It's The Final Countdown

My latest body of music is finally FINISHED!!!!!!!

From hearing the guitar and bass tracks being recorded to watching my drummer lay down the rhythm, seeing this new music come to life has been one of the coolest experiences!

On my previous EP, I wrote on every song, but the production was outsourced to a couple different producers.

This time around I wanted to be involved in every step of the process.

It was less about having control, and more about learning.

Oddly enough, the creation of the music was the easiest part! I found that managing the project and the various people involved in its creation to be much more difficult.

I’m a people pleaser.

But at some point I learned a tough lesson.

YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE!

While the music was the primary focus, I learned a lot about myself and how to carry myself through tough business discussions when the direction of things would change.

We started this project almost a year ago and while it may have taken longer than expected, I’m glad we took our time.

This music is the clearest representation of the singer/songwriter, recording artist, Chris Jamison!

With an incredible amount of help and direction from Jesse Denaro, we were able to blend organic instrumentation with modern production elements, taking every song to the next level.

This music IS going to be a game changer and WILL be the beginning of me being more consistent with the release of new original music.

I’ll be celebrating the release of my lead single, “Go”, on June 7th from 7:30-9:30pm at Generoasta Coffee!

There will be live acoustic performances from myself and local musicians, an opportunity for photos and mingling with me and other artists, FREE coffee and desserts, and a raffle for a chance to win FREE concert tickets, merchandise, and products from local shops!

The event is FREE to the public and limited space is available. You must RSVP to reserve your spot!

With that being said - let the countdown begin!

Ready.

Set.

Go.

Keep singing,
Chris
Proverbs 16:9

One Size Does Not Fit all

Over the past couple weeks I’ve been addicted to a podcast called, “And The Writer is…”.

It’s a new podcast to me but the show recently launched their fourth season.

Ross Golan, BMI’s 2016 Songwriter of The Year, gets to know songwriters that have written for some of the biggest names in music.

In short, I love it.

As a creative person myself, there is a lot to be learned from other creatives regarding how they approach the process and how they get their ideas flowing!

Listening through many of the episodes, I’ve come to the realization that everyones creative process is different.

This seems to be a recurring theme in my posts because last week I made the point that there isn’t usually only one way of getting things done.

Turns out, songwriting is no different.

Some people get up and write one or multiple songs per day.

I tried that.

I failed.

A song a day could be realistic for those who are strictly songwriters, but when you are an independent artist you wear a lot of hats.

Most artists have a manager, business manager, lawyer, publicist, booking agent, etc. The list seems to be never ending with each role being entitled to a piece of the pie.

When your pie isn’t big enough to share, you figure out a way to cover the roles yourself!

For me, I’ve found that my songwriting tends to come in waves.

It starts with me feeling like I have something to say.

Similar to how you can usually feel a cold coming on before it actually takes you out!

I’m not sure what is going to be written, but I know SOMETHING is going to be written.

Hopefully that doesn’t sound too weird, but when I get that feeling I know that I need to find some time during the day to sit down and write.

This doesn’t mean I write a full song, although sometimes that happens and It is a wonderful feeling.

Most of the time, I get a rough idea out and then come back to it over time.

When it comes to creative tasks, I don’t work well under pressure. The minute a deadline enters the equation, my brain shuts down and instead of feeling free to create, I’m more consumed by the worry of not being able to meet the deadline.

However, if I go into the studio to record vocals and only have a couple lines to finish, the pressure of being there and wanting to knock it out before I leave usually pushes out the lines that I need to finish the song. I actually just learned this recently when I was in the process of finishing up one of the songs that will be on my next project!

The creative process is weird.

Given my earlier pie reference, I’m going to run with another baking analogy.

Baking is very precise. You are given a set recipe to follow, and as long as you follow the recipe the end result shouldn’t vary much.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a recipe for being creative.

The fact that there is no recipe for the process could scare you away, so lets go to the drawing board.

Picture a beautiful, large field full of the best soil perfect for planting a garden. Someone has already placed tons of seeds in the garden and your job is simply to care for the garden and make sure it is watered and well kept. In order for a garden to grow, one of the necessities is time.

Let's say that each of the seeds planted in the garden is a creative idea. Your job is simply to water the ideas. A garden doesn’t reach its full growth over night. It takes time and lots of care. Sometimes idea/thoughts/visions are the same: they could take years to develop. But every day that you water and pour into those little seeds is one day closer to seeing a fully blossomed flower.

