Building Real Communities
In A Virtual World
Love it or hate it, technology has virtually re-invented our industry, our relationships and our worldview. Perhaps in the near future, evolution will catch up and we’ll be born with extra-nimble digits for typing & other necessary adaptations. In the meantime, we’re still very much human & need to socially connect with a tribe/community. This month, Nashville musician, author & philosopher Doug Hoekstra provides food for thought and practical tips on building lasting communities in a cyber world.
These days an independent artist must wear a lot of hats and, to prosper we must simultaneously reach out to the masses while nurturing what makes us individuals & unique.
We humans are social beings and for better or worse live in an age of individualism & instant access (of a sort) to a variety of social networks.
Our human condition? Individuals in need of social networks & community. Creativity in particular doesn’t thrive in a vacuum so it is especially vital for a musician/artist to be part of a community that nurtures – whether we join a community or create our own.
Internet, blackberry’s, twitter & other instant forms of communication make it oh so easy to reach out to people on the other side of the planet or the other side of town. But there’s more to building a real community than email blasts & friend requests.
So, rather than bemoan the disparity of community in the modern cyber-world age or fall full on into a place where we only seek out those with affirming friend messages, there’s got to be a way to sift through all this, separate the flotsam from the jetsam, and come out more successful and happy artists, with community intact. Remain alone in your room and you’ll remain alone.
Whether you are seeking existing communities or to build your own, here are the positives and the possibilities for the journey in a 5 part harmony:
Your Immediate Realm
Here’s the back in the day model.
Before the Internet, Radio was the connection to a bigger world, but it wasn’t a world that young bands were a part of, but rather, the world they aspired to, a less tangible other place.
Case in point, the Beatles’ met at school and began hanging out and playing together, swapping records like rare jewels, riding across town to learn a new guitar chord from a mate; the brothers’ Davies (aka the Kinks) created a community in their living room, playing for family; Mick and Keith grew up on the same block.
This can still apply, any age any place. Get out there and you’ll find people who are interested in playing, writing, and through the process, building on what you have.
In Nashville, where I live, co-writing is all the rage. This builds a community and your talents by creating an environment where you to write with people who bring something new to the table. It’s the modern day equivalent of borrowing the records or riding across town to learn a new chord, as the Beatles did. It still works. It still broadens your horizons, while strengthening your support.
Your Zipcode
As ‘Rock n Roll” caught fire, bands all over the world joined communities that already existed in their neighborhood. This bred an army of kids with guitars and bands were formed; clubs opened up and musicians hung out and jammed – at lunchtime, in the evenings, on the weekends – all the time, basically. The music was so new it wasn’t yet fractionalized, split up, or cross-marketed. My guess is it was easier to bond. I’ve got a guitar, you’ve got a guitar. I like Elvis, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly. Me, too. Eddie Cochran is cool. Yeah.
Where there’s money, there’s incentive and so, all across the world, these musical communities grew, the net widening to include managers, club owners, press, radio, to the point where they were pulsating business enterprises of their own, inherent into themselves.
These extended musical communities exist all over the world, still. And you’re already a member; you just have to work it. There’s a contingency of fellow musicians and writers and producers, at your local clubs, hangouts, and studios. Build that network.
It helps you find the non-musicians in the scene, the managers and record store guys, who are often great sounding boards, no pun intended. They might be the person who can listen to something objectively and say “hey, is this part working?” Or they might be the person to give you the boost of encouragement when you’re down. These “perimeter people” are invaluable sources of support, information, and community.
The World Beyond
It stayed local for a long time. Music diversified and so musical communities multiplied based on types of music – be it Jazz, Soul, Hip-Hop, Rock, Folk. But, they were still based on geography and taste and people gravitated to them as much as built them.
Then came the Internet and total immediacy – geography was thrown out the window and the idea of what comprised a community of any kind was forever changed. Musically, the reach of the Internet allowed artists with the most esoteric of directions to bond over genre, taste, approach, or all of the above.
