Hello, and welcome to Volume 35 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.
There is a phrase I have been saying and not obeying. “Work as little as possible and make your art as much as possible.” Meaning, work enough to pay your bills and survive, and then make art with whatever time you’ve got left. I have scoured the internet but I don’t quite know where I heard this idea. It’s a way of living that I’ve been leaning into for the last few years, but I just more recently received new language for. When we can name a way of being, it makes it easier to lean into. Or lean away from. I don’t know if I agree with the idea of working as little as possible. But I do think a lot of people who are not career-artists could make more art.
A good while ago my buddy Trent gave me this movie “Mutual Appreciation” on DVD. I got around to watching it last night in my ritual of Sunday restfulness. It was a bit like “Frances Ha.” They are both in black and white and about trying to make it in New York. There is this one scene in the movie where the new-to-town rock-n-roller main character says “the goal isn’t to be happy, it’s to have a good story.” Which for a moment, I resonated with, but I eventually came to disagree. I do want to have a good story to tell. I do want to live into my freedom and margin within the “N.I.L.O.M.” principle - nothing is lost on me. But I am feeling a smidge less masochistic lately. I am no longer so much in the business of self-inflicted pain “for the sake of the song,” as Townes Van Zandt once said.
I think good art can come out of many a circumstance. Having margin does not have to mean mundanity. Spare time doesn’t require self sabotage. These are notes to self, of course.
I do want to keep making my art, yet I also just want to invest in community and relationships. I am always trying to find new ways that I could work completely for myself and make a steady income. Coffee comes up a lot when I try and draw the through-line between all of my interests and the interests of my friends. I think i’ve know this for awhile but it’s been bubbling to the surface in more real ways lately. I am no barista, but I am a people person.
A pretty legitimate opportunity to open a coffee cart could be falling into my lap right now. I am trying to go slow and really feel out what it is I want from my life and my days and my future. At the end of the day, I kind of have the margin to try just about anything right now when it comes to my career. I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me and not a whole lot to lose. A lot of people I look up to in life manage small businesses, have a lot of hobbies and passions, and have sort of “lifestyle” careers. While I am in Nashville, I want to be building something to last. It’s something i’ve been thinking about a lot. Even if I don’t stay here forever, I think it’d be pretty amazing to curate a sort of ethos within a coffee spot or something similar, and maybe be able to pass it on eventually.
For now I get to keep dreaming, and let the rubber slowly hit the road. I am trying to go slow, and be grateful, and put one foot in front of the other. In authenticity and craftsmanship and in hope, not fear.
Godspeed, and don’t be a stranger.
Yours Truly,
Jake Smith
Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:
* Sign up here for Community Dinner on Oct. 19th ! and click here to join the email list for community dinner, and to see a recap of last months dinner.
* Listen to my new album “Good Grief” here.
* T-shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. The “Share a Song Today” tees are back in stock, as well as the Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!
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As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.
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