“WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING MUSICIANS?”

JON THURSDAY
Lead Vocals
Rowdy Shadehouse
“Keep Your Chin up, eyes open, music
raw, friends close, business in front
of you, bad times behind you, ears
peeled, body ready, chicks satisfied,
money saved, plans in plain sight, dick
out, mind sharp, wit sharper, smile
white, resolve golden, show unique,
lyrics edgy, and above all keep your
fans knowing that you do all of this,
for them.”
 
 
JOEL VAN HORNE
Singer, Songwriter, Guitar
Covenhoven
“Focus 99% of your creative time and
energy on your craft. That is, stay focused
on improving as a musician by
practicing your instrument(s), writing
songs, recording, performing, etc.
Do this and the rest will come. The
rules of the game have changed and
will continue to change, it’s beyond
your control so be adaptive. The one
thing you can control is how good you
are at what you do. Lastly and most
importantly, be you. Figure out what
it is that is undeniably you and pursue
that thing tirelessly, and never waiver
from it.”
 
JONAH WISNESKI
Andy Palmer & Grub Street
Writer; J2G Live Events
“Be professional, show up prepared
and on time and practice daily. Try new
things musically and push yourself. Do
whatever you can do to be involved in
music. Work/write with others, sit in
with bands, rehearse, go to open jams,
teach lessons, run sound, and support
other local musicians. Be patient,
humble and easy to work with. A career
in music is not simple, most people
struggle with rejection or failed attempts.
Keep at it, be positive. If you’re
in it for money you’ve got the wrong
intentions. There is always something
new to learn, you can always improve,
so be open minded but also be realistic.
Say ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’, and work as
hard as you can.”
 
ZACH HECKENDORF
Singer, Songwriter, Guitar
Zach Heckendorf
“I would advise aspiring musicians
to be disciplined about their studies.
This is something I am currently
working on. It is important to put
time aside for practice and writing,
it helps me to have space outside of
my apartment where I can be focused
on the music. I treat it like going to
the office. From my experience, it´s
important for musicians not to take
everything so seriously. I used to
obsess over details in a recording or
dwell on a bad show but I´ve learned
to just roll with the punches. If a show
or recording doesn´t go as well as I
would like, I learn from it and then let
it go. On to the next one!”