Category Archives: Networking

Nashville, Don’t Let Me Down

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It’s about 8 hours from Lynchburg in Central Virginia to Nashville, Tennessee. You could do it faster if you pushed it, but I left early and wasn’t playing in Murfreesboro until Tuesday night.

When I was a writer and trying to push my prose up the mountain of recognition, Seth Godin was a “guru” of sorts. I know I’ll sometimes criticize the ubiquity of gurus, but there are some out there, like Godin, who are worth listening to and offer countless tips that move your craft forward: writing, music, maybe even mixed martial arts.

I’ve been following Matt Bacon on the ‘gram for a month or so. His stuff is so damn good (and practical) that I marvel that I’ve already started doing many of the things he talks about in terms of building a following. One of them recently was to find an area that you can tour regionally two or three times a year.

In many ways, this two-week tour is exactly that. Me, taking my all-original music, and playing cities and venues I’ve never played before. Including Nashville.

The DIY show I was part of on Tuesday night at The Shack was epic. Four different artists/bands, doing what they do, and showing support for me, the touring bard and minstrel passing through town. Chad James (aka, Karate Chad) seems to me to be a DIY force of nature in Murfreesboro. He’s originally told me he rarely does mid-week shows, especially Tuesday nights, but he made it happen. The link should be available soon on Twitch and when it is, I’ll post it, here. I’m also going to have some live footage of me playing what was about a 40 to 45 minutes set of originals.

[Shua, Murfreesboro singer-songwriter, covering Warren Zevon’s “Roland the Thompson Gunner”]

While Murfreesboro was sweet, my plan to play Wednesday night in Nashville fell through. The booking agent I’ve been working with texted me and told me that the venue has “discontinued all live music.” Wow! That fucking sucks! But, rather than let it derail me, I had a blast in Murfreesboro and I’m going to bring the same energy to Huntsville on Friday. Continue reading →

Get-away Day (day 3)-Wrapping it Up

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NEW13HRCLogoSideBarFinal days at conventions, or get-away days, drawing on a baseball term, are always transitional. Up to that point, attendees are engaged, focused on the tasks, keynotes, and workshops at-hand. On get-away day, there’s a subtle shift that takes place. Everyone starts thinking of things back at the office—the things you’ve put off or put on hold—and if you’re staying at the Samoset, or off-grounds, like I was, you have to make sure you’re checked out and the car is loaded before commencing your final day of conventioneering. Continue reading →

Leaving it up to others

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Yesterday, I spent time networking and reconnecting with old friends, new friends, and others, at the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s Business to Business Showcase. As usual, Kim Lindlof and her team put together a well-organized and worthwhile event.

I’ve been attending these annual business networking soirees since 2007, just after I began working for the Central/Western Maine Workforce Investment Board. What I’ve always enjoyed about them and why they provide value for the businesses, organizations and others that attend, is that they gather together key people from the community that you need to know if you are going to be working Waterville.

My role at the Showcase was a bit different this year.  I’m now operating in a diminished capacity with my employer of nearly six years, after having my hours reduced from 40 to 20. Knowing about the Showcase now for a few weeks, I timed my “soft” launch of my website for the JBE to coincide with the event, knowing I’d have a chance to network, talk a bit about the situation with the LWIB, but more important, I had my new business cards with me, and I had a chance to work the room for the JBE, articulating what I’m about and what I’m able to provide, and a little bit about my personal brand. Continue reading →