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There Must Be Some Misunderstanding

     I HATE being misunderstood.  Things I say that didn’t come out right, or something I did being taken the wrong way…maddening!  Makes you just want to buy a TV ad and shout to the world, ‘NO! That’s not what I meant by that!’ or ‘That’s NOT what I do!’

     It’s somewhat humorous to hear what people THINK we at Tom Jackson Productions do, as opposed to what we really do when working with an artist.

Tom and Amy work with band at Bootcamp

    Many think we’re choreographers or ‘movement’ coaches.  (Have you SEEN us dance??)  Nope.  Until you are actually in a session or watch us work with someone at a workshop, you can’t grasp the total scope of what’s involved.

     Some think they can spot the artists we’ve worked with but usually can’t – because they’re looking at the wrong things.  Most people won’t know what the artist’s original song arrangement sounded like before we worked on it for the live show and created a moment.  

     Audiences won’t know how boring the band looked before we gave them the skills to bring some interest to the show visually.  They won’t know that the artist had trouble making eye contact before, or that they were bad at talking to the audience before we helped them with those things!

    The goal for us is to make an artist’s performance so engaging and so much THEIR personality that the audience just comes away talking about what an amazing show it was.  

     We even had someone who used to work in the TJP office for quite a while, who started talking about a show she’d seen and how great it was without any idea that we’d worked with that band, and she’d seen us work with artists!

    Of course,  the skills and principles of Tom’s Live Music Method are universal and are things every artist needs to incorporate, but it’s exactly HOW that is applied that will be different for each artist.  And, there are things I might push a pop artist to try that I probably wouldn’t have a rock band do, and vice versa. (Then again, sometimes we break the rules!)  

     The nature/vibe of the music and lyric, along with the artist’s personality, shapes what the show will look like.

     Until I actually SEE the artists I work with perform though, I’m a little hesitant to tell anyone I’ve worked with them…because I never know if they actually took enough time and rehearsal to WORK ON what I’ve given them before they go out and play a show.

     Thankfully there are many I can brag on who took it seriously and spent the time working on it, who are getting rave reviews…and that makes me very happy.

     The telltale sign that you’ve just learned something but are not comfortable with it yet, is seeing you still THINKING onstage…you just can’t afford to do that. You WILL look hokey…plus, it makes US look bad! 😥

     Stay in the woodshed for a while and don’t come out until it becomes second nature!  It takes time to make something new seem natural.

     I just want to let you know as well, that there are only two trained Live Music Producers in the Tom Jackson Productions organization; period.  If you work with anyone other than Tom Jackson or Amy Wolter, just know you are NOT getting the years of experience and training that we bring to you. We don’t want you to get stuck with an imposter and not get the ‘real deal’!

     So, don’t let your audience misunderstand YOU…make sure you learn the skills that will translate the right message of who you are and what you want your music to say to them.  Click here to take the next step in making your show amazing!  

Amy Wolter

As a trained Live Music Producer for Tom Jackson Productions, Amy Wolter brings her years onstage as a lead singer & keyboardist - along with her experience as a producer, arranger, and songwriter - to singers and bands who won’t settle for ‘good enough’. She’s worked with artists at all levels, and genres ranging from Rock to Celtic, empowering them to have confidence and authority onstage, and put on memorable live shows, a few of whom have been on two of the largest US tours in recent history. Some of her clients include Grammy award winners The Band Perry & Lacrae, CMA and ACM –winning country acts, Gloriana & Thompson Square, 2016 The Voice contestant Mary Sarah, CCMA (Canada) winners High Valley, Jess Moskaluke & Chad Brownlee, and Winter Jam Tour veterans Sidewalk Prophets & Love and The Outcome.

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Greenroom Comments

  1. Well said, Amy. BTW, back when I was heavily involved in CCM (esp. in the early to mid 1990s), I could often tell who had been clients and who had not because I saw them “before” and “after.” But some I couldn’t tell, because their genre or approach fell so far outside the norm that what Tom did for them was entirely different than what he did for other clients. The MAIN takeaway here is that there are now a lot of fakers who’ve bought the books or watched the videos or even been through the training who think they’re qualified to work with artists the way you folks do, but, again, they only dabble in the most obvious, superficial aspects. Keep up the great work! – Paul

    • Thanks Paul! Yes, if you see the artist ‘before and after’ you will be able to tell….unless as I said, they decide not to follow through with what we give them.

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