Man, I focus on listening to my internal clock and that internal rule of balance. Like we all got that. It's built into us. You know when something is right and you get those goosebumps. When something is right and it makes you smile and you feel great about what you did at work that day or when you left the studio, you feel great about what you did or you understand the way that your hair stood up in the moment when it was happening, like you know what's right and you know what's felt so deep.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You have the choice to either live by it and double down on it, or be swayed by whether it's the judgment of what other people may think, or to be afraid because it doesn't fit the trend of what's going on.
Speaker 2:Ladies and gentlemen, and anyone else who is here, my name is Don Lamour and you will listen to the Black man Talk and Emotions podcast. On today's episode, I speak with Bo Lamar, one of my good friends, about our careers, knowing your worth as a musician, being from St Louis and so much more. Creating music to fit the marketplace, so that music can be heard. If ever I thought I even came close to catering to the marketplace or designing my productions, my music, to cater to what is currently fashionable, I would sell shoes for a living. For me, the marketplace can rot in hell. I will do music for the love of music and for the love of people who listen to music, and listen to music, and absolutely nothing else will drive me. No worries, man, no worries at all, and I think about things that I have to do in my career to continue to move forward. And this is the topic I want to talk to you about, because we've had that moment where we've worked on crazy events that you might not have been paid for. We've worked on events where it's like I paid you as much as I could. We've had events where I've asked you like, hey, can we do this? And you were like listen, I'm at a place now in my career where I can't accept this much money anymore, and it's not because I don't believe in you, it isn't because I don't think you're great, is because I've gotten myself to a place where this is my day to day. This is how I make my living, and I cannot go below my own standards, even if it's for someone that I love, and I remember that day, like it was yesterday, because I was like damn, I thought me and Bo would do gigs, but then I stopped and I was like that's where I want to be, though Is that a place where he has to be honest with even his friends? Yo, I can't do it for that much, I'm sorry. And that's not because I'm better than you, it is not because I believe I'm the best thing. No, it's because this is where I'm at now and this is my standard, and if I take this gig and have to cancel another one where I can make what I'm actually supposed to be making, that could hurt me, and you got to think about the bottom line. I think that's one of those huge lessons every performer has to get to. I just heard this quote the other day the step from good to great is maybe harder than the step from nothing to something Absolutely. And when you hear that it's facts, because it's like everything's going good, why would I do something out of the ordinary? Why would I step out of my box? Why would I change everything I'm doing so that I can achieve something maybe better? It's like no, no, that is the step all of us eventually have to take from good to great, and it's hard.
Speaker 2:I used to do shows with all these people and they got to a point where people were coming to my show saying I want to just see you, I want to see what you do, I want to see it done the way that you would do it and in my head, the way I would do it was always more expensive, was always more big, and I was like I can't afford that. I can't. But it was like why do I keep saying I can't? Let's figure out how. And I started to do my shows differently. The next thing, you know, the last show I just did was literally the one in St Louis, was exactly the way I want to perform my shows. The only difference I would do with that show is more original music, but even then half of what was original was half of it was covers and I was relatively close to where I eventually want to be and I was playing with some of the best hitters in town. I had some backup singers that was in there killing it. I had people I never met come to the show because they heard this dude is that dude.
Speaker 2:And I was so proud of that work and it took a lot of sacrifice. It took a lot of me not performing, took a lot of money that I didn't have. It took a lot of days of really forcing myself to think about what I want to do next. Do I want to be good or great for you? In that mindset, thinking about what I just said, thinking about your career mentally, how have you dealt with that? How many times have you found yourself in a position where you were like I don't even want to do what I have to do, but I'm going to do it for my career? How often does that happen? And just kind of give us a little overview of the journey.
Speaker 1:Number one man. Congratulations to you. Thank you, man. I'm always proud of you as well. We go way, way back, way back to the days at a river campus. Yeah, man. So Don has always been a killer. He's always been a showmanship on the stage and off the stage he's a fucking fool, respectfully, of course. So, man, it's always good energy, good vibes. I'm always have your back in anybody else who's always been consistent and has been genuine love from the beginning, yeah man.
Speaker 1:As you stated to, that is a part of the growth. One thing that keeps you where you are, instead of leveling up, is to continue to say yes to everything, because you only have so much bandwidth as one person. So, even aside from the financial part and like you said, making sure that your ends are meeting when you do this professionally and full time, you have to understand that if your standard is not being met, then you are already in a place where you need to work on yourself and better yourself so that your standards can be met Right. So you have to evaluate what it is that you're spending your time on and you have to make sure you're constantly putting the work in and understanding that the simple cliche that we always hear you know, your last gig is that's all people know about. That's what you're worth. You know what I'm saying? What were you doing the last time I saw you? Your last check? Well, that's your number now. So you got to keep those things in mind.
