What's going on everybody? Here we are at week 2 of these music updates. First of all I'd like to say that I almost forgot to even write this, which feels kind of like a failure, but since I remembered I'm feeling like it's a learning opportunity. 

WRITE THINGS DOWN!

When I don't write something down I almost immediately forget about it. So I have a running checklist in the notes section of my phone to remind me of what I'm supposed to be doing. "Write Weekly Blog Post" is now on the list. 

As a refresher the point of this blog is two-fold. The first purpose is to keep everyone up to date with what I'm doing day-to-day in music. It's kind of a behind the scenes look at what goes on. The second purpose is to keep me accountable. I've found that if I announce something I have a higher chance of actually getting it done as opposed to stewing over it for weeks. So, here we go!

Last Tuesday and Thursday, I had my friend Joe Latu come over to do some writing and record some demos for a potential project. I can't announce what that project is yet, because I haven't totally secured it. The last thing I want to do is announce something and then find out that it's not even going to happen. As far as the music is concerned though even if the project doesn't pan out I'll still release the music. It's some really great stuff. I'm trying to get back to my R&B roots, so I think you'll enjoy this new music. 

Speaking of getting back to R&B, and I can't remember if I wrote about this last week so forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but I think 2017 was a really cool exploratory phase for me. I got to release a pretty good amount of music in 4 months and learn about myself as an artist and songwriter. I'm biased, but Closer is a beautiful song. I think it's a good representation of who I am as an artist. Fall Asleep With You, features some of my favorite songwriting. The production decisions Chance Clift and I made, were a bit left of center of my R&B roots, but I think the song is great. Annie was fantastic, and I think she'll really shine on the acoustic version. We'll probably release that in February. Dirty Diana and Bad Moon Rising were a lot of fun to create and are tons of fun to perform. Definitely not R&B, but offer a nice tempo change from what comes most naturally to me, 60-75 bpm. I don't think I'll do much more in that style, in the near future, but I won't completely cancel it out by any means. My favorite cover, and the lane I want to really stick with was the Weight In Gold cover I did with James VIII. That song has so much soul and rhythm. It makes you move, but also makes you feel. That's the feel that I'm going for this year. R&B is the music I listen to most, and definitely the music I want to make. So I got to experiment in 2017, but 2018 I'll really be focusing on my genre. 

Later on Tuesday I went down to Provo to work with Chance Clift. He executives produces most of the music I do. Right now we're working on a record for spring. It's this fun bouncy track that doesn't start out that way at all. It was a co-write with my buddy Sean. It's called Amaze Me, and I think I'll be releasing that one in Spring. It's too much fun for Winter. Also, James The Mormon is featured on that record. I dig it a lot. 

I mentioned last week that I'll be performing on Park City TV on Feb. 8th, so Thursday I was in Provo again with Sean and Will preparing for that. Since I've started taking music seriously, preparation has been something that's new to me. When music was just a hobby I didn't really have to prepare for gigs or shows, because there was no pressure. Now that it is a paycheck There's a totally different approach. At the end of the day an unprepared performance could be the difference between a paycheck and a missed opportunity. So anyway, preparing is new and fun at the same time. 

On the business end I've been working with my manager Haley to secure sponsors. I don't mean this to be discouraging to anyone but in my experience it takes money to produce, and distribute great art. Studio time, producers, music videos, videographers, photographers, websites, marketers, publicity, etc. Right now we're working on putting together an intimate event for social media influencers featuring a dinner and an acoustic set. We've got some really cool sponsors that are already interested, so it's just a matter of putting the pieces together. That is what Haley is good at, me not so much. 

We're also working on shooting a music video for my cover of "Lay Me Down" ft. James VIII. Tentatively, we'll be shooting on the 29th. So stay tuned for that video. I'm so excited about this cover. It's simple and beautiful. James also turned me on to Salt Lake City Music Con. It's a convention over the first weekend in February, and I may be doing a set there. I haven't heard back from them 100% yet, but once I do I'll post about it. 

Lastly, I'm always writing and working with other artists. I'll be featuring on or writing with Jenn Blosil, Frank Zoo, James The Mormon, and Hooligin within the coming weeks and months.

I'll be back next week with updates. Thanks for keeping me accountable everybody!

- J