Thinking Legibly
Barron Ryan
'Writing' photo by jeffrey james pacres
I was talking with a close friend from high school a few months ago, just catching him up on what all had happened since we last talked. So—classic me—I told him about how my music was going. I explained how Keyboard Confidential had been pretty successful, but that I needed a way for potential hosts to see what the experience was like before deciding to have one themselves.
And that's how I got started talking about Declassified, which I hoped would solve that problem while also making it possible for friends, acquaintances, or complete strangers to hear me perform. And that got me going on how I wanted to make the concert something that anyone—regardless of their musical knowledge—could enjoy, which is why I incorporate stories, a slideshow, and questions from the audience into the show. And then I went off on how I wanted to make attendance accessible while still expecting the audience to give something of value in exchange for the concert, which is why admission is either $10 or a share on social media (or both, if you insist).
At some point my friend stopped me and asked, "Do you journal or blog or anything?" No, I don't. Why? "It just seems like you have a reason behind everything you're doing, and it'd be cool to see what those reasons are." And that got me thinking.
There were plenty of reasons not to blog. I didn't have time. My website made it clunky. I didn't want to. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that blogging would not only help me sort through the issues I face as musician, but it could also help other artists in their quests to become more highly valued in their communities.
So this blog will feature posts about whatever I've been pondering, working through, and wondering. I hope it's of some value to you, and if it is, please let me know. Also, if there's a part of what I do that you'd like to know more about, let me know that too. And if there's literally nobody out there reading this, that's okay. It'll do me some good to try thinking legibly.