The Next Barbara McClintock or Emmylou Harris?

So, I while ago added an entry called “POOP!” which relayed my frustration with myself for wasting my summer.  Since then I’ve pretty much turned my office into a home studio and I’ve actually started recording a few demos.  I’m almost done with one which is a cover of a folksy song my dad wrote a while ago.  I’ll add it when it’s done, of course.  

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the songs once I record them.  My plan I guess is to put them all together on one of those shiny, round spiny things, but I don’t know what my real plans are.  I’m not sure if I’m actually trying to pursue something here, or if this is just a very time consuming and somewhat expensive habit (like cocaine).  My next thought was to take some of my best recordings and send them to college radio stations and ask them to play them if they have local music hours or something like that, but I really don’t know what I’m doing.

I was talking to Big Baby Bryan a while ago after we saw the Duhks play about this sort of thing.  The Duhks are a relatively successful modern bluegrass/folky band, meaning I don’t think they have day jobs.  They are full-time musicians and they were even up for a Grammy.  They will probably never have commercial success like some shittier groups do, but they eat and clothe themselves being professional musicians.  I was wondering to Bryan if I had the chance to do that if I would.  I couldn’t stay in graduate school and tour as extensively as they do and I would probably always make less money than if I got a PhD level job.  And it isn’t even like I’m unhappy now.  I love doing science, but I probably love music more.  

Right now I think I’m going to record my stuff and promote as much as I can and deal with these problems when Sony comes a callin’.