<turbo-stream action="update" target="blog_feature_6092"><template>
    
<div class="blog-wrapper" id="blog_8496-wrapper">
  <div class="blog full clearfix" id="blog_8496-blog">
      <div class="tiled-sizer"></div>
      <div class="gutter-sizer"></div>

      <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/4057900/dane-and-the-lightsaber">Dane and the lightsaber</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><p><span class="font_large">Every year on Christmas Eve, my extended family on my mother’s side, gets together.  </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">This year, my little cousin Dane had a toy lightsaber. It was an appropriate toy as the new Star Wars film had just been released and he had just seen it in theaters, AND he got his very own popcorn and pop (this was an important detail to Dane). </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dane is eight-years-old and he is the youngest child in his family. He is extremely intelligent. He is a natural performer and has a unique sense of humor. He isn’t as competitive at sports as his older brother and sister. He is sensitive, a quality that never bodes well in team sports. He has a strong attention to detail and a vivid imagination. He is one of my favorite family members as we share some similar character traits, for better or for worse. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dane was very excited to share with me his favorite moments of the Star Wars film, the technical details of the lightsaber and his hopes and dreams for the future of the Star Wars franchise. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I started asking him far too advanced, technical and philosophical questions about the Star Wars universe,  </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">    “Does a lightsaber cut or burn?”  </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">    “If you get your arm chopped off by a lightsaber, would the wound cauterize and     sterilize? Or is there risk of infection?” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">    “What do you think the annual wage of a Stormtrooper would be?” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">    “Would a Jedi be considered a terrorist?” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">His older brother, Drake, weighed in on the conversation. He had his own answers to my questions and they were well thought out.  </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Drake figured a lightsaber was an energy source and therefore would burn. If you lost an arm the wound would be cauterized and would probably be sanitized in the process. Stormtroopers probably weren’t paid and instead were taken care of and brainwashed into the movement. And Jedi’s are the good guys, so naturally they would be embraced in modern society. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dane was fascinated by the conversation but couldn’t keep up with his brother’s confident answers to my obscure questions. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">“A light saber would be a really, really, hot heat, Tanner.” </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Thanks Dane. Thanks buddy. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">To be honest, I’ve never been a massive Star Wars fan. I loved the original three, hated the three recent films and considered that a pretty mediocre batting average. I wasn’t really interested in the new film until my conversation with Dane and his brother Drake. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Dane was jacked-up on Star Wars. He wanted to get into it. It took every ounce of his being to not ruin the ending. He could barely resist telling me that a main character died in the film (whoops, spoiler alert). Instead he gave me painfully obvious clues until I figured it out on my own. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">After Christmas, I went to see the new movie and loved it. It was fun, I felt excited. I was like a kid watching it; eating my very own popcorn. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My point is that Dane was excited and thus it made me excited. It made me realize that excitement and a distinct interest in something is a contagious quality. When people get excited about things, momentum builds and movements happen. People are excited about Bernie Sanders right now. Everyone loves an underdog story. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">I don’t care what you do, but if you are passionate about it and can demonstrate that to me, then I’m probably going to become interested myself. </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">If you are a musician, author, jewelry maker, politician, real-estate agent, entrepreneur, carpenter, work in non-profit, a teacher, a chef or even a Jedi, if you are into it then I’m probably going to be into it as well. I’ll drink the Kool-Aid - I just want to know that you want to drink the Kool-Aid as well, and I want to know that it’s going to be awesome! </span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">Marketers rejoice. Here is some free information that I learned from an eight-year-old kid.</span></p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2016-02-24T10:25:05-08:00" title="February 24, 2016 10:25">02/24/2016</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/4057900/dane-and-the-lightsaber" data-share-dialog-title-value="Dane and the lightsaber" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share Dane and the lightsaber" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">Dane and the lightsaber</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/4057900/dane-and-the-lightsaber" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/4019431/door-to-door">Door-To-Door </a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><p><br><span class="font_regular"><strong>This is a story that I have been working on to be told on stage. It is a true story about my short lived stint selling security systems door-to-door. It was a strange and adventurous time in my life. The story is about my friend Darrall. </strong></span></p>
<p><br>"Darrall spoke wish a brash, Brooklyn accent, though I’m sure he had never been to New York. </p>
<p>He was from a small farming community, just like me. </p>
<p>We first met in Fairfax, Virginia. Neither of us had ever been to Fairfax, and didn’t know where Virginia was until we ended up living there. </p>
<p>Darrall lived in the condo above me. He listened to R and B music loudly, played poker and drank everyday. </p>
<p>We were both employees of Pinnacle Security. We sold security systems door-to-door, six days a week. Pinnacle was a mormon company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Church of Latter-day Saints. </p>
<p>The company hired young, mormon men, many of whom had just completed missions. During these missions, the boys left home for a year or two and tried to sell eternal redemption. Selling security systems was much easier. It was a perfect system. </p>
<p>The company hired us thinking we were nice, mormon boys. We were not. We were con-artists. I didn’t know this yet, Darrall knew this for a long time. </p>
<p>-------------- </p>
<p>Everyday at noon we were dropped off in random Virginia suburbs. We would knock on doors and try to sell security systems. They would pick us up just after dusk. Some of us sold systems, some of us didn’t. </p>
<p>Darrall refused to be dropped off at noon. “No one is home until 6 PM. Your wasting six hours of my time.” </p>
<p>For the first three days, the company complied and Darrall stayed at the condo and went to the pool. On the fourth day they threatened to fire Darrall unless he went out at Noon. </p>
<p>On the fifth day, Darrall went to a mall and set up a booth. He put up a banner that said, “enter to win a free security system.” People did sign up. They filled out the ballot with their name and phone number. After a few hours, mall security kicked Darrall out. He called every single person who entered and signed a few people up for a three-year contract. </p>
<p>The company offered us free rent in the condos, a cell phone, pepper spray, an American working visa, and $400 travel money, plus commission. </p>
<p>Darrall used all his pepper spray on the nice mormon boys. He sprayed their toothbrushes, boxer shorts, their food, and occasionally, he sprayed them directly in the face. </p>
<p>------------------- </p>
<p>On the 13th day, I took my U.S. working visa, my cell phone, and the only $400 to my name and moved to the beach. </p>
<p>The company threatened to cut off my cell phone and flag my U.S. working visa....they never did. </p>
<p>Before I left, Darrall asked me for the spare key to the condo, my parking pass and the key fob that opened the front gate of the condo complex. </p>
<p>The company leased the condo units for four months. </p>
<p>On the seventeenth day, Darrall put an ad in the local paper to rent out the condo unit below him. The condo I had lived in. </p>
<p>On the nineteenth day, he charged a young couple, first and last months rent, plus a $100 deposit for the condo complex key fob. They wrote him a cheque for $2,100. </p>
<p>He cashed that cheque and moved to the beach. </p>
<p>A few months ago I stayed at Darrall’s house. He owns a company in Wyoming now. We were drinking and reminiscing about the old days. </p>
<p>“I wonder how long that young couple got to stay in the condo before the company realized I rented it out,” he said. </p>
<p>------------ </p>
<p>Darrall spoke wish a brash, Brooklyn accent, though I’m sure he had never been to New York."</p>
<p><br> </p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2016-02-01T16:02:38-08:00" title="February 01, 2016 16:02">02/01/2016</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/4019431/door-to-door" data-share-dialog-title-value="Door-To-Door " data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share Door-To-Door " data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">Door-To-Door </span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/4019431/door-to-door" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3917411/the-sky-is-falling-what-i-learned-from-the-worst-teacher-i-ve-ever-had">The Sky is Falling. (what I learned from the worst teacher I&#39;ve ever had)</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message">Once upon a time I took a single semester of broadcast journalism at the Lethbridge College. I reluctantly enrolled in the program after spending a year abroad, and simply hoped for the best.<br><br>Upon graduating high school, I went to Australia for nearly a year and completed an agriculture exchange program. I was only 17 years old when I left and it was one of the hardest and most adventurous times of my entire life. <br><br>The property I stayed on was 45 minutes from the nearest town; we had no TV or Internet for the first six months. It was pretty much like living in a John Wayne movie. It was a 28,000-acre cattle and sheep station and there was myself and two other people who lived and worked on the property. It was lonely and beautiful. <br><br>When I got home I was mildly unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to tell stories and be involved with arts and culture. Coming from a small town and an agriculture background, I didn’t know exactly how this was supposed to happen.<br><br>My only real connection to the arts was through a handful of DIY punk rock bands, who came through my community when I was in high school and through the couple radio stations I had access to most of my life. <br><br>You couldn’t go to school for punk rock, so I decided to try broadcast journalism. I barely knew what this was at the time.<br><br>One of my first classes was with an overweight, white, male instructor, with lots of opinions. He had a last name for a first name and a first name for a last name. He had a lifetime of experience in radio.<br><br>He told us that we were all doomed. Satellite radio was on the forefront, and he told us that all the jobs in radio would soon be done. We were fucked. <br><br>I found this strange. Strange that a man would sit in front of a new class of young students and promise them nothing but failure. So one day I asked him about this. I asked him why he would agree to take a job teaching a course that he was sure was doomed. Why would he support this?<br><br>He shrugged and told me that it was a good instructing job. <br><br>He truly believed this was a doomed field but yet he was perfectly fine taking all these young students money and accepting the position.