Speaker 1:I always use the analogy of like somebody who's overweight, like a big person losing weight right. Like standing next to someone who's in decent shape, but they say, okay, I want to get my summer body ready. Well, who's going to have to make the greater sacrifices in order to see that change? It's going to be easier for the person who's more overweight to start losing weight and see the numbers going down. The sacrifices are going to be smaller. Instead of eating the ice cream sandwich every day, I can just eat a KitKat. Well, the person who's closer to the smaller size of the physique they're going to have to make a more tremendous sacrifice.
Speaker 1:Like you said, the difference from going to mediocre to good is one thing, but then going from good to great is another thing, and then going from great to greatest is a whole other thing. So you got to be willing to take those leaps. You know, I thought that moving from St Louis to Los Angeles would be the biggest leap that I would ever have to take. No, it was just the beginning. The cliffs get higher and the gaps get longer. You know what I'm saying. So it's just understanding that part and really becoming fearless.
Speaker 2:Oh man, when you say that, I hear that loud and clear. I was just doing kind of this meeting before the meetings where this performer she's hoping to put on a show, and she wanted to speak with me about the possibilities of helping her develop the show, create the show culture through some of the songs and kind of get it to where she wants it. And I was telling her all of the stuff that I felt was important to hear. First I was like, yeah, you saw me do my show. I have to tell you, just putting the playlist together for that show took me eight hours. You know, and you hear that and you're like that's an insane amount of time. What do you mean? And it's like when you put the right detail into your work, you'd be surprised how much time flies by and you're like, oh man, I need another day. Why do I? Because you're putting all this effort in. I'm not just sitting there putting something together and saying we're just going to fly with that.
Speaker 2:The show makes sense. The songs are put there specifically for a reason, for a flow, the detail to how I'm going to present the song, how I'm going to sing it, how I'm going to set it up. Why is it there? The key that it's in the reference that I use for my performance, which is also going to be different than the reference, but just the idea of the song. All of that stuff has to be in place before I can get to a place where I'm even rehearsing the songs. I'm even rehearsing the show because I need to have a vision and understanding of where I'm going to go. That's just my process, not saying it has to be hers. I'm saying for me to get where I am now, for you to see that show that I put together. I'm not afraid to sit down in front of the computer all day to do this. I'm not afraid that I might have a band member cancel on me the night before. I'm not afraid to get on stage, have no band and just do the show.
Speaker 1:That's how crazy fearless Resistance be canceling, don't they All the time?
Speaker 2:It's like if I get up there and it's just me, one of my biggest things, that took me a long time to get to. But in school I remember talking to people like you or talking to the homie Spence, the different people, instrumentalists and everyone talking about they have their instrument, and when you go to the gig, do you have your instrument, this, and that it was hard for me to ever say, oh, my instrument's my voice, because I'm like, oh, that's not really an instrument. It is an instrument, absolutely. It is something that I work on every day. It is my instrument. How am I presenting it? How am I taking care of it? What am I afraid of? It has to be nothing when it comes to performing. You know, that fearlessness that you say has always been something that I'm sure you even struggle with as well. You know, when you first started out and I think I'm good, I don't know, let's do the show, maybe you surprise yourself and you're like what was I worried about? What was I worried about? You know what I'm?
Speaker 1:saying yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:That's a constant grind for anybody that's in this business, I believe. And just going back to you on the different things, you worked with some incredible performers. I'm sure you're still looking to perform with people even bigger, and it's going to happen. With that being said, what steps or what are some little things that you think you're doing? That kind of separates you from where you were just a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1:The biggest thing, which kind of piggybacks on the being fearless part is, you know, part of that is really just having the courage to bet on yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And when you're betting on yourself, that means that you need to put away your insecurities, and the way you put away your insecurities is about putting the work in. That's the main thing, man making sure that you're being the best form of yourself, you're being consistent, whatever you're, if you're creative, that you're putting that time into hone your craft and then to have the courage to be you, to be original. Yeah, so I'm a part of my production company Shout out to everybody who's a part of a Baltimore Productions, and it's an amazing staff. Everybody can play multiple positions on this team and I have Tim Sonnefeld, who's a two-time Grammy winning producer and engineer. 87.01 Usher album. That's Tim who mixed that album in Vocal Coast and produced Usher on that record. Then there's Kelly Nicole Price, who's one of the writers who won a Grammy for Beyonce Deja Vu and she's worked with many, many, many different people. Third but not least, there's Carnell Harrell, and Carnell is a super dope producer. Musicians work with some of the likes of Jennifer Lopez and many, many others.
