The Golden Rule

The art of conquering your inner demons one step at a time.

[catoinmotion-blog]

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This is a track I performed on a few years ago, but the lyric content still speaks to me today, especially what he says at the end (definitely listen until the end). 

[catoinmotion-blog]

If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm

African Proverb

This is probably my favourite quote and it is completely inline with the theme of this blog; conquering self to become the best musician you can be. This is something I believe everybody has struggled with at some point in their musical journey. It is my goal to help relieve some of the anxieties often associated with being a musician.

That being said, I’m not hear to expound knowledge on to you like a condescending prick, but rather share and listen to ideas better us all.

Just so you have a better idea of who I am and what I do (yes, I’m a musician...), I am a Toronto saxophonist, flautist, erhu...ist and keys player (the later two are a work in progress). I try and perform as many genres of music as possible, because, in my humble opinion, life is too short to only play one. I was trained in the deadly art of jazz improvisation at YorkU. I have been performing for about 16 years now, I run a school and, until recently, operated an entertainment agency. If we are measuring success in dollars and cents then I’m doing alright. I live on my own, I’m debt free and perform regularly. Despite all that I constantly have an inner demon telling me that I’m not good enough at my craft, or I’m not good enough to play with certain people in the city etc. I’ve only recently decided to pursue music with all my heart and soul. I would love to blame the negative view of the fine arts society feeds us (hey, what’s the difference between a musician and a table?), but ultimately, it was my fault for being weak and fearful. I guess this is typically referred to as impostor syndrome.

Anyways, I hope you find this blog to be a source of inspiration on those days that you really struggle with your craft. Please feel free to ask questions or just share ideas =)