The Widetrack Chronicles 30: Partners
"You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday."
When I started Widetrack back in 2006, I was just another musician writing songs, looking for the right musicians to collaborate with...
Up to that point, I had experienced some amazing musical highlights throughout the years - writing, performing and recording with various bands - but only as a drummer who sometimes sang when the groups I was in couldn't find a singer...
But all the while, I was writing songs... I wrote and wrote and wrote...
In hindsight, so much of what I wrote was absolutely terrible... But back then, it didn't matter... I loved the process of bringing my ideas to fruition...
Still, I rarely played my ideas for anyone... I just didn't feel they were "worthy" of being heard... I guess that sort of makes sense - I did have a long way to go as a songwriter (I'm sure I always will, though, lol)...
Having a creative partner to collaborate with would have been a great asset... But at the time, that person was nowhere to be found...
So I kept the wise words of John Wooden as my mantra of inspiration:
"Do not let what you can't do interfere with what you can do."
And I just kept telling myself, "Keep going... Don't stop, no matter what..."
Then, in April 2004, I became a father for the first and only time...
Instantly, my priorities in life dramatically shifted... Being a good dad was the #1 focus from that point on...
Not long after, my own father got sick with a rare and deadly form of cancer, and by January 2006, he was gone...
I decided it was time to stop feeling "unworthy" of releasing my own music...
Life is just too short and too precious a thing to waste on self-doubt and regret...
So I booked studio time and began recording the first Widetrack CD...
And in March 2007, the first 1000 debut Widetrack CDs were delivered to my door...
As Zach grew, I continued writing and playing...
By the end of 2009, I had released the second Widetrack CD...
All the while, Zach never really showed much interest in playing music... He was busy being a kid...
That was just fine with me... I resisted the idea of steering him towards playing a musical instrument...
I didn't want to be one of those parents who tried to relive their youthful dreams vicariously through their offspring...
But then just before turning 13, Zach came to me and said he wanted to get a bass for his birthday...
I was taken by surprise, to be honest... But he was quite persuasive...
So we went to our favorite music store, Motor City Guitar... He tried out a few basses and found the one...
After a couple weeks, it was apparent that he was hooked...
He played and played, learning from the greats: Tool, Rush, Yes, Queens Of The Stone Age, etc., etc...
Before long, we were discussing him joining Widetrack...
Not long after that, he was playing his first-ever gig with the band on my birthday last March...
After the house concert show, he recorded all the bass tracks for the new album...
During which time, we started a weekly music discussion show called "Influences" on our YouTube channel...
As of late, in addition to being a member of Widetrack, Zach has begun playing gigs with my cover band, The Vintage...
His rate of progress as a musician has been insane... Much quicker than I was able to pick up on stuff when I first started playing...
And so, we have agreed to become partners in our musical aspirations, and are in the process of planning out some exciting things for the future...
Basically, what we're looking to do is begin this journey with finishing the Widetrack album...
To fund this, we will be continue playing cover gigs with The Vintage...
Once the album is finished, we will be setting out to get our music heard by as many people who connect with it as possible... Live shows, house concerts, meet-and-greets, radio spots, Internet/social media correspondence, etc. etc...
Hopefully, with enough consistent hard work and a little luck, we will be able to earn the ability to have Widetrack be the way we make the bulk of our living...
This would allow us to continue doing it on the level we desire, which would enable us to continue writing, recording, releasing and performing music on a first-priority regular basis...
Eventually, we plan on building our own studio/rehearsal/lesson facility where we can be our own "record label" and begin developing other artists, from starting them with lessons, to helping them write, release and promote their music to the world...
Throughout most of my life, music has opened up so many wonderful doors for me, personally speaking...
Connecting with kindred spirits though the songs I write has been one of my life's greatest joys, and helping others achieve their musical aspirations has always given me a deep sense of purpose...
To be partnered with my son in these endeavors is an absolute dream come true...
I feel this is what my whole life has been leading to...
Onward...
Always love hearing from you! Feel free to respond: Ron@Widetrackmusic.com
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