April 3, 2019
Highlight Reels + Beating the Blues
We’re living in a time where we show everybody our highlight reel. Insta, FB, Twitter, Snapchat (“What is that?” asked Dad) are all designed for us to drop our little press releases out into our circle, however big or small. There is so much noise out there, sometimes it becomes too much.
As an artist-preneur, I’m generally sharing my creative side, or my funny side or my ‘please come to the show &/or buy the record’ side with you. It’s never too heavy; I don’t get too political here, and I don’t get caught up in exhausting heated debates. I’m usually pretty ok. I love my job and that job is to entertain.
Now whether it’s the down-time between tours or maybe the stresses of promoting another independent record that I want the world to hear, I dunno… I’m just here to share that sometimes this life gets to me.
I would never ask for pity – I got what I wanted, and what I wanted was to make records and play music for people.
Simple. But as I was warned by those that had walked this path before me, it sometimes comes at a cost.
I miss a lot of things here at home, and cultivating true, lifelong friendships isn’t something that I prioritized earlier in my life. I was a career-ist. I was gonna ‘go for it.’
I have a big, beautiful family here in my hometown – larger and louder than the house I grew up in. I like it. I try hard to balance a busy music life with the one under our roof. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don’t. Somebody once said that a man is defined by his ability to leave work at work and keep home at home. I don’t know where I rank there, but I’m trying.
I’m going to keep doing this, because I love it and I also believe it’s too late to turn the car around now. I will enjoy the highs – the inception of a song or performing in front of 10,000 at a festival – and I will roll with the lows – sometimes you play for the bar staff in London, ONT. I will continue to make personal connections with those that my music resonates with – whether it’s at a faux-hip joint in Vancouver, or a house concert in Calgary.
I’m going to keep doing this, albeit a little more honestly. This isn’t a highlight reel – there are real lives behind social media posts of “Hey Edmonton, I’m in you” and Facebook live sessions from my hotel room in Fernie!
When I’m feeling shitty, I’ll tell you – we can choose to connect. Maybe you do too. After all, isn’t that what social media is/was for in the first place?
In Line For a Smile;
Ryan
