To the dreamer,
I played a 3 hour cover gig in Houston at Hobby Airport last weekend knowing that I was going to play in front of 4,500 people opening up for my favorite band of all time this weekend… here’s why:
1. Needed the gas money
2. Needed a reality check
3. This is my year of grinding
Were my pride and ego were quick to rear their heads and say “The airport?” “Really?” Oh yeah. 100%. That was even more of a reason I knew I was supposed to take it. Plus, have y’all seen the price of gas recently??
I guess what I’m trying to say is that “success” isn’t the size of the stage or the number of people in front of you. Success is the doing of the thing.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man In The Arena”
My hope is that this post finds someone who is in the same place I was 7 years ago when I first said “yes” to chasing this dream. To that person, I say go for it, buckle in, and play every stage you can. As long as you have a microphone and a story to tell, a stage is a stage and as
@ericraines12 once told me a long time ago, “he who hold the stage wins.”
Thankful for this run of shows with
@flatlandcavalry Thankful I get to call this my job. Thankful for the lane I’m in. Trying to enjoy the scenery along the way... easier said than done. As always, here goes something friends.
Best,
Kell
