1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,400 Hello and welcome to the Cosmic Nomad. 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:09,040 I'm your host, Bailey Rushlow and this is a space for the 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,920 curious and the heart lead where we explore the human experience 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,400 through travel, nature, spirituality and real life 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,840 transformation through beautiful conversations. 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,320 As I discover my way of living, what I call an inspired life, I 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,400 share the practices, stories and perspectives that have helped 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:32,680 guide me back to myself. Hello everyone, welcome to 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,960 today's episode of the Cosmic Nomad. 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,280 Today's episode is a little different. 11 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,960 I want to tell you the story of how my music career began. 12 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,760 Not just the highlight reel or like the the press bio version, 13 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,880 but the the real truth of how it all started. 14 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:56,520 I am in true cosmic nomad fashion in the spare room of my 15 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,720 partner's parents house in Bavaria, Germany. 16 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:07,400 I just got back from a week in the van, travelling through 17 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:13,080 Germany together, just enjoying our time in the stillness and 18 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:20,200 quiet and staying on top of hills and in meadows and next to 19 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,480 lakes and swimming in lakes. And it actually rained for like 20 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:29,760 2 straight days and nights so I was getting a little tired of 21 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:36,120 being in the van after that. But we went foraging for plums 22 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,960 in the woods and all kinds of delicious herbs that I'm 23 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:46,280 currently drying, including elderberries, which are ripe and 24 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,880 beautiful right now that I'm trying to take home to Mexico 25 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,720 that I can make a elderberry syrup with, which is incredible 26 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,680 for your immune system in the colder months. 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,760 And by colder months, I mean it's really not that cold in 28 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:05,080 Mexico in the winter, but you know, still got to take care of 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:10,199 our immune system. And I've been on a 30 day 30 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:15,560 journey with one of my favorite and most incredible plants, 31 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:22,520 Mugwort, which is not only a womb plant, but also a wonderful 32 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:27,360 ally for dreams and psychic protection and opening 33 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,200 metaphorically and physically your third eye space. 34 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,280 And the dreams and the dream space that I've been navigating 35 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:40,200 has been incredible. I've been a dreamer all of my 36 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,080 life. I've been writing down my dreams 37 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,640 since I was, I don't know, I have some dreams that I wrote 38 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,600 down as a child and probably consistently for the last like 39 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,600 10 years or so. And whenever I'm starting a new 40 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,400 journey with a plant, even one that I've known and worked with 41 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:04,120 before, I love to do 30 day periods of time for not only me 42 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,320 to get to know the plant, but for the plant to get to know me 43 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,880 and Remember Me. And I believe all plants are 44 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:15,160 sentient. And so by getting to forge this 45 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,360 connection together again, it's like getting to know a friend. 46 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:23,760 And it's been really fun for me this year to begin to forage in 47 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:28,040 Europe's beautiful, beautiful forests and meadows. 48 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,680 And in the UK, there's some incredible plants that are just 49 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,800 wildly growing, like all around, that are incredible for the 50 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,880 immune system, for your heart health, for healing wounds, for 51 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,600 making salves and tinctures, for clearing the mind, for helping 52 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,880 with pain. It's a very powerful initiatory 53 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,760 journey to begin relationships with plants in this way. 54 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,760 And yeah, I've just spent a lot of time doing that this summer. 55 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:06,040 So I'm going home with half my suitcase full, full of herbs and 56 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,800 and wonderful plants that I've had the privilege of working 57 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,800 with. And so I'm as as much as I'm a 58 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:17,000 little bit sad for the summer to come to an end, I'm also very 59 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,520 excited to be going home to my casita in Mexico and to I start 60 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:31,440 the next season there and be reunited with my cat and my 61 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:37,240 projects like, you know, kombucha, I brew every week and 62 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,520 I make all of my clay art and physical art as well in my, in 63 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,200 my house and in my little art shop. 64 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,760 So there's a, there's a lot of things that I'm really excited 65 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:55,800 to go home to, including seeing my friends and my beach and the 66 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,320 beautiful land that I have the great opportunity to call home. 67 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:07,920 So one more week and I will be flying back there and starting 68 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,280 the next season. I, I want to tell you the story 69 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,920 of how my music career began. So for those of you who don't 70 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,360 know, I have been professionally creating and recording, 71 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:26,560 producing music since 2015. So this is 10 years of being a 72 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,960 musician online, which I consider myself so lucky and so 73 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,480 grateful to be able to even say that. 74 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,200 And you know, music was kind of in my blood. 