The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
If you want to know what you believe, ask the people you taught.
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
We wanted to smash the door down completely.
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
afraid of their judgment.
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
The video went up, “unflattering” belly and all, and I told the whole story to the blog. The label considered this an act of war, and in a way, it was. It was the first time I’d publicly complained about our relationship. Then something unexpected happened. A few people posted pictures of their own bellies—some fat, some thin, some hairy, some with
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Brian and I took great pleasure in the fact that we seemed to have created the most eclectic community of fans in Boston:
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
Each night onstage, I would introduce them all towards the end of the show and announce that these performers had come on tour with me for no fixed salary and were relying on the audience. The five of them would rove through the crowd during the next song, holding their boots to collect donations. Some nights, they made less than a few hundred doll
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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.
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
it couldn’t hurt if you would actually talk to your fans from stage. They’re there. They’re crowdsurfing. They’re screaming and yelling. But most of the time you acted like the audience wasn’t even in the room. You barely talked to them.
Amanda Palmer • The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and let people help
We went on to shoot full-scale music videos in the house, and at my parents’ house, and at Ron’s house, and at my old high school, using the drama students. Through the act of asking, we created our community. That’s how it worked.