Thursday, April 19, 2012

Being Laura Lisbeth

It’s true that at times I have been known to say, “You have no idea how hard it is to be ME!”  That, my friends, is another blog entirely. No, today I’m talking about being Laura Lisbeth, the Songwriter.

It’s tough in this town to be a part of the music "scene"…… whatever that is. It used to really bug me when I felt I wasn’t getting any recognition. Like all creative types, I probably wanted it because I wanted to be validated in some way. When you are out there, writing and playing your songs and submitting them for human consumption, you can’t help but pay attention to what other people are doing, and you can’t help but make comparisons.  You can't help but wonder, "where do I fit into this picture?"

But my focus has long since shifted toward making a solid contribution as a songwriter. I want to write solid songs, better songs, amazing songs.  I want to get to the heart and the soul and the guts of a matter.  I want to hone my craft. I want to give a clear voice to who I really am.

In his blog, “The Business of Being Creative,” creative business consultant Sean Low says,

“You might think you can do what you do not, act in a way that belies you, your art and your creative business, but you cannot.  Pretending to be something you are not is unsustainable, not so much because you cannot fake it well, but because you will pale against those who are the real deal.”

You can check out the entire post here:

I want to be the real deal. I can’t be a twenty-something hipster, or even an old hippie, and if I tried, it wouldn’t look or feel right (big hair lives on!). People would know it was not authentic. It’s important for me to hang onto this as a songwriter – as an artist -- and forge ahead at being Laura Lisbeth.