Speaker 1:We don't want to get into the name-dropping part, but surround yourself with people who push you, people who push you to have better ideas, people who are not afraid to tell you like no, that's not the best move. It's not the best move business-wise. Or if there's something creative like, hey, no, that's not it, Pick the pin up, go back at that again. So, number one, believe in yourself, put in the work again, surround yourself with people who are better than you, people who lift you up, making sure that you're consistent and your work quality is always going to speak for itself. There are a couple artists that we're working with now and the reason why they feel comfortable was because they know what they're going to get when they come to a Baltimore Productions every time.
Speaker 1:And guess what? If the dart doesn't hit the bullseye, we don't keep throwing it until it does hit the bullseye. So it's just making sure that you have that consistency, not backing down from any challenges within your league. You got to know what's your lane and what's not your lane, understand how far your arms and your legs can reach, but within reason, man, you don't die down from any challenge. And once you say yes, you got to go 100% and make sure you follow through with it and kill it, kill it, kill everything.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. We serial killers around here and we ain't just talking about the serial in the bowl with the milk. You know what I'm saying? We kill everything that comes our way, because that just has to be the mentality. Stay focused, man, and just put in the work again. That's really where I'm at. I'm in my studio right now. I was working until we got on the interview and as soon as we hang up, I'm going right back to it. So don't be afraid to put the work in, make the sacrifice, grind it out.
Speaker 2:Something you jumped on that I love to emphasize every time I get a chance to is the idea of not being afraid to be you in your work. That's something that I'm starting to really lean more into. I felt like for years I was writing music that I liked and enjoy it, and I was writing music that created this image. But the one thing I wasn't really writing was exactly who I was. You know, like my whole vibe, my whole lifestyle. The feelings were coming out through me performing the songs and some of the songs. There was a couple of tunes on my last album that I was like you know what that really is me and I felt good about that. But now I'm trying to avoid the idea of repeating history. I'm trying to avoid the idea of doing something the same way and expecting something different to come from it. So when I wrote the music for this project I'm still writing it, I'm never going to stop writing it until the project's done. I'm going to keep writing it and I have so many songs that won't be on this project, but the idea is to continue to work that muscle, to continue to push for different ideas and be as authentic to me as possible, because no one can do that but me Absolutely. That's so important, I believe, for this career path.
Speaker 2:Who are you? Why should I listen to you? What sets you apart? Those questions were always some of my least favorite questions in interviews, because it's like dude, I'm good, that's why Leave me alone. Why do you keep asking this stupid shit that you want me to pretend like I'm humble or pretend like I'm a team player and this and that. Do you want me to just be like because I'm the best one that you're going to get? Period, leave me alone. Some people want that, but some people really do want you to be like humble pie and be like you know I just you know. I really think that I'm a good choice because you know I really work hard.
Speaker 2:I give 110 and I will give you 110, no matter what, and it's like no, I do me.
Speaker 2:That's why I should be hired. I do me and you need someone like me because I believe and you will see from the hard work that I'm putting into this that I'm the right person. This interview, talking bullshit is not really helping. Let me show you why I deserve this job. Let me show you that's how I think when you have to play this game, and understanding who I am, understanding what I bring to the table should always elevate my art, because no one else going to be able to think the way I think and do what I do. You might have someone imitate, you might have someone that sounds like you, you might have someone that thinks the same way, kind of, but it's never going to be the same thing ever. You always got to do you.
Speaker 2:I always tell this story about Bo. When I was putting the album together, I got to a point where I just just throwing text messages and emails out to people to see what would come and I saw Kim Massey perform at Bill on Broadway, one of her Tuesday or Thursday night shows, and I remember going up to her and saying I'm going to record an album and you're going to perform on the same day. I'm going to record an album and you're going to perform on it with me one day. And she was like okay, baby. I emailed her manager and he responded and gave me a date and told me okay, we'll do it this day.
