Tag Archives: Oliver Anthony

Spotify Heavy Weather

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Just like Oliver Anthony, I release my new songs via Distrokid. It works well because for a minimal annual membership, I can launch multiple tracks/albums via a host of streaming platforms.

Streaming seems to be where it’s at (even if no one makes any money), so I thought I’d take Distrokid’s suggestion and create a playlist of my own, including two of my own tracks. My playlist, “This is Indie Music” is a really good gathering of my influences and the bands/artists who inform what I do as a songwriter and guitar player.

Have at it!!

Oh, and feel free to add my songs to your Spotify playlists.

Creative Continuation

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I was thinking the other day about creative output and how it relates to my own production. During the time I was focused on writing, I put out four books from 2005 to 2014, which also included my repurposed Moxie book in 2012, sold to Down East Books (now Rowman & Littlefield). Remarkably, this book continues to sell and I’m sure it’s one of the better-selling regional releases for New England from that period.

Those years also included a host of articles for publications; alt weeklies, trade journals, and newspapers, both local and regional. I launched this blog in 2012, as a platform for content and became a practitioner of “shipping” (as Seth Godin frequently talks about). It was routine for me to create and post three to five blog entries each week.

Since 2018, I’ve been focused like a laser on music, another side of the creative process.  First, playing guitar daily in order to advance my playing. But just as important—writing my own songs. Over the course of that time, I’ve written 30+ songs. I have two Eps and two full-length releases available for purchase on Bandcamp.

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What’s the Deal with Oliver Anthony

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Picking up an old acoustic guitar I’d had for 20+ years, I began playing every single day back in late 2018, This became a cathartic escape from a deep, dark hole prompted by the tragic death of my only son a year before.

When I started playing three or four songs at open mics in 2019, I never thought I’d end up writing nearly 40 songs over the next three years, while releasing music regularly on Bandcamp. I especially never thought I’d have the guitar skills to play professionally, often carrying three-hour sets of covers interspersed with my own songs.

My goal was never to become a popular musician. First, the musical influences I have are obscure indie bands and singers—performers like Guided by Voices, Swearing at Motorists, and some bigger name performers like Wilco and Car Seat Headrest.

At the same time, I honestly thought I might manage to gather a niche following of music fans, similar to what I’ve been able to cobble together over the last 20 years as a writer. My Moxie book still sells steadily because I’d found a nostalgic topic that came with a built-in cult following.

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