The Working Artist column by MAC L
AN ARTIST’S WORK IS NEVER DONE, especially when that artist works a full-time job in order to be able to afford the tedious ingredients required to make it in this industry. Everyone wants to succeed as an artist, but do you really know what it takes to make it? I would tell you, but I haven’t made it yet. I can tell you this, though: IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. There’s no way around it. Money controls the world, and if you can’t make money, you’re better off dead. Artists should be among the first to understand this. Historically speaking, artists have always been screwed out of pay. Why? Because they didn’t understand the business, and the business is designed so that the artist is the first person to pay and the last to get paid. Artists must pay for recording, production, promotion, rhyme books, pens and pencils, weed, liquor, court costs and anything else that allows an artist to even try to prevail. So yeah, money is a pretty big deal. How can we get this money? Not out of our asses, and if you don’t have rich parents or a lot of generous friends, you gotta get it from somewhere. Selling drugs is worse than minimum wage unless you’re a kingpin, so a 9-5 is necessary. Unfortunately, when you get a job, you’re faced with one of the two main issues regarding a job and a career. Either you’re not making enough to support your career and survive, or your job will not give you enough time (work/life balance, as they call it) for you to make the necessary
City, MTMC Should Swap Land OUR COMMUNITY HAS ENJOYED incredible growth over the last 30 years, and I understand why people move here. If I wasn’t born here I would have moved here. The wisdom and forethought of the residents in the planning and development of the area is one reason our town is attractive not only to those wishing to move here but to long-time residents as well. It is time to put that wisdom and forethought to use again in deciding the fate of the large, vacant lot where MTMC once stood. I live in the neighborhood of the old hospital site so I have a dog in this hunt, but I have always subscribed to the notion that community development should benefit the most people in the most cost-effective way, and I believe I have come up with a way to accomplish this as it concerns the old hospital property. Here is my vision. The entire property should be acquired by the city/ county/state/nonprofit or some combination thereof. (I will explain how later on.) The present Bell Street Surgicenter could become a new city/county library befitting a city/county of our size. The same facility is large enough to provide a permanent home for the state archives currently housed at MTSU, thus giving the state an incentive to get involved in the transaction. A museum and other nonprofit archive uses are other attractive options. Parking is already in place with a three-story garage across the street and parking lots all around the area. The new facilities would be in easy walking distance of Central Magnet School, Campus School, Bradley Academy,
moves to advance your career. And I bet your job won’t let you listen to instrumentals and freestyle or write rhymes on the job. If your job lets you do that, that’s not a job. That’s a career. I remember working a third-shift job and having a show to play the same night. My job wouldn’t give me the night off so I wound up doing the show, but having to immediately leave afterward, forcing myself to miss the important opportunity to interact with my new fans and ultimately establish my presence with a lasting effect. That night did damage to my ego, because I was treated with so much acclaim that I was featured in a local paper, but that same night, I was treated like shit at the night job. That’s how it is, though. When you spend more time at your job than at the studio, or on a stage, your pride takes a dive. The worst thing is that it is too easy to get complacent and never see the light at the end of the tunnel, or you do see that light only to find out that it’s an oncoming train. If you’re truly dedicated to your career, you should not have to work a regular job just to be able to get yourself out there. That’s not how it is, though, and you don’t want to be a leech, so this is seen as the only way unless you have some really good friends, family and/ or connections. The time you lose at your job can never be given back, so if you see yourself with a 9-5 trying to build yourself a career, it’s best that you have a plan. Your time is valuable, and you know your worth. Most likely, your job is not giving you what you’re worth, but you have no choice. So what do you do? Have a plan, take some time to breathe and observe the game, and treat every move like it could be your last.
Holloway, Hobgood Elementary, MTSU and the public square among other places. The rest of the area could be used for a green space and park for people to enjoy. A nice bandshell could be constructed at the opposite end of the property for musical events for use by schools, independent artists, the city (JazzFest, Friday nights), theater groups, etc. The potential for growth in tourism is obvious and it is a fact that tourism is one of the best ways to generate revenue for the city and county coffers. The opportunities for the community with this acquisition are great. So how do we get it? The land that the new Middle Tennessee Medical Center is built on was purchased from the city of Murfreesboro, and the city still owns land all around the new hospital. Since MTMC still owns the old hospital property and the Bell Street Surgicenter property, it seems reasonable that the city could do some bartering or trading, exchanging property for property in a situation where everyone involved would win: MTMC would acquire property for the future; the city would acquire property and much needed infrastructure and could get out of the land business; and the taxpayer would gain an incredible asset to the community at minimal cost. Additional sources to help achieve this goal could be investigated such as the county, state, federal grants and nonprofit organizations such as the Christy-Houston Foundation, among others. If the citizens of this community see the validity of this idea and persuade their representatives to give serious consideration to this proposal, we can seize an incredible opportunity for our city and county that will not come around again. — Avent Lane, 221 N. Highland, Murfreesboro BOROPULSE.COM
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JANUARY 2013
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