Dealing With Rejection

No one likes being rejected. It's hard not to take it personally, but it is a part of life and definitely something one experiences as an artist.

Yesterday's rant was about me being frustrated with having to play the role of publicist for myself. I'm pitching my music to online publications in the hopes that I'll get some press. Other than the fact that it's a tedious, boring time consuming process, the other major drawback of doing your own PR is getting all the rejections. If I were promoting someone else I wouldn't be emotionally invested in the process. Also, had I been able to hire a publicist, they would be getting all the rejections and I'd only be hearing about the publications willing to show me the love. Oh well, it's just another annoying reality of the popularity game you have to play when your an artist.

So, today my inbox has been flooded with all the rejections from yesterday's submissions of my song We're All Whores. It's disappointing for sure, but the key to not taking it personally is to remember that all art is subjective and just because someone doesn't like my work doesn't mean that it isn't "good" or have merit. Another way of putting it into perspective is thinking of it like any sales job. You're going to hear overwhelmingly more "no's" then "yes's" no matter what industry you're working in.

If you're curious about what's being rejected feel free to visit my website for a free download of We're All Whores, the song I've been submitting to promote my album Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles.

Sneak Preview of We're All Whores

The full song can be downloaded for FREE on my website http://www.borg-queen-music.com

Too Many Fucking Hats!

In any business there's a game to be played if you want to get ahead. Music is definitely no exception. Artistically speaking I already wear a bajillion and one hats being a singer/songwriter/composer/instrumentalist/producer/engineer and that's just the musical aspect of what I do with my project Borg Queen. There's also the visual component of my project that has me working as a one woman art department making music videos with production qualities way higher than I really need to in this game called the music biz. Don't get me wrong I love working on all the artistic stuff, and even the technical aspects of it are fascinating and extremely rewarding. I'm not bitching about that at all.

What get's to me is having to promote myself. Social media is the worst. I'm not a social creature, and while I do enjoy getting public recognition for my art because it's something I'm proud of, I hate seeking attention for the sake of getting attention. However, that is part of the game now. I can't JUST be a talented artist, get a record deal and sit in my ivory tower making music while my label promotes me. Those days are gone. Even signed artists have to play the game. Mind you most of the really established ones have someone managing their social media for them.

It's a different game in many ways now, but something that hasn't changed is that it still is all about who you know. One of the best ways of getting "discovered" or just looking credible is getting some press. But how do you get press? The easy, effective but expensive way is to hire a publicist. Not really an option for me right now given that I spent all my money on creating super high quality content and crazy elaborate music videos.

So here I am wearing yet another hat writing press releases and submitting my music to every blogger that covers my genre, that's also linked to Hype Machine. Hype Machine if you're wondering is a very popular music blog aggregator, and if you get your shit on there, then larger publications start taking notice. So, the bottom line is you wanna get yourself some press and get on Hype Machine, so you can get even better press and have MORE people notice you. It's like being in high school all over again. Needless to say I didn't really give a shit about being popular in high school because I was too busy being an artist. Now, I'm too busy trying to be popular plugging my new album that I haven't had enough time to be an artist.

So there's my rant. I don't like wearing all these hats. I just want to be an artist, make music, make cool videos and perform. In case you were wondering what I needed the press for, it's my new album Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles that you can pre order by clicking on the image below.

If you buy it, I promise to use the money to hire a publicist so that I can return to doing what I do best...creating.

A Whore No More!

I'm a whore. Now, I know that you may be thinking...

What the fuck?
Really?
Why would you even admit that?
That's not something you should be flaunting online for the world to see!

While I'm not someone who exchanges sex for money, I am a big old whore nonetheless. For the past few years I've earned an income as an interior designer and I absolutely HATE it. I dread going to work everyday. I dread dealing with clients, and I hate the industry in general. I just do it for the money.

I feel degraded every time I have to absorb my client's rants, complaints and verbal abuse, and I just  want to scream at them, 

"YOUR HOUSE IS JUST A THING! RENOVATING IT ISN'T GOING TO FILL THE VOID IN YOUR LIFE, AND IT WON'T MAKE YOU HAPPY! JUST BE GRATEFUL THAT YOU HAVE SHELTER AND THE FINANCIAL MEANS TO IMPROVE IT!!!!" 

But I can't. It's not good for business, and the bottom line is... the bottom dollar. That is why I am a whore. I've let the bottom dollar control my life and it's made me miserable.

There is a light in all of this though. My life purpose is to create music and art and hopefully touch other peoples lives through my creations. I've decided to give up my "daytime whore job" as I've come to call it and dedicate my 9-5 time to making music and art full time! This is a huge leap of faith on my part because I'll be relying on my night job which is mostly tips to sustain me financially. I have faith and I am going to trust that all my financial needs will be met. 

