The What And Why Of Bandship

If you're here, you might be wondering the most basic questions right now:

"What even is Bandship?"

"Why should I work with Bandship?"

"What can Bandship do that I couldn't do myself?"

Let me start by saying that I wondered those same very questions even as I was building this. And I think it's important to constantly ask those things, even as the person running the company.

A little backstory: I started in music at a very young age as I'm sure most of you have. I was in plays and musicals as a kid, band in adolescence, choir and musical theatre throughout high school and college, and playing instruments, writing songs, and in bands for as long as I can remember. And I've learned a lot along the way. Personality shifts, tough conversations, looking and feeling inadequate and unknowledgeable, wishing I had more than I did, striving for fame, questioning why I went down the path of music, all of it.

In the past few years, I have done an immense amount of self-reflection. The stay-at-home section of 2020-2021 brought for me (as I'm sure it did for many of you) deep struggle and confrontation of my being and my mortality. It also birthed an incredible exploration of finding purpose - not only for myself as a person, but also for music and its inherent spirituality.

When I was younger, music felt like a tool. Something I could "use" to make friends, be attractive, achieve fame and glory. However I have evolved to understand that it is quite the opposite. I now understand and view Music (with the capital 'M' as one of my idols Victor Wooten refers to it) as one of the fundamental properties of conscious existence as we know it. And Music uses us as tools to express itself.

There's a theory/belief-system that expresses how music is always occurring at every moment of every timeline of every dimension, and when we open our mouths to sing or pick up our instrument or merely feel the sway of a rhythm or feeling, that we ever-so-briefly tap into this omnipresence and 'experience' it.

Man I love that.

As I have grown and so has my mentality and thoughts of spirituality and 'beyond', I continue to feel this rubberband-like pull to bringing music into our world and to the people around me. And as those feelings have expanded, I've found that so has my desire to be a conduit for the people around me to experience music the way I do:

Freely, without sense of desire or want, without need or demand. Truly and openly in a way that you will never see it as a means to an end, but instead a glimpse into forever.

I do not see music as a means to fame or glory. Music is as equal as breathing to me. And not just the act of experiencing (or making) it, but all parts that surround it. Creation, editing, molding, shaping, expressing, listening, feeling. All of it. Does that mean I would turn down opportunities to go and play big shows or make money from my time and efforts? No. What it means to me is that I know that the "why" of my part of it comes from a place that is so far beyond money and fame that I will always do what I can to experience it.

This does not mean you should strive for less, or that wanting to be famous for your music making is bad. Instead, if that's what you desire, you can have people in your corner who truly desire to help you get there. Not for the coattails or the piggybacking, but because they truly love what you are doing and want to help as much as they can. And if you are the other end of the spectrum and don't know much about music and maybe a little shy, but you feel a desire to make music or write lyrics or sing or whatever, you have a team of people who can make your desires reality in a completely shame-free and fun environment.

That is why Bandship exists.

I have many years of experience, and have a lot of tools and experience at my disposal to use. And I want to help people achieve their musical goals. I have received a LOT of help along the way from so many people. And I know that in the ever-evolving world of music and music/live production, it can be incredibly daunting to deal with all the things that come along with the music-making. Nowadays it's hard to get anywhere without some sort of social presence, or decent-quality recordings to send to a hundred venues in hopes they will like what they hear and offer you a Tuesday night 11pm start set. Playing your music often requires sound equipment, and hopefully someone who knows the equipment well to troubleshoot when things start ringing. Maybe you desperately need someone to play drums for you and you've exhausted your circle to no avail, or maybe you have a great idea for a T-shirt or an album cover but no idea how to bring it to life. Or maybe you finally want to put together that EP you've been dreaming about, but recording studios are expensive and you don't know where to start.

I want to do this with you. I feel a calling to do this with you and help you through these things. That's why I am here. I have the tools to help you get what you want. And if you want something I don't have, then I have the desire to help you find it and figure it out. And if it's something outside of my skill set, I have a network of great friends and musicians and engineers who can step in.

I'm not going to promise you fame and glory. I am not going to promise you that I can make your dreams come true. But I can promise you that Bandship as a whole will do everything we can to build that foundation and put together the staircase piece-by-piece to get you closer and closer.

Bandship is kind of like having your own little small business team. You want to book a gig, we can work to book it. You want to record a song, we can set up and run the session. You need to hire a musician or band for your event, we can provide them. You want to create artwork and merchandise, we can design and distribute them. You want to put on an event, we can bring and run the lights and sound. You want someone to design and manage your website and social media, we have the people and tools. Bandship is a friendship and relationship built around bands and music-makers.

How you see Bandship is completely up to you. Use us on a case-by-case scenario for your projects, become a regular subscriber of our services, consider Bandship your ongoing manager, start with Bandship to get going and move on to something bigger when you grow, whatever you need it to be. We will be flexible with how we work on pricing and services to make sure that you can get what you are looking for without the stresses that come with bigger organizations.

If you have more questions or want to understand even deeper what we're doing and why we're doing it, or if you want to join the cause of Bandship and be a part of our growing list of musicians/engineers/contractors, never hesitate to reach out. I look forward to all the music making we will do together.

Good luck out there, I believe in you.