75 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:43,560 My dad's family was all musical. My mom's family was musical, my 76 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,160 dad's dad was in a band, my dad was in a band. 77 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,840 My mom grew up all singing in choir her whole life. 78 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:57,120 My mom's mom and her sisters were all in like a Appalachian 79 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:03,120 Christian kind of gospely bands. And so music is definitely 80 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,880 running through the veins. I'm the oldest of three siblings 81 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,840 and we all play instruments. We all sing, we all harmonize, 82 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:15,520 so it's there's something definitely there that's innately 83 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:21,040 present in our DNAI have little home videos of me singing and 84 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,560 performing for my family and friends and having little toy 85 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,840 guitars and toy microphones, toy pianos. 86 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,440 And my house was always full of instruments. 87 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:36,040 My dad can basically play anything just by looking at it, 88 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,840 which is so annoying. Just kidding. 89 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:41,720 It's incredible. I'm a little bit jealous. 90 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,640 He really doesn't have to practice. 91 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,040 He just picks any kind of instrument up and it's like, oh, 92 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,000 I can play this. Whereas I needed a lot of 93 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:55,440 practice and I started taking piano lessons at 12:00. 94 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,040 So that was my first instrument and really my first love. 95 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,520 The piano is such an incredible instrument and it was important 96 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:07,960 to my mom that I could recognize classical music and also play 97 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,840 classical piano. And I remember a point in time I 98 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,880 was probably 131415 somewhere in there. 99 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,880 And I remember thinking, I like playing piano and I like being 100 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:27,560 able to learn how to read sheets and everything, but I know stuff 101 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,040 by ear. Like I know how to play things 102 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,880 just by hearing it. I know how to harmonize by 103 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,960 singing in groups like church choir and musical theater, which 104 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:44,560 I grew up a big theater kid. And so a love for performing and 105 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,760 also just the power of music. I recognized from a young age as 106 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:54,240 being a universal language that even if I was listening to, you 107 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,560 know, opera, for example, listening to Pavarotti sing in 108 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,360 Italian, I had no idea what he was saying, but I was covered in 109 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,360 chills because music is vibration. 110 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:10,280 It's frequency, it's sound that impacts your very cells. 111 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,600 And we feel it. We we don't just hear music. 112 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,360 As I got older, I really enjoyed listening to like Elton John, 113 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:27,280 Queen, Billy Joel, Kansas, Boston, The Beatles, Fleetwood 114 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:33,039 Mac, the list goes on and on. And I realized that as much as I 115 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:39,000 enjoyed playing classical music, what I really wanted to do was 116 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:44,159 be able to play and sing the music that I was hearing on the 117 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:47,600 radio, the music that I was playing on my vinyl record 118 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,720 player in my room, the music that I was playing on CDs that I 119 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,880 got from Goodwill. And so I told my my mom that. 120 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,000 And she was like, well, you've got to talk to your piano 121 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,280 teacher. I was like, OK, so I talked to 122 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:03,800 him and I said, I really want to learn how to play Adele and like 123 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,720 Elton John, you know, and I want to be able to sing along and 124 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,960 play. And he was like, OK, we can do 125 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,600 that. But you, you can't stop playing, 126 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,280 you know, Beethoven and Mozart. And I was like, OK, OK, fine. 127 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,040 We'll we'll do both. You know, I'll still read 128 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:23,920 sheets, but I will also encourage myself to learn chords 129 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,160 and how to read just chord charts and stuff. 130 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:31,440 And that really changed everything because now I had 131 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,640 this new set of wings. Now I had this confidence of now 132 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,880 I'm not only limited to classical music, but now I can 133 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:43,080 kind of play anything. And if I don't know how, I'll 134 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,320 figure it out. And it became this fun challenge 135 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,720 of being able to listen to things and then figure them out 136 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:55,720 myself on the keys, and then adding in the element of song 137 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,920 and singing with my own voice while I played. 138 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:04,240 So I'm doing this consistently as I am in musical theater and 139 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,800 high school. It's ages 16171819. 140 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:12,480 I am working at Chick-fil-A, which, if you don't know or not, 141 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,640 American, is a fast food sandwich place. 142 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:21,040 I was also in school online on university for history. 143 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:25,360 For whatever reason, I thought I want to get a history degree 144 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:30,200 because history is interesting. And then, yeah, I realized while 145 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,840 I was studying that, but it's kind of all fake. 146 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:37,440 The history we've been taught is not real history. 147 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:43,200 I still stand by that today. Besides the point, we're not 148 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:44,920 going off on that subject right now. 149 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:48,680 I was just starting to feel very unhappy. 150 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,000 I was doing things with my day and all of my time was spent 151 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,240 making such little money from this place. 152 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:05,280 I was getting paid, you know, 750 an hour, $7.50 an hour and 153 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:09,280 then you know, 1/3 of that is being taken out for taxes and 154 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,360 Medicaid and Medicare and stuff that I will never see again. 