Being ALL that you can Be

 I was at the #ShoutMovement last Sunday watching people from the film and music industries speaking, and you notice one thing… they are all passionate about their craft.  The hard part is that art is subjective; one man’s Beethoven is another man’s Slipknot.  This uncertainty drives most parents to discourage their children from being involved in it, bless their hearts.  Always remember that they ONLY want what’s BEST.

 So this brings me to Reza Salleh’s comment that most people fall into the arts by mistake, not by design… especially their parent’s design.  This is so true their parents and teachers want them to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants some profession where you can be comfortable, maybe not happy, but comfortable.  

Our education system also doesn't help that it’s academically driven, only caring about how many A1’s you get not if you’re a natural born performer or athlete.  Not everyone is an academic some of us learn better when we’re being creative. Yes, I’m a right brainer…

In more mature communities, school recognize that when you have certain talents/interests they channel you into different specialized classes yet encourage you to score a minimum in regular studies to continue to be “on the team” or “represent your school/country”.  This is a good way of hanging a carrot to keep up in academics but allowing you pursue your talent.

Finally a personal story which I been witness to.  A musician friend (who shall remain nameless) was sent abroad to do business studies but wanted SO much to be a musician so he quit without his parents knowledge and joined a music school. His parents where livid when they found out and withdrew their support, so he had to fund his way through, music school in Berklee.  He graduated and came back and worked his way up, step by step, from the bottom.  His parents did not recognized his ability and talent.   

He worked hard and was recognized for his work as a sessionist, arranger and producer of some of the biggest names in the business.  He had also won a number of prestigious awards but his parents never came to offer support or celebrate his achievements and speaking to him, as I always noticed he came alone to these events, he always brushed it off lightly but I knew that inside it mattered.   

One day after 3-4 years of being one of the best musicians in the business his parents decided to come to one of the award shows.  For the first time I saw how truly happy he was and when I met his parents at the post award press conference (he had won best musical arrangement) and told them that they must be proud of their son, you could see the respect and pride they had for him and as they stood together I thought, “Wow! That’s the first time I had seen a win truly mean something to him".  He worked hard to be the best at what he loved and to finally get his parents support and recognition was his BIGGEST reward.

He still is one of many of us that are professionals in the music business that make a more than decent living, able to look after our families comfortably.  And by the way we DO what we love and someone pays us for it.

This story left a BIG impression on me.  Some people search all their lives, some just know what they were put on this earth for… always follow your heart and be ALL that you can be…

Peace. Love and Respect

P/s :

To my friend Reza Salleh, talented singer, composer, music entrepreneur -  Congratulations on 7 years of  “Moonshine” (An ALL IMPORTANT performance showcase platform for solos/bands/songwriters/experimental music both new and experienced) and on choosing “the musical path” may it reward you and your talent with happiness and security.

Then and Now... It's ALL the same

 

The fight through the generations is always the same you have it easier, I had it harder, things are much better now, you don’t need to do much to make it….  The argument is age old and has never changed.  The older generation says the music is nonsensical, loud, no quality; the younger ones say you don’t understand, I need to express myself, you’re too outdated…the list goes on.

I am lucky I come from within an industry that changes, it is vibrant and constant evolving.  Technology, social and economic factors force evolution in everything and I cannot believe how people forget they were young once.  They had long/short/coloured/punk hair, tried silly things, told white lies not to get into trouble… life is a constant learning process.

I VEHEMENTLY disagree with people that have the need to compare life and situations because YOU CAN’T.  Life is different at the turn of every decade - from the advent of electricity to cars to the telephone and television all of which took years apart to invent and yet nowadays in a blink of an eye your phone is obsolete and another model has taken its place.  The pace of change is phenomenal and can't be stopped.

Therefore to be judgmental of people and their situation is insane.  How can you say life today is better than yesterday or things are easier or of a better quality. No such thing! The platforms and the types of challenges may differ but there will always be problems and hardships no matter what generation you come from.

I have watched artistes in 4 decades in this country and yes the opportunities are different BUT THEN so are the problems. I can name a whole list of good and bad for EVERY decade from more airplay, piracy but still people bought originals, black and white but it didn’t mean lesser quality, reality programs doesn't mean artistes that can’t perform.

Let me just say something… the truth ALWAYS prevails.  If an artiste makes it big via a reality program, I say kudos to them cause it is torture to go through one of those, but whether or not they survive the industry still goes back to the basic talent and the ability to stand the test of time.  Market forces determine that, nobody needs to pass judgment, the people who watch and listen will decide.  If they are good they will prevail.

I talk from a music perspective… in the classical age baroque was frowned upon, classical frowned on pop, pop frowned on rock, rock frowned on hip-hop, everything frowns on metal… even the medium… analog frowns on digital… is it better NO, is it worse NO…. it is evolution.  Like I say embrace change or be run over by it.  No matter what the genre, medium, art, platform, pros or cons our lives are richer by looking back and learning… then looking forward AND LEARNING too.

Peace, Love and Respect through the ages...