Speaker 2:I had no plans, no budget, wasn't ready, didn't have the song written out, nothing. I called Bo because I knew they'd invite Bo up. He would take care of everything. We went to Panera Bread, which is St Louis Bread Co, and I kind of didn't even bring enough to him. I just eventually got to a point where I was like I kind of need you and he was nothing more than the perfect selection. I always appreciate his hard work, admire his hard work. He's the best drummer I know.
Speaker 2:And I got nothing more love about One of my favorite things that you say it's not the feel, it's the feel Indeed, and I feel like that goes into the idea of being you doing you how important. And how often has that struggle, if there's a struggle with you, come across where you're like that's not really what I'm feeling, but I'm doing it because of someone else, or fuck that. I'm just going to do what I want to do and it's going to be because I like it.
Speaker 1:And I focus on listening to my internal clock and that internal rule of balance. Like we all got that. It's built into us. You know when something is right and you get those goosebumps. When something is right and it makes you smile and you feel great about what you did at work that day, or when you left the studio, you feel great about what you did or you understand the way that your hair stood up in the moment when it was happening, Like you know what's right and you know what's felt so deep.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You have the choice to either live by it and double down on it, or be swayed by whether it's the judgment of what other people may think, or to be afraid because it doesn't fit the trend of what's going on. For me, it's making sure that I stay in tune with that internal balance being, and if it's giving me that feeling of this is right and this is honest not on any day of the week, month or year I can stand on this then that's what I'm going to do. As creatives and entertainers, whatever form of the industry, if you're creative, we all have to find that balance between to stay within the time. But at the end of the day, you have to realize that if you're following a trend, you're always going to be behind. You're always going to be chasing something. And what do we know about trends?
Speaker 1:Trends change. So once you follow all these trends and once you finally get it, guess what it's over. But if you begin something and you stay authentic to what's for you, even if it's not at that time, it's going to be appreciated later. Sometimes it takes time for people to catch up with something that's going on, but when it's authentic, it can't be denied, and I think there's something that, especially in music right now, drives me nuts. Like there's so much music being made for the moment, right now especially, you know, we end up in the phase of TikTok and Instagram songs and stuff like that, and that's the thing that you got to do to pop. Even these record label and execs are asking for a TikTok song.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's like the description for it. The TikTok song yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:No, make the fucking song. And then you figure out, mr A&R guy, how to make it pop on TikTok. That's your job. Yep, you know so. And when you do that, when you make music for a moment, that's exactly how long it lasts.
Speaker 2:Damn. When you make something, for the moment that's exactly where it stays. That is a powerful way to look at it and to understand art. You know, I feel like I've had a couple of episodes where we've talked about our mindsets and the things that you want to do in the art and how artists think. And I really do enjoy creating more now than I've ever enjoyed it. I think the older I get, the more mature I get, the more understanding that all of this shit isn't promised, the more understanding that life is short, understanding that you know me being the best husband, son, brother, friend Anything is the idea for life. It just really helps me with my art because Art is a reflection of life, in my opinion. So the fact that I'm thinking healthier, the fact that I'm working harder to be more consistent, more efficient, the fact that I'm really putting in the extra work to work on me, is Crazy out of nowhere, helping my art become better, helping me fully see it.
Speaker 2:I would write songs before and it would just be me trying to write a song, but now I'll be sitting down and something to happen at the house and then you know I'll forget about it for a second, I'll be in the car driving and I'll put on an instrumental, because that's how I usually do it. I put an instrumental on, or I'll find a tick top where it's just instrumental, or I find something, just play it and see if something comes, and then it'll come and I'm like this is everything that I did in that scenario earlier, and it's just my life being put on the paper or and now on the phone, because I don't write anything on paper anymore. But Working on ourselves, working on the communication, knowing who we are, is just an incredible tool for art. For you, do you think there was a turning point in your performance? You've always been a dope drummer. You've always been an incredible musician.
Speaker 2:I've seen you go into a studio, have a song with no count, no, no beats, nothing in it, and then listen to it three times and then go record a drum line on it with no Idea where the down beats was. You just had to kind of feel it and you did it and I watched you do it and I'm like how many people in the world could do that? I've seen you do some incredible stuff, but where do you think that Maturing really started? For you? Do you feel like there was a single moment, or is it still something you don't even realize? You don't feel like it's happened yet?
Speaker 1:I think it's a mixture of things. Number one it's the upbringing especially. We were talking about music, specifically growing up in the black church. I mean everything is done on feel yeah, you know, I'm saying Nobody's.