<br><br>This was a pivotal moment in my life. This was when I discovered exactly what I didn’t want to be in my life.<br><br>I didn’t want to be a fear-monger, or a “no-man”. I didn’t want to scare people and tell them what they couldn’t do. I didn’t want to take a job where you had the possibility to influence people, and then abuse that position of power. That’s when I knew what I didn’t want to do. And that was just as important as learning what exactly I wanted to do with my life.<br><br>Fast forward a couple of years<br><br>I’m in Nashville, Tennessee for the second or third time. I’m slugging it out and trying my hand as a full-time musician. I’m a singer/songwriter. I tell stories.<br><br>As a full-time musician you do a lot of driving. You drive all the time. Through this process I really began to love podcasts. They are radio stories in a new package. It’s an old medium, repurposed. <br><br>One of my favorite podcasts at the time was “This American Life”. The host of that podcast was speaking at the Ryman Auditorium. I decided to go. It was a Friday night. It was called An Evening With Ira Glass.<br><br>It was one of the most inspiring nights of my life. Ira talked about working in a creative field, the art of storytelling and the revival of radio. He talked about how when he said he was going to start an old-time radio show people told him he was crazy. Everyone told him that radio was dead. He knew there was a way and he talked about believing in his idea. He talked about not letting people tell you what you can’t do with your life.<br><br>He said that there is no better time to be in a creative field than right now. He said that you would know exactly where you stand. If people like it and need what you are doing, then they will support you. <br><br>Ira spoke of the transformative phase of creative work. That few years when you have to really slug it out and develop your idea and your product. He played examples of radio pieces he had done early on and how bad those pieces were. He explained that this was a necessary metamorphosis that most people needed to go through in a creative field. The art of finding yourself.<br><br>Now the idea of telling stories through radio doesn’t sound so crazy. “This American Life” is a very, very popular show. We’ve all witnessed the growth and boom of the podcast industry.<br><br>Telling stories is what makes us human. It’s how we transfer and pass on culture and history. We’ve done it many different ways, but we will always do it. We will never stop telling stories. It’s at the core of our being. <br><br>Fast forward a couple more years<br><br>It’s a few days before Christmas. I’m visiting my parents down on the farm in Southern Alberta. I’m helping my dad with a few chores and we are driving somewhere to drop something off. We are listening to the radio.<br><br>I hear a very old, opinionated man start to talk about politics. He has a lot of ideas; he is trying to predict the future. He sounds like quack, a fear monger and a naysayer.<br><br>“Who is this idiot?,” I say to my father.<br><br>“He must like the sound of his own voice,” said my dad. “I bet he’s been doing this for a long, long time.”<br><br>Then I realized who it was. It was my old instructor from that time I did a single semester of broadcast journalism at Lethbridge College.<br><br>He had told us that radio was doomed, but guess what he was doing? He was talking on the radio.<br><br>I’ve had many great instructors, professors and mentors in my life. They’ve all taught me a great deal. I’ve had one bad instructor. He taught me some really important things in a different way; so in a round-about way maybe he wasn’t such a bad instructor. <br><br>I realized that everyone will encounter people like my bad instructor. These people happen. It’s how you respond to these people that matters. It’s what you do with this and how you react to these situations that matter. It can be fodder, it can give you someone to prove something to.<br><br>I hope you don’t let an opinionated, overweight, white man tell you what you can’t do with your life. I hope you prove them all wrong and go out and create something beautiful.<br><br>Shine on you crazy diamonds.</div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-11-06T13:24:53-08:00" title="November 06, 2015 13:24">11/06/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3917411/the-sky-is-falling-what-i-learned-from-the-worst-teacher-i-ve-ever-had" data-share-dialog-title-value="The Sky is Falling. (what I learned from the worst teacher I&#39;ve ever had)" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share The Sky is Falling. (what I learned from the worst teacher I&#39;ve ever had)" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">The Sky is Falling. (what I learned from the worst teacher I&#39;ve ever had)</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3917411/the-sky-is-falling-what-i-learned-from-the-worst-teacher-i-ve-ever-had" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3760607/the-great-north-tour-re-cap-the-nitty-gritty">The Great North Tour Re-Cap: The Nitty Gritty</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Great North Tour Recap:</b></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Canada is a nearly impossible country to travel. It is an unconquerable landmass with desolate stretches of beauty and nothingness. </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The Great North Tour was a 3-week outing through Alberta and B.C. in June 2015. I was accompanied by my friend and pedal steel guitarist, Dylan S Keating. We placed a particular influence on obscure and off-the-beaten-path markets in B.C.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">There are 13 primary touring markets in Canada. That is not a good thing for mid-sized or large artists trying to tour the country. Fortunately, I am a small artist and can afford to roll the dice in secondary markets and virtually non-existent markets. I also play Folk music, a genre that is often embraced by smaller markets.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>The reasons we tried out these obscure B.C. markets:</b></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<ol>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">It was a really good excuse to see more of Canada and go to places we never normally would.</li>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">No one else is really doing it, spare a handful of artists. We felt like this helped separate us from the herd.</li>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">There are heaps of small festivals popping up in these secondary markets, and I believed that playing these markets may help my chances to play the festivals next year.</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">So...here are some of the highlights:</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Waterton</b> - This place is such a hidden gem. I played two nights solo in town and they put me up, fed me, payed me well. It feels more like being on holidays than working. You are pretty much hired to be background noise but I worked really hard to fight for attention. It was a slug but I was able to win over the crowd, which is always a good feeling.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Edmonton</b> - Played a house-concert style venue on a Sunday night. Had a great, warm, receptive audience. It was hot as hell and sweaty. It feels like we are making some slow gains in that city.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Jasper</b> - We played here on a Monday night, which is never a good night for a show. We had a nice little crowd, and got treated like gold. We were put up in really nice hotel rooms which is unusual. Jasper is such a great place. It’s so nice to be there.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Squamish</b> - This was my first time in Squamish and it got me. Such a beautiful town. We got a really nice hike in, were put up in another really swank hotel room, got fed local oysters and sea food, drank good local beers. We played to a full room to half attentive people. The people that liked it, loved it, while the others were just there to socialize. The entire experience was so nice that I felt like I should be paying for it, not getting payed to do it.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Blind Bay</b> - Just outside of Vernon, this was a last minute show our friend helped us set-up as we had to cancel our Haida Gwaii portion of the trip due to logistics. We played outside, overlooking the water. It was a nice and attentive audience and we were treated like gold. Overwhelming hospitality by everyone. Beautiful setting for a folk show.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Kelowna</b> - The Streaming Cafe in Kelowna is a top-notch venue. This is next level. They have a great built-in crowd, they film and live-stream the show to an even bigger audience, they put you up in a really nice place outside of town and they treat you well. If you can play places like this all the time then you have made it.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Prince Rupert</b> - This is a small coastal town. The scenery was worth it alone. Got a nice hike in and some good seafood. They have the best brewery I’ve ever been to in my life. The whole town felt like they came out for the show. Everyone listened and I sold a ton of CD’s. Some things went sour after the show, but it’s not relevant to the story. Plus, things like this are expected on tour.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">My touring philosophy is to keep things economical when possible. We did partake in some touristy activities which costed money, and we did treat ourselves to some quality food. We also drove my Mazda 3 which kept our fuel costs relatively low. </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Here are some of our tour rules:</b></p>
<ol>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">No gas station food ever. Nothing. No exceptions.</li>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">No fast food ever. No exceptions.</li>    <li style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Try to never pay for a hotel, except when necessary. Get the venue or promoter to cover accommodations when possible, stay with friends, or worst case...sleep in the car.</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>So....Was it worth it????</b></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><i>Financially</i>, probably not. We made money from the tour, not a ton of money, not as much as we would have made by staying home and working a day job. But not bad money either. Some places payed us very well, some places payed us a little. We also received a small tour grant from Alberta Music, which helped off-set some costs.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">You can’t try out new markets and expect it to be worth it financially. I did feel like we built an audience and made some valuable contacts. Do I think it could be worth it....Yes. I think there is a way to make both the Southern and Northern B.C. runs lucrative.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I would have made good money if I would have streamlined the tour to 14 days or shorter, and if I had done the tour solo. It is expensive to bring another musician out on the road. This would have greatly reduced my enjoyment of the tour and not have allowed us to try so many new markets. Touring alone is a mental game and adds another element of stress.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">We got back from our tour (which consisted of more than 15 shows in 3 weeks) and then had one day off before we started playing corporate gigs for the Calgary Stampede. We will be playing 10 shows during and around the Stampede. These shows pay immensely better but don’t help your career at all.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I’m finding I need to balance my career-building shows/tours and my financially viable shows. Not only this, but I need to be playing over 100 shows per year in general to survive as an independent Canadian singer-songwriter. </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Dan Mangan told me that once I play 1000 shows I will be an expert. I think I’m around 450. This is a relatively thin nail to hang my hat on, but it’s the only real sense of direction I have in this choose-yer-own-adventure of a music industry.