Capitalize...

I spent yesterday evening upgrading some things on my Macbook, buying new software, etc.  Yesterday morning was an amazing yoga class and work was been pleasantly slow compared to my first day back on Friday.  It's a much mellower return to routine than I expected.  And now I'm getting ready for the upcoming year.  Scheduled some time at the mastering studio for next Thursday to master the audio for the licensing agency and I have a couple of rehearsals with Lacy next week as well.

It seems just like any other post Christmas run up to the New Year in that I'm thinking about resolutions, as you do.  Yet, I'm feeling so much more optimistic about 2013.  I got thinking about it after a general suggestion from my yoga teacher to not simply make resolutions but to decide what you wanted to bring with you into the new year and what you wanted to leave behind, i.e. what worked and what didn't.  2012 was probably the best year since I moved here and I can't think of much that didn't work except for a tiny bit of personal stuff.  I started the year out a little tame, not really being so aggressive and then, after that first voice gig (well the two in one weekend) came through, I realized what I had the potential to do.  So, I started taking charge of things and managed to get 8 more VO jobs, on top of scoring two shorts, three potential feature lengths that ultimately didn't pan out but showed that my name was getting out there, a promo, a PSA, another potential PSA that didn't pan out but helped me forge another connection, and a contract to license my music for film and TV.   At first, I was merely dragging myself through, saying I had to just keep at it.  But somewhere around halfway through the year, I started to realize that it was momentum and that I had to step it up and capitalize on it, not simply persevere despite how harrowing it can be waiting and waiting for that next gig.

So that's what I decided 2013 should be about.  Capitalizing.  Becoming more proactive with these opportunities.  Things I have happening for the first part of 2013 that I could capitalize on?

The 7 songs that I have going to the licensing agency are almost ready and their release will mean a lot of exposure.  Besides the opportunity for my work to appear in TV and film, producers looking for custom scores will be exposed to my music and may consider me for their projects as well.  Plus, it's a non-exclusive license so there's no saying I can't submit these to any number of other licensing sites.  I came across a great resource that reviews a ton of these sites and will start looking into placing my music with them as well.

Lacy and I are forming a band and planning concerts for the CD release party and beyond.  More full sets, more fully electronic performances, hence my delight at getting my laptop closer to being ready for live performance (finally!).  Meeting new musicians and getting out and playing live more will encourage me to start performing my own stuff once I'm more comfortable using my laptop to do so.  And those who knew me back in high school and college know how much more alive I feel when I'm playing music.  It's one of the things I enjoy most in life.  I am most comfortable in my skin when I'm performing and in my element.  The prospect of doing it again lights me up like you wouldn't believe.

The voice over world is about to get smacked upside the face by my voice.  My promo demo is the next step.  Once in the can, I will finally be ready to start testing out voice over agents in earnest.  And if I can keep up the momentum from last year (even from these last few months of auditioning and people finding me on the web without me having to do much marketing), I'm sure I can make some strides even in just the first few months of the year.

And not as talked about is the fact that I scored two great films last year that I'm really proud of and as soon as they are done, I have even more material for the film scoring reel.  That'll be five solid films that I've scored, plus one promo and a PSA just this year, since I moved to NYC four years ago.

Yes, I said four years ago.  I'm rounding up. I'm still not used to saying "three years ago," to be honest. Time is just flying by it seems.  Just under four years ago I'm came to the city and unceremoniously fell out of a Uhaul truck onto the pavement on 42nd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn not really knowing if any of this was possible but being extremely excited to be trying it out.  And four years later, I still love this city and wouldn't rather be doing this anywhere else.  Not even LA, where so many people have suggested I should be for film scoring.

But I digress.  Tomorrow's New Year's Eve and I'll be here at work until midnight thirty, at which point I may head to some as yet undetermined bar where I will ring in the New Year Central Time.  Or something like that.  And welcome a new year which I will predict will be as awesome as this one or better.