As much fun as this life of music is, it doesn’t quite pay enough bills to do it alone.
That current fact is sometimes what distracts me from enjoying my craft lately, if I am going to be completely honest.
Don’t get me wrong; strides have been made over the past 2 years especially. I’ve had the opportunity to play on some pretty incredible stages, arrange for top orchestras, and work for very established artists and labels; not to mention being on a pretty amazing label myself. All of these things have made what I do both easier, and more fun.
What has changed between my Sugar Water Purple/Current Personae days and now is that I was a bachelor then. I have a wife and two kids now.
Still, with all of that, it doesn’t make doing music impossible or undoable. It simply makes life a little bit more difficult to manage.
But one thing that has been a major anchor for me lately is something I heard while interviewing an artist I really admire. In the interview, she shared her story about how she wound up getting connected with Stevie Wonder and eventually played in a horn section for him live. At some point in our chat, she told me that she has found that when she pursues music for the love of it, and because it is her gift, doors open. She also said that when it becomes more about the money than anything else, it changes our actions and may take us in a direction where things just aren’t happening like we would want them to.
Not to say money is not important. It very much is. But hearing Lakecia Benjamin said that was a reminder for me. For me, no matter what else is going on, when I’m on stage, or in the studio, or in front of my laptop composing or arranging something, I need to access that love and passion I have for music, and make sure I am doing what I am doing for the love of it FIRST.
It’s very simple to say. Sometimes it’s harder to do.
I realized that even some of the recent shows I had played lacked that love and passion. I remember barely being able to play piano sometimes because of the sheer joy I felt from my band around me. And though we all need to mature as we get older, no level of maturity should ever get rid of that level of joy.
So my question to you is, where is that old you? In terms of your calling, gifting, and passion, are you still that person you were then? Life can make us jaded—I know some things in my life have definitely done that for me—but after speaking with my friend, I realized that there really is a way to recapture the happiness of our youth, and even more of it; not despite our growing pains and potential scars, but because of them.
tl;dr - just a gentle reminder to do what you love, and love what you do. 🤗