Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bill Rotella. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Bill, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Growing up in a family of successful musicians undoubtedly influenced my work ethic. I was fortunate to witness the discipline needed to begin and complete and then record and release my songs. I just released my 15th album, “The Big Picture Fits In A Little Frame” (streaming now). I don’t think these albums would have been written and released without the influence of my family. Interestingly, I didn’t really know how cool it was or fully comprehend the “gift” of my family until later in my career. I might be guilty of taking them for granted. I actually remember singing at an outdoor concert 10 years ago, after my parents and uncle had passed, and for the first time I looked to the heavens and actually thanked them all. I still do today. I wasn’t completely unaware. I knew my father wrote songs for the best crooners. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, etc. and he played with Zappa and recorded with Steely Dan, etc. I knew my Uncle arranged and wrote music for the Glenn Miller band including the hit songs “String of Pearls”, “Chatanooga Choo Choo ,etc. I knew it…I just didn’t fully recognize that their blood was my blood and it was really the fuel that drove me to keep writing..and writing. I was never told that practice and repeatedly doing something will help you excel at it. I simply watched it happen. I saw success become the outcome of religiously practicing. However, I also became very aware of the flip side of a good work ethic. I knew musicians who were very talented but not very driven or motivated.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My business, being that I am a singer-songwriter, is to write my own songs and to perform them. I also record my songs in my studio, and other studios, and release them on physical copies (vinyl and CD) and on streaming sites. My new album “The Big Picture Fits In A Little Frame” was recently released and is now streaming on all platforms. I also learn and perform my favorite songs by other artists. I consider myself very fortunate to share something that all people love and I enjoy watching people’s reactions when they hear songs and music they like.
As a singer- songwriter I have the opportunity to put words to music. This is something I really enjoy. I like stringing words and thoughts together and putting them to music. I travel a lot and journal my thoughts and experiences. They often become new songs. When I listen years later those songs remind me of those journeys. And that is the beauty of music. It helps us remember specific chapters in our lives.
I play acoustic and electric guitar, piano, ukulele and harmonica. After many years in bands, I have recently returned to my troubadour roots. I have developed my own brand. I choose to not use the many technological “advances” available for performers today such as iPads, loops and backing trax, etc. I wanted to create a stage show for my audience where what they see is what they get. I want nothing between them and me. It has led to many people asking me how I remember all the words to so many songs. Or how I can play harmonica while finger picking a guitar.
I tell them it’s no different than what other people do to learn or master their craft. I practice. And I memorize lyrics because I want my audience to see me seeing them.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The music business is very competitive. There are so many good musicians, singers and bands. But most bands don’t last long. I was fortunate to be in one band (Dakota) for 27 years and I am still fortunate to work with the same recording engineer for the last 18 years. These relationships are successful because of communication skills. We voice what we like and what we don’t like respectively and honestly. Communicating and listening to each other is an essential skill if individuals want to make music collectively. I made the decision to manage my own career both as a soloist/performer and as an independent recording artist. This means I have to negotiate fees, crunch numbers, write contracts and documents and learn different ways to the say the same thing with different agents and venues. Literacy skills are very helpful.
I have found that learning songs by other artists is a knowledge that can help with my own songwriting. It opens my ears to new chord changes, interesting instrumentation and fresh production ideas. With today’s advanced studio technology it is easy to over produce music. I was recently reminded that less is more while learning a classic song from the ‘70’s. It will be a useful lesson on my next album. I would suggest to young songwriters to learn their favorite cover song and try to discover what it is about that song and production that they like the most and then apply it to their song.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I am an avid reader. I like reading biographies and I especially like reading music biographies. I am interested in learning how the great songwriters harness their passion and how they navigate this challenging and crazy music business. What inspires them? How do they deal with songwriting hurdles, indifferent audiences, personal struggles, etc? How did they create balance in their lives…and did they? You can learn a lot from the road travelled by others. I also enjoy reading spiritual books. They help me with my personal growth. They have helped me overcome hardships and to manifest opportunities. When I was in college I was assigned “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”. This book got me interested in my own personal growth. It led me to read books by many authors, including Wayne Dyer. I started gathering and journaling nuggets from Dyer, and others, such as: “As you think so shall you be”, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”, “Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him” and many others. And, when I read the poetry of Rumi, “let the beauty of what you love be what you do”, it was like a giant life and career affirmation.
Thank you for this opportunity to share and reflect on my musical journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: billrotellamusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/billrotellamusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/brotellamusic
- Youtube: @BillRotella