155 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,360 And I'd be working. I was only working part time, 156 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:21,000 but still I was, I was just exhausted from it and it didn't 157 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,080 bring me joy. And I kept thinking, what if I 158 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,520 was working for myself? Like my mom always told me 159 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:30,720 growing up, find what you love to do and find a way to get paid 160 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:36,200 for it. And so this was 2015 or 1415. 161 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:41,360 I had been watching YouTube. This was like prime, prime era 162 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:47,920 in YouTube days where people were making music in their own 163 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,120 way, in their own room, in their own houses, with minimal 164 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:55,080 equipment, creating songs, creating videos for the songs 165 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:59,480 and putting them out online and making really good money. 166 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,680 And I was like, if they can do that, I can do that. 167 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:06,560 And they don't have a record label backing them. 168 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,840 They never went to, you know, producing school. 169 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,480 They don't they, they've just learned from other YouTube 170 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:17,240 videos how to do this. If they could do that, why can't 171 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:22,560 I? And so I ended up quitting my 172 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:27,680 job at Chick-fil-A, got another job at a retail store in my 173 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:33,280 little southern Christian town, worked there for like 6 months, 174 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,880 made some amazing friends, some people that I'm still friends 175 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:37,960 with today actually, which is really cool. 176 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,560 And it was a little bit of a step up because I was making $9 177 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:44,440 an hour. So that was pretty great for me 178 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,000 at the time. And then I just, I still just 179 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,760 felt like even though my workplace experience has 180 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:56,160 improved and I am getting paid more, I still know that my time 181 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,320 could be spent in way more fulfilling ways. 182 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:03,520 And I remember telling my parents one day, I said, guys, 183 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,360 this isn't working. I'm not happy. 184 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,320 My health is suffering. I was going through a lot of 185 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,360 health stuff at that time as well, which I've talked about in 186 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,000 previous episodes. I'm not happy. 187 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,720 I don't want to be in school anymore. 188 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,880 I really want to quit university. 189 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,520 I also want to quit my jobs that I'm spending so much time at 190 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,360 making so little money that I could be pouring into teaching 191 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:35,600 myself how to record and produce music and see where that takes 192 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,040 me. So can I have your permission to 193 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,680 do that? And also to to stay home and not 194 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:46,760 pay rent and just figure this shit out and live at home with 195 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,320 you guys. And I will work every day for 196 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,680 the next year and then we'll we can re evaluate. 197 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,880 What do you think? And they thought about it and 198 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:04,200 said, yeah, let's do it. So I promptly quit my jobs, quit 199 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:14,080 university and started out learning how to become the CEO 200 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,480 and the janitor of the Bailey Rush Lowe music business. 201 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:23,840 And I started with a laptop that already had garage band on it, 202 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,320 which was super helpful because I had already been playing with 203 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,720 that for a few years, so I kind of knew how it worked. 204 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:33,640 I had a microphone that my dad had in storage somewhere that he 205 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,520 lent to me to use during this time. 206 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,920 I also already had a piano in my house, luckily for me. 207 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,960 And I learned how to play the ukulele from my best friend. 208 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:50,480 And yeah, I, I just started practicing and playing and 209 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,480 watching YouTube videos until 2:00 AM to figure out how to do 210 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,440 shit and how do you record and how do you do harmonies and how 211 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,080 do you record layers and how do you, you know, mix and master? 212 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:06,160 And I never quite captured the mixing and mastering element, I 213 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,520 will say. But I got the recording down. 214 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,480 And then that's just the technical stuff. 215 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:17,120 Then you have to think about, OK, the artistry of creating 216 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:19,360 music. And what I was watching people 217 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,480 do on YouTube specifically was acoustic versions of popular 218 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,840 songs, like acoustic covers. And I remember playing one for 219 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,800 my dad that I created kind of just one night in my room trying 220 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,760 to figure stuff out. And he listened and he was like, 221 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,520 it's good. But like no one is going to want 222 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,480 to listen to a stripped down version of it was AI want to 223 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:42,920 dance with somebody by Whitney Houston. 224 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,080 He's like, this is a dance song. This is a fun bebop and wedding 225 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,960 type song. Like no one wants to hear it 226 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,160 stripped back. I'm sorry. 227 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,120 And I was like, oh, I just felt kind of crushed. 