Speaker 1:Nobody's coming up and handing you sheet music in a black church you know, and guess what, if you're not giving it the right feel, somebody's gonna push you off. They're gonna push you off that organ bench. They're gonna slide your ass clean off onto the floor. Or if you play a drum, they're gonna give you them three taps on the back that mean, yep, get your ass up, maybe you can play it. Offering Is that man just being diving into, just having to know and navigate. You know what the feel is and then go for it. I really following your instincts in real time as I Started to perform on different stages. Yeah, well, in down, you know Chris, chris Jones man. Yeah, plan the, the children circuit clubs and stuff with Chris man.
Speaker 1:And you know it's the, it's the neighborhood spot you know so everybody knows the music, they know the song and know if you plan it right and if you're not planning right, they're gonna tell you that you're not planning right. And so, being on stage I was, I was always the young kid. I was always, like you know, the 14, 15 year old kid who not even supposed to be in this club.
Speaker 3:Let's start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm on stage with grown man and then they calling out songs that I really don't know these songs. And you know, in the middle of playing one song, chris would be like man, you call out the song, he like you know it. I'm like no, he was like have you heard it before? Yes, all right, cool what I'm like? Oh, come on, it instilled the knowledge of making sure that you're always paying attention. The rule of thumb is if you've heard it once, it's in you somewhere, it's in you somewhere, you could figure it out. And if you haven't heard it, you should be learning the language Enough to where you can piece these different things together and figure it out in real time. It's that, and then just always constantly trying to find ways to get better.
Speaker 2:I feel like that's something that you and I have in common, that being put on the spot thing, live and Absolutely as a singer. For me I always say it's harder than as a singer, than it is for instrumentals. I'm sure you might say you got a word.
Speaker 3:But yeah, you know in the words, but when.
Speaker 2:I come into a right. What I mean is when I come into a room and it's like a jam, the singer comes into the jam. The instrumentalist was like yeah, I came here to play, you know saying I always You'll say so.
Speaker 2:I always have a little extra moment where I'm like All right, so they don't know me, they think I'm just another singer who's gonna come in here and sing, you know, killing me softly or something ridiculous that they aren't even gonna get to do anything on. They're just playing and I'm over singing and they have to know the track the exact way, because I don't know how to Imprive or anything that that's what they usually assume. But then you come in, you're like I want to swing this tune. Do you know? You know the way you look tonight. Some simple, let's do it in G major. And they're like oh, you know this key, you know the tune, how we gonna do it, how you want to do it, let's do a bossa nova? Oh, he wants to do it different than original. Okay, okay, let's see what you can do. Like they'll give me a shot because I'm prepped and ready and I've been in this scenario but when I was younger.
Speaker 2:I go into those rooms, I'm sitting in the back. I told the dude three times I could sing. I don't play until midnight. And then I get up there and they're like oh, you're actually good. And it's like man, come on, give me a shot, come back. Same thing. They heard me sing. They told me I was great and I'm still waiting until midnight right before they about to finish up and it was so difficult. But when you get to the place now when doing all that as a kid, having those old cats telling me yo man, if you come in here you can't mess it up, if you mess it up you ain't getting up again, you know kind of thing having that drive to really push being in those clubs, man, we used to do the Red Sea in the loop in st Louis.
Speaker 1:I was 17 years old dude.
Speaker 2:We were not supposed to be in there. You know what I'm saying? Not at all. We were not supposed to be in there. But the dude heard us play down his sister roles and was like you know what? Y'all are good, just tell them, you're 21. You're good to go and we were in there. And that was experience. That was time Actually doing it where.
Speaker 2:Now, if I go anywhere, it doesn't matter where I'm at, doesn't work, matter with stage I'm at, we put me out. I literally sent in a cover letter the other day put me on the Golden Globes tomorrow. I can host that bitch. I'm ready. Put the word is not because, yes, you put the work in. You know how to bounce off of the moments around you. It's so important and I truly agree with you on the sense of being young and being forced into scenarios with more mature artist truly Guiding me to the place now where I'm talking to people. They're looking at me like an OG and be like yo. You got up there and I wouldn't have known that you didn't know the lyrics, I wouldn't have known that you didn't, and I'm like, yeah, you ain't gonna know. I'm not gonna allow you to know that I'm up here messing up, I was told as a performer. As with old cats they look at me never apologize for what you do on stage. Do it be confident and keep it moving. That's how it came.
Speaker 1:So you got to go up there and be ready for it. You getting old man, they starting to call you OG. Now you getting old dog, crazy dude, oh.
