We were lucky to catch up with Larry Butler recently and have shared our conversation below.
All right, so we’re so thrilled to have Larry with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I must have gotten my work ethic from my parents. Both of my parents worked their way through college – my father in a white-collar job and my mother taught piano. They were both well-read and well-spoken and instilled those pursuits into me and my brothers from an early age. So naturally, I worked my way through college playing keyboards in bar bands at night and proofing and editing other student’s papers. After college, I moved from Ohio to Los Angeles, looking for new opportunities. When joining a band thing and a career in advertising copywriting didn’t pan out, I pivoted and started tour managing bands for a few years. But when the opportunity presented itself to run the touring department at a major record label, I did that for twenty years. Then when people stopped buying records, I pivoted to music publishing and then to artist management. A few years ago, I moved to Nashville to coach aspiring singer/songwriters. I’ve even written a book on the subject. But then the pandemic hit and live music went on a couple-year hiatus; so I pivoted again to a wholly different opportunity where I could work sequestered from home – proofing and editing books online. Now that the live music business is coming back, I’m keeping one foot in each camp, coaching and editing, and keeping my eyes and ears open for new opportunities, just in case. I’ve never stopped working, but I’ve always done things I loved to do.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am in the enviable position of having three simultaneous and somewhat intertwined freelance gig careers: Singer/Songwriter Live Performance Coach, Author of two books on the subject of Live Performance and Entertainment, and Online Book Proofreader and Editor. Not so coincidentally, they’re the only three areas I know anything about.
I performed in bar bands for ten years, then tour manager for five years, and twenty years running the touring department at a major LA record label. All that time, I took mental notes along the way as to which live performances were entertaining and which ones weren’t. I put those observations into a self-published book on Amazon, and moved to Nashville, the only place in the US (and maybe the world) that can rightfully claim the title of Music City. My process involves taking singer/songwriters from basic performing to the rarified air of entertaining. After all, the big prize at the Nashville awards shows is Entertainer of the Year, so why not pursue that? And when you think about it, what could be more fun? Seriously.
As previously mentioned, once the pandemic kicked in, my thoughts weren’t decrying it, but rather accepting the situation and figuring out what I could do to fill up my days since the live music biz had shut down. It had to be something I could do from home at varying hours, but seven days a week, as there was really nowhere to go otherwise. I hit upon an old skill – proofreading and editing – and, as luck and tech would have it, one can now can perform those skills online!
Since the clubs have started up again, what could be better than to spend my days reading books and my nights critiquing live shows?
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Here’s a quote from Wilbur Wright, one half of the Wright Brothers, who were from my hometown, Dayton, Ohio. “If I were giving a young person advice as to how they might succeed in life, I would say to them: Pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio.”
The three qualities/skills/areas of knowledge that have been, to this day, the most impactful have been my love of reading, writing, and entertaining music performance – all three of which I “inherited” from my parents. In the evenings, my father would sit in his high-backed comfy chair and read while my mother would play piano and occasionally sing. And I soaked it all up and took it all in.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
In addition to espousing everything Eckhart Tolle has to say in A New Earth, I have always instinctively followed a personal philosophy to take advantage of all opportunities in life, but only recently did I have that outlook confirmed in a book by Lebanese philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb entitled The Black Swan. In it, among other things, he points out that the most meaningful things in life are the ones you didn’t see coming. His lesson is to not have a five-year plan or whatever because something or someone else is going to come along and, if you’re paying attention, you may start out on a new and better path or career or relationship. The worst thing you can do is to follow your five-year plan with blinders on and ignore things that come out of left field that seemingly have nothing to do with your plan. Those things, Taleb says, could be way better than what you think you know. My experience is that those left-field things are not only unknown to you, often they are unbelievable! Be curious! Check out every opportunity before dismissing it out of hand.
Here’s what I tell my singer/songwriter clients: There are great opportunities everywhere. But first you have to be prepared. I can’t make you a star – but I can get you ready to become one when the opportunity presents itself. And that opportunity often comes out of left field. So you have to be ready. Learn! Study! Read! Practice! Perform! And whatever comes along, say YES to it. You never know.
Contact Info:
- Website: My performance coaching site is: www.diditmusic.com
My proofing and editing site is: https://www.larrybutlerproofingediting.com/ - Other: I can be reached directly by emailing: larry@diditmusic.com
Image Credits
All photos by Larry Butler
