I’ve always wanted to make my living being a singer-songwriter, traveling around playing different cities every night. For two and a half months I was able to do so, and my dream was a reality. Trouble is, I didn’t make any money. In fact, I spent way more than I earned so the whole tour wasn’t a profitable success in a monetary sense, but it was quite an adventure, rife with hard work and little sleep, but rich with learning experiences and self-discovery. I’ll detail some of the experiences and discovery in the following blog posts. Hopefully you’ll find them entertaining as well as thoughtful, and maybe even humorous.
At first I wasn’t sure if I was making the correct decision, leaving a part-time gig with a professional sports team as a night video editor. Who knows, that could have turned into a full-time gig with them, earning me more money than I’ve ever made in my lifetime. When you’re a creative pursuing artistic endeavors, $55,000 a year is a hefty pull. Not saying I would make that, but that’s considerably more than I’ve ever made in my countless scores of employment. But as previously mentioned, my dream is to write, record with my band, and then tour extensively. I had to take the shot, as the opportunity had finally presented itself.
August 19th, 2021 was the first date of the tour, taking me down to Colorado Springs, Colorado to begin performing at 7pm. I shoved my gear into my Honda Civic, and blazed down the intestate, all the while thinking- “I know I’m not going to make any money on this tour, and I just left a job that I did like and…”
As my mental state was grinding its gears against itself, the traffic slowed due the ever-present construction on Interstate 25 south of Castle Rock, CO. I pulled the, “Oh this lane will get me there faster” line of reasoning and passed a giant 18-wheeler, gliding into the left lane, leaving me right beside the 18-wheel behemoth.
As my mind still perseverated over if I was committing financial suicide, and if I was truly supposed to be doing this, and if I should…blah blah, the traffic picked up and we gained speed. I passed the big rig on my right and hit about 55mph. Suddenly the car in front of me slammed on its breaks, and I could see the smoke in front of him from the screeching tires sliding to a halt. Sweat started pouring from my forehead as I realized there was no way I could stop on time. I hammered my breaks and my car slid toward the now stopped car in front of me. At a last-ditch effort to avoid plowing into the car ahead of me I jerked to the right, knowing I’ll be minced meat underneath the claws of the 18-wheeler. My car screeched, swerving in the right lane, and for some cosmic reason, the 18-Wheeler just glided by me, now on the shoulder of the highway not so much as breathing on my car.
As my heart pounded at a rate not seen since my time on the elliptical at the gym, I looked in my rearview mirror to brace for the collisions from the cars behind the semi. No cars were in view, and I coasted along, picking up speed now behind the semi.
Grateful and thankful prayers flooded my psyche and heart, and I was then struck with- yes, I am indeed supposed to be doing this tour, and be on this journey. Maybe to pay back in performances, for just being saved. Bob Dylan said in a 60 Minutes interview years ago, that he had made a deal with “The Commander in Chief” to keep performing until he was no longer able, thus beginning his never-ending tour that he’s been on since the 1980’s. Not that I’m even close to Mr. Dylan, but perhaps the “Commander in Chief” had steered me clear of that semi, so may embark on my, “Two and a half month, and hopefully more to come” tour. I cruised down the highway with a clear feeling of gratitude and excitement toward what lay ahead.