Speaker 2:I still remember going to Andy's jazz club in Chicago when I was 22. Now one in there and you know, being a st Louis, you know everybody over time. And Kate, you know everybody over just like couple months if you, if you gigging, you know everybody. But in Chicago, you know, I don't know nobody up here, they just looking at this young cat. There's three singers there that day and all of them, of course, knew the people, so they went in before me and I'm sitting there waiting.
Speaker 2:I'm like this is the game happens every time and One of the cast is like, hey, before we get you, let's get this guy up here. He ain't never been up. I was, oh, okay, and I still remember I did um, they can't take that away from me Old Fred Astaire song and we swung it real hard and fast and I like added an extra, a section at the end of it, like did a little bit extra improv on top, and I remember Walking off that stage being like I can do anything. You know say that was so big, but I was, I was a baby dude, I was so young. And if I could see that cat now and be like, hey, I liked what you did, but you, we're trying to cater to this demographic that was in the room a little too much.
Speaker 2:Just be yourself. You know that that's the stuff I wish I could throw at me then. But it just takes time. It takes Experiencing. It takes you being in rooms where you kill. It takes you being in rooms where you die. It takes you really running face first into the wall To get to that, like you said, fearless place. I think fearless and being you Are the key components to an artist completely finding themself the glow, you know saying Bruce Lee.
Speaker 1:Roy glow yeah, you got to be ready to run through a wall and the third layer today is you got to find a little bit of a don't give a, don't give a f. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. Like you got to find a little bit, a lot of let's be, let's be transparent. You gotta find a lot of it of don't give a f. Like you can't worry about whether people like it. You can't worry about whether people like you. It's a human innate, you know thing that we have. Naturally. We want to be liked and we want people to accept us.
Speaker 1:And man, forget all of that, because at the end of the day, if they don't like you, what are you gonna do? You're gonna change to be what they like or you're gonna still be you and say you know what, forget them. Well, that's all you're gonna do at the end of the day. Anyway, then, why care Do you? And be um, be unapologetic about it.
Speaker 1:Anybody who you ask, who's their favorite, whatever it is, their favorite athlete, a favorite musician, a favorite school principal, their favorite cook, whatever, my favorite cook, or the people who cook for how they feel like, if you feel like you need, they don't even put, they don't even put lemon pepper on that, but you put lemon pepper on that. That shit's amazing. What made you put lemon pepper on that? Well, I felt like it didn't look okay cool. Never.
Speaker 1:Next person might not like them in the pepper, but guess what I did, and I never would have experienced it if that person didn't decide that they was cool to Fuck up the recipe and put lemon pepper on it. But guess what? Now it's something that I know, I love and that's my favorite cook now, because they chose to do something that was natural to them and that they loved it. So you know, we dance around and we try to please people too much. If we're bringing it back to the art, the only thing that that does is get in the way of who you are and the definition of your true identity. You know, you brought up the Rick Rubin book and that book is amazing in it.
Speaker 2:Dude, I had a goal last year to write a hundred songs. I've said this a couple times on the pod. I really took that seriously and I was so mad at myself because I got to 80 and I was like, oh, I didn't get that hundred. I could have easily got to a hundred. But even with that being said, I wouldn't have gotten there if reading that book didn't help influence the way I thought about Performing, the way I thought about creating, the way that I thought about myself Musically.
Speaker 2:I thought about myself in very negative ways. I was very mean to myself as an artist instead of embracing the things that's around me. You know saying I feel like I talked to some of the homies, or I talked to somebody who's younger to me and I'm this old, married dude who's in on Friday nights because I got a gig Saturday in a different city. So I'm tired and I'm, you know, trying to. I got this special little pillow so I can sleep in the van and different stuff, so I won't ache up and all that stuff. And you constantly beat yourself up like you're, you're old, you're not relevant, this, and that it's like no, no, no, no, no, you got to do what you do. You know me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you definitely got to do what you got to do and you got to. You got to understand, like it's her things the wiser. Just understand, because you've been there, you've done that. You, you gain those those rock chips on your windshield. You know, I'm saying it's all to speak. So when you know better, you do better, you move a little bit different.
Speaker 3:Good morning. Oh, miserable, you're not as bad as you make out that frown, don't set right, it's right up in the sky. But you form the good that in you bless you every night. If you shine like a love line through me, you'll make out alright. Now, if the end of evil comes around today, turn right around and chase it away. I'll bless you. Form a good that's in you. Bless you every day.