</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">But, back to the Great North Tour</p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>Was it worth it for the experience???</b></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; min-height: 14px;"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Yes, absolutely! I wouldn’t trade it for the world.</p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-06-30T12:15:34-07:00" title="June 30, 2015 12:15">06/30/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3760607/the-great-north-tour-re-cap-the-nitty-gritty" data-share-dialog-title-value="The Great North Tour Re-Cap: The Nitty Gritty" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share The Great North Tour Re-Cap: The Nitty Gritty" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">The Great North Tour Re-Cap: The Nitty Gritty</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3760607/the-great-north-tour-re-cap-the-nitty-gritty" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3686164/the-great-north-tour">The Great North Tour</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><div><span class="font_regular"><span class="font_large">Hi super-friends,</span><br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/c36f32d65e9079628c358f4b6584270e5115b15e/medium/great-north-tour.gif?1430515052" class="size_m justify_center border_none" alt="" /></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">I’ll be heading out into some new territory this June. I’ll be joined by pedal steel guitarist, Dylan S Keating, for the voyage. We will be travelling from Calgary to Haida Gwaii, Kelowna to Prince George, and many points in between.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">As a singer-songwriter I’m always excited about exploring new places. It’s part of the fun of it all. Haida Gwaii (or...the Queen Charlotte Islands) is the only place in Canada that Stompin’ Tom said he had never been. </span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">Dylan and I will be performing a bunch of new tunes we’ve been working on for an upcoming album. Some are already recorded, some aren’t. We will be trying to post a great deal of videos and clips to give everyone a taste of things to come.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">One thing that will be unique to this tour is the charitable angle we will be taking. In addition to our regular evening shows, we will be performing some free shows at local old-folks homes and seniors centres. We will be tucking-in our shirts, shaving our faces and busting out some classic country in hopes of enriching someone’s day.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">We will be busy playing shows, hiking, soaking in the local haunts, trying the local cuisine and looking around.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">We would like to acknowledge the financial support of Alberta Music. They were kind enough to help us out with a tour grant which helps us out with some of our basic expenses. Touring remote parts of Canada would not be possible without organizations like this. </span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">My friend Jarett Lee Sitter took care of the tour poster. He’s done work for Mother Mother, Said The Whale, Calgary Underground Film Festival and Polaris Music Prize. So if you like the poster then please look him up, buy him a beer or give him a digital high-five.</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span class="font_large">Listed below are our current shows. We do have a couple holes left to fill. If you know anyone who would like to host a house concert, don’t be shy. </span></div>
<div> </div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">May 29 - Calgary - Wine Ohs</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">May 30 - TBA</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 5/6 - Waterton - Fireside Lounge</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 7 - Edmonton - Last Call Garage</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 8 - Jasper - Whistle Stop Pub</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 9 - Revelstoke - The Last Drop</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 10 - Vancouver - Railway Club</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 12 - Squamish - Howe Sound Brewery</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 13 - Kelowna - Streaming Cafe</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 14 - 18 - Haida Gwaii</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 19 - Prince Rupert - Cowpacinos </span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 20 - Smithers - Two Sisters Cafe</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 22 - Prince George - Nancy O’s</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 23/24 - TBA</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 25 - Rolla - Rolla Pub</span></em></div>
<div><em><span class="font_large">June 26/27 - Private Event</span></em></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-05-01T14:24:36-07:00" title="May 01, 2015 14:24">05/01/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3686164/the-great-north-tour" data-share-dialog-title-value="The Great North Tour" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share The Great North Tour" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">The Great North Tour</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3686164/the-great-north-tour" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3577644/podcasts-that-keep-me-going-part-1">Podcasts That Keep Me Going (Part 1)</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Dear Superfriends,</span>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Sometimes I feel like I drive and send emails for a living.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Being a musician is a different life than I thought it would be. Sometimes you drive all day, wait around a venue for hours, check into a hotel room, all just to play a little set of music. It can be a strange process sometimes.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve grown to enjoy the driving. Often, it’s just me, alone in the car. One thing that has made this entire job that much more joyful is podcasts. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Podcasts are a game changer. They have brought me so much joy, entertainment and knowledge. I couldn’t imagine doing this job without them.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m always on the lookout for new podcasts, I would love some suggestions. Some I listen to religlously, while some I listen to casually, from time-to-time.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Here are my favourite podcasts at the moment. I’ll be breaking this blog up into two parts so that I can give you a quick description of each and explain why I enjoy these.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In no particular order.....</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>WTF with Marc Maron Podcast</b></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I have to be honest, I never thought I would enjoy this podcast. It’s a straight-up interview podcast between comedian, Marc Maron, and a variety of guests. The guests range from directors, to athletes, to musicians, to actors. What makes it special is that Marc doesn’t suck-up to anyone. It feels like two friends chatting. It is strangely sentimental and honest. He gets interviews no one else does.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Key epidsodes</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">-Jason Schwartzman</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">-Paul Thomas Anderson</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>The Moth Podcast</b></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">This is a podcast of a live event that encourages people to share stories, live and without a script. This involves real people telling their greatest life stories. Some are hillarious and some are painfully morose. You never know what you are going to get.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Key episodes</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">-Alex &amp; Me (Oct 22, 2012)</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">-Hatpin Mary (Re-Added Jan 14, 2014)</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>Planet Money</b></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A quick and quirky economics podcast. This is a short and digestible podcast about stories involving commerce. What makes it great is the amazing team and production</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Key episodes:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">#600 - The People Inside Your Machine</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>This American Life</b></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The mother of all podcasts. This set the bar for quality, long-form, investigative stories of the human spirit. I feel like this podcast revolutionized radio. As good as it gets.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Key episodes:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">468: Switcheroo 06.29.2012</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">502: This Call May Be Recorded...To Save Your Life 08.09.2013</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b>New Yorker: Fiction</b></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Well known authors read pieces from other authors from the New Yorker magazine. The best part is that after the excerpt is read the author offers his insight as to why he likes the piece and what it means to him/her.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Key episodes:</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">David Gilbert Reads Steven Polansky</span></p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-03-05T11:21:44-08:00" title="March 05, 2015 11:21">03/05/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3577644/podcasts-that-keep-me-going-part-1" data-share-dialog-title-value="Podcasts That Keep Me Going (Part 1)" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share Podcasts That Keep Me Going (Part 1)" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">Podcasts That Keep Me Going (Part 1)</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3577644/podcasts-that-keep-me-going-part-1" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3555976/blue-river-nashville">Blue River &amp; Nashville</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Hello superfriends,</span>
<p><br>I’ve had a busy start to the year. I always try to chill out during the winter and take some time off to write and be a weird artist. I find that with such a busy schedule, sometimes I get caught playing the same songs and telling the same stories, and going through the motions. The winter is a good opportunity to break this trend.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I had a bunch of show offers in January that I felt were too good to pass up. So January was extremely busy and didn’t offer the downtime I hoped for. On the plus side, I got to play some really great shows with some great people.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Mike Wiegele’s Heli Ski Resort in Blue River BC hosted me for a three day residency in January. That was a wild experience. They put Dylan (my pedal steel player) and I up in the fanciest cabin I have ever seen, fed us like kings and pumped us full of great beer. We played for rich Europeans and Australians next to a roaring fireplace. <br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/56e34cc38f0806b84657e217542ae7dd8a357c9a/original/blue-river-2.jpg?1424836822" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">These crazy Australian guys made the trip really memorable. They partied harder than anyone I’ve ever seen and then got up and went heli-skiing every single day. They tipped us $480. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The Australians really lit it up on the last night, I have a wild story about them, but I’m saving it for the stage. So your going have to pay to hear that one...Or, wait for a live record. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I made it down to Nashville for the bulk of February. It was my third trip down there and it was the best one yet. I loved it. It’s such an inspiring city and I always learn so much.