Career Highlights
When I’m feeling mentally exhausted, or discouraged, I try to remind myself of all the good things that made working on a project so rewarding. It’s usually enough to keep me going when I really feel like I want to give up. The same is true when it comes to music, of course. When I have those days the best remedy seems to be going through old emails where people took the time to send me an encouraging message and let me know how much they enjoyed my efforts. I can’t tell you enough how much those emails inspire me in troubled times.
Since I began making music there are a few key moments like this that stand out to me most. These are the ones that blew me away and made me realize what a small world we live in. Sometimes you’re reaching people even when you feel like no one is listening. For now I will share 5 of these moments that I hold particularly close to my heart.
#1 Being contacted out of the blue by Liesje Sadonius, the original lead vocalist of Hooverphonic, to tell me that she likes my music. This coming from the person who sang lead on one of the very first albums that got me into dreampop/downtempo music. She seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth after that release and now she was listening to my work! Truly an honor.
#2 The time my brother was talking to someone at work about his sister who spelled her name J-A-K-K-I and she asked if I happened to be a musician. Apparently she had been introduced to my music by a friend and was already familiar with my work!
#3 Finding out from an online acquaintance that he heard one of my songs playing at a club in the UK. Talk about shocking! What a coincidence that he was there at the right time to report back to me, or I never would have known!
#4 Since I moved to San Diego I met a girl through totally unrelated means who previously was introduced to my music through a friend who was playing it at a party. She recognized me from the picture on my MySpace page!
#5 Some years ago I used to play regularly at a little pub. I was always extremely touched by the warm reception I received each night I played. I felt like I was at the center of the universe those nights. People would even ask for my autograph and come every week to hear me play. It’s one of the sweetest memories I have from a completely different time in my life.
