The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help

dude, you’ve got nothing to lose. Your tour is tanking. And it might not be so bad. In fact, if you ask your fans for help, they might surprise you. How? They might be really flattered that you trusted them enough to look uncool.

After spending half my life all but alone with a pile of weird little songs, I’d found a comrade, an outlet.

Often it is our own sense that we are undeserving of help that has immobilized us. Whether it’s in the arts, at work, or in our relationships, we often resist asking not only because we’re afraid of rejection but also because we don’t even think we deserve what we’re asking for.

You know, the “Artist” and the “Medicine Man” used to be the same guy. “Musician” and “Shaman” used to be the same characters, in a way.

I see those CDs as something more than just some local kid trying to get his band a break. They’re like a thank-you letter, a way for one artist to wave a flag to another, like two lighthouses; part of the must-never-stop, ever-circulating gift. And you do not refuse that gift, ever.

instead of taking our first cheap recording to a duplication house, we decided it would be more economical to just burn our own.

we only needed a few dozen at a time to sell at shows: five songs for $5.

When I became a musician, the music worked the same way. Once I allowed people to share the songs, and there was no fixed price enforced by the label (or the store, or any other broker), things changed. People trusted me, and one another, more than before. I kept faith. Giving away free content, for me, was about the value of the music becoming the

Then there’s “Maximal DIY,” which is more about expansion and asking. The emphasis is on collectivism; you throw the problem out to your circles to see what solutions will arise.

When the gift circulates, we feel the very essence of art and life not just in the words and songs, but also in our deep desire to share them with one another.