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">My favorite show I saw this time was a guy named Evan Dando. He used-to-still-kind-of fronts a semi-famous 90’s group called the Lemonheads. I’ve always described them as Stoner-Pop music. He was playing a solo show the first night I was in town and it was $18 a ticket (which is a lot for Nashville). I have liked The Lemonheads for a long time so I took a chance. I was feeling lonely and nostalgic.<br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/7094afca1fff33becb61c0ed242550c28764591b/original/evan-dando.jpg?1424837030" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Evan did everything I usually hate from a solo act. He didn’t acknowledge the crowd, he didn’t tell stories, he was a sloppy guitar player and his singing was sub-par at best. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Somehow the show stuck with me and is still haunting me. He was honest. His songs were simple and he really left an impression. Midway through the set he played a particularly sentimental song called All My Life. The song really got to me. It has such a simple and beautiful chorus; “All my life, I thought I needed all the things I didn’t need at all.” </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I accidentally met fellow Calgarian songsmith, Joni Delaurier, at the Country Music Hall of Fame. I used to work with the Calgary Emergency Management Agency before I became a broke-ass folk singer. Joni still works alongside this organization. We had a ton in common and she brought me to a lot of amazing writer’s rounds and we wrote a song together one day. Joni is immersed in the Nashville scene, while I just feel like a hippie starring on from the outside. She really helped explain the scene to me.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I am going to stick to these blog posts more closely from now on. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Big tour announcements coming soon. Stay tuned superfriends.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Cheers,</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Tanner</span></p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-02-24T20:04:32-08:00" title="February 24, 2015 20:04">02/24/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3555976/blue-river-nashville" data-share-dialog-title-value="Blue River &amp; Nashville" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share Blue River &amp; Nashville" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">Blue River &amp; Nashville</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3555976/blue-river-nashville" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3472348/the-best-christmas-present-ever">The Best Christmas Present Ever</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/ac5c937d8c00a9a0cdee899fa51785bf2b023c08/large/cover.jpg?1421535268" class="size_l justify_center border_thin" alt="" /><p>Only a mother who has an artistic son can understand the shear volume of work that is produced in bedrooms. Only a very small percentage of this ever makes it to the surface, to the printing press or the manufacturing plant or the world wide web. The rest of the world only sees the 1% of the final product. The pieces that may or may not deserve to stand the test of time.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Only a mother sees the rest. She sees the endless journals and scraps of papers. The poetry scribbled on napkins, the sketches, the demo tapes, the short films, the budgets, the plans, the pictures. She is one of the few people that sees it all.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">She sees it because it is left in her closets, under beds, in bins, and under her stairs. It is left in the real-estate that you left long ago that she still maintains. She maintains the means to keep your junk safe. Your forgotten dreams. That box of CD’s from your first band that broke up, that you forgot under the bed in the spare room.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There was that one time I wrote a screenplay. 50 pages for an estimated 50 minute runtime. Three individual drafts, multiple copies of each. That’s hundreds of pages paper-clipped together; never to be seen by anyone except the one company it was mailed to, who replied via mail, in a typed and printed feedback letter that said, “too many dream sequences, not realistic for this project and budget.” </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">    I never wrote another script.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">One time I wrote a children’s book. My best friend Curtis illustrated it. It was loosely based of a Czechoslovakian folk tale that my grandmother told me through a murky memory, second guessing if she was fabricating parts or confusing two stories.<br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/ebd1874f3fc8d57e444d7ecb915424d2d5ae946b/large/photo-2015-01-17-1-54-15-pm.jpg?1421535453" class="size_l justify_center border_thin" alt="" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/232afb1a53162c3df8ed674bc5e416763fd66179/large/photo-2015-01-17-1-54-55-pm.jpg?1421535587" class="size_l justify_center border_thin" alt="" /><br>I wrote it over the course of a week during lunch breaks and slow times at one of my first jobs. I always hated working. I wrote in corners, in bathrooms, on assembly lines, on counters, in back rooms and anywhere I could. I always tried to keep as much of my time as I could.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">This year for Christmas my mother published 10 copies of that childrens book that I left on top of that closet.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">It is called the Ballad of Blumwicker Pete. I don’t even think I knew what a ballad was at the time.<br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/7cc2b237dfcb0adef4937da10948669f1dab5934/large/photo-2015-01-17-1-56-15-pm.jpg?1421535695" class="size_l justify_center border_thin" alt="" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There are Led Zeppelin references. I somehow gave a nod to Hemingway. It feels like a Cat Stevens song. It reminds me of exactly who I was then.<br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/c016c5312e00d0cd3c69f4a0ca35209e9f06bfab/large/photo-2015-01-17-1-54-40-pm.jpg?1421535854" class="size_l justify_center border_thin" alt="" /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">At the time I thought the illustrations were amateur. They weren’t what I imagined but I had no idea how to communicate this. We were kids. There was no arts funding. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px">Now I love the illustrations. They are strange and original. I haven’t really seen anything like them.</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Art for art’s sake. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">For Granny Fanny. Thanks for the stories.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2015-01-17T15:05:25-08:00" title="January 17, 2015 15:05">01/17/2015</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3472348/the-best-christmas-present-ever" data-share-dialog-title-value="The Best Christmas Present Ever" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share The Best Christmas Present Ever" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">The Best Christmas Present Ever</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3472348/the-best-christmas-present-ever" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3369104/the-scarf">The Scarf</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"> <strong>The Scarf</strong></span><br> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">(Disclaimer: Thanks for reading my blog. I just wanted to say that if you enjoy my rants then please sign up for my newsletter here. <a href="http://www.tannerjamesmusic.com"><span style="font: 11.0px Helvetica; text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #2c00af">www.tannerjamesmusic.com</span></a> . I post even more zany stories from the road as well as tour and record announcements. Hell, I even send out Christmas cards.)<br><br>I was having a crisis of the spirit the other day. I recently turned 29-years-old and was questioning my abilities as a singer-songwriter. I have been watching my peers get married, start families and commit to their day jobs and begin careers. I had a feeling of being left behind at 29. I left a good job to pursue music and was wondering if I am a delusional person or if I am on the right path. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I recently had a relationship fall apart. This may or may not have contributed to me second guessing my career path and lifestyle choices. I was told that my music career had nothing to do with the choice to throw in the towel, but I had to at least entertain the idea that it actually did. <br><br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/e934184c7df53249bd8ca9a47821fd7ed98b3820/medium/scarf2.jpg?1417908371" class="size_m justify_center border_thin" alt="" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; " /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I had a relatively slow November and December so I decided to pick up some holiday shifts somewhere. I was hired to help with catering in the dining rooms and conference halls at the Calgary Zoo. It is a shitty, low-paying job that I took in order to justify not being on the road as much as usual. On one hand, I am grateful that I can pick up a few shifts and continue to do what I enjoy, yet on the other hand I feel like I’ve payed my dues and that I shouldn’t have to work shitty jobs at all. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When I am at work I just try to think of Edward Norton in the movie Fight Club. If it was good enough for him and his alter ego, then it must be good enough for me. Plus, it ends in January anyhow. The job ends, not Fight Club. As far as I know Fight Club is timeless. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m sure it was an accumulation of a failed relationship, a shitty new temp job, the onslaught of Canadian winter and a poor attitude, but I was feeling particularly awful one day last week.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I had to drive out to Red Deer this same day and play a solo show. It was cold and I was second guessing everything. It was one of those days.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Feeling morose and self-indulgent, I headed into the venue and loaded in my gear. On top of this, I should mention that I took the month of November off drinking. I couldn’t even have a drink to blow off some steam.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Well it just so happened that this was a particularly warm and inspiring gig, which just so fell upon a particularly cold and lonely day for me. People were great, the show went off without a hitch, I enjoyed myself and was payed fairly.<br><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/ef1b8c952d6a36a9a33b3ee1865304a82ee182da/medium/scarf1.jpg?1417908275" class="size_m justify_center border_thin" alt="" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; " /></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">In the middle of the gig an older French couple came up and told me how much they appreciated my music. The man said that I had brought his wife to tears during one of my songs and that it was there 18th wedding anniversary. The man asked me if he could give me his scarf as a token of their appreciation. He said it was from Quebec and it was a very special scarf; handmade with traditional colours and fabric.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I accepted.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">And just like that everything was right in the world. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ve barely taken the scarf off since. It’s my new favourite. It reminds me what I am supposed to be doing with my life.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The Scarf.</span><br><br> </p></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2014-12-06T15:36:27-08:00" title="December 06, 2014 15:36">12/06/2014</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3369104/the-scarf" data-share-dialog-title-value="The Scarf" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share The Scarf" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">The Scarf</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3369104/the-scarf" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>  <article class="post blog-article full-item post-full" data-controller="zoogle-video" data-action="message@window-&gt;zoogle-video#handleVimeoPostMessage">
    
