Life, family, and music.
As a small thank-you, each month, I’m treating 5 patrons to coffee at their favorite local shop — $20 on me. This week’s winners are: Karen Courliss Martin Stetzka Julie Ingleman Martijn Beekers Natalie Rude If one of those is you, email me your favorite local coffee spot and I’ll handle everything else. And if […]
This Month’s Patron Coffee Winners! Read More »
I used to start abandoning all the work I’d done up until around 2 p.m. every afternoon — words, melodies, guitar takes. Over time, I learned the pattern and realized that if I just took a break, went for a walk, or returned the next day, the work wasn’t nearly as horrible as I’d thought.
Zebra, Zebra, Zebra Read More »
Here are some recent 5×7 inch paintings for you to enjoy. If any catch your eye and you’d like to buy, just let me know! All proceeds help fund new projects (Currently: And the Crowd Goes Mild: Confessions of an Extremely Moderately Successful Singer-Songwriter. Learn more here). Love, Aaron (SOLD) “Bacalar Lake House” – After
The problem with being a songwriter is you’re likely insecure and sensitive. That’s why you’ve chosen to spend hours alone expressing your feelings while your peers are at the football game. You might think this is a personality flaw, but it will be a superpower later in life. Do we really need songs written by
Get Some Rejection Under Your Belt Read More »
What happens when your childhood dream kind of comes true? I’ve spent the last 20 years writing songs, recording albums, playing shows, licensing music for film and TV, and somehow paying the bills doing what I love. But this isn’t a fame story. (If you’ve ever tried to drop my name, you’ve likely gotten crickets.)
What My Next Book Is About Read More »
People often get to Nashville and think, “If I could just write with this person or that person, then I’d make it.” But the truth is, if you just hang with your high school class you’ll likely be fine. What do I mean by “high school class”? I like to think of each year in
Hang with Your High School Class Read More »
I couldn’t concentrate in class. I kept thinking about my guitar, lyrics to songs I was working on. I’d daydream about performing in front of thousands. Old high school classmates in the crowd. My junior high crush apologizing for not noticing me: “If I could only go back, Aaron,” she’d say, “I’d do things differently.”
From College Dropout to Career Musician: A Letter to Worried Parents Read More »
I am 10 years old. My parents often can’t pick me up from hockey practice until later. I’m not terribly upset because Aunt Linda lives one block from the rink. She always seems happy to see me. Her kids have grown, so I have the place to myself. No surprise—she’s baked fresh bread. A thick
The other day, I emailed 1,257 people, asking if 124 would volunteer to stream my song five times a day for five days on Spotify. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that everything is a percentage of a percentage. For example, I knew about 50 to 60 percent would open the email. I
Confessions of an Introverted Marketer Read More »
I was in a cowriting session the other day with a friend. She and I both presented some song ideas. We dissected each and looked at what was interesting, their strengths and weaknesses. The first one could go in this direction. It could be about this topic or that topic. The subtext would be about