The Unstarving Musician

Lexington Kentucky based songwriter Eric Bolander is a working musician and visual arts teacher. Among the topics we discuss are self doubt, connecting with fans on a personal level, email list building, house shows (aka house concerts), the challenge of booking quality gigs, balancing fatherhood, teaching and music, marketing his music versus his visual art, his new record label relationship, and what he’s most challenged as a music artist today. Please enjoy, please tell a friend, and please subscribe.

San Antonio based singer songwriter Laura Marie has been a speaker for the Folk Alliance. Her songwriting process has evolved over the years. She’s pretty darn savvy about social media marketing, and has a list of accolades that could make up a tattoo sleeve. But best of all… She openly shares some of the mistakes she’s made. She was also very open about very personal aspects of her life. She suffers from anxiety, and is a survivor of both sexual assault and a suicide attempt. We talk about this and m

Where going pro is concerned, Sylvia Rose credits her support system. This is a group of friends and family that includes her music community. She says that so many people have expressed their belief in her. The importance of that realization is that she listens. She accepts the belief and confidence with gratitude. Nothing happened by chance. She played fiddle for everyone else’s band and worked hard. In the process she found the confidence to start writing and recording her own music. Calling found.

Vicki Ambinder is a Music Performance Coach and Artistic Consultant. She helps musicians and bands of all ages, experience levels and genres improve and enhance their live and studio performance skills. She also helps musicians and bands work toward their artistic goals. Our conversation touches on details of what she provides for clients as a performance coach. She explains what artist development means in her world and offers insight into her compassion based approach.

This episode is a holiday message to friends of the podcast. My gratitude and appreciation go out to everyone who has contributed to the podcast. This includes guests, my editor, former band mates, members of the Unstarving Musician community, mastermind pals, and my loving wife. It also includes everyone who has expressed interest in contributing. Last but not least, thanks to the listener community! You are the reason I do it week after week.

Ian Salazar recently turned 21. He’s been playing guitar since he could hold one, probably starting around age six. He plays for two Dallas Fort Worth bands and does a bit of solo work. He’s also a recording engineer and producer. Our conversation was an opportunity for me to learn about the mindset and struggles of a budding artist in today’s music business. It was also an opportunity for me to practice some some impromptu coaching. We also discuss the challenges that come with songwriting and creati

Austin area native Ginger Leigh is a life long entertainer and performer. She comes from five generations of music biz professionals. Her music is a blend of gritty, sassy rock and blues goodness. In our conversation for this episode 75, Ginger and I talk about touring, marketing, recording, performing, giving and much more. Hear the title track of her latest release Hey Funky You at the end of this episode.

Shannon Curtis has made house concerts the anchor of her music career since 2011. She tried the traditional route of touring cafes, college shows, and clubs. Her assessment of that traditional route is that it was really a slog. In this episode, we talk about the business of house concerts, personal songs, merchandising, and of course connecting with her audiences at the shows.

Lannie Flowers is a DFW based indie musician. In this 2nd appearance for the podcast, Lannie discusses the long process of making his forthcoming album "Home." The project has been wrought with challenges. It's been 8 years in the making, as of the time of this interview. The studio that Lannie is using had a 3-month shutdown for renovations. The band he’s working includes a couple of the busiest performing musicians in DFW. We discuss these and other challenges, some of which you may be familiar with.

Lance Harvill’s guitar work is featured on Rex Brown’s 2017 solo release "Smoke on This." Most of his work, however, has been produced for use in film and TV. In our conversation Lance speaks about his friendships with Pantera guitarist Dime and Rex Brown, Arms of the Sun, writing music for film and TV, Nashville, country music, Dallas, and much more. At the end of this episode you’ll hear Lance’s guitar and vocal work on a track called Wasted Me from the Arms of the Sun sessions.

Jon Christopher Davis (aka JCD) is a Dallas-Fort Worth based artist. He’s written songs for the likes of Dolly Parton, Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many other noteworthys. He's a fine example of what it takes to make it in music, and it’s not as complicated as you might think. That said, he’s clearly had his heart, mind and eyes wide open throughout his career. This openness has empowered him to see, pursue, and capitalize on opportunity. That and his talent.

Lindsay White is an award-winning who’s earned recognition from Teullride Bluegrass Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival, Guitar World, and American Songwriter Magazine. In this chat Lindsay shares that she’s had a life long thing with anxiety. We also discuss songwriting, a songwriters book club, festivals, her desire to tour smarter, side hustles, journaling, her first 2 albums (released in 2010 and 2017), her forthcoming album, rebranding herself as a solo-artist, self-talk, hope, perspective, and heali

Eli Lev is genrefied as neo folk. He's finding success on Patreon, YouTube and Spotify, all of which we discuss in this conversation. He shares the details of a creative Spotify experiment that has garnered him more plays than anything that’s been prescribed by others. He also shares tips on getting started with Patreon, and how he got comfortable with the the camera by posting on YouTube. He’s leveraging a small team of experts, growing his community, and doing things by setting intentions.

Lee is currently on a roll with a #1 single on iTunes in Australia and New Zealand. He comes across as grounded and wise for his years, artistically and as a person. Our conversation covers difficult times that began with a Sirius XM’s Coffee House gig, the story of a very supportive super fan, balancing authenticity with professional appearances, the live video premier for "We You Me," his work as a writer of children’s books, and more.

Danny Wilkerson isn’t exactly in the full-time game of music, but for the past five years he’s been busy writing and recording songs. He’s also been busy recruiting talent and fundraising, all for his first solo album Wilkerson. Our conversation covers a bit of reminiscing, the making of Wilkerson, and the challenges he faced along the way. You can hear the track Let it Go Tonight from the album at the end of this episode. The full album is available on iTunes and DannyWilkerson.com.