<h2 class="heading-secondary heading-blog alt-font">
  <a href="/blog/blog/3310682/a-beginner-s-guide-to-becoming-a-touring-musician">A Beginner&#39;s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician</a>&nbsp;
</h2>

<div class="post">
  <div class="message"><div><a contents="A Beginner’s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://gumroad.com/l/eDHM">A Beginner’s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="//images.zoogletools.com/u/74077/2e3346150b48ce581e35086dfb9eaf060f56c865/original/cover.jpg?1416520649" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></div>
<div> </div>
<div>If my count is correct, then I’ve played just shy of 125 shows in 2014. I’ve been on the road across the country more than a couple times. I took January and February off for the most part as well, just to do some writing and try to escape some of the vicious Canadian winter.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Being a touring musician has been a great experience. I’ve met the most amazing human beings, saw some places I would have never ever seen otherwise and had my faith in humanity restored by the kindest people. I’ve also been cold, lonely, hungry, broke and scared. Touring is filled with massive highs and crushing lo’s, yet the risk and reward.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>My best buddy has been nagging me to write about my experiences and offer some insight. Being a busy guy and having to be on the road so much, I usually turned down his request.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On my most recent tour, I finally decided to take him up on this offer. I wrote down thoughts, ideas, tips and warnings while sitting in the passenger seat of my 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix. I scribbled into notebooks and napkins, inbetween states and provinces. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>We took these writings and put together a really compact guide to being a touring musician. It’s my opinion and some may disagree. I do feel it is a great place to start for anyone starting to venture into this territory. It includes pieces of advice that was given to me that I have found very valuable. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>So here it is...</div>
<div><a contents="A Beginner’s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://gumroad.com/l/eDHM">A Beginner’s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div>What's included:</div>
<div>-Introduction: Why should you tour?</div>
<div>-How to Book a Tour: Tangible recommendations for booking your tour</div>
<div>-Show Swaps: The art of show swaps</div>
<div>-Research: How to research venues</div>
<div>-Email Template: Email show request template</div>
<div>-Logistics: Important questions to consider</div>
<div>-Money Saving Tips: Four money saving tips</div>
<div>-Follow-Up: After the tour</div>
<div>-Final Note: Final thoughts</div>
<div> </div></div>
</div>


