My musical dreams had been put on hold when I entered the corporate world to pursue professional aspirations. Life as a practiced businessman was a long and arduous journey, moving from country to country inherently bringing with it many emotional highs and lows. Success in the music industry is attained by believing in one’s self, hard work, and of course with a measurable amount of luck. Favored chance and an introspective view holds true in corporate success as well; however performance, quantifiable performance, determines the outcome of a career. My achievements in the business world were derived from not only my ability to perform on an individual basis, but getting a team to perform as well under my guidance. Many sacrifices are made to maximize both your personal and collaborative performance, leading to people left behind and hurt along the way. The realization of a musical profession truly comes from the ability simply within yourself. After moving from Germany and spending 10 years in the Detroit automotive industry I had become complacent. The daily routine of spending the majority of my time in an office or car had become monotonous. It was time for a change. Time to pursue something different, a new direction. While having a candid conversation with Leta a close friend, she suggested that I should consider moving to the Sarasota area in Florida. After considering the possible benefits of such a life change I took a trip there with Silke my girlfriend, to see if it would be right for me. Upon visiting I knew immediately that Florida would be a great place to start fresh. Throwing caution to the wind I took a chance and in the summer of 2010 headed south. My son and I were driving to my new home with a U Haul full of my belongings. A year past quicker than anticipated and many of the projects that I had embarked on initially, working on the house and garden, were now complete. Where should I channel my focus on now? I was lost I had hit a wall. After fumbling around for several months I made a choice to rekindle and reinvigorate my once lost passion for song writing. Immediately I reached out to my brother Chris, the accomplished musician in the family, for inspiration. I suggested that I would send him some words and musical ideas that we could collaborate on and work together long distance as we had in the past. My twin brother, having the blunt and straightforward personality that he does, simply said “I don’t have time for you. Why don’t you just learn how to play the guitar yourself?” At first my ego was a bit deflated, but realized that I no longer was the big boss issuing orders and if I wanted to accomplish something it would have to be done on my own terms. My brother eventually offered to provide guitar lessons over the internet, which I gladly accepted. I had experience with piano, singing, and playing the drums during my time being in bands as a youth, but now I was learning all over again. Six lessons and three month later I was on my own with some basic knowledge, free to create. Creating music became my new daily routine. Gaining traction, one song became two and suddenly I had direction, a goal, and a life mission. Writing enough material to produce an entire album was now my focus. A bit of favored chance entered my life when I met up with Mauricio Hernandez with 8Beat Audio in Sarasota, Florida. With Mauricio’s talent in the studio it was possible to turn my words and ideas into great arrangements making my goal more attainable. To ensure I was on track for success I always bounced my song ideas and compositions off my treasured children Julia and Harry. Their comments during the creation process were not always flattering; however the input they provided was truly instrumental. Using my life experiences and those of others I was able to compose 20 songs to choose from for my album in no time. Off to a tremendous start to my album the next step was to contact my nephew Ian Tompson who operates Humber Studio in Greenwich London. Ian was surprised when I first rang him to explain how I wanted him to mix and master my album. Our typical conversations consist of good beer, curry, and Spanish Vino. At first there was a bit of arm twisting to get him to listen to what I had created. To my astonishment he became extremely positive about my venture explaining he was “quietly surprised.” Getting this type of feedback from a seasoned professional in the industry and a blunt communicator (it runs in the family) had provided me even more confidence in my creations.
Music gives me the chance to share my experiences in life. I have many stories to tell and music is the opportunity to express my inner thoughts. The opportunity for others to listen and understand they are not alone with the feelings they have inside. I get great satisfaction when I know others have listened. I am sure many people can relate to my songs.
I would love someone famous to sing one of my compositions. I would of course like to be the famous one, but for me it is more important to share my songs with as many people as possible.
People becoming more aware of global warming and understanding it is not the problem for the next generation.
The Sun aint going to shine any more-Walker Brothers
Mike and the Mechanics, Eagles, Michael Bolton, Joe Cocker, Whitney Houston
The satisfied feeling I have to convey an experience of life into music. The opportunity to share with others.
Listen to my words, you are never alone in the way you feel. Life is ups and downs, the only way we know we are up is because we experience a down.
A great feeling of satisfaction.
There is millions of musicians who are undiscovered that the world would love to hear. More platforms like drooble creates opportunity.
drooble is a great platform to see how your material interacts with the listener.
Age is seen as a barrier to. enter.
I travel a lot but aways like to look at local talent. Even Karoke has it surprises.
Never give up. Write music that the audience can relate to. There is no bad music only different musical tastes.
Me!