Playing Bass, Gettin Fired. The Crazy Journey to Follow My Passion
Playing bass and creating a sound and vibe that moves people is what I live for. Every morning I pick up my bass, fire up my computer, load a new track into Ableton and record bass lines that bring all types of songs to life. This is my service to the world and it makes me proud to be able to help people realize their various creative visions. I check my reviews and the positive feedback is humbling.
“Another banger performance from Brandon. Deep pocket grooves with spicy licks!”
“Brandon is an amazing bass player! Super happy with the delivery!”
“Brandon is such a beast on this Bass!! His touch & feel are unmatched.”
I can hardly believe this world of music and flowing creativity that only existed in my head is now real and helping real people. And to think if I never got fired from my 9-to-5 none of this would be happening!
Let’s go back a few years to the beginning around 2014. I was working as the graphics guy at a place in Indianapolis called PIP Printing. This was the latest in a string of short-lived graphic design jobs I had since college. Nothing like the big time high-profile ad agencies my professors gassed me up about back in design school. Just a bunch of basic post cards and brochures ad nauseam for local restaurants and dentist offices. [gag!]
My true passion was always music but I settled for graphic design. As a teenager in the 90’s I Ioved two things… hip hop and playing the bass. I loved artists like Dr. Dre, Outkast, D'Angelo and Raphael Saadiq because they always had brilliant bass lines. I wanted to be the guy playing bass on all sorts of music like that but like many people I let social pressure get to me when I was younger. I took the safe route and went for a field where I’d be able to get a “real job”.
So here I was, stuck behind a desk at PIP all day then using what little energy I had left after work to do gigs around town as a bass player. I tried my best to be content but each day at the job felt like pieces of my soul were dying. By this time I was married with 3 kids so I couldn't just up and quit but I also couldn’t shake the calling of music. Just squeezing in a bass gig after work was not enough. I needed to do something meaningful and inspiring that would leave a legacy like my musical heroes had done.
Something HAD to give or I would regret it forever.
One thing that was cool about the job I had is there was downtime pretty often and I could browse through Google to learn about recording music when I wasn’t busy. This helped me stay sane and kept the music bug at bay but as the months went on I started to notice longer and longer periods of downtime. I bet you can tell where this is going…
There was an afternoon when my boss pulled me aside and said business had been WAAAY too slow for months, they were losing money and he would have to let me go. That was it – FIRED. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back! For years I had been trapped in a loop of starting over at new jobs just to be fired. I was pissed off at the situation and at myself for being complacent. I was sick and tired of chasing a “real job” and not following my true passion.
That was DONE!
After all, job security was the whole point of choosing a “real job” over music. The more I tried to avoid my fear of no steady paycheck the more it kept happening. At this point I had nothing to lose and had to face my fear head on. So I decided to go all in on my career as a bassist and not look back.
It’s been a crazy journey with plenty of rejections, let-downs and setbacks but the wins make it all worthwhile. In the years since losing my job I’ve gone from being a quiet, introverted 9-to-5 worker to becoming a bold, risk-taking entrepreneur pursuing my passion. I’ve been able to work and do shows with all sorts of dope artists like Thundercat, Robert Glasper and Snarky Puppy. Plus I have recorded bass on over 1,000 songs, even working with some big brands like Sony, Universal, NPR and CBS. Every day when I get feedback about how my musicianship took someone's song to the next level or how people get inspired from my music I know I made the right move.
It’s likeminded people like you who keep me going. We understand the value of pursuing our passions and going after what we want in life. So thanks for being a part of this journey just by checking out my bass sample pack and even reading this blog. It's a whole movement and my goal is to serve as many people as I can with my skill as a bass player. If you'd like to take the next step with me please check out the music below. It’s a sample reel of a few projects I’ve worked on. I would love to know what you think!