<footer class="meta blog-footer clearfix">
    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2014-11-20T13:58:21-08:00" title="November 20, 2014 13:58">11/20/2014</span></p>

  <ul class="blog-actions pdf__hide">
    <li class="comment-count"></li>
      <li><div data-controller="share-dialog" data-share-dialog-url-value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3310682/a-beginner-s-guide-to-becoming-a-touring-musician" data-share-dialog-title-value="A Beginner&#39;s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician" data-share-dialog-text-value="" data-share-dialog-fb-app-id-value="286076425227">
  <a class="button button-tertiary zoogle-share pdf__hide" title="Share A Beginner&#39;s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#open" href="javascript:void(0)">
    <i class="icon-share"></i>Share
</a>
  <dialog data-share-dialog-target="dialog" data-action="click->share-dialog#clickOutside" class="dialog dialog-share style-section-style-1">
    <button class="dialog-close" data-action="click-&gt;share-dialog#close" aria-label="close">
      <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 11 11" class="icon" width="12px" height="12px"><path d="M6.755 5.502l3.836 3.97-1.438 1.39-3.81-3.942-3.926 3.942L0 9.452 3.953 5.48 0 1.39 1.438 0l3.927 4.064L9.41 0l1.417 1.411-4.073 4.091z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
</button>    <div class="share_desc">
      <div>
        <span data-share-dialog-target="title">A Beginner&#39;s Guide To Becoming A Touring Musician</span>
        <br>
        <span class="byline" data-share-dialog-target="byline">
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>

