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

RILEY BRECKENRIDGE, 35 (Irvine, CA)

MUSICIAN (Thrice)

YEARS IN MUSIC: 17

ON THE WEB: thrice.net // hermitology.com // 
 twitter.com/rileybreck

CURRENT PROJECT: Thrice

ROLES: Drummer, songwriter

WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC? I grudgingly played trumpet from 4th to 6th grade at the urging of my parents (I was far more interested in sports at the time), quit before junior high, and didn’t even think of playing an instrument again until my senior year of high school. In the summer going into my senior year, I blew out my knee playing football and was faced with at least nine months of rehab and physical therapy. Since sports was my passion, I needed to find something to fill that void. I’d always been fascinated by drums and rhythm, and ended up buying a disheveled drum kit out of The Recycler (think of Craigslist in print form) for $50 so I could spend the year annoying my folks and neighbors by teaching myself how to play.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? I don’t think I ever really “figured it out.” When Thrice started in ’98, I was in limbo, had a college degree in English (which actually might be worth less in the corporate world than the paper it’s printed on), was working 40+ hours a week in the pro shop of a golf course, and was living in a house with one of my best friends and my ex-girlfriend’s brother. I was confused to say the least, just kind of existing rather than focusing on a goal. Writing and playing music was a great release from that confusion, and was something I was really passionate about. As Thrice began to slowly develop a local fan base, I had pipe dreams of it becoming something I could do for a living, but my self-deprecating mind kept reminding me that it was highly unlikely. In 2000, when we signed with SubCity Records, and we committed to touring full-time, we collectively decided to drop everything at home and focus on doing everything we could to make that pipe dream a reality.

WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU STARTED? Thrice formed in ’98. I was 23 years old, and our goals were very short-term: have fun playing and writing music, play shows wherever and whenever we could, and maybe one day we’d get to play in an actual venue, rather than someone’s living room, garage, or a youth center. It’s always been about focusing day-to-day, and taking small steps forward, rather than setting our sights on some grandiose dream scenario of playing arenas, flying in private jets, and being on the covers of magazines.

HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? We’ve done much more than I ever dreamed possible. The fact that we’ve been a band for 12 years and that I can still pay my rent by playing an instrument, writing music, and doing something creative is something I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do. I’m eternally grateful.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? My goal is to continue working day-to-day to get better at what I do, push myself creatively, never stop learning and growing as a musician, and do everything I can to increase the longevity of something I’ve given everything to for more a third of my life.

WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW? Thankfully, I’ve been in one band, with the same members, for my entire time in the industry. 


WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE ALONG THE WAY? Lots. There’s been financial sacrifice, missing out on time with loved ones, missing out on holidays with family, missing friend’s weddings, not having a life timeline that is considered “normal” or “acceptable” by a majority of the population, and more that I’m forgetting (probably on purpose), but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. I am fortunate to be where I’m at, and I don’t take that for granted.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON A DAILY BASIS? That there is no end to creative growth, no formula for a perfect song, no show that can’t have been better. There’s no “answer” to music. It’s not a math problem. It’s like π. It’s infinitesimal. The inspiration comes from savoring the journey and being open to learning every day.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORK? That’s impossible to quantify. I’m sure a fair amount of it came from luck; being in the right place at the right time, chance encounters with people who facilitated growth, saying “yes” or “no” to certain opportunities based on a gut feeling, having a fanbase that has grown with us (for the most part), dropping everything to pursue something with a high failure rate. I think luck has to be involved somehow, but the key is that you’ll have more opportunities to be lucky the harder you work. I’d like to think that talent has played an integral role, but there are plenty of examples of “success” that would prove the contrary.

HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? It’s definitely not money or fame, because I’m not famous, and this certainly isn’t a lucrative business. We get what we put into it. If we work hard and tour, I’ll have money to pay the rent and bills. When touring is sparse, it gets more difficult. I just feel fortunate that the possibility of making enough money to live reasonably even exists in a business that is (or at least should be) based in creativity and artistry. I suppose respect is a pretty big part of it too. Being appreciated for what you do makes you feel like what you’re doing is worthwhile, which is added incentive (beyond my own personal goals) to continue to grow and learn. And proving people wrong and earning that respect is an inspiration as well. It’s always nice to convert a doubter, even if that doubter is yourself.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? It means different things to different people. For some, it’s probably money and fame — and if that’s why you started playing an instrument, I feel sorry for you.

ANY REGRETS? No.

