the journey begins :)

I am on my own now…

For the past 10 years I’ve always been at least partly self-employed, but it’s all me now. No steady source of income other than my own ability to create, and so starts a new segment of my journey completely reliant on self-motivation.

It’s scary but I have complete faith in myself and those around me; I will give my all until the end.

The last few months have been filled with uncertainty…

I deciding I needed to live closer to nature, quit my job at Germano Studios in Manhattan, left the city to move back to WV, and worked as a vendor at Firefly Festival, learning important lessons and preparing for the beginning of the life I had always dreamed of…

<< | the nomadic artist/producer | >>

In order to get to this point I’ve spent almost every day of the past 10 years working on music or my career:

  • Studying Music Technology at NYU

  • Working at jungle City Studios, Cornerstore Studios, and Germano Studios

  • Attending concerts, meeting, and learning from fellow artists, producers, writers, and industry players

  • Utilizing studios every opportunity I could

  • Always giving a higher quality product to clients than paid for

The city gave me opportunities that I never could have taken advantage of anywhere else, and it pushed me to work harder, longer, and better than anyone, but it took a mental toll as well as a financial and interpersonal toll.

My whole life became about music.

Music was the thing that helped me connect with people at a point in my life when I had 0 friends and was bullied by those that called themselves “friends”. Music was and will always be a lifeline, a way to connect with those around me, and get through the toughest points in life.

Firefly Festival was the catalyst for a lot of realizations…

I learned that for years I have undervalued myself and subsequently became underconfident in my music. I had started producing for artists as a route for networking my own music but it had become my career, so I assumed I deserved to be on the backburner.

I learned that I was the one that was responsible for my stress, nobody else.

I learned that I can learn from everyone I meet.

I learned that those that genuinely make you feel like your truest self/your best self are the people that deserve your time.

Finally, I realized that there was no reason why I couldn’t be on one of these stages in a few years with the amount of music I had, and the quality I had gained over the years.

This path will be fun of uncertainty and hard work, but that’s what has lead me here. From now on I trust myself and will no longer fall prey to the anxieties I’ve held onto for years.

It’s my time…

GeneralConnor Riley