I realize the picture I’ve painted is a little cheesy, but I spent way to much time trying to make sure it made sense that I was too deep into the soil to back out…

Keep singing (and being creative)

Chris

Proverbs 16:9

There Isn't Only One Way

I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about the future.

What does life look like for a singer/songwriter who’s 35 with kids (God willing) and a hot wife?

I want to be around when my kids take their first steps. I want to be around when they fall off their bike for the first time and need someone to help them up. I want to be around when something goes wrong at school and they come home upset.

I want to be there.

So, what does that mean about my music career?

Can I still have a successful career in music without traveling around the globe, or is that what it takes to be “successful”.

I think we can all agree that there is usually more than one way of doing things.

For instance, I keep a budget for my family using an excel spreadsheet. That works really well for me. Others may use a budgeting app, or a different format for their budget. At the end of the day, we all have budgets that work for us and keep us updated on where we are financially.

Another example could be showering. Some people prefer to shower in the morning, while others would rather shower the night before. In the end, both methods of showering end with you being clean.

Maybe I’m oversimplifying things, but I believe the same goes for being a musician.

I don’t believe you HAVE to tour for 3 months and go to every state, in order to be a successful musical artist.

I don’t believe you HAVE to stay in the studio writing songs until 4am, in order to be a successful musical artist.

Faith.

Family.

Music.

Those three things and in that particular order, make up the foundation of everything I stand for. Music will never come before faith and family. As a matter of fact, the music is simply a byproduct of my faith and family.

Do I want to win a Grammy award?

Of course. But it will not be at the expense of my faith or my family.

The thing is. When I leave this Earth, none of the awards or titles that I achieve are going with me. None of the notoriety and fame will be tagging along.

I am going to be a successful musician.

But you and I may not have the same definition of success.

That’s perfectly fine. We can all have different definitions of success.

I will say though that many of us, including myself, give money more value than time. We determine someones level of success by the amount of money they have in the bank, the house they live in, or the car they drive. Obviously, we need money to live and function, but the real question is how MUCH money we need to live and function.

What if we made less money per year, but made up that value in the time we were able to spend with our families?

We aren’t supposed to work in order to one day live when we retire.

We are supposed to live.

Nobody is guaranteed to make it to retirement, so why are we working for it?

I don’t know what it’s going to look like to be a songwriter when I’m 35 with a wife and kids.

To cope with the uncertainty, I look at life as one giant puzzle with each day being one individual puzzle piece.

God brought us into the world and handed us the box. Our job is to take the lid off and figure out how all the pieces fit together.

Keep Singing,

Chris

Proverbs 16:9

Family Vacation - 2018

When I was a kid my family would go on a beach vacation almost every year.

That was the high-point of my summer—going to a new place and getting that one week to set up shop in a house much closer to the beach than our home in Pittsburgh.

For many summers, we had multiple families join us for our week-long vacation.

I remember the summer before sixth grade, my family went to the Outer Banks with 5 other families. Overall, there were 12 adults and 18 kids in the same house! Because there were so many of us, we were able to rent a giant place with a movie theater, pool table AND elevator.

It was heaven on earth for a little kid. Around that time, the show Cribs was popular on MTV, so as a 13-year-old, I actually envisioned myself opening the front door and saying, “welcome to my crib!” It was that cool.

After that year, we continued the family beach vacations all throughout high school. The first summer we missed was the one following my season of The Voice!

Everyone had a lot of expenses due to traveling back and forth to Los Angeles for the show, so a summer vacation wasn’t in the budget.

After that, everyone got busy with jobs and school, so we went a few years without leaving Pittsburgh.

The first week of August 2018 was our first summer vacation in 6 years!! Aside from my brother, the whole family was gathered in one house for a whole week. My sisters brought their boyfriends, and my Grandma tagged along as well.

We may not have had 5 other families, but we had just as much fun.

The weather wasn’t great. I think it rained a little almost every day. Some days longer than others, but who cares!

As my siblings and I have grown, moved out of the house, and in my case begun to form our own family, it’s hard to get everyone under the same roof. Although we missed my brother not being there, we got pretty close to having everyone.

Our time away was spent sitting on the beach getting our bronze on, reading (I finished the Bruce Springsteen autobiography and it was one of the most inspiring things I’ve read. My next blog post will be all about it!), playing lots of card games and eating tons of food.