228 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:00,640 But I knew, you know what his perspective, although he's my 229 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,840 parent and I, I want to, you know, make him happy, his 230 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,640 perspective is one person. And I actually really believe in 231 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,000 this. And I think that this can be 232 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,280 something and I'm going to go for it. 233 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:18,000 And so I didn't let his lack of belief in it wasn't in me, but 234 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,680 it's just in the system, you know, discourage me. 235 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,240 I'm really glad that I didn't because he just didn't 236 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,800 understand that, you know, he came comes from a different era 237 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,920 of you don't change music. You know, music is what it is 238 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,880 and it's famous for a reason and changing it is almost like 239 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,440 disrespectful to it. That's it was his perspective at 240 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,840 the time. He has since changed his tune 241 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,520 and he actually loves covers and he loves my music, which is 242 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:48,600 awesome. But it didn't necessarily start 243 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:49,920 that way. And he was really trying to 244 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,880 protect me of like, why are you putting so much time and effort 245 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:56,880 into this when it's just not really kind of work out, you 246 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,160 know? And I, I, I appreciate that. 247 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:05,319 However, I continued my late nights and my early mornings and 248 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:08,960 I got myself a desk and I started building out a little 249 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,880 studio space in my closet. By building out, I mean, I moved 250 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:17,280 all my clothes to one side, put up some like padding on one side 251 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,359 of the wall, moved a little keyboard in there and started 252 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,200 recording songs and I started putting them out on YouTube and 253 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,960 they were not amazing. They, they were good. 254 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,640 Looking back, I'm like, I'm proud of myself and I, I love 255 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,640 that version of me. But they weren't groundbreaking, 256 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,960 you know, they weren't anything to necessarily write home about. 257 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:43,040 But my work ethic was there, my passion was there, the 258 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,800 inspiration and the talent and the effort was there. 259 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:50,920 And my heart was fucking in it, you know. 260 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,840 And I remember one night, I've told this on the podcast before, 261 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,760 one night I moved my little studio space from downstairs up 262 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,360 into my parents attic. It was really quiet and 263 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:05,240 insulated. It was also very cold. 264 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,080 It was I think January or February in Tennessee, which is 265 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:13,320 fairly, fairly cold. And I was upstairs in the attic 266 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,880 recording and I completely lost track of time. 267 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,280 Could not have told you what time it was for the life of me. 268 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:26,440 And then I realized I was breathing fog and my fingers 269 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,800 were so numb. I was having a hard time typing 270 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,520 on my keyboard and playing the keys. 271 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,680 And I looked at the the clock and it was like 2 in the 272 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,760 morning. And I went, holy shit, I could 273 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:48,600 do this all day long and not even realize that my fingers 274 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,720 about to fall off, that I'm about to be like hypothermic 275 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,360 right now. It didn't matter. 276 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,400 Nothing mattered. The only thing that mattered was 277 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:03,640 making my music. And that was when I knew, OK, 278 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,280 this is not just like a hobby like this is for real. 279 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:13,640 I think it was 2016. There was a competition, they 280 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,080 came around from a guy named Peter Hollands that was like my 281 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:21,360 YouTube idol at the time. He made incredible acapella 282 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,240 music. I think he still does, 283 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:29,000 incredible musician, artist, a Ranger of of notes and 284 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,520 frequencies. And he had a competition for 285 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,600 like a cover competition to serve for people to cover his 286 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:41,000 Christmas song and make it into their own version. 287 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,840 So I entered the competition, I took his song and I changed it 288 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,680 all up and made my own version of it, put out a video and 289 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,240 really hoped I could win the competition because if I did, it 290 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,800 meant that I got to go and actually make a video with Peter 291 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:57,520 Holland. So I was like, Oh my God, I've 292 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:02,720 got to win this contest. I did not win, but I did get 293 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,440 like a runner up position, which was really cool for me. 294 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,160 And I remember getting a message from Peter one day that said 295 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,320 hey. Great job in the competition. 296 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:18,760 I would love to have a FaceTime with you and talk and discuss 297 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,720 your music. And I about came out of my skin. 298 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,520 I was so excited. I ran in the kitchen. 299 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,920 I was like, mom, Oh my God. I just got a message from Peter 300 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:33,000 Hollands, you know, as if it was the biggest celebrity in the 301 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,840 world. And she was like, Oh my God, 302 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,080 that's amazing. I'm like, I know. 303 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:42,240 So we set up a time and got on FaceTime together and he asked 304 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,920 me. He was like, So what do you want 305 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,080 to do with this? What do you, what's your goal? 306 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,480 I was like, I just want to make music, you know, I just, I just 307 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,960 want, you know, reach people with my, my songs and get them 308 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,120 to listen and all the stuff. And he was like, OK, yeah, 309 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,400 that's great, that's great. And I said, yeah, I'm just, I 310 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,760 don't really know how or when it's going to start making me 311 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,760 money, you know? And he said it's probably going 312 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:11,080 to take about 7 years. I was like 07 years. 