
How to give better live performances 🎸 (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)
Loosely, Gab & Jam, episode 219. How to give better live performances 🎸 (video: https://bit.ly/219betterlivevid and podcast: https://bit.ly/219betterlivepod ) Not only is this a topic requested by members of our Facebook community, Be the Next D.I.Y. Rock Star, but it is a common concern for entertainers of ALL kinds, so that’s one reason we decided to talk about it. We hope to offer a slightly different approach. Loosely, Gab & Jam, episode 219. How to give better live per

Why Did We Get a Cricut? (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)
Here’s a little context… As a D.I.Y. Rock Star, we are in CONSTANT need of collateral, like band merch, and this puppy is SUPPOSED to be able to crank out stickers and t-shirts; two of our fan favorites. That’s one reason why I wanted to lean into something that could make that work easier. —If you’ve been around for ANY time, you will know that MY personal goal is to work smarter—and NOT harder—so I have been skeptical that this tool would make life easier, because I ASSUME

20 Contest ideas for bands and other D.I.Y. Rock Stars
I hate to say it, but I am in these streets, trying to find a quick Facebook-based contest to run in a week! We have some awesome, but limited number of new sticker designs for our band (add link) that we want to share with our people in our small, but growing Facebook community. In full disclosure, our goal is to find JUST the right giveaway–that is quick and that does NOT require one of those fancy, external websites (like RaffleCopter or RafflePress) to run. –Not only do w

Should I ever play for free? (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)
Roughly follows Gab & Jam episode 214. Should I ever play for free? (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) video: https://bit.ly/214playfreevid and podcast: https://bit.ly/214playfreepod ) This is one of those age-old questions that plague artists of all kinds. Should you ever play for free? Some of the ideas here have been cobbled together from personal experience, from podcasts, and from a book that on my iPod playlist, called Know Your Value; all of these are intended to make you aw

Health & Wellness (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)
Health & Wellness (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) Blogmas 2021 Blogmas 2021 consists of 12 days of podcast/video episodes and, for the sake of our sanity, we’ll do one big ass blog post—that’s THIS one right here—that will sum it all up! 😳🤷🏽♀️😬 We’re focusing on health and wellness for the D.I.Y. Rock Star. This is going to be a different kind of challenge for us, but we think it’ll be a lot of fun and will get us in the right mindset to start the year right. 💥🧘🏾♂️🥳😊 We

D.I.Y. Rock Star Rewind: Thanksgiving Behavior 🍗🥂 (January 2022)
Ready…. — Okay, I’ve ALREADY started my Thanksgiving nesting behavior. I can’t help it. I start planning the cooking and cleaning that needs to happen to make me feel ready for the holiday. I had to tackle the toilets and will get the floors ENOUGH and the sinks. 🤷🏽♀️😳😬 198. How to say organized as a D.I.Y. Rock Star (video: https://bit.ly/198stayorganizedvid and podcast: https://bit.ly/198stayorganizedpod ) Want to play…. —I REALLY want to play with my planner today,

D.I.Y. Rock Star Rewind: From here to there… (December 2021)
THIS is the journey... Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile all these different parts of this path that we’re on. And we’ve gotten into a habit of CONSTANTLY hustling, but, TRULY, keeping up THIS particular pace is not our goal. Our goal is to start a fire that will be self-sustaining; it’s just that we’ve got to throw EVERYTHING at it to give a great start. So, hopefully, this artist mentoring program process is what will throw the right kind of gasoline onto the music portion o

Quick and Dirty Drive Through Review: St. Vincent (Detroit, Oct. 20, 2021)
Quick and Dirty Drive Through Review St. Vincent at The Fillmore, Detroit, MI (October 20, 2021) Dang! She made it a spectacle, with her drama-ready street stage set and her 3 dancing, choreographed background singers with full-on Afro wigs. I can see the notes of David Byrne and definitely the theatricality of Prince. ….Meets some Devo, too. Just the kind of show that this retro-obsessed world is ready for. It was more like seeing a Broadway musical than a show. It helped th

How to turn FOMO into JOMO (for the D.I. Y. Rock Star)
This post loosely accompanies Gab & Jam Ep 195 How to turn FOMO into JOMO (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) (https://bit.ly/195fomotojomovid ) Also, this post is inspired by Accidental Creative podcast (featuring Oliver Burkeman, author of 4,000 Weeks ( https://bit.ly/ac4000weekspod) 195. How to turn FOMO to JOMO (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) (video: https://bit.ly/195fomotojomovid and podcast: https://bit.ly/195fomotojomopod ) Doing ALL the things…. So, we KNOW we prattle on about b

How to Enjoy Chicago Post-Pandemic (July 2021)
Here are the places we went and what we did on our recent Chicago, our first post-pandemic trip.
#chicago #travel #postpandemic #prejippie