The Summer.
Do you remember how hype you would get as a kid for that last day of school?
That is when I first recall setting up countdowns. Getting obsessed by the idea of reaching 0 DAYS left until we finally reached our last day of school.
A meme popped into my head last week, as the local kiddies are all beginning to wrap up school for the summer.
āLive life like itās the last day of school.ā - Wylde Bunch.
What were the things that had you most excited as a kid to do over your summer vacation?
SUMMER VACAY
On an incredibly warm day like today (June 16th) here in Michigan it is hard to believe it already isnāt technically summer. With the first day of summer aka the summer solstice landing on Tuesday, June 21st.
During the summers I cannot sleep. Perhaps itās a result of that apartment AC unit that is on the other side of the unit in the living room, rather than in the bedroom. š„µDuring the summers perhaps I have never really been able to sleep. Except at odd hours.
Perhaps itās a result of excitement of all the possible things we can do in the summer.
I am choosing to treat this summer as I would as a kid. How to activate that sense of play one has a kid to their everyday life? Meanwhile, making sure I take care of myself on a daily basis.
Right now with the present state of affairs: aka markets of all sorts crashing (crypto especially, HODL friends), rising costs (aka inflation) and a genuine uncertainty as to where the future will lead us in this post-COVID world.
How to reclaim that sense of excitement we had as kids to our summers, in a time of so much uncertainty? We still have to tend to our adulting duties.. paying bills and working to earn that pay for our bills.
However, I want to ask you this question: what did we really enjoy about the summers as kids? What can we really enjoy about this coming summer?
As adults we seemingly have weekend after weekend booked. Whereas, when you are a kid you never really had the recognition of what was happening when, you kind of just went along with your parents plans. The weekends of summer are surely where a lot of the magic occurs, but we cannot forget about the best part about our summer vacations.
The most beautiful part about summer vacation was the opportunity you had to do whatever you felt like Monday - Friday.
Especially considering that there was no longer a person telling what to complete, what you should be working onā¦ etc. It was up to you and solely you.
If you wanted to stay up to 3AM you could. If you wanted to sleep until noon you could. If you wanted to game all day. Eat Junk food all night. Play outside all day you could. If you wanted to binge read a book you could. If you wanted to play your piano you could.
Long story short: you could do whatever the hell you wanted Monday - Friday.. for a period of about 3 months.
This is that point I am at now, especially considering my debut album is out. I almost feel like with the publishing of HEALTH INSURANCE, it was akin to me graduating from my freelance graduate school. Itās time to embrace my summer vacation!
āTis The Season Of Booking Flights
So what does a musician do in the summer after releasing their album?
Well - a good starting point is in sharing this music with others. Ideally instead of doing this online (which I have done solely the last two years) there comes a time when I need to make the investment in myself in traveling and bringing this music to others IRL (in real life).
Hereās the point of the newsletter where I am going to attempt to rationalize the investment of booking flights for a couple of events that I am going to be a part of this summer.
Yesterday, I made the decision to finally open a new credit card I received in the mail after waiting 3-4 weeks to do so. In finally doing this, I made a further commitment to not only my music, but more importantly an investment in myself as Iām going to use the card solely for travel expenses.
But first Iāll admit something: I have been on less than 10 flights in my life.
So booking a flight in general is still a HUGE deal to me. To be honest, itās something that terrifies me.
The whole process stresses me: booking the flight, driving to the airport, getting to where I need to go for my flight, whereas the part I feel weirdly most relieved is when we are actually flying on and in the air in the plane.
With as much fear thatās involved in flying, I still get immensely excited by the opportunity to engage with an area of the world I have never been in.
FLIGHT 1: A ROOFTOP BASH IN NYC.
I booked my first flight of the summer. An end of July trip to NYC. To meet up with some of the DJDAO crew. A crew in which I have been fortunate to link up with twice in the beautiful cities of: Detroit and Denver after meeting a lot of them originally online.
We are experimenting with the notion of what weād like our group to be, so we decided a great way for us to gather together is in throwing a rooftop bash in the city where we have the most amount of members: New York City baby!!
A fun fact for readers of mine that are based in the Detroit area: flights to NYC are half the price of flights to LA. Just a note for further reference if you are deciding which entertainment hub youād rather visit.
