Extra, extra, read all about it: earnityourself.com/warpedtour

Hello EIY Family,

I’ve been out of commission for the past month or so, working at a couple festivals followed by moving to Nashville. Natalie from We Are The Kids has been helping keep things rolling in my absence, and we were able to finalize our plans for the EIY Chapters and this summer’s Vans Warped Tour, which includes partnering up with Feed Our Children Now to provide you guys the chance to work for a day on the tour and meet Kevin Lyman backstage!

We’ve been letting the Chapters get things rolling on their own, and a few cities have really stepped things up, especially Philadelphia who are hosting their own Local EIY Chapter Meet-Up on May 28th! So bad-ass!

There are still a lot of details that need to be ironed out, and it’s almost time to start the weekly podcast back up, so what I’d like to do is hold a Chapter Member conference call tomorrow (Tuesday) night, May 15th, to get all the EIY Chapter members on the same page.

If you are a member of your local EIY Chapter, you should get an email later today with the details for the call. If you aren’t yet a member and want to get involved, submit an application here. (You can participate in EIY activities locally and online without becoming an official Chapter member, but here are a few reasons to join.)

After we get the EIY Local Chapters all caught up, we’ll announce plans for the weekly EIY Podcast, and this summer’s daily EIY Meet-Ups on the Warped Tour!

One day at a time…

Love,
Sarah

STEPHEN SCHUB, 43 (Los Angeles, New York,
 Jerusalem, Jacksonville)

MUSICIAN (HaSkaLA / The Fenwicks)

YEARS IN MUSIC: 34

ON THE WEB: haskalamusic.com //
 thefenwicks.com // stevenschub.com

CURRENT PROJECTS: HaSkaLA, The Fenwicks 

ROLES: Lead singer, Lyricist, Minister of
 Propaganda/Defense/Agriculture & Aesthetics

WHO AND/OR WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC AS MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING ON THE RADIO? Witnessing Van Halen live with David Lee Roth, The Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense” tour, and The Clash live. Realizing that rhythm and melody set my soul on fire, made me come alive. 


DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? Age five, playing Houdini in a play at Summer Camp. Felt more real to me than real life. More pure, more clean, more exciting. 


WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU FIRST GOT STARTED? As a performer, the initial appeal was shallow and narcissistic — silly stuff: fame, revenge, attention etc. Thankfully, all that was knocked out of me very quickly, and it became something life-saving, a way to find myself. 
Express myself. Experience different lives imaginatively. Connect. Release. 


HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? The goal has become the process, so yup! 


WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED? To create art I can be proud of: art that I would want to experience; music that makes the world a happier, more joyous place. 


WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW, IN THE INDUSTRY? I was very lucky in that sense. I always knew what I wanted to do: make people giggle, dance and think; make myself giggle, dance and think. 


WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE ALONG THE WAY IN ORDER TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE? I’ve had to make sacrifices on every level, though they are not sacrifices but a massive trade-off: any semblance of stability and security — financially, romantically and experientially. Life is short. Time and resources are finite. Do it only if you have to do it. But then do it all the way. 


WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON A DAILY BASIS? Ideas, passion, integrity in others, goodness, 
creativity, justice. 


HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORK? A mix. All the cliches, bromides and platitudes are warranted. The only thing you can control is your craft. Work as hard as you possibly can on ever-bettering your music, lyrics, stage show, and soul. Then work double that again. But always love it. 


HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS? Staying decent. Doing work I can take pride in. Inspiring optimism in myself and others. 


HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? Self-respect. Happiness. 


DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS SO FAR? Not finding a better way to balance love, art and life. 


DO YOU THINK THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD GET FAMOUS OR STAY UNDISCOVERED? Both. Yet by my standards, “best” often means having a unique point of view — unprecedented and sui generis. By virtue of that very fact, it is often a spiritual challenge/threat in the best sense of the word. 


DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE UNDISCOVERED BANDS? Gardening, Not Architecture, Fish Circus, Nicole Eva Emery, HaSkaLA

***

Read Stephen’s answers to 50 questions about music and the music business in the EIY HANDBOOK, available in print or eBook version at www.earnityourself.com

STEPHEN CHILTON, 27 (Phoenix, AZ)
PROMOTER
YEARS IN MUSIC: 10
ON THE WEB: psykosteve.com
CURRENT PROJECT: Psyko Steve Presents
ROLE: Owner/Talent Buyer

WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC? Well, I got into punk rock around 15 or so. But then, underground music was always very raw and dirty to me. Then in ’99 I got an early copy of Jimmy Eat World’s “Clarity” because they had gone to the same high school as me and I knew Tom’s brother from classes. It was then that I realized there was more to underground music — that underground music could not only be better than anything on the radio, but be more creative AND sound better.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO? When I have that moment and sort out what it is I am doing, I will let you know.

WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU STARTED? I was 17, still in high school. I started just trying to help friends’ bands get on decent shows, get opening slots on shows with bands like Hot Rod Circuit, Hot Water Music or Small Brown Bike. It was always just about helping people out, and at the time there was no goal. Then I started setting up shows for touring bands and it was all about getting them the best show possible and exposing people to new music.

HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? Ten years later, I am still helping interesting bands find shows. The quality of the bands and the quality of the shows have increased, but I am still just trying to promote music I find valuable.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? Now I am trying to find out how to make what I am doing sustainable and how to take it to another level. My goals are more about how I am doing it and not what I am doing.

WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW? I have managed bands, worked for other promoters, interned at labels and toured the country with different bands. I still don’t know where I will end up or what I like most, but it will always be in music.

WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE ALONG THE WAY? Financial concerns. I know so many people in jobs they hate that are very secure and can take fancy vacations several times a year. My vacations are to work shows or tour in a van sleeping on floors. But those people hate their jobs, and I love mine, so it’s a fair trade-off.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON A DAILY BASIS? Being part of something special and real. It is great when kids tell me about a show they went to years ago that changed their life, and they don’t know I had set it up or was working. I recently had a guy in a local band I work with tell me about the first “show” he went to that got him involved with music, and I had to tell him I had booked that show. It blew his mind. It was a great feeling knowing that some little show I did that had only a few people at it had such a huge effect on those there. 


HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORK? I don’t believe in talent. Talent is what comes after a lot of hard work. I also don’t believe in luck. Luck is just getting yourself to be in the right place at the right time, and being ready to take advantage of the situation. It may feel like a lucky break when the right person is in the room when you’re playing and wants to help you after, but it is really the pay off on all the hard work that got you on that stage and made you remarkable enough to blow people away. The same situation without the work is not lucky and won’t pay off.

HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? No one should be in music for the money. You can make money, but that’s not the point. I don’t like the fame. I like my role behind the stage, behind the curtain. I have always tried to hold myself in a way that is worthy of respect. It was a great feeling when I was producing a show with a band that was one of my favorite bands of all time before I had ever booked a show, and on stage they thanked me for booking a show for them, I felt like I should be thanking them. They have no idea how stoked 15-year-old Me was, at that moment.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? Being able to do what you want to do the way you want to do it.

ANY REGRETS SO FAR? When I started I was super DIY — I tried to do everything my self. I put on a small festival with 40 bands and almost no help. I released records with next-to-no help and didn’t ask for it. Now I realize it is about bringing people together, finding help in unusual places. I wish I had spent more time before trying to reach out to others in the industry. You would be surprised how cool and how into music so many people are, at companies you would not expect. Sometimes they will bend over backwards just because they can. And even if they can’t help this time, you never know where they will be next time you need the help.

DO THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD TEND TO GET FAMOUS, OR TEND TO STAY UNDISCOVERED? I think there is another factor. The great bands THAT WORK FOR IT get discovered. So many great bands I have known just never had the drive for it, and then the fans wonder why they didn’t make it. It becomes a lifestyle, and some people can be dedicated to it and others just cannot.

FAVORITE (as-of-yet) UNDISCOVERED BANDS? Fang Island are amazing. Kinch are blowing my mind all the time. It won’t be long before everyone knows Miniature Tigers. Ssergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta just floor me.

***

Read Stephen’s answers to 50 questions about music and the music business in the EIY HANDBOOK, available in print or eBook version at www.earnityourself.com