Book: Good Boys Do Fine, Always

GOOD BOYS DO FINE, ALWAYS

is currently out of print. The new edition should be available in the Spring, 2016

 

from the inside flapGOOD BOYS DO FINE, ALWAYS

is an aggregation of existing grand ideas strained through my own experiences and psychology. This manifesto has cooked up a feast of inspiration for me in my overall quest in achieving greater integration of my talent, education, skills, self, and experience within a musical expression. Here, within this music-business discorse, I have slowly learned to grant myself authorization to move forward with untried and unfettered choices.

Excerpts from Good Boys Do Fine, Always

Think back to the Magna Carta of 1215, the Declaration of Independence of 1776, the United States Constitution of 1787, and the Bill of Rights of 1791, in your pursuit of professional “happiness.” As an individual living in the United States of America, you have a legacy of freedom that empowers you to hang out your own shingle and create your own opportunities as you prosper through the relationships of your choice. Entangling contractual relationships, however, can blow your shingle into the dumpster.
~ Gary Powell

The metaphor of life as music is endless, but this is the point: music is not a trifle. Whether you are a musician or not, you still speak, interact, resonate, feel, and compose your own life. Play your part intelligently and with purposeful intent to support saneness and fairness. Life is a practice that, like music, is best when made in the company of like-minded people. So, understand who you are, how you might become inviolable, and then choose the orchestra you play in carefully. Your artfully-honed skills, born of diligent self-care, will add light to the world while never disrespecting the practice of others.
~ Gary Powell

Upon leaving academia, every career path in the music and media businesses immediately becomes unique. Successful individuals have each created their story, unless they came into their professional life as a legacy which is a whole ‘nother topic. Our unique stories are why global advice is so easy to get and so hard to follow and seldom effective in its practical application. Worse than that is the fact that the education we did get can be misleading or even harmful under the stress-test of a real-world artistic career. If you find that your cap and gown have left you disrobed or simply haven’t donned you with who you are or how you earn money as an artist, read on for the good news.
~ Gary Powell

If you are now thinking the business executive and the freelance artist have nothing in common, think again. Executives live and die by the sword, corporately speaking, and talent is continually asked to step back from what moves and inspires them. If conscious, both have learned to embrace compromise. This integrative vision is the very nature of progress, and at last, adulthood. The irony of capitalism is that mediocrity is beautifully and bountifully produced for an audience that has never asked for, nor demanded, much from either life or themselves. Hired into service are focus groups that certainly have their place for researching the development of toys, toothbrushes, and underwear. However, focus groups have no business influencing the design of radial tires, the space shuttle, an original painting, or the composition of a symphony. I’ve never been a proponent of art by committee or by competition.
~ Gary Powell