Desire

Desire for me, personally, has been something that has dictated my performance in both life and art. For me, the art of doing anything well or above average is mainly fueled by desire. I speak from my experience with/in music, touring, and the entertainment business as a whole. By the time I was 16, I had toured venues globally and met/established deep relationships with some of the most powerful, influential people humanity has to offer. This allowed me to measure my desire against my performance in a way that leaned more toward an objective process than an emotional one. There are three major instances that made me realize that being in the entertainment business in a traditional context was not going to be for me.

The most important and clarifying of these experiences occurred while sitting in the parking lot of my high school with my father. After receiving an offer to go on the road with the Dave Matthews Band, I was having a conversation with my dad to let him know that I wasn’t interested in going. At the time, Dave Matthews and the band were at the top of everyone’s minds and hearts. They were reaching out to my dad based on his sharing my talent with them to give me the rare opportunity to play alongside them. Without hesitation, I remember feeling grateful to them because of who they are but completely disinterested and focused on my normal, everyday friendships that meant (and mean) more to me than any stage, venue…