Musician with a Mission

This is a long video (28 minutes and change) of an interview I did back in 2018 on Princeton TV30. The TV station is a local network that goes out to those living in Mercer and southern Somerset counties. It was an honor to be considered as an interviewee for this network, because it came at a time when I just branched out on my own to start running a business on a full-time basis. It was a side project, if you will, for years, but 1 month prior to this interview, it became the main project. The interviewer, Natasha Sherman, made me feel very comfortable during our conversation, as you may be able to tell when watching. Shot from multiple angles, the interview flowed quite nicely from a production standpoint as well as a content standpoint.

So you may be asking yourself, what do you do with your full-time business now? Well, to answer it in 10 words or less, I 'improve the quality of life with music'. Since that statement is so general, it could cover a wide array of things. The more in-depth answer is that me and a small group of musical do-gooders (or musical missionaries) go around and run interactive, educational, and fun group music sessions and individual lessons at various places. These places include but are not limited to: day programs, aftercare/respite programs and group homes for those with developmental disabilities, drug and alcohol counseling agencies, mental health facilities, post acute rehabilitation centers, nursing homes/assisted living facilities (Memory care / Alzheimer's / Dementia units), domestic abuse/violence shelters, libraries (children's programs), soup kitchens, homeless/poverty level shelters, and hospitals. We also write songs for sick children as there are programs which exist in that realm. In essence, we do our best with the gifts we've been given to make people's day a little bit better with our musical abilities. From individual lessons on guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, drums/percussion and voice to group sessions with silly vocal warm-ups to sing-along songs to guided percussion activities to sign language through song to interactive live performances, we are learning every day how to make what we do for others bigger and better.

The name of the company is called, 'Key of Awesome Music'. What was first an inside joke between former bandmates of Postmark Twain turned into a reality. Formed in 2011 as a sole proprietorship, we changed to a full blown LLC in 2015. For several years, it was just me doing music related things outside of my normal 9-5 job in this realm and the realm of music publishing/licensing to further protect the music I had written in one way, shape, or form. In April 2018, it became clear that I needed other people to assist in dividing and conquering so more people could be positive impacted as a result of our efforts.

It's amazing how things evolve, isn't it? One of the greatest things in life we can do for ourselves is to never stop learning and never stop finding ways to become better versions of ourselves. Key of Awesome Music has allowed me to do both tenfold. And, the inspiring thing is we're still very much at the start of all of this as it's been just a hair over 2 years full-time. We started serving and supporting people in NJ at first, and are now in NJ, PA, NY, and have run sessions for people virtually in IL. Conversations with companies have happened in DE, MD, Washington DC, MA, CT, FL, and TN. Who knows what the future will bring? Who knows what all of our futures may bring if we are open to the possibility of making good things happen. Sometimes all we have to do is go out on a limb and take a risk. It doesn't have to be a careless, reckless kind of risk. It can be a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. That's the only way to grow--to go outside of the comfort box we place ourselves or society places us in.

I am a firm believer that if you have good intentions and put those intentions in the world, your thoughts and actions will reflect that. More relationships and connections will happen and your life will become that much more well-rounded and richer.