313 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,800 Jesus. I did not anticipate it being 314 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,000 quite that long. And he said, but you have to be 315 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,880 really consistent with it. And he looked at me and he goes, 316 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:24,400 Bailey, you can't have a Plan B if you want this to work out. 317 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:31,400 And it hit me exactly as it was intended to, exactly as it 318 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,080 should have. And to this day, it is one of 319 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,520 the top things that I tell people that want to start doing 320 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,360 what I'm doing or want to start doing their own business or 321 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:44,480 version of whatever. I'm like, listen, you can't have 322 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,560 a Plan B. You've got to be all in. 323 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:48,720 You've got to be be. Yeah. 324 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,360 Can't have one foot out the door. 325 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,520 You know, if it doesn't work, then no, all in. 326 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:58,520 And I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to live with my 327 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,720 parents at that time, so I did not have to worry about paying 328 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,120 rent. And I realized that not every 329 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:11,360 person is as as lucky as I was in that timeline of my life 330 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:16,280 where I didn't have to focus on a lot of bills and taking care 331 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,000 of other people. So my situation's quite unique. 332 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,640 But I'm really grateful that he told me that when he did because 333 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:30,200 it set me on a whole new journey of realizing that I've got skin 334 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,440 in the game now. You know, it's not just fun and 335 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,640 staying awake late making fun music. 336 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,560 I mean it, it is. And I, I still do love that. 337 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,480 But I've got both feet in now. And I remember Holland said 338 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,800 you've got to get a Patreon set up for yourself. 339 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,240 You've got to have a place where people can come and support you. 340 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,880 And I was like, I, I want to, but I, I don't honestly don't 341 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:00,440 know who would paid me to do stuff like I, I don't know. 342 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,360 And he said, Bailey, if you don't believe in yourself, how 343 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,360 can you expect other people to do that? 344 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:10,400 You've got to do it first. I was like, damn, this FaceTime 345 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,440 call is full of a lot of really good shit right now. 346 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,360 And you're right, you're right. That makes total sense. 347 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:22,000 So we got off the call and I started a Patreon and, you know, 348 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,200 looking back, I can't remember if I already had one going, but 349 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,560 it wasn't very vibrant. There wasn't a lot of movement 350 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:30,680 there. But after that call, I really 351 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:34,880 started putting in the effort and making regular videos and 352 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,680 content and art and posting all my stories and getting my 353 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:41,680 Instagram going and like, all the things you got to do, you 354 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,840 know? But the love for the music never 355 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,560 went away. And even to this day, even 356 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,720 though it's been a long time and my relationship with it has 357 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,320 changed a little bit here and there, it's still something that 358 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:55,840 I love. It's still something that brings 359 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,720 me joy. There's nothing like figuring 360 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,360 out an incredible idea for a cover or it doesn't have to be a 361 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:03,520 cover. Can be an original song, can be 362 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:09,800 a poem, can be some great vocals or a beautiful piano part or 363 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,200 some new chords on the ukulele that I want to put down. 364 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:17,160 You know that feeling. It's magnetic, it's electric, 365 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:22,320 it's vibrant and people started paying attention and people 366 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:26,080 started joining. Before I knew it, I had 10:20, 367 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,440 30-40 patrons, people that were paying me every month, literally 368 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,120 funding my life. I wasn't making any money on 369 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:39,880 streaming at this point. Not a not a cent or maybe like a 370 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,160 few cents, but it was very, very little. 371 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,800 And what I was receiving was love and financial support from 372 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:52,560 people all around the world, all different ages, all different 373 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:56,360 languages, who had one thing in common, and that was a love for 374 00:24:56,360 --> 00:25:02,680 music and a really beautiful and profound and inspiring belief in 375 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,640 me. And I will forever be grateful 376 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,840 to those individuals who helped support my life. 377 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:19,040 And they literally made it possible for me to do what I was 378 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:20,880 doing. Because with the money that I 379 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:26,440 was making from the videos and the music, I was able to pour 380 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,320 back into my art, into buying a little bit better equipment or a 381 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:35,440 new camera lens or a new interface or some new string 382 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:40,960 programs, things that all eventually made my music what it 383 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,920 is today. With their financial support, I 384 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,880 was able to purchase the interface, the laptop, the 385 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,520 microphone, everything that I'm using to this day. 386 00:25:52,520 --> 00:26:00,800 Nothing was ever just handed to me for free. 2018, I got an 387 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:07,280 e-mail from a guy named Matt that said, hey, I'm interested 388 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,600 in working with you. I've got a really small little 389 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:15,760 label of acoustic artists. There's no contracts, it's just 390 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,080 us working together in collaboration. 