You’re probably wondering why I’m writing a piece about the ups and downs of the entertainment industry if I’m not even in it. Well That’s precisely the reason why. I’m an aspiring singer and author trying to make it. I used to think there was some sort of shame to tell people that I don’t have a job but that I wanted to make music my job. I don’t think of music as a job, I think of it as a passion and something I enjoy. It’d be awesome to make really big time money, but at the end of the day there’s just something about singing that I really love. It takes all of my stresses away. I can’t imagine what else I could do besides music. It’s all I think about, all I eat, sleep, dream and breathe about. I think you can say that about anyone who wishes to do anything in the arts. There are those who get it and those who sadly don’t. I used to think that you needed to be an artist to really understand and appreciate all the time and work that goes into it. I guess I stand corrected. You don’t have to be in the arts to get an artist, you just simply have to be someone who loves creativity. Some people take it as a form of inspiration and would say ‘Wow, that’s amazing that you have those goals’! A majority of the time that’s the response I get. Other times I get more negative responses and they usually come from people who are stuck up. Those people tend to idolize prefab and prepackaged and manufactured so-called talents who really only got as famous as they are because of who they know, rather than any real genuine talent that will actually be remembered in years to come.
Those people don’t get art. They are not artists, they are not imaginative, revolutionary, inventive or innovative. Those people are just crowd pleasers. They conform to what society tells them to do. They also tend to have really big egos. If you’re not a pretty boy with a look that markets to a fickle audience they want nothing to do with you. They don’t care about the time it really takes to really actually master and perfect your voice or any musical skills you may have. What really anoys me is that these egotists are the very people that decide whether or not you even get heard on the radio. That’s why I don’t really listen to the radio all that much anymore. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard the radio in at least 6 months with the exception of when I’m in a lyft or taxi and need something to pass the time until I get to my destination. I turn to other avenues for musical entertainment, mostly youtube and the like. I guess perhaps one of the worst anoyances I could face and do quite often seem to face is people that are out to prey on the hopes and dreams of those of us who are really trying to make it.
I’m sure you’ve heard it all. You have some guy who probably lives at home in his mum’s basement and claims he owns and operates a recording studio or record label, and he promises he can turn you into a bigger star than anyone that’s currently out on the radio right now. All you have to do is send them some money and they’ll make it happen. The amounts usually start small, but before long they add up and the next thing you know, you’re evicted from your place because your bank account is so in the negative that you’ll never be able to pay your rent. I’ve been there and it wasn’t fun. I’m not usually one who gets lucky, but when it came to getting that money back… well I’m still recovering from that. The consequences are that I will never trust anyone ever again. I’m going to make them do backflips and cartwheels and circus acts times a thousand before they ever earn my trust, either that or they’ll end up dead of a heart attack or stroke before I ever decide to trust anyone, which I probably still won’t. That’s just the way life goes sometimes. Sometimes you get people who are forgiving and they’ll give you second chances, but I’m not one of those people. If you lie and steal from me, you get no second chance. When you’ve been lied to and really taken advantage of, as I have when I was scammed out of a couple of thousand dollars and almost lost my home, you really have no choice. Maybe next time you’ll think twice before you question why it is that someone who’s not yet made it in the entertainment industry is talking about the pitfalls of it. Believe me, I know more than you think. Anyway, I guess it’s back to the drawing board.
As I continue trying to recover from the financial blunder, and trust me, 6 grand might seem small to you, but it’s like a million bucks to me. I’ve always lived a frugal life. In fact even if I were to actually come into huge amounts of wealth I would still live frugally. You probably don’t believe me, all I can say is just you wait and see. I’m the kind of person who says what they mean and mean what they say. So as all of this is going on, it’s back to trying to find gigs and doing some auditions. One of those auditions was for a choir. I made it into the choir as a tenor. The only thing is I’ve not gone to any of the rehearsals. I’ve loads of insecurities with myself. It was a long time since I’d been in any sort of choir. The last time I was in a choir was back in high school and I absolutely hated everything about it, from the choir teacher who tried to basically categorize what my voice type was as if she knew my strengths more than my own self, down to the fact that she made it very obvious she never really liked me. This was because she taught piano as well, and I did everything by ear since I didn’t know how to read sheet music. And of course she didn’t like it, she yelled at me and told me I would never make it as a singer because blind people will never make it in the music industry. How are you supposed to read braille sheet music with one hand and play piano with two hands? Last time I checked, humans only had two hands, not three! Anyway, so the choir director at this last audition I went to was really sweet, as was everyone else in the choir. But ultimately it was past traumas of being in music classes in high school, as well as those insecurities resulting from those negative experiences that seem to keep me from going to rehearsals. I guess I’m going to need some massive therapeutic intervention or something. Maybe I need shock therapy. Maybe I’ll need hypnosis, maybe I need to see a doctor. But not just any doctor, a doctor that really knows how to treat trauma. If you know of any, give me a call and let’s talk. That’s all I have so far, but I’m pretty sure I’ll think of plenty more things to write about soon so keep it locked here.