Many of us drank lots of coffee (I think Grandma came in first place with the most cups and my Dad and I tied for second—Jansen was a strong third) and shared lots of laughs!

During that week, I realized how much of a blessing it was that we all got to spend that time together. I realized it was a luxury not all families have. We definitely didn’t take it for granted!

As I reflected on our trip, I realized that it wasn’t about being at a beach surrounded by the ocean or nice weather (when it wasn’t raining!). For me, it was about getting to spend quality time with everyone in the house.

Whether you have the ability to travel far away or decide to do a staycation at home, try getting as many of your family members together under one roof. Play lots of card games, eat lots of food, and drink lots of coffee.

It’s all about family, and when Jansen and I begin to grow our own family, if God blesses us with children, I want to do my best to instill in them the importance of family and growing relationships with other people.

Family vacation 2018 was full of quality family time.

Leave a comment below if you and your family did anything fun this summer or if you have any upcoming trips planned!!

Keep Singing,

Chris

Proverbs 16:9

Scavenger Hunt Fun for Year Number One

One year down and a lifetime to go!

This past Saturday, Jansen and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. Leading up to May 19th, Jansen would constantly ask me what we were doing for our anniversary. We had discussed our plans many times, so I figured she was just quizzing me to make sure I remembered the itinerary for the day.

I’ve been told that I tend to forget things. An ugly habit that has revealed itself in year one!

As Jansen and I pulled out of the driveway to start enjoying our anniversary plans, Jansen stopped the car and said,  “For some reason the mailman came early today, I’ll pull up to the mailbox and you can grab the mail.”

This didn’t strike me as anything out of the ordinary, so I reached into the mailbox to grab the mail.

To my surprise I found a small orange envelope, addressed to me with a letter inside.

Turns out the mail hadn’t come early.

Jansen had planted the envelope in the mailbox as the first clue to a scavenger hunt that she had planned for me.

When we started “going out” in eighth grade, our very first date was a trip to the movie theater to see Alvin and The Chipmunks. Yes, one of the most romantic movies a guy could take his new girlfriend too. Cut me some slack. We were 13 years old.

To relive our first date, we went to the local movie theater to see Deadpool 2.

DISCLAIMER: Parents, don’t take your kids. Definitely wouldn’t have been able to see that movie when we were 13!

As the credits of the movie began to roll, Jansen told me to check under my seat for the next clue.

There I found another orange envelope that took us to our next destination.

All young ladies dream of sharing their first kiss in the tech ed hallway of their jr. high, right?

You’ll notice that Jansen refers to herself in this letter as  xoJansenxo and I had the alias PianoMan. Those were our AIM instant messaging names. Awkward eighth graders didn’t do much talking face to face, so we spent a lot of time communicating through our computers.  

Jansen had some trouble getting into the school to plant clue number 3, so she had to settle for hiding the clue behind a sign in the parking lot. Using the highly scientific “hot or cold” method to find the clue, I eventually gathered the envelope and discovered our third and final destination.

Earlier that morning before I had woken up, Jansen packed lunches for us and champagne, so that we could have a picnic outside of our wedding venue.

They had a wedding setup for later that day, so we couldn’t go into the building, but there is a really nice park on the property where we were able to grab a picnic table, eat lunch, and look through our wedding pictures that Jansen had printed out.

It was the perfect morning/afternoon, but I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty

Was this something the husband should’ve planned?

She laughed it off and said no, but maybe in a few years I’ll throw together a scavenger hunt of my own!

The final surprise of the day came when I saw a good friend of mine who’s a photographer and his girlfriend walking towards us with cameras in their hands!

Jansen had asked him if he would come and take some pictures of us to capture our first wedding anniversary.

I left our picnic to lead worship at saturday nights church service and then Jansen and I ended our day with dinner reservations at a local winery.

Jansen and I have always loved writing each other handwritten letters, so I’ll end this post with an excerpt from the letter I gave her on our anniversary.

                       “Jansen, you’ve challenged me in many ways to be the best husband and man that I can be. I’ve realized how important communication is and I truly appreciate all of the patience you’ve had with me. I’ve made a fair amount of mistakes this year, but let’s get real, I’ll probably make many more down the road. For that reason, NEVER lose that patience! I’m a better man today because I married you one year ago, asked you to marry me two years ago and asked you to be my girlfriend ten years ago.”

Year number two….We’re comin’ for you’!

Keep singing,

Chris

Proverbs 16:9