What's Cookin'

Good Reads for May 

Every month, we'll do a round up of articles, news, and blog posts that made us think, laugh, and want to get up and take on the world!  If you're looking for a dose of inspiration, maybe something here will spark it.  

ALYNDA SEGARRA'S CALL TO FOLK SINGERS: FALL IN LOVE WITH JUSTICE - A good think piece for all songwriters..."What does folk music mean to you? To me, it has always meant music that lifts the human spirit out of the terror and anguish of oppression. It is the sound of the strength of…Read more

Rubicon Artist Spotlight: Julie Nolen 


Julie Nolen is a Rubicon GOLD artist and will start recording her latest full length album with Daniel Barrett at the production helm this summer.  Check out her current release, Live at the Saxon Pub, and head over to her website for some more great blog reading.

Julie was gracious enough to give us a little insight into her process.

What was the first record you bought with your own money?

I wanna say the first CD I ever bought with my own money was probably Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. But then a year later… Read more

3 Steps To More Booking Success 


As any indie artist who books their own shows knows, it’s often a tedious and confusing process.  It’s also a lot like speculative real estate...you are spending a lot of time researching and making contacts with venues.  Some might call you back, some will not.  (That is normal and all part of the process!)  Here are three tips to help streamline the booking process.

 
  1. Have a great website set up.  This is your best publicity, and the great news is you get to control everything from content to…

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MAKING MUSIC YOUR CAREER 

Do you have a day job? Most of you reading this yearn to do music full time. If you are doing other things for money, it's likely that you spend a lot of your day thinking about getting your music heard. The problem is that you are not being fully present to your job OR your music.

Do you busy yourself with disorganized attempts at gigging, writing, and promoting? Are you frustrated with a lack of traction?

I was the same way. I would be at my day job booking gigs, half there, and feeling guilty about the job…Read more

3 Awkward Moments to Avoid in Social Media 

Of course you know there are etiquette rules when sitting down to a meal in a 4 star restaurant, but there are etiquette rules in the online world too.  Avoiding social faux pas as a musician online will keep your fan community thriving and growing.  

Form real community
 

It’s happened to all of us.  We accept a friend request on Facebook from someone we don’t know or perhaps know as an acquaintance.  Before any chance to begin interacting and getting to know each other, that person asks you to “like”…

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Professional vs. Aspiring | Which one are you? 

  As an aspiring musician, there are a number of conditioned 'struggles' that come along with that title. Not having enough money, time to create, gigs, etc. Sometimes, we may even think those struggles can be charming, subconsciously welcoming the struggle. Charming in the sense of "I'll sing to you all night long in exchange for food/bed/love please take care of me..." and more often than not, it probably works! Nothing better than having a talented musician sing vibrations of love into your ear,… Read more

Using Your Resources to Align with Abundance 

What Are You Thirsty For? 


This was the fridge at Rubicon Artist Development, my studio and artist development space:

In hindsight, I have to wonder what I was thinking. I am thirsty for growth, success, and peak experience. This is not how one gears up to quench that thirst. It’s most certainly not how to make a space welcoming and abundant to my recording and coaching clients.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting CreativeLive’s Studios in San Francisco as a guest speaker on Ann Rea’s Course, Finding…

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Quit Tripping! 3 Easy Steps to Lead You to Success 

3 Easy Steps to Bring You Closer to Success  Our CEO & Producer, Daniel Barrett at Rubicon Studios, explains in a short video 3 simple and easy steps which will bring you much closer to your dreams than you ever imagined. These things can all be done within 5 minutes - and it all begins with a choice. A choice to be aware of the situations you place yourself in, recognizing your emotions, and addressing your fears. The last one is simply admitting to yourself that your fears do actually exist, and making… Read more

3 Social MUSTS! 

Social Media For Musicians: The 3 Bare Essentials 

 

Musicians and social media go together like PB+J, though it seems as though sometimes it’s a love/hate relationship.  There is always a new platform to sign up for, a new app to download, a check-in to make, a video to watch.  As we all know, the internet can definitely suck up some time, and a musician would generally prefer to be creating music than poking around online.  That’s why it is important to use these three guidelines to streamline your…

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