Bold Journey Interview
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Bold Journey and chat all things life and music. Here’s a link!
Hi Jonathan, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from? Where does your self-discipline come from?
What comes to mind first are my parents, who model an incredible work ethic. They are some of the hardest workers and visionaries I know. Watching them set goals and achieve them has had a huge impact on my self-discipline and gives me the belief that I can do whatever I set my mind to.
Another influence was a friendship I formed in my early 20s while still living in Georgia. I became friends with a Paralympic athlete who is also a musician and entrepreneur. We talked endlessly about music and business, and he became a mentor who helped me navigate both life and music. I’ll never forget one specific conversation: I called him, essentially complaining that I felt I was going nowhere with my music and that no one seemed to care about it as much as I did. He said, “Of course no one else cares about your music as much as you do. No one should care about your music more than you do. You’re the one driving this. If someone else cared more than you and they were the one pushing you forward, you’d have a problem.”
I began to see that it was his Olympic mindset that drove him. His inner drive, willpower, and vision were what pushed him forward. It wasn’t the people on the sidelines motivating him; it was his own determination. I’ve taken that mindset into my own music career. My self-belief and vision are the most powerful tools I have. Of course, it’s amazing to have supportive friends and family, but at the end of the day, I’m the one doing the work.
What do you do for self-care, and what impact has it had on your effectiveness?
I kind of roll my eyes at the term “self-care” because it’s overused, but honestly, it’s so essential. We’re human beings, and human beings have basic needs. For most of my childhood, adolescence, and college years, I was driven by an overwhelming desire for perfectionism, often overworking myself to the point of panic and exhaustion. I ignored my own needs, and in doing so, I burned out very quickly.
It took many years and therapy to recognize this pattern for what it was: unhelpful and destructive. Overworking yourself is never in your best interest.
I’ve read that a mule knows when to quit, but a horse doesn’t. A mule will stop when it’s done, but a horse will literally work itself to death. It sounds silly to say, but I’m trying to adopt a mule mindset, not a horse mindset. We live in a culture that glorifies lack of sleep, overwork, stress, deadlines, and constant “doing,” which is unhealthy and toxic. Choosing to care for yourself is a political act, countercultural, even an act of socioeconomic defiance.
Over the past few years, I’ve gotten in touch with my own needs. I know what I need and value, the things that bring me joy and make me feel good. It’s a small example, but I go for a walk every morning, stretch, and meditate. I make time to be with my partner and friends. I practice gratitude (some days better than others). I set aside time for things I enjoy, like listening to books and podcasts, being in nature, and working out.
Maintaining these practices gives me energy. I used to try to work all the time, but that made me feel depressed and numb inside. Actively seeking out things that bring me joy not only improves my mood but also gives me more energy and a different perspective on the work that I do.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
The oversimplification of what I do is, “I create music!” There are many other roles I take on as an independent creator: project management, accounting, photo and video editing, networking, learning new hardware and technology, education, website design, and social media and marketing. It’s a lot to keep up with, but at the end of the day, it’s all about creating music.
Creating music feels like a dream come true. I discovered composition as a teenager; I would hear music in my head while reading fantasy books and then write “soundtracks” to them. Eventually, I started downloading movie scenes without film music and would write my own original scores to them. After a couple of years of this, I had some amazing opportunities through BMI and ASCAP: The Pete Carpenter Fellowship and The ASCAP/NYU Film Scoring Workshop. These experiences opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in music and what I would need to learn to get there. I earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music Composition from Georgia State University, and afterward, slowly began connecting with other artists and filmmakers. Before moving to Los Angeles, I taught music lessons, worked diligently on refining my craft, collaborated with other artists, and wrote some indie film scores.
Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve joined The Recording Academy and The Society of Composers and Lyricists, and I’ve gradually connected with other musicians, composers, filmmakers, and artists. I’ve had the opportunity to assist a film composer, write for some network TV shows, and create my own original score for a feature-length film that will be released in the near future.
My newest project is my album Religious Trauma Syndrome and the Other Side, an autobiographical exploration of my experience coming out as gay, facing religious rejection, and finding my way to hope, healing, and peace. It was a very personal project, difficult to undertake and complete, but I’m deeply thankful that it’s now done and out in the world.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. If you do it right, you will never stop learning.
When I was in undergrad and grad school, I had this idea that school was my only time to learn, and once I graduated, it would just be time to work. Looking back, I see that was naive, but it’s where I was. As I started navigating finding work and refining my craft, I found myself frustrated at having to learn new skills. Over time, I began to see that learning is a gift, not an obstacle. It’s OK to not know things, asking questions is human. The amount of things I’ve had to learn within music and outside of music is astronomical, and every day, I am still learning.
2. Working harder and faster isn’t the answer.
I used to think that if I just worked harder and faster, I could get everything done that I needed to get done. I used to worship this idea of unreasonable productivity, a product of the capitalist, goal-oriented world we live in. I found myself constantly exhausted and chronically anxious. Now, I’m learning to take things slower and do things in bite-sized chunks. Having unrealistic expectations for myself kept leading to disappointment and feelings of inferiority. Now, I assign myself work that is reasonable and fair to myself. Sometimes, I have crazy deadlines and late nights, but I honor my body and mind and make sure to rest.
3. Have a life outside of your career.
When I first started writing music, my identity was completely wrapped up in it. Music was like a toxic relationship, one that I was codependent on, constantly involved with, revolving around, seeing everything through the lens of my career. After years of this, someone gently gave me the advice, “Have a life outside of your career.” Music is wonderful, but it’s not a functioning relationship. Building a life outside of my career, a life that brings me joy and satisfaction, has been transformational, and luckily, puts my career into a reasonable and enjoyable perspective.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for people to collaborate with! Artists, filmmakers, creators, podcasters, basically anyone who needs original music or audio editing. I love working together to achieve the vision creators have.
For example, I get so much joy working with directors on their films. Film music is one of the final steps in the production process, and by that point, most directors are numb to their film because they’ve seen it so many times. But when original music comes in, fresh energy is breathed into the project, and directors suddenly see their film in a completely new way. It’s a magical process, and I love participating in it.
If you need original music, whether it’s for a film, a podcast, a recording artist, or even company branding, I’d love to work together. The best way to connect with me is through my website or social media. Let’s chat!
