I was once told that when you release a song into the world, from then on, the song belongs to the listeners. They can analyze it, and take it to mean whatever it is they decide. They can find comfort in it, use it as motivation, or it can simply just remind them of a particular person, place, or time in their life.
Now with social media being an integral part of our everyday lives, at times it’s almost as if an artist’s day-to-day journey as a person can draw a connection between him or her and the listeners, completely outside of the actual songs. Maybe it started with the advent of reality television, or maybe social media is the major catalyst that lead to the end of the invisible wall that once existed between artists and fans.
No matter how we ended up here, one thing is for certain: music lovers nowadays know more about the artists they admire than ever before. And they value this relationship, mainly via social media, as it creates a connection between the fan and the artist. At times, it can even provide a deeper understanding of the music you love.
I like to compare it to seeing an artist in a small venue and listening to the stories he or she tells about the songs. You build a broader understanding of the music, and it helps you build your own personal connection to the art.
This actually happened to me recently on the road opening for Pat McGee at the Stoltz Listening Room in Easton, MD. Before he played the song “Four Door Dynamo” off his new album, he talked about the awesome car his older sibling had when they were young, which was part of the inspiration behind the track. The story was heartfelt, and it got me thinking about how, by the time I got the family hand-me-down car at age 16 (I was the youngest of three), it was missing a side view mirror and had no hubcaps. My personal story paralleled many aspects of Pat's, as I always wanted the cooler car my older sister got to drive. As a result, I listened to Pat’s track at least 15 times on the way home from that run of dates, because I immediately had a connection to it.
Now take that to social media. It blew my mind the first time I showed up at a show seven hours from home, and a fan knew exactly what kind of bourbon I drank because I had once posted about it on Instagram after a long day. It was his favorite, too, so he remembered and had a drink ready for me as soon as I walked off the stage.
Now, while social media can be an amazing tool to both find fans and stay connected with them, there is an inherent downside, I think, for the fans nowadays. At times, social media can become an overwhelming landmine of requests for anything from “come to my show” to “buy my CD” to “support my Kickstarter campaign.” It’s almost as if we, as artists, forget that this journey of ours and the songs we create are as much for others as they are for us. And in a very uncertain industry, we rely so heavily on our fans to keep us going day to day that we sometimes forget it’s a two-way street.
['Being an Artist Is Not an End Goal': Frank Viele on Finding Your Voice as a Musician]
This thought pattern had been running through my mind for months before I found out that I was going to embark on my first national tour as a solo artist opening for Zach Myers from Shinedown and his acoustic project Allen, Mack, Myers, & Moore. The way the tour dates dropped, I wasn’t going to be anywhere close to my typical touring footprint when my record came out, nor would I be around for months after. In fact, my album would drop nationally on the first day of the tour, which had me performing all the way in Nebraska – a long ways away from Connecticut!
So I decided that I wanted to have a going away record pre-release party. But I wanted it to be special for the people in attendance. I was baffled by the opportunities that had been presented to me as the release date for my album got closer, and I realized that I wouldn’t have made it this far along my journey if it weren’t for the wonderful people who had stood by me and my music early on.
So I turned this show into an actual event! I had individually numbered posters printed for the attendees, I premiered my first ever storyboarded music video for my single, "Broken Love Song,” (featuring Joe Bonamassa) on a giant projection screen, personally reached out to long-time supporters of mine requesting their attendance and offering to put them on a guest list, and I even had the party catered by my favorite local restaurant, which ended up sponsoring the event! Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I gave my new fans a chance to purchase my record before it was released to the general public.
Putting in the effort to turn the show into a true event made it a major highlight in my career so far. People came from up to five states away, we sold out the club, they had to turn people away at the door, and the show became a true celebration! I walked out of the club that night feeling like the luckiest guy on the planet.
I looked at my phone the next morning, and my social media had exploded. For days after the show, friends and fans were posting pictures and videos, and letting everybody know what they thought of the new record.
And it grew from there. I threw a party to thank all of my friends and fans for believing in my art, and they spent the following weeks helping me tell the world about my new record. My social media numbers began to rise, and my album, Fall Your Way, made its way into the Top 100 New Release Charts for weeks on iTunes immediately following its release!
So the message here, I think, is simply that being an artist is a two-way street. The modern music industry presents some significant challenges to independent artists, and without the support of fans and friends during the toughest times, it can be pretty hard to stay the course.
You can’t forget to be grateful and truly appreciate the people who are part of your journey. Anything special you can do to remind them how important they are to your world assuredly goes a long way.
On that note: To all of my friends, family, and fans who have been a part of my amazing musical journey so far, I cannot thank you enough. The high points are so much higher, and the tough times are so much easier to bear knowing you’re in my corner!
As the New England Music Awards' 2014 Live Act of the Year, Frank Viele may very well be the "everyman" of singer-songwriters. A bourbon-drinking, cartoon-watching, blue-collar entrepreneur, his musical roots started on his grandmother's piano as a young child, developed as a teen tailgating with an acoustic guitar in the parking lots of Dave Matthews Band concerts, and blossomed on the road as a young adult performing as the quintessential "weekend warrior" in the East Coast jam and singer/songwriter scenes.