Speaker 2:This was the first song recorded from my first album, sweet Dreams. Bless you for the good that's in you. It was originally a cover that I loved by Peggy Lee and Mel Tirmé, but this was performed by, of course, me, domino Mor and Kim Massie. We had Bola Mar on the drums, christopher Jones on the bass, mike Harvey on keys and Spencer Day on sax. Very proud of this tune and hopefully we can do more music like this in the future. You can listen to my music on all streaming platforms and you can check me out for more information At Domino Morcom, where you can get anything and everything. Domino Mor.
Speaker 3:If you want to hear a fan, if you shut off your heart, you shut out the feeling and there'll never be any reason to sing. I'll bless you. Yes, bless you.
Speaker 2:One thing that comes up a lot when I talk to anybody is where I'm from St Louis. I always like having other people from St Louis on the pod one, because we have that common thing. We all we know what we love and miss and what helped us. But as a performer, someone from there, I truly think we have an incredible culture for music in so many different areas. You and I are from St Louis. We both were active in the St Louis scene but never bumped into each other until we went to college. You know, and that's because you was in one area of it, I was in the other area and that's how big the scene was. There was a lot of stuff going on back home in St Louis For you. How do you feel the city shaped you as an artist? Why do you think St Louis, if it was a special place for you to start, helped to prepare you where you are now?
Speaker 1:There is so much talent in St Louis. Yeah, st Louis is one of the most talented cities in this country. I would even say one of the most talented places that can compete with places around the world. I've been blessed to be able to walk into some rooms and walk onto some stages and walk into certain studios with certain people and to travel to different countries. I can tell you a list of people back home who are better than some of the best people in all of those places.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I didn't realize at the time that I was surrounded by such greatness, because it was kind of the norm, exactly. So it was spoiling in the way, but it was the most realist version of real time school and education you can get, even when I didn't value it, I didn't realize exactly what it was and how rich it was. Being able to grow up in St Louis, to be surrounded by that. It was a thing that challenged me. It challenged me to work, it challenged me to experiment and it challenged me to also learn how to deal with haters. But that's not just the St Louis thing. You're always going to have those anywhere you go. But St Louis, everybody got a little chip on your shoulder, so your haters are going to be glad to tell you that they hate you.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. So I was learning how to deal with every angle of what I needed to be able to walk away from St Louis and when I was ready to spread some wings to be able to actually fly and glide, it was amazing, man. It was amazing to be in the midst of it. There are so many legendary people who come from St Louis. People don't even understand the greatest. I can see the ikes from the roof.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. So it's a place where the history is so thick you can go right across the water, across the bridge, and that's the home of Miles Davis. You know what I mean. So it's like the school of hard knocks was definitely that, but it was just so rich in talent and having to do the work and understand how these things got to where they are, to understand the evolution and to have your hands in it and to be swimming in the same ocean with all the sharks. It definitely was a blessing and it was definitely something that was necessary to be able to go to the next level. So I got nothing but love for St Louis. Man, there's no greater city on this earth and in the midst of all of that you can find you some of the best food in St Louis. You know what I'm saying Like. So I owe a lot to St Louis, man. I owe a lot to it.
Speaker 2:I'm right there with you on the sense I took it for granted. I remember we went to this festival in Iowa called the Better Than a Dream Festival and they were taking talent from St Louis and they really liked us and we were working all the time, we were constantly gigging. Then I went to college and kind of slowed up, but I still was gigging. And then when I moved to Chicago, in LA, you know, you realize, oh, I was gigging all the time back home. I was constantly working. I was constantly networking, meeting new people from LA, meeting from New York, meeting people from all over the country in my hometown, and for some reason I just felt like it wasn't big enough. I felt like I wasn't doing enough, I felt like I needed to go somewhere else and I just didn't embrace what I had. And I constantly look back on the level of talent that I worked with, how often I still work with them when I come back home, how they molded me to where I, you know. I remember doing the recording session with y'all back in St Louis before I moved to LA and I did another recording session for my second album in Atlanta and it was nothing like that recording session in St Louis. The one in St Louis was so professional we were on top of it. We knocked out that first one with Kim Massey. God bless her soul. We did bless you for the good.
Speaker 2:This year we did three takes of that song. That was it. We rehearsed it, did three takes and we were done. And we were done in like 20 minutes. And I remember going to the one in Atlanta and I'm just looking at these engineers, I'm looking at this dude and I'm just like yo, what are we doing right now? Man, like you, like you're charging me to be here and I'm waiting for you to get stuff taken care of. St Louis's quality, the professionals, the people that you can really work with, the ones who are working and I always tell people this the ones you want to work with are working Absolutely. It's just unmatched in most cities and including LA, including Chicago, these places that I was like wow, I'm in the city of angels, this is where all the stars are. But I know piano players, like you said back in St Louis, that I was like they could crush you.
