Jay Mathes

Category: News

  • Today’s Tasks

    I have a lot on my plate today, but I’m excited to see how much of it I can get done. Promoting my music is a never-ending process; but this week, especially, I feel like, if I am able to get a few things out of the way and behind me, I’ll be able to spend the rest of the week making music. (Yes, I’ve said it. The job of most performing songwriters involves an inordinate amount of non-music tasks.)

    Here’s what I’m up to today:
    • Follow up with people on Facebook about downloading my record. (As you already know, I’m giving it away in exchange for signing up on the mailing list, here: http://box5496.temp.domains/~jaymathe/downloads/glimmer)
    • Reconnect with a few, former professors (and friends) of mine at Columbia College. This, of course, is where I went to college; and I visited a bunch of people back in December.
    • Contact Martin Guitars about an endorsement deal. This is something that has been in the works for a while now. I’ve been formulating ideas about how to approach them, what to say, etc. and I’ve finally decided on how I’m going to “pitch” the idea to them. More on this in a few days.
    • Of course on my list is to *write music*. That will happen at some point today, regardless of what else I get done.
    Maybe there’s something that you can think of that I should be doing, that’s even more pressing than what I’ve listed above. It’s difficult to look outside of your own situation to see opportunities and prioritize. So if you have a suggestion about something else I should add to this list today, let me know by posting a comment.

  • Linked Where?

    Over the past few months, I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking about the whole social networking “scene” (if you will). Bottom line, I think there’s real potential on sites like Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, Linkedin, Reverb Nation, Pure Volume, Twitter, etc. to re-connect with people with whom you haven’t spoken in years. But there’s also an even greater potential to water down the closest of your current relationships. Here’s why:

    All of a sudden, people are able to share the most personal of news with a mass of people – all at once – many of whom barely know you, and who, quite frankly, are rather uninvolved in your everyday life. Your closest friends can feel cheated (and I have felt this way myself) that you have shared this news with everyone equally. There is no longer a sense of “who do I tell first?” when it comes to major (but personal) news in our lives. All are given equal access – and thus, equal status – in our circle of friends and acquaintances.
    For this reason (and others), I’ve been selective about joining social networks. I’m not on Linked In. I’m not on Twitter. Perhaps it’s to my own demise. But for now, this is the best reasoning I can come up with. If you have thoughts about all of this, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you.