Ben Folds - Lucky Breaks In Music Career

You can see it here : https://www.facebook.com/BenFolds/posts/10150705345312231

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Lucky Breaks In Music Career

I got such wonderful responses to my blog about aspiring artists. Thank you. And also, you're all welcome. I do quite a bit of journal writing anyway so this is my idea of a good time. Here's what what fellow had to say.

Emil Siravo wrote: "why is it that successful artists can never say how they made the leap from poor and struggling to rich and famous.... theres always that mysterious step that they never explain. I guess cause its very unflattering, that step being 'someone with connections got my ass in the door and gave me a golden opportunity'. I wish more artists would talk about WHO gave them their career and less about trying to hide the fact that to make it in the music industry you must rely on somebody getting you 'in' the door. Sure you have to work real hard and you must be ready to prove yourself when the opportunity presents itself,,,, but that Lucky break is still a necessary component that no amount of hard work can substitute for."

Emil! Ooooh am I gonna hand your ass to you now, bitch!!

Kidding.

You're not the first person who has said this, and so here's part three of my flying blogging streaming preaching ruminating mind numbing musings - to anyone who cares to read! You all know me. You'll know that I'm not editing this for easy digestion. Yeah. It'll be long. Real long.

I completely understand your frustration and anyone else's in your position. Boy have I been there, and I used to often wonder why some entertainers left that gaping chasm in their personal stories. Quite often though, you see the story of an entertainer boiled down to one fortuitous event (so in so heard them at a club, or was passed the demo at a party) and while it makes good print, it might not be helpful to take those stories too literally. I didn't call my piece "For Aspiring Successful Entertainers". I addressed it to artists (and myself). Actually, obtaining success in the music business might often make it even harder to stay focused as an artist. I don't think I'd know where to begin writing about how to make it.

I acknowledge that I'm a freakishly lucky bastard. Not just one time lucky but over and over again lucky. I've said before that it really doesn't boil down to one break. It's the succession, the cumulative effects of fortuitous and realized moments which are usually interruptions to the daily disappointments and frustrations. It's truly an up and down thing for anyone in the biz, no matter how successful. That's something I learned from my long time manager I was lucky enough to meet at the right time. Long dry periods of bummer certainly can lead to a state of mind that ceases to recognize a veiled innocent but significant opportunity.

As well as a lucky fool, I'm also a freakishly hard working bastard. I've been dangerously kamikaze and at key times the risk has met with incredible and lucky results. I didn't see anyone else risking it all to borrow to purchase a baby grand, learn how to move it and place it on tiny rock club stages for three years. That was insane, physically and financially but luckily landed on it's feet. What worked well for my career did not work well for everything else. My personal life from the beginning of my career, has been 20 years resembling one of those record breaking mile long car pile ups on a foggy mountain freeway - bumper into bumper with helpless bystanders wincing at the sound of non stop crunching thudding metal that continued, echoing repeatedly off into the distance. That's sugar coating it. haha. I enjoyed writing that bit...

Okay1 By request! Here's all the luck I can remember whilst catapulting through the sky at 35,000 feet:

I had independent thinking parents in a low income household. Lucky. I attended an unusual elementary school (we sat on floor, had no homework, were encouraged to incorporate music or art into projects). I had access to both poor and rich people, their attitudes and behavior. My band teachers were jazzers -...