An artist is who I am

I was recently getting to know a guy on a first date and we were sharing the core basics. The reason I am sharing this with you now is because I think it will help you understand more of who I am and why I’m not like most other artists hoping to ‘break through’…

I used to hide that I was Fyerfly in my dating profiles because I didn’t want anyone to form an opinion before meeting me. But after a few years I decided that because Fyerfly is such a large part of who I am, it should be shared straight up so there are no unwelcome surprises, as I never intend to dim my light again.

So the subject came up and this lovely gentleman said something like, “So you’re a musician, tell me a little more about that”… I shared a brief summary of my history (you can read more here) and a little about the timing of the release of my debut album ‘Connect’. 

I said that even though there have been breaks, all through my life I have come back to my music, to my songs. I went on to explain that being an artist is who I AM and not what I DO. I am not an artist for money (definitely the wrong field as expenses far outweigh the income) and I’m not an artist for the attention, otherwise I’d be posting selfies every other day.

Sadly, I have not been impressed with the behaviours of most of the music or art industry. I almost recorded with a lovely producer post-covid, but the rest have demonstrated unstable personalities, mile-high egos and unprofessional attitudes that get in the way. Most industry/musicians only want to support and be seen to know you IF you can help them climb, and the whole world feels fake and superficial. 

I’m deep and real in the rawest sense. I want to raise and praise my people. I want to love and be loved. So this is simply not a place I belong. Especially when I have so much more important real-life stuff going on in my life.

It costs a huge amount of do$h for the singer-songwriter to create (not just record) a professional album, so why on earth would I – the creator – payroll anyone like that?? For fame? Yeah, no thanks.

So unfortunately in my experience, the music and art industry are not so much about the music or art. I will always be an artist and my music will continue regardless of recordings, releases and marketing campaigns… But it will only be created with people that do it for the right reasons (and when I can afford to!!)