DO YOU THINK THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD TEND TO GET FAMOUS, OR TEND TO STAY UNDISCOVERED? Fame implies mainstream recognition, and unfortunately, the mainstream has shown that it appreciates style over substance, and “safety” over progress. Great music will always be around for those who are willing to put forth the effort to find it. It might take more work than being spoon-fed something on the radio, but anything worthwhile requires effort.

***

Read Riley’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

Indie Ambassador recently sat down with EIY founder Sarah Saturday to discuss the evolution of the EIY movement, plans for this summer’s Project: Warped Tour, and what it means to hold the EIY philosophy in today’s music industry.

Read the full interview HERE.

MIKE CUBILLOS, 41
 (Hermosa Beach, CA)

PUBLICIST, ENTREPRENEUR

YEARS IN MUSIC: 18

ON THE WEB: earshotmedia.com // 
 facebook.com/earshotmedia // 
 twitter.com/earshotmedia 

CURRENT PROJECT: Earshot Media

ROLE: Owner

WHO FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC AS MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING ON THE RADIO? My parents, who were passionate about music, and an older brother and an aunt who were constantly discovering and turning me on to new music outside the mainstream.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? I originally wanted to go into journalism, then advertising, then television, but when I was in college in my 20s, it finally occurred to me that my true passion was music. When I discovered I could make a living at it, I stayed on that path.

WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU FIRST GOT STARTED? As an intern at a label in college, my goal was simply to get hired on when the internship ended and as I was graduating college. There were no guarantees, and a lot of people are vying for these positions. Luckily I did end up getting a job and the rest is history.

HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? Absolutely!

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED? My goals now are just to continue to learn and to expand the business and to hopefully keep working on quality projects!

WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW, IN THE INDUSTRY, OR DID IT TAKE A FEW DIFFERENT PATHS TO FIND WHAT YOU LOVED TO DO? I interned at a few different record companies and bounced around between a few different departments (artist development, video promotion, etc) before figuring out that publicity was my thing.

WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE ALONG THE WAY IN ORDER TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE? This is definitely not a 9-5 job. It’s more like 24/7. Over the years, I’ve been able to find a way to balance my personal and professional lives (with kids and a wife, you really need to), but I’m sure I still work (and stress out on work) more than I probably should.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON A DAILY BASIS? Great music. My clients. We’re lucky that we get to work with some pretty amazing artists, and they inspire me every day.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORKD? I’d say 20% luck, 20% talent and 60% hard work! Ask me tomorrow and those percentages could change.

HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? I consider myself successful because I’ve been able to continue to do what I love, independently, for well over a decade now. When I first went out on my own and started Earshot Media after working at various labels, I didn’t really know what I was getting into or how long it would last. The fact that Earshot is still here doing this, stronger than ever, is (I guess) proof that we know what we’re doing. Ha.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? First off, I have an amazing family. My wife and kids are happy and healthy and they support me 100% in everything I do. That is one way to define success. The other is simply being able to make a living doing what you love. That doesn’t have to mean you are rolling in money and own 20 cars, but that you are able, day in and day out, to make a career doing what you are passionate about. Not many people can say they have that. So if you have it, I’d say you are very successful.

DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS SO FAR? No regrets!

DO YOU THINK THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD TEND TO GET FAMOUS, OR TEND TO STAY UNDISCOVERED? Many of the greatest musicians aren’t fully appreciated until after their gone. That said, some amazing bands are also hugely successful (think U2, Radiohead, etc). Most of the bands I love sort of exist on the fringe. They’re not exactly household names but they do enjoy at least some sort of cult following.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE (as-of-yet) UNDISCOVERED BANDS? The Darlings – yet another great punk rock band to come out of the South Bay area of Los Angeles. They’re amazing live, and they’re awesome guys!

***

Read Mike’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

Today is the day to get out and support your local independent record store! Go buy music from your favorite artists at your nearest brick and mortar shop and help keep underground music (and the people who promote it) alive and well. Find a participating record store near you at www.recordstoreday.com.

From RSD’s website:

The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. 

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.

I’m sitting on a couch outside the production office behind the main stage at Coachella. It’s load-out day for the first weekend of the festival. I’ll be out in the desert for the rest of this month, working the second Coachella weekend and then the (amazingly fun) Stagecoach festival.