391 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:20,200 Let me know if you're interested. 392 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:25,560 And I thought he was offering for them to take care of the 393 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,600 mixing and the mastering the stuff that I was really 394 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,720 struggling to figure out. But I love the creation of the 395 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:34,040 music part and that's all that I really wanted to do. 396 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,760 And so they actually. So I responded and was like, you 397 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,120 know what? Yeah, let's do a trial song. 398 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:44,080 Like let's do one and see what happens. 399 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,560 I remember telling the guy I was dating at the time, yeah, I'm 400 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,960 gonna, I'm gonna work with this, this guy named Matt, and I'm 401 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,880 gonna send him one of my songs and we're gonna do a, do a trial 402 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:56,600 run. And he was like, I wouldn't do 403 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,560 that if I were you. I would just keep your music to 404 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:00,880 yourself. I wouldn't be sharing royalties 405 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,400 with anyone. You know, I wouldn't be working 406 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,880 with other people. And I was like, well, I want a 407 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,520 team. I want community, you know, I 408 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,880 want to be able to outsource stuff that I don't want to do or 409 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,320 I don't feel proficient in doing any more. 410 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,720 And I can just focus on the creation process. 411 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:23,360 And during that time, I went to a Ben Rector concert and he was 412 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:25,720 playing at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. 413 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,840 Incredible show, incredible venue, my favorite venue. 414 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,080 And that I probably have that I've ever, ever gone to. 415 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,200 I've seen so many amazing shows there. 416 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:38,920 And he at the end of the show, he goes, oh, because I'm in 417 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:43,640 Nashville, guys, I'm going to play country music classic 418 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:46,240 Shania Twain. Here goes. 419 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,160 And he starts in, looks like we made it. 420 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,240 Look how far we've called my baby. 421 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,800 And I told my boyfriend this time, yeah, I've got this 422 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,680 amazing cover of You're Still the One. 423 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,480 And he goes 90s country. Like no one's going to stream 424 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,120 that. And I said, I think you're 425 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:06,720 wrong. I think people will love this 426 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:08,560 song. People love 90s country, People 427 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,200 love Shania Twain. This song is an incredible hit. 428 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,160 It's going to be played at 1,000,000 weddings. 429 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,400 And I'm going to send it to Matt and we're going to try it out as 430 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,440 my trial song. So I sent it to Matt, we put it 431 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,040 out 2018. To this day, it is my most 432 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:26,960 streamed song. I recorded it in my bedroom just 433 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:32,240 following a feeling with no fancy mic, no label, no promo, 434 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:36,080 just me and a little gut feeling. 435 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,200 And somehow it found people, like a lot of people. 436 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:46,120 It's got around 30 million streams across platforms, which 437 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:50,680 is such a testament to following your gut and your intuition when 438 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,960 you want to do something because you never know where it could 439 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,320 lead you. So I mentioned growing up in 440 00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:01,400 Nashville, you know, in the land where everyone and their cousin 441 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,520 has a record deal or wants one or is trying to get into the 442 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,320 industry in some capacity or another. 443 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:13,400 And the goal is always to quote, make it, you know, to sign a 444 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,720 label, to play the right rooms, to get in the right rooms to. 445 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,800 There's just this unspoken blueprint that you're expected 446 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:22,800 to follow if you wanna be taken seriously. 447 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:28,520 And when I started doing music, but not that kind of music and 448 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,600 not that way, people were confused. 449 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,000 You know, I wasn't chasing a label. 450 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,840 I've never chased a label. I'm not signed to a record 451 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:39,480 label. I never have been, never will 452 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,680 be. But most likely I wasn't trying 453 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,880 to perform at writer's rounds and live events. 454 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,080 And I, I wasn't even doing original music at first. 455 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:54,240 I was just following this feeling, recording covers in my 456 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,480 bedroom, layering harmonies with my headphones on late at night. 457 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,920 And people would ask me like, oh, how's the, the singing thing 458 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,000 going, you know? And I could hear the tone in 459 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,600 their voice, like, as if it was a hobby that I would grow out 460 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,040 of. But they didn't really get it, 461 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:14,200 you know? And that's OK. 462 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:19,360 But I kept going anyway because even if they didn't understand 463 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:25,640 it, I did, and I still do. And it is something that I'm so 464 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,560 proud of that I continued listening to myself even when 465 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,000 there were so many voices, questioning what I was doing, 466 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:37,400 why I was doing it, how I was doing it, what my intention was, 467 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,680 if it was working. You know, even to this day when 468 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:43,120 I tell people like, yeah, I produce my own music and I 469 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,160 record acoustic covers and I tell people it's my full time, 470 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,000 they usually can hardly believe it. 471 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,520 They're like, wait for real? Oh, like, wow. 472 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,160 They don't know what to do with it because it's it's kind of 473 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,920 outside the box. It's outside the realm of of 474 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:04,080 possibility of what they think is normal. 