    <ul class="share_icons">
      <li class="threads">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="threadsLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM23.7524 16.9806C23.8587 17.0263 23.9638 17.074 24.0671 17.1235C25.5284 17.8245 26.597 18.8859 27.1575 20.1926C27.9387 22.0149 28.0101 24.9832 25.6397 27.3514C23.828 29.1615 21.6287 29.9784 18.5087 30H18.4946C14.9852 29.9757 12.2865 28.7948 10.4735 26.4901C8.86024 24.4393 8.02805 21.5855 8.00009 18.0084L8 18L8.00009 17.9916C8.02805 14.4145 8.86024 11.5608 10.4735 9.50991C12.2865 7.20522 14.9852 6.02431 18.4946 6H18.5087C22.0252 6.02439 24.7545 7.20084 26.6206 9.49675C27.5414 10.6295 28.218 11.9953 28.648 13.5803L26.6296 14.1188C26.2749 12.8311 25.7368 11.7267 25.023 10.8485C23.5674 9.05767 21.3735 8.13891 18.5016 8.11756C15.6505 8.13875 13.4942 9.05311 12.0923 10.8353C10.7794 12.5042 10.101 14.9147 10.0757 18C10.101 21.0853 10.7794 23.4958 12.0923 25.1646C13.4942 26.9469 15.6505 27.8612 18.5017 27.8824C21.072 27.8635 22.7728 27.252 24.1876 25.8385C25.8025 24.225 25.7724 22.2459 25.2559 21.0415C24.9521 20.333 24.4021 19.7436 23.66 19.2957C23.4792 20.6429 23.0699 21.712 22.4226 22.537C21.5704 23.6234 20.3487 24.2175 18.7915 24.3029C17.6124 24.3673 16.4778 24.0829 15.5969 23.5014C14.555 22.8135 13.9452 21.7605 13.8799 20.5365C13.7514 18.1235 15.6656 16.3869 18.6431 16.2154C19.7001 16.1548 20.6889 16.2026 21.6031 16.358C21.4818 15.6156 21.2366 15.0274 20.8701 14.6018C20.3665 14.0171 19.5884 13.7173 18.5572 13.7107L18.5286 13.7106C17.7006 13.7106 16.5765 13.9423 15.8601 15.0291L14.1378 13.8476C15.0966 12.3926 16.6546 11.593 18.5278 11.593L18.5702 11.5931C21.702 11.6131 23.5671 13.5673 23.7524 16.9806ZM15.9524 20.4215C16.0193 21.6761 17.3751 22.2619 18.6801 22.1884C19.9578 22.1182 21.408 21.6169 21.6553 18.5291C20.9924 18.3842 20.2633 18.3085 19.4839 18.3085C19.247 18.3085 19.0059 18.3154 18.7602 18.3296C16.6145 18.4533 15.9029 19.4913 15.9524 20.4215Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="facebook">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="facebookLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="550" data-popup-window-height-value="357" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M9 0a9 9 0 110 18A9 9 0 019 0zm2.606 4H10.24c-1.575 0-2.17.77-2.215 2.076l-.002.166v1.034H7V9h1.023V14h2.046V9h1.365l.181-1.724H10.07l.003-.862c0-.417.036-.655.553-.687l.128-.003h.853V4z"></path></svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="twitter">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="twitterLink" data-controller="popup-window" data-action="click->popup-window#open" data-popup-window-width-value="685" data-popup-window-height-value="246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 36 36" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M36 18C36 8.05887 27.9411 0 18 0C8.05887 0 0 8.05887 0 18C0 27.9411 8.05887 36 18 36C27.9411 36 36 27.9411 36 18ZM26.4163 9L19.7142 16.6226L27.0001 27H21.6396L16.7316 20.0104L10.5876 27H9L16.0278 19.0075L9 9H14.3604L19.0068 15.6173L24.8287 9H26.4163ZM13.5996 10.1714H11.1606L22.3878 25.8861H24.8275L13.5996 10.1714Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