I'm not religious, but I do believe that there is a Higher Power that will help me along my life path, and as long as I am being who I am supposed to be then I will be blessed in my endeavors.It's hard for me to admit sometimes that I am a person of faith because a lot of people will automatically label me as a religious kook. There's an extremely negative stigma associated with religion and it's hard for some to wrap their mind around the fact that one can have faith and not be religious. 

However, I digress, this post wasn't supposed to be about religion vs. faith, it was about me publicly announcing that I AM A WHORE NO MORE! What really excites me about this is that I'll be able to get so much more done, so much faster which means that you won't have to wait as long for the release of my album and music videos! In the meantime I'm offering a preview of a rough mix for We're All Whores which will be one of the tracks on my upcoming album. It sums up perfectly the trap that I think we all succumb to at some point in our lives.

I Was Wrong! Alan And Ryan Are Totally Rad

As it turns out, I do work well with others, very well in fact! Who knew? Anyway, I met with Alan Wong-Moon and Ryan "Tweak" Clark last week and needless to say I instantly clicked with Ryan and we've been in the studio for a couple sessions now working on Lapdance Romance.

I must say that I've been injected with new life and it's wonderful working with someone that really, truly "gets" me. This is really key though to the whole production process for me, because my biggest fear was that these guys were going to push my music in a direction that would ensure commercial success, but me as an artist would get lost in the uber polished production. Thank God this isn't the case!

The track is sounding so amazing and I can't wait for it to be done. We're planning to release it as a single along with a music video which will be shot by Ribbit Ribbit here in the next few months. As with any art form this is all a huge process, but instead of being freaked out that I'm not getting any younger I'm enjoying every moment of creation. Thanks Ryan. You rock!

Am I Crazy?!?!

I ask myself this every day. Am I crazy at my age and with all of my other responsibilities to still try to make a career for myself as an entertainer? The answer is yes, I am crazy, but I think all artists are to varying degrees.

I don't want to do anything else with my life, but sometimes it can get discouraging and I feel lost. Today is one of those days. I'm attempting to write a business plan so that I can get financing to finish my album Sex, Drugs & Shiny Brass Poles, but right now I'm feeling like I've gotten in way over my head.

I have written a business plan before for when I had a mural painting company and I did a great job writing it, but writing a plan for being a musician/performer is an entirely different beast. Thankfully, with the magic of the Internet I did manage to find a template for business plans for musicians, and also a sample plan of an actual band. However, this is going to take some time to complete and right now I just need money to finish the damn album!

I'm getting frustrated and impatient with myself. I tell myself "Jenny, it will all happen when it's supposed to happen and how it's supposed to happen. You just gotta have faith and keep on working step by step toward your goals." The problem is that my goals are always so damn lofty, and most people wouldn't even attempt to do what I'm doing. So the real question is "Am I crazy or just really brave?" I think I'm going to go with 95% Brave and 5% Crazy(just to keep myself interesting).

MONEY! The cause of and solution to all my problems.

Artists are slaves to their art, but money makes slaves of us all.

Ah money. How I loathe thee, but if I only had more my life would be so much easier. I learned a long time ago that money does not make me happy, but it sure as hell would make my artistic career aspirations come to fruition a LOT sooner and with greater ease. I find myself faced with the same old dilemma that most artists, whether they be actors, musicians or really any self employed creative individual is faced with. How do I get the money that I need to launch my career and support myself, and still have enough time to work on my career while balancing my stupid(and often low paying) regular Joe job and working on the career that I really love and want to do?

Starting out in any business is not easy, and the music business is no exception. I need money to finish my album and produce my show based on the album I'm writing, and let me tell ya, my regular jack-off job as an interior designer ain't cuttin' it. Yes, I have enough money to live and put food on the table, but there's barely any extra to throw into my music. It also doesn't help that I live in one of the most expensive cities in the world where the cost of living is ridiculous! Don't get me wrong, I love Vancouver and I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Canada given a choice, and where else am I going to find the resources, people, and market to launch an arts and entertainment career in Canada? Toronto, maybe, but who the hell wants to live there? Angry people who like the Toronto Maple Leafs, acid rain and cold winters, that's who, but that's not me, so here I am struggling to make a living in beautiful, temperate, laid-back Vancouver while trying to scrape together enough cash to make a go of it with my music and art.

So what do I do? Do I turn to the oldest profession and whore myself to upscale clientele at $500/hr(yes, I'm that good)? Hopefully not. My plan A is to determine how much money I need to finish the album and produce the show, and then try to get a business loan from the bank. Of course, this plan presents it's own set of challenges. First, I need to write up a business plan in order to be taken seriously by any financial institution. Thankfully, I have done this before and know what to do. So next, on my ever growing list of things to do is write up a business plan for Borg Queen and present it to the bank, and pray to God that they think I'm as awesome as I think I am and lend me the money I need to continue to follow my dreams. Wish me luck because I'm going to need it.