I subscribe to All Time Low on my facebook feed. They just posted this video:
It's part of a series of interviews with popular bands about how they gained their passion for what they do, and how they harnessed that passion into getting to where they are. I watched the interview compilations for a few of my favorite bands including All Time Low, We Are The In Crowd, and Set Your Goals. I could see myself mirrored in every single one of them.
The recurring theme of the interviews was that today's bands would grow up listening to the bands that came before them, and be inspired by what those bands did and what they stood for. For example, All Time Low cited Blink-182, Green Day, and New Found Glory as their inspirations. There was never any grand vision or goal to be "as big as Blink-182". There was only ever a burning desire to play the music they loved, and have fun doing it. Each of the bands whose interviews I watched had a similar story. They would keep playing and keep pushing themselves, never giving up on their passion. With a whole lot of hard work and a whole lot of luck, they're living the dream.
I see myself in them because I had that dream. I vividly remember the first time I heard Relient K, how it blew my mind, and thinking how much I wanted to do what they did. I had my little garage band and played my little local shows. I burned Blink-182 CDs and sang along to them until I knew every lyric. I even went to music school to get my skills to a high level. I wanted it, but it was such a long shot that I guess I never really admitted it to myself.
As a result, I never pursued it wholeheartedly. To admit to myself that to "make it" in a band was my goal, why that would only be to invite failure. What the interviews with All Time Low et al fail to mention is that for every success story, there are hundreds of failures that drop off the map. I guess I couldn't deal with those odds.
Instead, I did the prudent thing. Now I'm going to school to be a doctor, and the odds are good that I'll make it. But in doing so, I'm all but guaranteeing that I'll never be the next Blink-182 or the next All Time Low. Some other group of kids, a bunch of kids who want it worse than me, and are willing to accept the high chance of failure, they'll rise up and take that place that I secretly wanted.
I am going to be successful, but I gave up on my dream to do it. What does that make me?
I'm reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell right now. If you haven't heard of him, read all of his books.
ReplyDeleteHe discusses how although skill, hard work, and "wanting it" are important, that on it's own isn't enough. I won't spoil the book. You can read from there.
Keep 'er happenin' in Vegreville.
J-Fack, I actually reference Gladwell in an earlier post. "The 10,000 Hour Rule", from April 2010. I haven't actually read it, though I have definitely heard of it.
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