      <li class="email">
        <a href="#" data-share-dialog-target="emailLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
          <div class="share_icon">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 18 18" class="icon">
<path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M18 9C18 4.02944 13.9706 0 9 0C4.02944 0 0 4.02944 0 9C0 13.9706 4.02944 18 9 18C13.9706 18 18 13.9706 18 9ZM4.02511 5.73566C4.00872 5.77691 4.00004 5.82153 4.00004 5.86854L4 12.1317C4 12.1897 4.0135 12.2449 4.03762 12.2938C4.04581 12.2775 4.05691 12.2621 4.07041 12.2482L7.39793 8.87439L4.0772 5.81961C4.05116 5.79611 4.0338 5.76684 4.02511 5.73566ZM4.34327 12.4991L4.34195 12.499L7.67 9.12427L8.60412 9.98343C8.86598 10.2242 9.26962 10.2228 9.52956 9.98007L10.4564 9.11563L13.768 12.4736C13.7251 12.4904 13.6783 12.5 13.6296 12.5H4.3704C4.3612 12.5 4.35243 12.4996 4.34327 12.4991ZM13.9971 12.1795L10.727 8.86376L13.9913 5.81857C13.9932 5.81713 13.9947 5.81569 13.9961 5.81425C13.9986 5.832 14 5.85023 14 5.86846V12.1315C14 12.1478 13.999 12.1637 13.9971 12.1795ZM13.7686 5.52686C13.7257 5.50959 13.6789 5.5 13.6297 5.5L4.37041 5.50006C4.33617 5.50006 4.30338 5.50486 4.27155 5.5135C4.29229 5.52117 4.31158 5.53316 4.32846 5.549L8.85585 9.71283C8.97448 9.8222 9.15822 9.82172 9.27637 9.71139L13.7382 5.54989C13.7479 5.54077 13.758 5.5331 13.7686 5.52686Z"></path>
</svg>
          </div>
        </a>
      </li>

    </ul>
    <div class="permalink" data-controller="clipboard">
      <p>Share link</p>
      <div class="control -has-addons">
        <input type="text" value="https://tannerjamesmusic.com/blogs/welcome/posts/3310682/a-beginner-s-guide-to-becoming-a-touring-musician" data-clipboard-target="source" data-share-dialog-target="urlInput" data-action="click->share-dialog#selectUrl" readonly="true">
        <span class="control__suffix">
          <a class="button -simple -compact -icon-only" data-clipboard-target="button" data-action="clipboard#copy">
            <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 16" class="icon" width="16px" height="18px"><path d="M4.166.597c-.184 0-.369.15-.369.342v1.365c0 .191.185.341.369.341h9.189v9.216c0 .191.15.342.341.342h1.365c.191 0 .342-.15.342-.342V.94a.338.338 0 00-.342-.342H4.166zm7.44 3.798H.34A.338.338 0 000 4.736v10.923c0 .19.15.341.341.341h10.923c.191 0 .341-.15.341-.341V4.395z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg>
          </a>
        </span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </dialog>
</div></li>
  </ul>

  <p class="post-info"></p>
</footer>


</article>

</div></div>
    <nav class="pagination">
    <span class="first">
  <a href="/blog/blog_posts?p=1"><span class='pagination-decoration icon icon-first'></span>First</a>
</span>

    <span class="prev">
  <a rel="prev" href="/blog/blog_posts?p=2"><span class='pagination-decoration icon icon-previous'></span>Prev</a>
</span>
        <span class="page">
  <a href="/blog/blog_posts?p=1">1</a>
</span>

        <span class="page">
  <a rel="prev" href="/blog/blog_posts?p=2">2</a>
</span>

        <span class="page current">
  3
</span>

        <span class="page">
  <a rel="next" href="/blog/blog_posts?p=4">4</a>
</span>

        <span class="page gap">…</span>

        <span class="page">
  <a href="/blog/blog_posts?p=7">7</a>
</span>

      <span class="next">
  <a rel="next" href="/blog/blog_posts?p=4">Next<span class='pagination-decoration icon icon-next'></span></a>
</span>
      <span class="last">
  <a href="/blog/blog_posts?p=7">Last<span class='pagination-decoration icon icon-last'></span></a>
</span>

  </nav>




</template></turbo-stream>