Allen C. Paul's Blog, page 33

One Year Later: What We’ve Learned about Launching New Ideas

We’re taking a moment to celebrate our anniversary!

Our podcast is officially one year old, so to commemorate the occasion we invited a special guest host who is no stranger to God and Gigs. A singer and lover of all things creative, Lia Paul has been there since the beginning of the project, and also happens to be Allen’s wife. Together we break down the circumstances, setbacks and major milestones that helped launch our podcast and the overall movement that God and Gigs represents.

Throug...

Why being creative doesn’t equal being troubled

Pain. Struggle. Emotional Issues. Inner battles.

You can’t talk about famous creatives for long without one of these subjects coming up. We almost expect artistic greatness to be accompanied by great personal turmoil.

There’s a popular stereotype of musicians, artists and creatives being tortured souls. But is this the case? Is an artist who lives a drama-free life doomed to creating uninspiring art?

To answer this question, let’s look at three commonly held beliefs about creatives and see i...

Finding the Balance between Creative Consistency and Self-Care

As creatives, we form a lot of our identity and self-worth around being active and productive in our work. But there are times when we need to step back and recharge, even if that means losing a little artistic momentum. In this inspirational talk, we discuss why we sometimes feel guilty about taking time away from our creative work, and why emotional health and rest is a priority we can’t ignore.

See the original Instagram post we mentioned here.

Featured Patrons:

Dwayne Bennett saintorbin.c...

The Introverted Artist: 3 Keys to Maintaining your Peace in Public

The crowds. The attention. The spotlight.

Supposedly, these are the things performers and entertainers strive for. We attach our view of artistic success to the ability to command attention and harness the power of popularity.

But not every artist wants the spotlight.

Some performers don’t like the attention at all. Some would like nothing better than to be alone. They are the class of artists who are also introverts.

It’s true that the majority of artists – mostly those who perform live even...

Moving from Challenge to Confidence with Chris Cadenhead

Los Angeles based, Miami-born pianist, vocalist, and composer Chris Cadenhead has never been afraid to take on new challenges. As musical director of the legendary funk / disco group KC and the Sunshine Band, he’s traveled the world and performed for big audiences. However, he’s taken on other challenges to stretch his creative talents – producing his own music, scoring for TV and film, and moving across the country to restart his career in a new environment. In each instance he’s discovered...

5 Answers to Problems Every Creative Has to Handle

It’s not easy to face big obstacles as an artist. Often, our largest obstacles are not external. Rather, they are the ones that come from inside – our own fears, worries and doubts. When it comes to these kind of problems, getting advice from people who have been there is priceless.

We pinpointed five major issues every creative deals with:

Dealing with emotions; Dealing with tragedy; Dealing with competition; Dealing with opinions; Dealing with negative people.

To solve each of these pro...

The Six Ways Musicians Communicate on Stage [Encore Post]

Music is often called the universal language. However, in the midst of a performance, musicians need more than notes and phrases in order to get the message across to each other.

A live performance can change in a heartbeat, and in order to keep the performance intact, we have to communicate without stopping or interrupting the flow.

Over time, bands and ensembles have developed several ways to do this, some of which may seem strange to non-musicians.  Here are six methods we use to keep ever...

Rethinking Three Major Myths about Mentorships

Every artist wants to have experienced advisors – people in our field who can show us how to be successful. But are we honestly looking for the right kind of guidance? Or do we want someone who will pat us on the back and cheer us on without challenging us? 

In this episode, we discuss three myths about mentoring – myths that can prevent both the mentor and the mentee from developing an effective partnership.

While we all want mentors who believe in us and have our best interests at heart, i...

A Journey through a Creative Mind: “Creative Quest” by QuestLove [Audiobook]

This may be the first time that a book review begins with a warning.

Warning: this review of “Creative Quest”, authored by musician, producer, and cultural impresario Questlove, is based on the audiobook edition – not the print version.

Here’s why that disclaimer is necessary.

[image error]Questlove’s call to creatives near and far “Creative Quest” An Auditory Tour into the Mind of a Modern Renaissance Man

First, let’s consider the author / narrator. From his beginnings as a child born into a family of mu...

Keeping the Faith and Pursuing your Dream with Shonn Hinton

Can you work with the biggest artists in hip-hop, soul and R&B and still stay true to yourself and your beliefs? Musician, songwriter, composer, and arranger Shonn Hinton has toured with the biggest names in music – Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend just to name a few – but maintains a grounded perspective on faith and life despite having hit the big time. He is passionate about maintaining his spiritual foundation while pursuing his musical career, and has practical advice for any c...