475 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,000 But I would not trade it for anything. 476 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,920 I absolutely. I'm so grateful for the journey 477 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,920 and for my incredible team that is supportive and kind and 478 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:21,280 always wants to see me grow and evolve. 479 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,920 Another question I get a lot is, oh, so you don't make any 480 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,400 original music? And I have made original music 481 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,880 in the past, and I definitely see myself making more original 482 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,040 music in the future. But what people don't understand 483 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,640 is that a cover is not just a copy. 484 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,160 Like you're just borrowing someone else's song instead of 485 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,120 making your own, you know? But here's the thing. 486 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,240 Every time I cover a song, I'm not trying to imitate it. 487 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,080 I'm trying to feel it. I'm trying to find the soul of 488 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:58,560 it and translate it through my body and my voice and my 489 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,160 experience. And that is the artistry. 490 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,680 I don't think that a song has to be original to be authentic. 491 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:12,880 But all also what is quote original even mean anymore? 492 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,880 You know, some of the biggest songs in the world were written 493 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,040 by teams of people and then performed by someone who didn't 494 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,120 write a single line, and yet we call those originals. 495 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,320 But when an independent artist pours their heart into 496 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:31,240 reinterpreting a piece of music, how is that somehow less than 497 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,400 no, no. When I cover a song, I bring my 498 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:40,360 own meaning to it. My grief, my softness, my 499 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,320 timing. It's not just about singing 500 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:49,000 someone else's story, but I'm offering my own into the 501 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,480 presence of the work that I am creating. 502 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,920 So when it comes to choosing the covers that I do, I don't just 503 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:59,120 cover anything. I'm very picky. 504 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:06,760 I choose the songs that move me. I choose ones that hit like this 505 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:12,240 quiet ache in your chest and the ones that feel like someone 506 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,000 saying I get it, I've been there. 507 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,200 And I don't really cover trendy songs at all. 508 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:24,040 Like, I like covering stuff that has been out for at least 30 509 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:28,040 years. Sometimes I hear one line in a 510 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:33,080 song and my whole body responds like it mirrors something in me. 511 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,360 And that's how I know. And that's the kind of song that 512 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,640 I want to live inside for a little while and wrap my mind 513 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:44,920 around new harmonies and breathe life into and make it honest. 514 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:50,560 And it's less about the genre or the artist and way more about 515 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,400 the emotion that wants to come through. 516 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:58,080 You know, for a long time, in the beginning, I was just 517 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,960 uploading into the void. Like no one was following me. 518 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,480 I didn't have any big plan for promotion. 519 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:11,560 It was just me hitting publish on YouTube videos. 520 00:34:11,679 --> 00:34:17,920 And there were a lot of really kind comments from extended 521 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,800 family and, and childhood friends. 522 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:25,800 And I really appreciated that, you know, I didn't have millions 523 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:27,960 of streams. Nothing went viral, but there 524 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:32,520 was soulful connection there. And it just, it kept happening. 525 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,280 And slowly there would be a message here and there, or an 526 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:39,719 e-mail, or some of them messaged me on my website telling me that 527 00:34:40,159 --> 00:34:42,440 they cried when they heard my song. 528 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:45,560 Or that they played it at their wedding. 529 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,840 That it was their first dance song, or their dad walked them 530 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,159 down the aisle to it. Or they played it for their 531 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,280 brother's funeral because it was their favorite song. 532 00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:00,120 Or that their baby falls asleep to it every night. 533 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:03,680 Or it's the only song that will get their toddler to stop 534 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,400 crying. And I just remember thinking, 535 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:11,640 wow, this is what I wanted. Like I didn't even need to 536 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:14,160 explain what I was doing anymore. 537 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:17,520 Maybe it didn't even make sense to anyone else, but it was 538 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:20,640 working. Not in the industry sense of 539 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,720 record deal and record label and hustle and bustle and tour and 540 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,680 all this stuff. But I, I was like, oh wow, this 541 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:32,160 is exactly what I wanted all along. 542 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:36,680 To be connecting with people through music all around the 543 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:41,600 world without having to go out and tour and without having to 544 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:46,360 go be gone and be fulfilling this kind of struggling, 545 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:51,440 starving artist vibe. That is just what you do, 546 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:53,120 Especially growing up in Nashville. 547 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,440 Like it's, it's what I was so used to seeing. 