So, from this point, we must go forth. Start delving into the world beyond. But, have goals in mind. If you have a hankering to crack the European market or get into film work or play South By Southwest, talk to people who have been there, done that. This isn’t rocket science.
Pretty soon you’ll find yourself in the network of singer-songwriters riding a certain circuit in Italy or you’re in with the Ska bands that tap into a certain Midwest circuit. You’ll leave notes for each other at venues you play. You’ll become friendly with them and be able to send an –email to the like-minded bandleader in Sacramento to ask if such and such a label is worth pursuing. This is where the net is really an advantage, and something we are lucky to have in our midst.
Don’t be freaked out by the competition aspect. People tend to think they’re competing with their peers – you’re only competing with yourself, really. The idea is to improve upon your art, and if you do that sincerely and honestly, you’ll find your niche. You’ll survive and prosper. So, you might as well help others, and share information. Besides making sense, in terms of practically pushing you forward, it’ll put money in your karma bank. It’ll strengthen your place in the community of the world beyond.
Return To Your Immediate Realm
Why? Because, you don’t want get lost in tunnel vision, where you don’t open up to the process. When you’re riding the net, dropping into chat rooms, jumping from MySpace to Facebook and back, talking on the phone while you’re driving to the gig and sending that important e-mail afterwards, and reaching out to an infinite number of markets and communities – that’s certainly a buzz. It makes you feel great, and although sometimes it’s like panning for gold, chances are you’re hitting pay dirt in certain markets and places, with certain like-minded artists.
But, ask yourself if you’re really working on building the kind of network around yourself that is integral, or is it simply smoke and mirrors. There is the danger that you can wear out contacts, burn out markets, get carpal tunnel, and realize you’ve been preaching to the choir for awhile. And unlike the organic neighborhood building, the people you’re “talking” to are so far away, they won’t be able to watch your housepets while you’re on tour.
Recently, I was reading something about attaining calm in a busy world, and the author said something kind of obvious – “when going through hurried, in crisis mode - if you’re feeling uncertain, up and down, adrift and so on – seek help.” Then, they followed with “If you’re going through a crisis and you simply feel great, with no ups and downs, then REALLY seek help.” This cracked me up and I think it’s spot on.
Make sure you get some objectivity. Step back. When you step back, you step outside of yourself and you reconnect with the people who’ve got in your immediate vicinity, the community closer to home, the people who can help you take your artistic and practical goals to the next level.
The View From Above
In a high-tech information age with great immediacy and infinite choices, should an artist go it alone, find a new community, or create a new one?
My feeling is the best artists manage to embrace community while somehow retaining an individuality that rose above it. They become part of several communities, in a fashion. And, that fits in with the unique advantage we have as artists in the 21st century.
We can build our organic, local communities, while picking and choosing and reassessing our role in global music communities. And, with all these experiences, once we bounce things off our newfound peers, we keep our ears open to simple phrases and valid questions, whether our path is leading where we want it to – or if not, if we’re okay where we’re headed, if we’re surrounding ourselves with the type of folks, musically or business-wise, we want as our support network, reflecting our spirit and goals. If the answer is yes, then we progress in our artistic journey by being part of a greater community, yet that is still unique to our specific being and sensibilities. In short, we do it all at once, with mindfulness - we create communities as we find them, we give as we receive.
Feel free to shoot Doug a question – doughoekstra@yahoo.com. You can also visit www.doughoekstra.com or www.myspace.com/doughoekstra.
Doug Hoekstra’s music has garnered years of praise from critics, djs, and fans throughout the US & Europe. In addition to live discs, eps, and other oddities, he’s released six full-length works, earning him Nashville Music Award, Independent Music Award, and NARAS nominations. His short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, and he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his tale “The Blarney Stone” (2006). Hoekstra's first-full length collection of prose, Bothering the Coffee Drinkers, was published in 2006 to rave reviews and earned a Bronze Medal for Best Short Fiction in the 2007 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPYs).