If you weren’t lucky enough to be out here for this show, be sure you watch the archives on YouTube! Especially the Snoop & Dre set, which was probably my favorite concert experience of all time. Except for that time I saw The Weakerthans with about 20 other people at a tiny club in Milwaukee. Or Radiohead. Or that jazz band I saw in LA.

It’s been tough keeping up with the new Forums since I’ve been out in the desert, but thankfully Natalie from We Are The Kids has been hard at work getting the ball rolling with a bunch of the local EIY Chapters. Natalie and I are going to get caught up in the next couple days so we can start scheduling local conference call meetups with each Chapter, to talk about what you’re all doing and planning for Project: Warped Tour.

We have a bunch of new Chapter threads to set up in the Forums, and we’ll be looking to get Chapter Members more involved on the site (especially adding Events and EIYpedia articles) over the next couple weeks.

I’m going to wait until May to start the weekly EIY talk show podcast, so please keep sending us your ideas for topics and guests for that!

Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, and tumblr as well.

More soon!
Sarah

MICHAEL ROBERT TODD, 29 (Kingston, NY)

MUSICIAN (Coheed And Cambria)

YEARS IN MUSIC: 17

ON THE WEB: coheedandcambria.com //
 cobaltandcalcium.com // fender.com/artists

PROJECTS: Coheed And Cambria / Shabutie; MRT&SE; various collaborations

ROLES: Coheed/Shabutie: Bassist, backup vocalist; MRT&SE: composer, vocalist, guitars, 
 bass, piano, programming, co-writing, etc

WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC? When I was 12 years old, I had already been playing drums in the school band and dicking around on keyboards that were around me, but at some point I heard an Ani Difranco album, and learning that it was possible to feel the way that music made me feel made me want to learn to articulate emotions artistically, and hopefully draw those emotions from others. 


DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO? After it became clear that music would be my artistic medium, and I was immersing myself in Prince, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Ani Difranco, Primus and such, I made the decision to learn and strive to master every instrument I could pick up. I was 13 or 14 in Woodstock, NY.


WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE? Only everything I can think of. When you have the drive to do what I do as strongly as I do it, everything else has to come in second. I’ve sacrificed family, a marriage, friends, and community; but in turn, I’ve gained an unquenchable lust for travel, a hunger for culture, an eccentric personality, an overall very romantic sense of self, and the realization that I will probably be ‘alone’ my whole life. But my passion sustains me. Not just the passion I have for music, but in every aspect of my life.

WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU STARTED? My goal was, and continues to be, to learn all that I can about my craft. 


HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? 
If I ever feel like I’ve achieved these goals, 
then I’ve lost myself. 


WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? 
 My goals now are to be the best ever, at 
whatever I concentrate my efforts on. My goals are more progress-oriented. In addition to 
creating music, I would also like to be fluent at my instrument. It’s all about versatility and being able to make a living doing what I’m good at so I can be free to do what I love. 


WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW? So far everything has gone as planned. My career has been a straight, traceable line. I’m right where I’m supposed to be. 



HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS 
COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORK? 
Everything is chance. I do consider myself very lucky to be aligned with some of whom I believe to be the best songwriters of our time, but I also believe that we would have nothing if we didn’t obsessively work and tour as hard as we did. We were hungry and we believed in our art. Apparently some others did too.

HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS? When I was younger, I measured success by dollars, and later by respect. Now I consider it a successful day if I wake up, eat, breathe, and remain true to my art. I can lie to my family and friends, but if I don’t have my integrity then I’m just wasting my time. As long as I know that I didn’t compromise myself within my current paradigm, then I will always find the gas to keep driving day to day.

ANY REGRETS? I do not regret a single moment in my life. Every choice, every action, everything that has transpired in my life led me to this exact moment in time, and so on, for the next moment and the next. I don’t believe in fate or that we’re here for a reason or anything cosmic like that, so for me to be the best at what I do, I have to stand behind my decisions and actions as they are nothing more then points in space and time that happened the only way they were able to. If they didn’t, everything would fall apart or break into pieces or I would have never existed at all.

DO YOU THINK THE BEST BANDS GET FAMOUS OR STAY UNDISCOVERED? In my opinion, the best bands in the world are established for a reason. However, I’m sure there’s an artist out there that would speak to me more than anything I’ve ever heard, and I’ll never find them. If that artist didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.

ANY FAVORITE UNDISCOVERED BANDS? I still believe the band “3″ is the best ‘undiscovered’ band. They’ve gotten bigger over the years, but in my opinion, they are at a fraction of their deserved “success.”

***

Read Michael’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