548 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:00,480 And even though I have received millions of streams and millions 549 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:05,280 of yearly listeners, like what I'm most proud of isn't even the 550 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,040 numbers, it's that I never gave up. 551 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,800 I, I didn't try to become louder and flashier to, to stay 552 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:19,080 noticed. I just stayed close to what felt 553 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:23,920 honest. And so if you're listening to 554 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:27,880 this, maybe you're starting out with something, music or art, 555 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:33,400 writing, healing. Let this be a reminder too, that 556 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:35,560 you know, you don't need some big break. 557 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:37,680 You don't need everyone to understand. 558 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:45,000 You just need a quiet knowing and the courage to keep saying 559 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,160 yes to it, you know? And that's the path, that's the 560 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:53,000 magic that is the following the yellow brick road and letting 561 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,560 one step appear before you as you take those steps, trusting 562 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:02,000 that the next one will appear. And that's the artist's way, 563 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,880 following the gut, following the heart, finding the the bridge 564 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:12,520 between the two. And like I said, even though 565 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:18,360 I've feel like I've had a a lot of incredible success online, 566 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,720 the thing that stands out the most to me are those messages, 567 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:28,600 those kind words of things people have said to me about how 568 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:33,040 they connect with my music. One of the most incredible 569 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:37,000 messages I ever received. A little bit of a trigger 570 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:43,480 warning cure for someone considering becoming unalived. 571 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:51,880 I got a message one night from a woman that said I was really 572 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:56,840 close to driving my car off a bridge today. 573 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:02,840 And your song started playing out of nowhere on my car radio. 574 00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:07,920 And I just pulled over on the side of the road and I cried. 575 00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:12,600 And I'm still here today because of that moment. 576 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:19,720 Well, thank you, and to this day that message makes me emotional 577 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:26,000 because I was just making art that inspired me, and here it 578 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:31,720 was actually impacting whether someone stayed on this planet or 579 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:33,840 not. What? 580 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:43,600 The idea that art can reach so far beyond us is incredible, and 581 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:48,240 the capability for connectivity that we have right now is 582 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:54,360 greater than we've ever had before in the history of art in 583 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,440 our worlds and communication in our world. 584 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:01,800 Like don't give up. If this is something you want to 585 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:06,960 do, no matter what it is, no matter what kind of dream or or 586 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:11,440 art or passion or inspiration you want to share, go for it. 587 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:15,800 Because you never know how much it will one impact someone else, 588 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:19,040 which is incredible. But even more than that, how 589 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:23,600 much it will impact and change you as a person, as an artist, 590 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:28,120 as a creator. So there's so much more I'm sure 591 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,800 I could share, but I think this is a good stopping point. 592 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:36,560 So if you've gotten this far, thank you so much for listening. 593 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,200 I really appreciate it. I hope something in this story 594 00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:43,960 has been inspiring to you. If you are looking for ways to 595 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,360 support people that you love, look for options like if they 596 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:53,360 have Patreon available, if they have a buy me a coffee link, if 597 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,400 they have, you know, a website you can order from. 598 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,920 And shameless plug for my own Patreon right here where I'm 599 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,560 offering monthly guided meditations, gratitude 600 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:08,200 practices, behind the scenes voice notes, stuff that I'm not 601 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:11,520 posting anywhere else. It's only for my Patreon 602 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:16,160 community in exchange for your financial support with for as 603 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:18,440 little as a price of a cup of coffee. 604 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:23,120 I'm creating these episodes. These podcasts are are free. 605 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:26,400 You know, I'm not making any money as of yet sharing them, 606 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,240 but I I'm doing it because I love it. 607 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:32,360 I'm following my gut and I'm doing it because I know that my 608 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,080 words will have an impact on people beyond me that I might 609 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,000 never get to reach or meet in real life. 610 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,560 But you never know how far your words can travel. 611 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:46,000 So if you are able or interested in supporting my ability to 612 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:50,960 continue creating, it does not go noticed or underappreciated. 613 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,360 So thank you so much and thank you for listening. 614 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:59,480 I will be back next week with another episode and I really 615 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,840 look forward to connecting with you then. 616 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:08,640 So until then, my little cosmic nomad friends, keep an open 617 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:12,440 heart, open mind and stay curious. 618 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:16,520 Oh, and if you're interested in listening to any of my music, it 619 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:21,480 is all under my name, Bailey Rushlow, across all platforms, 620 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,280 Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, you name it. 621 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:26,960 All of my old music videos. I'm not really making as many 622 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,080 music videos these days, but I've got a lot of incredibly 623 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,800 beautifully filmed ones on YouTube. 624 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,560 Go check those out. And thank you so much for 625 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:37,120 listening. I'm so grateful. 626 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:41,840 I hope my music impacts you and imparts some love to your life.