I am excited to be able to explore Brooklyn as the time in which I had previously visited the city (once before) I really only was able to check out Manhattan. Leaving the city thoroughly impressed by the density of historic landmarks.
Regardless, this trip feels like an incredible chance to further ideate and continue thinking about the ways DJDAO can further get booked as a group, test out throwing our inaugural party, become a DJ alliance, etcā¦ as well as explore a city I havenāt experienced yet.
As well as letās be honest, a great chance to perform before an audience of people I have yet to perform in front of! Time for me to work on more original music for my set, as well as continue to curate some funky ones :)
FLIGHT 2: FWB FEST.
I want to preface this by stating I have never been to California.
I have always read and dreamed about the golden state as depicted heavily in Americaās entertainment sphere. Plus to be honest, I have studied the area quite a bit being fascinated by the eclectic tech diaspora they have built in the greater bay area AKA Silicon Valley.
However, I have never been there. I guess I never have had the reason to go.
UNTIL NOW.
This summer, as I shared last week. I was asked to DJ a two hour set for FWB Fest.
FWB Fest: a first time festival located in Idyllwild, Californiaā¦ Held from August 12th - August 14th. Needless to say, I jumped at this opportunity as itāll give me the chance to meet so many of the great people within FWB I have been working with over the past year.
This newsletter is a catalyst for me to take action. So I booked a second flight on the same day, I was supposed to press publish on this newsletter (June 16th).
I booked a flight to Los Angeles! Which is about two hours or so away from the city of Idyllwild. Luckily, Iāll be crashing with a good friend who is also an aspiring musician and we may even try our hands at making a Folk House track?? Because why the hell not?
Booking this flight for the length I decided to gives me a chance to explore the city of Los Angeles, while also giving the space and time to make it for FWB Fest. If you are LA-based hit my line and I can give you the specific dates Iāll be there.
I am also looking for these trips to be a great chance to make friends, find collaborators within the music industry, get connected with more creative types to continue building out my dreams in becoming a musician.
POWER OF COUNTDOWNS
In order to publish this post, I established the urgency in booking these plane tickets so I didnāt allow this to become too expensive as I have done previously with other trips.
There were three countdowns I have established since releasing my debut album two weeks ago. These are typically written at the top of each page I write everyday in my personal journal.
One for a trip to New York City to visit my fellow DJDAO crew and throw a rooftop bash at one of our membersā rooftops.
The second countdown is leading up until FWB Fest.
The third and most important countdown, is an outrageous goal I set for myself after attending Movement in Downtown Detroit.
Naturally, I was amazed by the experience of Movement at Hart Plaza and am determined to play there specifically at the waterfront stage in less than 4 years.
Yes I have set the outrageous goal of playing at the waterfront stage of Movement at Hart Plaza when I turn the age of 30.
How long is it until then?
Wonderful question. As of this morning (June 17th, 2022), Movement 2026 is 1,437 short days away.
You bet your sweet self that this is now my main focus for the upcoming years.
Deciding on a goal of headling a particular festival.. what does this mean for the time in between?
Well - first and foremost, it means I have to continue to get my reps in on a consistent basis as not only a DJ, but also as a producer.
So remind meā¦
What is the summer for?
The summer is for:
taking a chance on the things you are passionate about.
giving yourself the requisite space for relaxation.
celebrating with family and friends.
share the work you are incredibly proud of.
booking flights to places you have never been.
putting yourself out there and step back from your computer, smart phone, and legitimately connect with others and the real world.
letting all of the URL hype transition into IRL hype.
I am ready to put myself out there as the best version of myself.
I am ready to continue taking a chance on myself, and I suggest you dear reader to do the same.
We are all capable of something so much larger than ourselves.
Most importantly, connect with those that believe in you. Invest your time in those who you believe in as well.
Keep living life like itās the last day of school and spend as much time as you can on the things you believe in. Donāt lose that sense of wonder you had as a kid as you approach your summer plans.
ANTICIPATE A NEW BARTYDARTY mix coming soon, this will be Volume 10! Time flies by when you are having fun. Follow me on SoundCloud to mentally prepare yourself.
Cheers to what will amount to a very exciting summer.
Cheers to lifelong learning,
Adam Bartley