https://music.apple.com/ng/album/rhythm-n-blues-grass/259940350
So I still haven’t linked my checking account to collect royalties from our digital sales of songs on CD baby.
I need to do that, otherwise we will never make a penny online with the sale of our original songs.
There is so much muck to wade through to become a paid musician
Is it worth the hassle?
Yes! It is definitely worth it.
Not only for the joy we bring with our songs, but for fun people we meet, and serve with our music!
We change through the years.
Yes I quit school at 16. Mental depression and ADHD. I did not fit in.
On to University after getting my GED, I graduated and began teaching and performing.
I was in my forties by the time I graduated college. Being a non-traditional student was hard.
In the nineties, I was mistreated and rudely shunned by most of the other students. Some bullied me, and called me a “re-tread.”
The professors were a bit kinder.
Happily, I was a college radio broadcaster and wrote for the campus newspaper.
I lived off campus, and that helped.
Keeping busy kept me happy.
By 43, I started my own music teaching business. My college degree was in Music Education.
My music teaching business ran from 2004 until the pandemic in 2020.
Now I am just getting back to writing songs and stories and recovering from the fallout of the pandemic. My duo, Molly and Sonny Boy have some upcoming gigs, and more original songs to record
Enjoy this song we recorded before the pandemic.
I still work in radio and audio production. Each Sunday at 4:08pm Central on AM 860/97.3 FM and at http://KNUJ.net I produce and broadcast a show called, “Music from Germany.”
Music from Germany – May 1
Yesterday I found out that art helps us in our emotional growth.
I went to a pow wow of sorts at the local arts center regarding the direction of the Grand.
https://www.thegrandnewulm.com/
I found out that some people feel that art is not for them.
Yet throughout the ages, art has been significant in every culture.
I have seen all kinds of art.
To be honest some of it has downright puzzled me. “What’s that?” I sometimes wonder.
As a singer and a songwriter, I don’t always think of music as being an art per se. I think of it as musical storytelling. It’s fun and entertaining.
However music is a means of self-expression. It is an art.
My preference is towards the wordy arts.
I like songs and stories and film.
I like accessible art as well.
I like mainly realism and functional arts and crafts.
I like pops of color as well, for décor and inspiration.
So now, I will continue musing about art over my muesli this morning.
On Sunday there was an open house at the Grand.
The Grand Center for the Arts is a delightful space in the downtown area of my town.
https://www.thegrandnewulm.com/
There have been many live performances in the building, as well as live music on the deck in the warmer months.
There is a bar, and during live performances they offer light fare as well to add to the conviviality for the guests.
One of the most unique features are the printing presses in the basement.
To adapt to the times, the Grand has made many changes in its administration and functions in the community.
To stay relevant, it encourages artists to express their talents in exhibits, gallery shows, and public displays. Poets, dancers, musicians, painters, and many more artists, have benefited from the benevolence of The Grand and its supporters.
The KNUJ Spring Polka Party was held at Turner Hall on Sunday.
People were dancing and drinking.
It was 2 years since the last KNUJ Polka dance.
Old and young love music and fun!
Yesterday I went to the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame where this year’s inductees attended an open house.
Molly B was awarded a place in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame this year, among others.
I met Molly B yesterday. She told me about her experience performing in a Clint Eastwood film.
Molly performs often with her husband Ted Lange.
I perform with my husband as well in our music duo Molly and Sonny Boy.
You can find out more about Molly B here: https://www.mollieb.com/
I have a lot of books. Many times I scoop them up at library book sales, or just aquire them at book stalls.
Later on I discover them in the house, sometimes many years after I brought them home.
Sometimes the books are found not so neatly on a bookshelf, and sometimes I find them in a bag or a box stacked on a table or the floor.
I’ve started studying a book I found in a bag underneath a desk. It’s called “Commit to win,” by Heidi Reeder, PhD.
It’s about how to harness the four elements of commitment to reach your goals.