Speaker 2:You know if you put these two next to each other, it's going to be hard to say that the one from St Louis isn't the better one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a real thing, man, it's a real thing, it's a real thing, man. Yeah, man, that was man. You brought memories with that one. That was a beautiful thing right there. I want to. I haven't heard that record in a long time. I want to go back and listen to that. I'm going to do that today.
Speaker 2:I remember when I was thinking about how I wanted that song to sound and I had already made the mind my mind up that I was going to ask you to help me record it, and there's only one song other than that. That I was like almost tearful in the studio when I heard it, cause I was like this is exactly what I imagined it and that Kim Assey, bless you song you came in. Exactly I wanted it to be smooth, cool drums coming in, that. That that that it was really dope. I don't think when you're kidding, you're dreaming up stuff, it really makes sense until you actually do it. If that makes sense what I just said, I know this sounds crazy but it, it, it.
Speaker 2:I could never imagine the feeling until it happened. And when I did that song with the uh, when we in there I remember she was like she was almost an hour late. So I was paying for studio time and we ran through it a couple of times and I remember we did it like once or twice I was like we got it, we don't really need to do it, let's just get her right. And she got in and we knocked that out so quick. She learned, she didn't even know the song, learned it and we just did what we did. You can't even imagine it happening that good. You can't imagine people being on that level and being prepped.
Speaker 2:I feel like there are people in my life that have been Grammy nominated that weren't that efficient in the studio and weren't that professional, because even though she didn't know it, it wasn't really on her. She came in there, she was ready to work and she was ready to go and I was like yo, how does she do that? That's incredible. I was inspired the second that I met her to try to be that way every time, because she really did come in and we knew who was who was on top of their shit. As soon as she was ready to go, she was like I'm ready. I was like oh, okay, okay, and we were killing.
Speaker 2:Oh it was a blessing, dude, that was that was one of those musical dream moments that I will always hold dear to my heart that I got to perform with someone that dynamic, someone that confident, someone who truly put the work in and Made me think, okay, I need to. I need to get to that level.
Speaker 1:Yeah, guy rest that song, and one of the greatest.
Speaker 2:At the end of every episode, always do the same thing. First and foremost, thank you so much for your time, and the last question I have is very simple how do you feel?
Speaker 1:I mean, I feel great, I feel amazing, I feel ready to work now. Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:I feel ready to work man.
Speaker 1:The day is still full steam in the head. We got a long night ahead of us. I feel great, fantastic. I just need one of them best. One of them best. So did you sit down over there?
Speaker 2:I'll do I like, if the only one that I haven't been able to get is a black cherry in the can. If my mama could find a Black cherry and bring it, I'll be a pure heaven right now.
Speaker 1:You feel?
Speaker 2:Stop it, stop it, stop it. I I Feel like I got a chance to speak to someone I love dearly today.
Speaker 1:Let you catch up.
Speaker 2:It's always so Great to see you post something. It's always great to to hear that you're doing well. It's always great to hear the progression you've made from the last time we spoke, because there's always an upper lateral Progression. You're never going oh, we in the valley. I've never heard you be like, oh, I'm in the valley right now. You like, no, no, I just moved. We out here, living, we, doing what we can. I'm trying to get a little prettier every day. I can't stand you, but that's how it goes.
Speaker 1:And I'm in the valley, man, come, come, get me. I'm doing things I ain't supposed to be doing.
Speaker 3:Exactly so it's just it's.
Speaker 2:I feel refreshed, I feel Enlightened and I'm just very thankful for your friendship and time. So cheers to you, man.
Speaker 1:Cheers man likewise, bro, thank you for what you're doing and I keep up the good work, man, I Want to thank you for listening to the black man talking emotions podcast.
Speaker 2:The open and quote credit goes to Daniel Lenois and shout out to Bola Mar for being on the pod. Follow bow at B-O-L-A-M-A-R Productions on Instagram. Please subscribe to the podcast, share the podcast and give us a good rating five stars, please and thank you. You can support the show by clicking the link at the bottom of the episode description. Also, tell me your plans for the coming year. We should collab. Follow me at D O M L. Underscore a m o u r on Instagram or at down the more calm I'm down, the more much love.