daytime, rock musicians and DJ’s are creatures of the night. They love the darkness. Many musicians are afraid that the […]
Last week I got a bit philosophical, with the flu clouding my head. Somehow I could accept from myself to be less than 100% perfect. And while looking around me, I noticed that everyone is actually messing around a bit, trying to adjust to expectations, trying to find a bit of happiness, trying to make ends meet. Even if someone has a great plan, in the end it’s about trial and error. I see the trial-and-error approach with our IT […]
Yesterday I was getting tired on Trump getting the headlines again with one of his discriminating laws. Tired also of all the posts on my FB timeline from people sharing their outrage. You only reach like-minded people with it, so what’s the use of it? Actually, that’s exactly what all these laws are about. They want us to get tired of being outraged, they want us to get used to it! It’s time to wake up. Since January 20, Trump […]
A new year feels like a new start. A clean slate of 12 months. Somehow we all think that in the new year, we will be able to avoid all mistakes and to seize all opportunities, unlike previous years. Every year again, we truly believe that the new year can become different, better. Even after the hang-over on new years day we still believe in it. But how can it become better, if we think and act the same? If […]
2016 was a very loud year, especially in politics. It was loud with attacks and with rude political discussions. Last year ended with the attack in Paris, this year we had attacks in Brussels, Nice, Berlin and there was an attempted putsch in Turkey, followed by repression of everyone with a different opinion. The whole world was watching Clinton and Trump on their way to the elections. Putin was loud in bombing hospitals in Syria. We still hear the screaming […]
How do you deal with limitations? They can become a real block! This week a friend saw a post on FB. One of his friends asked to share bad jokes with him, but the jokes had to be political correct, not racist, not sexist. My friend is a good joke teller and usually has a good pile of jokes in his mind. I think that all his jokes are political correct, not racist, not sexist. But he blanked and couldn’t […]
We loose more and more of our privacy. We post on Facebook what we do, what we think, where we are. Many apps have access to all contacts on our mobile devices. Google and Facebook know what sites we visit on the internet. But why bother, if we have nothing to hide? Last week I saw a very interesting documentary on TV: “Super Stream Me”. Last year, two Dutch guys, Tim den Besten and Nicolaas Veul, started the experiment to […]
The most common explanation of drug addiction is, that if you take too long a certain amount of a drug, you will become an addict. It’s the substance that makes you addicted. This theory is the basis that the US war on drugs is based on. But it doesn’t explain why so many famous musicians turn to drugs and have to go to rehab again and again. It doen’t explain why too many talented musicians die of an overdose, like […]
The phrase that the world is a village is often used when you have friends all over the world. It’s easy to travel. As musician you are touring around the world, or you are dreaming about touring around the world. In a social sense, the world is a village too. You are connected with colleagues, friends and family, wherever they are. You share your background and your believes with them. But do you know people with a different background, with […]
The Olympics 2016 in Brazil are over. And again it was all about the medals. The Dutch ‘Chef de Mission’ Maurits Hendriks is very disappointed. His task is, according to himself, to motivate the athletes. But they didn’t perform as expected. Very disappointing! What about the Olympic creed? “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The […]
