When I was in broadcasting, I had numerous opportunities to go backstage with many musical stars. It gave me a richer experience of the performer and their performance.

In our life, we have the opportunity to go backstage every day, but we don’t because we have forgotten we have a backstage pass.

We get to experience the performance, but we miss out on the whole experience which makes our performance possible.

Our life story is like a collection of songs we sing. The songs define who we are, just like our collection of memories defines who we are.

But when you go backstage, you get to see the performer from another angle. They don’t have to be “On” all the time and you get a glimpse of them past their ability to perform.

It’s a lot quieter backstage and this atmosphere is the breeding ground that allows the performance to be filled with energy.

Reminds me of a story . . .

A number of years ago, I was up late and saw the David Letterman Show. His musical guest was Todd Rundgren who played one of his biggest hits, “I Saw The Light.” It was clear to me that Todd was just going through the moves. I hallucinated that he had sung this song hundreds of times and the verve for it was gone, yet he continued to sing it because that’s what people wanted.

Compare that to a song the late Ricky Nelson sang in the early 70’s called, “Garden Party.” Ricky had a TV and musical career in the 50s and early 60s and had a string of hit songs. The song “Garden Party” was autobiographical in nature. It recounted a personal revelation he received after a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show featured all his hit songs and some of the new material he was working on. The crowd only wanted to hear the hits. A line from “Garden Party” sums up his experience nicely: “If you gotta’ play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta’ luck, but if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck.”

Singing our greatest hits has its place, but if that’s all we do, we’re always on stage. We miss the backstage experience which is richer and fuller than any performance we are likely to give. It also imbues that performance with more energy than we are likely to have without spending time backstage.

Think of backstage as a safe haven you can always go to when your performance is stale. It’s the quiet, creative space that will give old and new material new life. It allows old songs to contain the energy they had the first time you performed them, and it lets new songs into your repertoire so you can continue to grow.

To reclaim your backstage pass, you have to get quiet; then the big bouncer (resistance) will let you pass.

Remember that during the hustle and bustle of your everyday performance, you have the opportunity to get quiet, go backstage and take a break and recharge your energy. Not only that, but this backstage experience gives life to new songs.

If your life has become a garden party, it’s time to bring out your backstage pass.

All the best,

John

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