I have been writing on Substack for almost five years now, but writing is really my “side gig.” My main income comes from music. I am a musician and music instructor (guitar and bass.)
I don’t write much about my music on Substack, although I started to recently. I have played in several bands over the years (none you have heard of) and at churches and youth camps for about forty years. I currently play in an acoustic trio called American Garage Band, which plays covers and original music. We do the occasional live gig but mainly livestream once per week on TikTok, where we have built a following of 78K in three years.
I also livestream and post videos on TikTok and YouTube, and I have original music on all the music services (Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, etc.)
But in my mind, mixing my music with my writing is too messy. My writing is messy enough: humor, fiction, poetry, essays—not to mention comics (which I haven’t done for a while.) It would be sort of like mixing dancing and plumbing in one Substack. A few dancing plumbers might love it, but most readers won’t care about both.
So, I have planned to create a separate Substack for my music for some time. But Substack didn’t really have the tools I wanted until recently when they added video and live streaming. Unfortunately, the audio on the live streaming was designed for talking and had “audio processing and noise cancellation” filters that made it unsuitable for music. However, they recently added an audio mode designed for music (“Wide Spectrum”), which makes live streaming possible for musicians.
I will be retiring in September, and I thought that would be a good time to tackle a new Substack. Although, I will probably start sooner. I am not very good at waiting.
Since I am primarily a guitar player, there will be a lot of content concerning guitar (tutorials, gear reviews, etc.). But I also want to write about my original music (I am also a songwriter), post videos, and livestream.
My dilemma is choosing a name for the new Substack. Since there will be a lot of guitar content, I considered Guitarin’ With Starlin. Which I really like. But I think it might turn off non-guitar players. So I am also considering Mark Starlin Music! It is in keeping with the equally lame Mark Starlin Writes! Bookends of lameness! But that might be equally confusing. Music is a broad topic, and I won’t just be posting music. For one second, I considered Mark Starlin Makes Music! Because it is an action like Writes! But I can’t imagine a more cheesy name for a Substack. Except, perhaps, Mark Starlin Writes!
What do you think? I am open to suggestions.
Before you suggest the title of this post (Guitar Man), I have been called that most of my life. I am surprised Bread hasn’t sued me. So, it is slightly annoying, and it would be more than a bit pretentious if I called myself that. Besides, great guitar players are a dime a dozen. I may be a better-than-average guitar player, but I am not one of the greats. And I hope I am more than just a guitar player (or a Guitar Man.) But if you feel strongly about it, convince me.
Thanks for reading and responding. You make it fun.
Mark
I have to admit…Guitarin’ with Starlin has a fun ring to it. I like it. Also, I’d subscribe. I’m just beginning to learn guitar on my own, and some video tutorials would be right up my alley.
Not just Bread- Elvis Presley had a hit called "Guitar Man" (written by Jerry Reed) before then.