There is this idea that if you just make great stuffif youre authentic and coolit will just happen.
For me, one of those crises of faith came in 2015.
It wasnt about my own writing; in fact, I was on a bit of a streak.
Kaizen Nguyễn
The documentary opens with the band celebrating its 22ndyear as a group.
I remember watching the Super Bowl on TV in high school and seeing them in a commercial.
They had never sold out, they had always made good music.
They had started when they were in high school and stayed together the whole time.
They toured constantly and never took their fans for granted.
The band was having financial problems.
It was like the reverse of a Springsteen song.
How the hell does that happen?
I wanted to know, if only for myself.
Yet here was MxPx, a band that had been in the game for two decades, suffering.
Were they a cautionary tale?
Was the same thing going to happen to me?Could it happen to you?
Mike explained to me about why he didnt regret any of the adversity the band had faced.
He quoted Tom Petty to me: Hey, baby, there aint no easy way out.
There is no easy way in, or out.Prepare now for the obstacles and the sacrifices and the difficulties.
Because they are coming.
Its still selling seven years after release.
He also wrote a book calledWhat The Plus?
Google Plus For The Rest Of Us.
Which book do you think has a better chance of enduring?
Theres too much competition, first off.
Second, the hype obscures whether there is realistic long-term potential.
Its better to be unique anywaytheres less competition.
The months and years and decades fall away.
The Sistine Chapel took four years just to paint; the planning and the building took even longer.
Matthew Weiner mused on the idea forMad Menfor years after first writing it down.
Even finishing the first episode was not the endor even the halfway pointbecause no one wanted the show.
Its exhausting, its slower than you want it to be…but you dont have a choice.
There is this idea that if you just make great stuffif youre authentic and coolit will justhappenfor you.
No one buys it.
A great artist has to know to make great work and find ways of marketing that great work.
Marketing is your job.
It cant be passed on to someone else.
There is no magical firmnot even minewho can take it totally off your hands.
The same is true for the artist.
Very similar music, very similar themes.
So much of success comes down to luck.
Signing with this label over that one.
Making this decision or that one.
Being in the zone on this night with the right person in the audience.
As Nassim Taleb puts it, Hard work will get you a professorship or a BMW.
You need both work and luck for a Booker, a Nobel, or a private jet.
All we can control is how close we get ourselves to the high base camp.
Then luck takes over after that.
He is at a dinner honoring the band.
A young agent comes up to him and says how much he admires his skillful work in the industry.
The manager looks at him and says, HA!
You think I am in the music business?
Im in the IronfuckingMaidenbusiness.
Not building a big mansion for yourself.
Artists that get distracted by fame or silly hobbies are setting themselves up for a fall.
The same goes artists who copy other artists.
All youre doing is seeking out competition…on purpose!
Do you…youre the only one who can.
Thats who your fans want you to be too.
The platformthe audience you own and love and serveis everything to an artist.
Its essential that the artist manage or oversee all this.
Because if you dont care, who will?
It cant be, as Lady Gaga warned, Thanks for buying my record, fuck you.
Your relationship with your fans must be more than transactional.
It must be deeper.
It should be for life.
As I said,their new music videois a wonderful testament to the power of what art can be.
And I saw it, first hand.
The owner of the store recognized him.
They talked about how the groups long career.
The owner beamed, knowing his store had played a small role in it.
Then the owners son came out and began to gush: Youre Mike Herrera!
I have all your records!
Mike, out for an ordinary afternoon walk, had bumped into the multigenerational impact of his work.
Hed met a living, breathing embodiment of his perennial success.
Thats the truly fortunate part of being able to do creative work for a living.
Its the best goddamn job in the world.