She elaborates on the 4 areas of commitment that I never heard of.
They are: treasures, troubles, contributions and choices. Basically the 4 ingredients that go into any commitment.
It’s food for thought if you plan on making a commitment and plan on succeeding in fulfilling it.
I have 3 areas I am trying to get committed to doing.
I. I need to drop some excess fat; 35 lbs. exactly.
2. I need to get rid of a lot of old junk in my living space, so as to upgrade my style and feel happier at home. Yes, I have a lot of stuff.
3. Lastly, I need to get my music business organized.
That means finding, labeling, and organizing eveything from books to instruments, to recording units, and sound equipment not just for insurance purposes either.
There are also the intangibles of my band Molly and Sonny Boy that need attention like websites and digital photos, contacts and financial files
I would like to get all 3 commitments fulfilled in the next 5 months. However, there is a difference between deciding to do something and actually getting started. I will keep you posted!
I am a radio dj
I am working today at the radio station 🚉
You can hear my show here
I’ve been in radio since 1993. It’s a job match made in heaven.
I have the gift of gab and my degree is in music!
Each Sunday afternoon at 4:08pm Central Daylight time I do a live program on KNUJ radio from my station in Southern Minnesota.
You can also stream it on the Internet at knuj.net.
Here is last week’s show.
Did you take a double major like me? You may have thought you wanted to become a Superstar multi-billionaire too by going through music, art and English classes.
College professors don’t tell you how slim the chances are out there for budding wannabe movie stars.
Well I do not begrudge an education for you, just remember there’s those student loan bills that show up on a constant basis without guarantee of employment.
I think you are wise to do what you are drawn to rather than what you are forced to do out of necessity.
I was one of the fortunate few who did exactly what I wanted to do. I took over 500 credits in my college career. I had a very strong thirst for knowledge, and I took a variety of classes from nursing to the art of the science fiction novel.
It took me 14 years to graduate because I quit part way and then returned to finish up. Also, I kept changing my mind and my career focus.
I did walk away with a beautiful career as a radio announcer, but I had been doing that prior to college and I did not need a degree for that. With a college degree, I was able to add another couple of jobs to my resume, that of being a professional music instructor and singer-actress.
In planning your success route you need to keep in mind that being able to communicate is one of the highest qualities a person can possess.
I was happy to learn to communicate and to create meaning in my life through my college degree and college education, but I knew what I was searching for once I found it.
It’s a pity that a lot of people go into writing, music and the arts with very little to say. They usually wind up working in a furniture store miserable and bitter.
Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with working in a furniture store. It’s just the part of being miserable and bitter that is the problem.
Nevertheless, the world needs people who can clearly communicate information, inspiration, mind-opening ideas, along with entertainment to enliven and inspire others.
You actually do not need a college degree to do any of those things if you were born with the gift of gab and a great curiosity and interest in others. Talent surely helps, and a college degree doesn’t hurt.
If you feel that you qualify to be an expert on something, it helps to be able to write or create in a way that you feel will benefit others. Giving is living.
But if you choose to quit trying and lie around all day doing nothing but drink beer and smoke pot thinking you’re an artist, a writer or a musician you’ve got another thing coming.
If you are so young you feel you haven’t really lived or if you feel you have nothing important or interesting to say, perhaps you would be better off forgetting that career in the Arts and becoming a young professional in a high-paying job, and not waste your productive years lying around or working on trifling low-paying unrelated and uninspiring work.
Why not get a career that will benefit you financially? Decide what you want and go for it.
Then you might earn more money now instead of waiting for that magic opportunity that might never come.
With your income you might also afford to take specialized classes in future days that will allow you to learn to better appreciate life, music, and the arts.
And with your specialized knowledge you might be able to communicate in a way that is just as beneficial or even more valuable than somebody who just decides to write or create without any purpose, outside of a desire for fame and self-aggrandizement.
The grass may always seems greener on the other side, but I always think you should bloom where you’re planted.
Zents Music Studio 