Are you a "Mardy Bum?"

Hi there!

Do you find that you have times when you are being irritable with everyone around you? You know you're doing it, but find it almost impossible to stop yourself? A lot of people in the music industry,(and me too!!), tell me that they have days when no matter how much they try to stop themselves, they are almost biting the heads off everyone around them! You too huh?!!

If you are not familiar with the term, Mardy Bum - it has now been immortalised by the fantastic Arctic Monkeys' song "Mardy Bum" from their album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not".

But what is a 'mardy bum'? Do you display 'mardy bumness' within your music career? And how can you stop being one?

Mardy is a word that describes someone who is: sulky, in a bad mood, being stroppy, grumpy, tetchy, irritable etc. They usually look as bad as they feel and people will say, "What's up with him? - he's got a right face on!" meaning that he looks really mardy.

Most of my clients tell me that they either display 'mardy bumness' themselves or they certainly come across others who do! How does this manifest? Artist Managers will tell me that the artists they represent are 'difficult' and become 'mardy' leading up to a live gig or before an interview, for example. Artists themselves have said they become mardy before going into a studio to record or when they are trying to write a song by a specific deadline and can't find the right words or they just feel the pressure of a huge music schedule. Unfortunately the impact of you being mardy is that everyone around you finds it hard to talk to you and feel like they are walking on eggshells around you.

Of course mardy bumness isn't confined to just artists, but extends to everyone involved in the music industry - managers, producers, A & R personnel, studio managers, publishers, promoters, booking agents - you name them, they get mardy!

However, most people don't get mardy just for the sake of it - there is usually an underlying reason for it. So what is this mardy bumness all about? It's about your stress, your pressure, your loss of confidence, your lack of self-belief, your feelings of insecurity. The problem is, is that most people don't realise what is happening to them and certainly don't know how to communicate their feelings of stress etc and so it inevitably comes out through being mardy.

Using the example of an unsigned artist being mardy before going to into the recording studio for the first time, take a look at the following tips to help you stop being mardy in the future:

Tip 1: Take 5 minutes to look at the underlying issues. What is the root cause of you feeling mardy? Try to be as honest with yourself as possible. This is not always an easy exercise to undertake and can take several questions to yourself to tease out what exactly is causing you to behave in a mardy way.

E.g. Your internal dialogue might go something like this: What are you feeling right now? "Anxious". What is causing this anxiety? "I'm nervous of going into the recording studio". What is it about the recording studio that makes you feel anxious? "I don't know what to expect and I'm frightened of making mistakes and the engineer and/or producer thinking that I can't sing or play and that I'm rubbish and stupid!"

Bingo! You now have the root cause of your mardy bumness! You are worried what other people in the music industry might think of you and your work, which can be interpreted as a lack of confidence or self-belief.

Tip 2: Take a look at the evidence. Having got to the root cause of you being mardy, you can now take a closer look at the issue itself and see what evidence you have to substantiate it.

E.g. How much preparation have you undertaken before this moment of going into the recording studio? "Loads". What feedback have you had from other people about you and your songs? "It's all been very positive so far".

Please expand on this and write down exactly what you have done so far to make you ready to record your first song(s), alongside examples of the positive feedback you have received.

You have:

• written the 4 songs to be recorded - both music and lyrics and know them off by heart.
• rehearsed each morning and night for the last 3 months to make the songs tight.
• performed 12 gigs to live audiences in your local area - who have loved my work.
• now got a fan base of 1,000 people on your mailing list and this is constantly rising
• and so on…………….

So, what makes you think that performing these songs in a studio will be any different from you rehearsing or performing live in front of an audience? "There isn't any difference really".

And what makes you think that the 1,000 people on your mailing list are wrong, against 2 people in the recording studio who may or may not like your music - after all who is your audience? "Hmm. I see what you mean".

Tip 3: Communicating your fears. There is no shame in sharing your worries with those around you or even with those you fear the most! Rather that than staying the mardy bum whom no-one likes. This way, you will find that the majority of people will go out of their way to help you, reassure you and guide you.

E.g. Your dialogue with the engineer/producer might go something like this: "Hi, pleased to meet you, I'm xxxxx, I've never been in a recording studio before and don't know the drill, but I'm really wanting to make the most of this session with you and so would be very grateful for your guidance".

Make sure that whilst speaking that you have good eye contact and that you smile when introducing yourself. Also, from here on in, listen very carefully to everything they tell you and act on it, take an interest in what they do and ask them questions - they will love you for it - and it builds good working relationships with them - it will even make them more open to liking your music!

I hope this example will help you to work on some of your own issues that make you mardy, but if you are finding it hard to deal with yourself, I may be able to help you. Just send me an email to request a free consultation and let me know when and to whom you are being a mardy bum and I'll promise not to quote any more Arctic Monkeys songs at you!

So, have you conquered your mardy bumness?

With very best wishes,

Bravura Group
helping you brave the music industry

http://www.bravura-group.com

t: 01246 231 249 / 0845 456 460
e: lindsey@bravura-group.com

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I work with signed and unsigned artists and personnel working in the Music Industry who want to become more productive, creative and ultimately more successful in their music careers, whilst enjoying a more enriched, fulfilling and balanced personal life.

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