View All Students
Emily Burns
The DIY artists of 2011. No, these artists (The Black Keys and The Civil Wars) did not start fresh in the music biz in 2011 but rather their careers came to great turning points in 2011. Thanks to these great strides, they're now both on top of their game and couldn't ask for much more-career wise. They couldn't possibly be more different from each other; one's an alternative rock/blues-based band the other is a folk/americana duo but both have so many things in common with one another.
Both are artists that I recently discovered and began listening to this past year. Before that point in time, I had heard of The Black Keys but had never taken the time to listen to them. As I now know, The Black Keys have been performing and releasing albums since 2001. As far as The Civil Wars go, they haven't been around as a group much longer than a couple of years but before that, both members were actually professional songwriters for years that worked for record companies writing songs for other artists. This past year, The Black Keys went from theatre tours to selling out Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes and The Civil Wars went from under the radar folk duo to winning two grammy's and working with T-Bone Burnett and Taylor Swift. So why do I keep yammering on about both these artists you ask?? Because discovering their stories of what their lives were like prior to "hitting the big time" has shown me that even some artists who may seem like they 'have it all' have ALSO 'been through it all'! You name it-bad gigs, bashing by critics or fans, hard times, bad managers/booking agents/team members, etc...THEY'VE BEEN THERE! I'm not about to sit here and give you specific examples from each of their individual career stories as that would make for an extremely long blog but I will give you links below to a couple of great articles about each individual group where you can go to read a little bit about them for yourself. So to make a long story short, let's just say that learning of the path's each of these now prolific artists has had to take continues to solidify my belief that through A TON of perserverance and hard work, just about anything is possible! Why am I telling you this? Because I know there are a million other DIY artists out there that at some point or another have felt like everything they're doing is wrong, or feel as though they're constantly running into a brick wall, or are just losing hope of ever being able to find a way to do what they love-I've been there myself many times. But these stories, for me, were a great reminder that beyond the big piles of hooey that may feel as though they are constantly getting in your way will eventually be a clearing that will lead you to where you want to be. Never give up!!
Till next time....
E
Black Keys Rolling Stone article: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-rise-of-the-black-keys-20120215
Civil Wars Billboard article: http://www.billboard.com/features/the-civil-wars-billboard-cover-story-1006419952.story#/features/the-civil-wars-billboard-cover-story-1006419952.story
