While I’m constantly hard on myself and always think I could have done more, looking back I think I did more than I give myself credit for. Here’s the top 10 things I did/was a part of in 2008.
- 10. Wrote/started dozens of songs – After a year or so of putzing I got on track and found some direction/focus with my music and finished writing about a dozen songs and started am in process of a couple dozen more. I’m glad to be flexing my songwriting muscle again.
Through the winter Casey & I got together most Saturday’s to trade songs and share feedback and really got me going on piecing together the songs I’d been toying with over the past year. I also pulled out my old folder and notebooks of lyrics spanning from 1998-2002 recently, I’ll save another post for that.
- 9. Recorded a Demo – I took a chance and sent Sunny Sweeney a message to see if she’d check out my demo before I headed down to Texas and she said yes. So that gave me the kick in the butt I needed to get one done. Looking back the songs I chose to record aren’t my best work but they were a start and it leads me to #8
- 8. I got to meet Sunny Sweeney – Near the end of February I went down to Texas with my freshly recorded demo and got to Sunny Sweeney’s show a couple hours early. I walked in as the band was soundchecking and found Sunny. I met her and her husband, handed her my cd and enjoyed a great 2 hour show. Little did I know what this would lead to later in the year…
- 7. Adopted a dog – Since April 5th Laila has been a huge part of my life. The first few months were full of ups and downs with training but now that she knows I’m boss and trusts me we’ve settled into quite a nice life. She’s pretty much my shadow and is lying next to me asleep on the couch as I type this
- 6. Saw the Randy Rogers Band 5 minutes from my house – In April an entertainment group created a series of shows called “Texas to Minnesota” and their first show was with the Randy Rogers Band just down the road at Primetime Bar & Grill. They came back again in September and it was awesome, both times.
- 5. I Changed Jobs – At the beginning of the year I decided that I during that year I needed to make a change in the company I worked for. I left on good terms but it was definitely time to move on. As I left this job and started the next I did something else awesome…
- 4. I shared the stage with Sunny Sweeney – With a couple days left of being 25 I headed down to Kansas City for a Randy Rogers Band show in Lawrence, KS and a Sunny Sweeney show in Kansas City. A few weeks before I sent a message to Sunny seeing if they had room for an opening act and she said it was cool with her and to check with the bar she was playing at.
I pestered the booking guy at the bar enough and he gave me the opening slot, I was only going to get reimbursed in free drinks but obviously I was ok with that. I did a 5 song set and did well enough. Not bad for my first show at a bar.
- 3. I took part in 2 weddings – In March my cousin Andy got married and my dad and I and 2 cousins did a song for the ceremony and in June I was one of the groomsmen when Miguel married Irene down in Miami (where Jake, Aaron & I discovered the worst part of America… The north west tip of Ft Lauderdale.)
- 2. I made money doing something that I love – Opening for Sunny was a catalyst into playing more shows. In July I did a couple gigs at a coffee shop and then in August I (with Jessica) formed Slightly Mutual and played our first gig in the Dinkytowner and actually got paid for it. That was the beginning of booking gigs that actually paid money.
- 1. I got laid off – While not the Christmas gift I was looking for I believe it’s for the best. While I had no reason to justifyibly complain about my previous job I definitely wasn’t happy there. I’ve been going through the funk that usually comes with being laid off but I know I’ll work my way out of it and God will provide the next step in my career when the time is right.
December 30th, 2008 | Life, Music | No comments