"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines, or dates by which bills must be paid." - Frank Zappa
Having been a music lover from a young age, I've always loved every aspect of music; the controversy, the media, the togetherness, unity, singing and of course the way it makes you feel. A lot of people quote that they owe their life to music, and those who share that deep connection with music, will understand that. Music has the ability to make you feel any and every type of emotion; sad, happy, angry, misunderstood, and even sexual. Yep, you read that right. Music is so powerful and so are words, being able to endlessly ramble on about an album or a gig you've been to and for people to WANT to read that, is the dream right?
"Now is not the time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is." - Ernest Hemingway
Where am I now?
I sort of flopped college to be honest, I tried really hard to succeed in academic subjects (business studies and economics) but music had always been my underlying passion - the thought of doing a job in one of those professions for the remainder of my life makes me want to scratch my eyeballs out with forks. I enjoy singing, but not performing - so I couldn't be a performer, meaning I would have to get one of the 'invisible' jobs in the music industry. I think music journalism is an 'invisible job' because people never forget the content of what is written, however you can be whoever you want to be! Who remembers names anyway?
When I started to write reviews it would take me days, because I would listen to the album on loop until I knew it like the back of my hand, whilst relentlessly writing notes on any lyrics/ sounds that I thought were interesting in one way or another. As the years have developed, so have my writing and planning skills (hopefully), so I set up my own blog and began to upload a review (religiously) every Sunday.
Then I moved to Southampton to create more precision in my expertise, and be taught the other aspects of journalism I wouldn't otherwise know unless I had done trial and error and figured it out for myself. Studying music journalism at a degree level has motivated me beyond belief, because I haven't failed, I have remained resilient throughout. Three years of deadlines, not one was missed. All whilst balancing a part-time job and committing to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, passion drives you in crazy directions and forces you to accomplish your goals, no matter what hurdles you may hit along the way.
In my final year at university, I am feeling the pressure. Multitudes of deadlines all over the place, whilst balancing my individual work and dissertation with my group project Talk Tonight Events isn't light work, but I am confident I will get through it. After all, I have gotten this far.
The whole point of this blog post is to revert back to how this all started for me, through blogging. My blog is essentially what got me in to university and has introduced me to so many musicians and artists as well as journalists, promoters, managers and other industry personnel. Not to forget the other amazing opportunities that have stemmed off the back of my blog. The points is, you can do whatever you want to do, and create your own opportunities - you just have to use what's available.
"Do a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life again."
Below is a picture of me after I hosted my first gig with Talk Tonight and it was a success! Here's to the future, to music, and to the future of music.
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