“Every independent artist should have a copy of this hard-working Grammy winner’s book, if for no other reason than its success story.” That’s writer Tom Geddie’s assessment of Terri Hendrix’s “Cry Till You Laugh — The Part That Ain’t Art,” which he reviewed for the February 2012 issue of County Line Magazine. You can download a PDF of the full issue at the link, and read Geddie’s review below.
County Line Magazine, February 2012 (full issue PDF)
Cry Till You Laugh: The Part That Ain’t Art
By Terri Hendrix
Reviewed by Tom Geddie
The second, updated edition of the Terri Hendrix music-and-business book, Cry Till You Laugh: The Part That Ain’t Art, is now available. It’s a valuable guide for any musician who wants – or is forced to – pursue an independent career. The book – both quirky and good, like Terri – is filled with both entertaining stories and practical business advice.
Early in her 20-or-so-year career, Hendrix talked with people at four labels who said they weren’t interested in her music. Since then, she’s pointed out several times that she’s still in business and all four of those labels are not. She’s released 14 CDs – folk-pop-jazz-blues, and other sounds – on her own Wilory Records label.
Every independent artist should have a copy of this hard-working Grammy winner’s book, if for no other reason than its success story. Terri and music partner Lloyd Maines, with diligent use of a long-cultivated mailing list, once paid a CD’s production costs with advance orders a month before that CD was released – in April – regionally and two months before it was released nationally. That kind of following is impressive enough on its own. But the advance orders also paid for the CD’s print and broadcast publicity, and for the duo’s travel expenses for the rest of the year.
Financial pressures still exist, and always will, for independent artists, but years of hard work also build and maintain creative freedom. Cry Till You Laugh is filled with sometimes random musings that can inspire creativity in any musician – pretty much any artist, I suppose – although from a practical viewpoint it’s the business advice that maybe most useful to people – beginners or sputtering veterans – who want a career in music and are willing to put in the entrepreneurial effort. Chapter five – of a dozen – includes firsthand-knowledge sections about booking gigs (including a sample contract), music publishing and other legal issues, manufacturing and distributing, small-business marketing and publicity, and more.
Many of the chapter titles coincide with song titles on her same-title, excellent CD released in 2010.
Several share “Goat Notes” musings from recent years, road ramblings, funny and touching
stories. One, “Einstein’s Brain,” deals frankly with Hendrix’ longtime coming to terms with epilepsy. Others deal with remaining aware of and tuned in to the world around us. From both a human and artistic viewpoints, that’s where our inspiration begins.
One, “Whatachoice,” is the title of a 30-second, off-the-wall snippet at a Whataburger drive-in window when Terri and Lloyd negotiate the advantages of including – and sharing – a cinnamon roll with their meals. In the book, that chapter begins, “Every single choice I made as an artist was one I hoped would enable me to continue to support myself making the type of music I wanted to create.” That sort of focus and perseverance – mixed with obvious talent – work for Terri Hendrix; it can work for many artists who are willing to put in the meaningful time.
This book is as tasty as that cinnamon roll surely was, and more nutritious.
