In this solo episode by Will, let's kick off the year in style and run down a highlight from every 2022 episode. Each highlight involves Cory teaching a lesson to, lighting a fire under, or provoking new thoughts from Will. We cover five episodes in under 20 minutes.

• From Ep. 1 - Establishing a level of care (1:18),
• Ep. 2 - Comparing venues (5:35),
• Ep. 3 - Cory didn't have any recording experience (10:20),
• Ep. 4 - Being in control vs. being picked (12:44),
• Ep. 5 - Does Oliver Gannon need to apply to the jazzfest? (15:45).

In this episode:

• Cory went to Pittsburgh, went on tour with Michael Weiss, and brought Jeremy Pelt out here for some big gigs (00:51),
• The venue incident (11:43),
• When people say "We can't make a living as full-time musicians in this city" (25:29),
• Not saying yes right away (0:32:04),
• The power of the checklist and setting up venue promotions (35:41),
• What you need to know when you apply to jazz festivals in Canada (43:21),
• Best-of-2022 highlight: Does Oliver Gannon need to apply to the jazzfest? (46:51)
• Getting nominated for the Grammys won't change your life, and no gig is career-changing (56:43).

In this episode:

• Cory doesn’t know half the people in the house when he emcees Frankie’s, and interest in live gigs is up! (4:50),
• Is the Cellar Music label releasing too many albums? (9:00),
• Why monthly listeners is a bad statistic for comparing artists (22:35),
• The “keeping the lights on” view of social media (27:25),
• The danger of having multiple names for your projects / bands on streaming platforms (32:55),
• First question: Music grant organizations to follow as a Canadian musician in BC (38:15)
• What’s it like being on a grant jury? (44:05),
• Best-of-2022 highlight: Being in control vs. being picked (48:24),
• When you get rejected, it’s so often circumstantial, and so rarely a judgment on you (49:35),
• Second question: Thoughts on being a brand and branding for musicians (58:42).

Links:

• FACTOR Artist Development grant: how I won it twice - Will's two applications to the program
• Juried Sound Recording program: FACTOR
• Explore and Create: Canada Council - Includes Research and Creation, as well as Concept to Realization, programs
• Amplify BC Career Development grant
• Music BC Travel Grants
• What is the Spotify monthly listener figure? - Will's breakdown of what the often-misunderstood stat means
• Legibility - Will's Rhythm Changes Update on what happens when you have many streaming profiles with slightly different names for your group