Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Music Hasn’t Led to Fame or Fortune … and That’s Fine With Me

Five years ago this fall, I was invited to the FOX 4 studio in Dallas to record three songs for their Good Day Christmas program. I got all dolled up in my suit and tie, met the show producer and proceeded to lay down three songs on their Young Chang baby grand in the corner of the studio.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when the program aired on Christmas morning and my arrangement of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” had made the final cut. (Watch the video here.) There I was, playing one of my songs on TV! Had I “arrived?” What would come next – people knocking down my door offering record contracts, thousands of instant album sales and sudden large amounts of cash, right?!



I think we all know the answer, and it leads me to two points. First, the invitation from FOX 4 didn’t come by chance; I had put my PR skills to use and had contacted the station until we negotiated a time for me to come on the program. It took a lot of methodical, conscious planning and follow up. Second, playing on TV is something that I will always remember, but it didn’t lead to fame or fortune…and that’s fine with me! My friends and family congratulated me for the next few days, then life went very much back to normal. It was an extraordinary event that happened to a rather ordinary guy.

I have had some memorable opportunities because of music, but my goals in continuing on the piano have nothing to do with fame or fortune. There are other reasons that drive me to keep making music. More on that in another post, but in the meantime I simply wanted to share that I have no “delusions of grandeur” about where music will take me in the future. I consider myself quite grounded. I have goals, I know my identity and I have a deep understanding of the reasons why new songs and arrangements continue to come to me.

This is all part of who I am and what drives me. I don’t wait around for some event to indicate that I have “arrived” as a musician any more than I waited around five years ago for FOX Good Day to magically discover me. Big moments in my life haven’t happened by chance, and that’s one reason they are so memorable. I hope to share more of these memories in the coming weeks and in turn hear more from you!

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