People do not decide to become extraordinary, they decide to accomplish extraordinary things. There are countless ways of achieving greatness but any road to achieving one’s maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual. A commitment to excellence and a rejection of mediocrity.
Listen to the live interview
Episode #525: A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://tobtr.com/10309463
Interview by Jacqueline Jax
host of A.V.A Live Radio
Interviewing: Desmond the songwriter
How do you manage to balance life, music and marketing?
I try to be organized and I prioritize all my activities. Once you have a clear picture of your priorities, your values, goals, and high leverage activities organize around them until they slide into place. Example: My facebook page focuses on inspiring people through music and my lifestyle choices. I try to post about what inspires me. My music is very inspiring. In a way I have simplified my life by setting these priorities and my music follows that flow.
In life we need to define what is most important to us and dedicate your time to that. But that also means you must say no to things that are not important to you. That’s not going to go over well with everyone but you must do it in order to find your own road.
Song Name: Rise Up
It is about using ones talents to uplift neself. The song was written for a non profit oversseas that was started to help at risk boys through the use of the performing arts. After the founder decided not to use the song although was approved at every stage, from lyric writing to melody writing to production, I decided to rewrite the song and release it as the first single on my album after I started getting positive feedback elsewhere about the song. If you have a new direction, be sure to tell us about your creative journey. The song is done in a dancehall style, which is a new direction for me. I am typically a reggae artist.
I have just released a lyric video which has so far had 35,000 views on Youtube. I have been trying to record an official video so that I can promote it even more but so far I have not been successful. I have plans to load the video to both youtube and facebook or at least a short trailer on facebook with a clear “Call to action” pushing to youtube at the end. I think social media offers many avenues to get your music in front of a world wide audience.
My music is…
intended to inspire everyone to be great at something. I’ve been singing since I was 8 years old when I was adopted. My parents started sending me to church and people started to pay me to perform. I toured around Jamaica and North America. My parents use to dress me up in pink and bright blue suits to sing for the audience.
What city and town are you in now and what’s happening in the music scene this time of year?
I am currently based in the Bronx, NY. There is not much happening in terms of reggae music but in Manhattan there are shows by touring acts from time to time. I try to play as much as I can but the last few months I’ve been focusing on my album. At the moment, I’ve been trying to get the final touches in the production. The big problem I experience was in locating Jamaican session players that could add that authentic element to it. It’s not that they need to be from Jamaica but they need to be passionate about the style and understand the energy Reggae brings to it’s audience. That first moment when the music interacts with the audience is really important. That’s the essence I focus on capturing.
Media:
https://www.instagram.com/desmondthesongwriter/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCNQZQLbyZs
https://www.facebook.com/desmondthesong
https://twitter.com/desmondthesong