Begin cringey.

April of 2023…

I realized that my music career was stalling. Nothing was “moving” like my team said it would be. That’s an all-too-familiar story in the life of a musician. “Be patient.” “We’re working on things.” And the “get excited about something we’re working on so you don’t question anything!” gaslighting.

Being a musician is a bazaar thing. Your dreams get commodified. They’re suddenly the currency for people who know more about an industry than you do. You’re suddenly a piggy bank for a very long list of “industry professionals”. Most of them are well-meaning. Most of them are simply professionals looking to offer their service for a nominal fee. That’s totally understandable. I can’t afford most of their fees, but I appreciate what they do.

But in a town that sucks on the teat of every dreamer who dares to enter it, it can feel incredibly soul-sucking. Our dreams are, in essence, the desires of our hearts…an extension of our souls.

By April of 2023, I had grown tired of standing still. I was tired of waiting for something to magically “happen” like so many “overnight success” stories I’d heard. But, the funny thing about overnight successes is… they don’t exist. They’re often a story told by people who have had to work their tails off with teams of other people pushing them forward as hard as they are, fighting the current of opposition. It’s actually someone with a team that has either been purchased or has bought into their talent that BELIEVES in them.

And for others, it’s years of believing in themselves and struggling against the current alone so hard that they finally find their footing solo.

I’ve never been totally alone. I don’t think any musician is. We all find folks who encourage us, work with us, and want to contribute to our journey somehow.

That’s the beautiful thing about music…

…but it makes the ugly things more possible.

Dear musicians reading this,

PLEASE be careful who you trust with your dream. Be careful, because so many will pretend to want you to succeed and pretend to be on your team only to be pursuing their own self-interests. That’s the tough part. It’s difficult to differentiate friend from foe.

At the end of the day, though, realize that YOU are your greatest asset. YOUR time, YOUR energy, YOUR knowledge and YOUR experience are all commodities you 100% have control over. Don’t let external voices stop you from moving forward. In April of 2023, I started touring. I started performing with a friend, and now I’m looking to move to the next level of performance.

That never would have happened if I didn’t begin….

Begin messy. Begin imperfectly. Begin CRINGEY. Because if you never find the bravery to do that, you’ll never end up where you want to be.

So, let’s get out there and GET CRINGEY!