Hi, my name’s Kevin and I really hate you.

I only say that because bad first impressions usually lead to the best friendships. So now can we forget about our awful introduction and be friends (for real: follow the Chasing the Sky Facebook page and find me).

So the kind folks on the Lanthorn editorial staff asked me to write a weekly blog about the ups and downs of playing in a moderately successful indie rock band called Chasing the Sky.

Let me make one thing clear – the idea that being in a band means bags of cash and lots of girls tossing their bras at you is a complete misconception (unless you’re Jared Leto – if I had a bra, I’d throw it at that guy).

Oftentimes, being a musician is miserable. Not homework-on-a-Friday-night miserable, but more like locked-in-a-five-foot-by-five-foot-room-with-Barbara-Streisand miserable.

Ninety-percent of the time, the music industry is an unrewarding bitch. Despite the fact that Chasing the Sky has made some outstanding accomplishments (placements in movies, commercials, and even a Glee/Chevrolet-sponsored 2011 Super Bowl promo), we still find ourselves playing to clubs with fifteen people in the room. We still struggle to make enough cash to travel out of town, let alone record a new album. We still consider a day when we get 50 plays on our Facebook music player a really freaking good day.

But there’s one thing about the art of music that keeps us pressing onward, no matter how hard the road may be – obscene amounts of alcohol and hard drugs (oh hold on, I think I have a nose bleed).

No, I kid. What I really mean is it’s all about the small victories. It’s about a complete stranger emailing us to say our song “Satellites” helped him in his recovery from losing the love of his life. It’s about seeing three girls we’ve never met dancing in front of the stage to our radio single. It’s about the tears in my father’s eyes when he hears an acoustic demo of a song I wrote about my deceased grandfather. It’s about giving a free album to a girl who’s crying in front of a bar, and watching her wipe her tears away and smile.

Because that’s what music is really about – the way it makes people feel happy, sentimental, nostalgic, angry, or contemplative.

It’s also about the great friends it brings. We’ve met so many musicians who toil just as hard or harder than we do, for the same little rewards (see: Christopher Andrus, JuxTApose, Wires and Lights, Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts, The Crane Wives and Star Destroyer). So show them some love. Then you can tell your friends you met them before they won a Grammy.

By the way, I really am sorry about what I said about you in that first paragraph. I think I’ve taken a liking to you. This really could be the start of a great friendship. Now find me on Facebook and let’s get to know each other.

Follow Chasing the Sky at www.facebook.com/chasingthesky or www.twitter.com/chasingskymusic.

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