This month (July 2024) I found a super cool story from a local music store here in Southern Utah. Briar Adams has one of those “American Dream” musician backgrounds about going from always being on the road to being well on her way to making more than just ends meet with her talents. I'll let her give you the details:
[some parts have been edited for clarity and readability].
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My life has always been a wondrous journey through the concept and beauty of music and I believe there is no better childhood than one with lots of it. It has shaped my heart and soul, and turned me into who I am today. Now, while that would be a lovely and enduring way to describe my attributes in the world of music, it is simply untrue. My life as it pertains to it has been a far less cheesy and soulful experience. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in the beauty behind this art form, and I truly would not be who I am today without it, but my experience has been one far from what some might call the “butterflies and rainbows” elements of The Sound of Music.
Whether some see it or not, we are all greatly affected by this universal language, and in some way or another, we all have our own stories of ways we’ve grown up with it. I would like to tell some of my stories. No, they may not be common or necessarily relatable to most, but interesting nonetheless. Let’s start by traveling clear back to, well, before I can even remember. My parents had been playing in bands for small events, casinos, weddings, etc, since before they were even technically old enough to get into most of the venues.
While they did not meet until later in life, their history in music had been similar, which eventually brought them together in the same traveling band. Mom, a country fiddle player and classic rock keyboardist, along with Dad, a drummer and singer of all kinds of music, continued to live the musician lifestyle even when eventually, a kid came along. (That kid is me, by the way.)
Although my older siblings did do their fair share of babysitting, I did my fair share of the band life as a young kid. I traveled to every podunk town on the map where I knew the backseat of our silver Jeep Liberty and smelly motel rooms just as well as I knew home. Mom still tells stories of me sitting in the play pin next to her on stage with my headphones on, and when I grew out of that, I spent the late night gigs asleep in her padded keyboard case. Security guards as well as the bartenders and waitresses knew me well, and they looked after me during my parents' many casino gigs. Even though my existence became standard to the people in these places, I still seemed out of character to most. Sitting alone at a table, playing on my ipad, in a popular bar in Wyoming, possibly every employee that passed asked if I was lost, and then proceeded to bring me a Sprite and some popcorn to munch on after I explained that I was “with the band”.
I know a common misconception is that most professional musicians live some sort of glamorous, rockstar lifestyle like you’ve probably seen in the movies, but I’m here to tell you, this is absolutely and entirely false. If sleeping in a keyboard case wasn’t enough, many late nights were spent eating gas station burritos or Cup O’ Noodles made in the motel room microwave. Speaking of the motel room, something they never teach us musicians beforehand is that most venues or party throwers couldn't care less about the band having a decent place to sleep after a long night of performing for their event, and you usually get whatever is leftover, or nothing at all. Also, don’t even get me started about the pay, or lack thereof.
No, the musician lifestyle is not all unicorns and rainbows, but don’t take this the wrong way. It definitely isn’t all bad either. As a package deal with the constant traveling, I got to see some amazing places that I otherwise would have likely never seen. In many rural towns I got to visit, a huge benefit was that every single one of them had one of those popular, extremely old diner that still uses the same recipes from the 1800’s, and let me tell you, these were much better than gas station food. To add to that, little me knew every line dance to ever exist, which definitely came in handy at school dances. When I later got to the age where skipping a week of school at a time became more challenging, my life on the road began to die down. Despite this, I continued my life of music and joined a band myself, which Mom and Dad always told me not to do for obvious reasons. It definitely came with its challenges and its heartaches, but it taught me and made me realize the real reasons people choose to be musicians.
It’s a given that music can make people feel a certain way. It can make people want to dance, sing, shout and even cry. The best thing is getting to be a witness and a reason for all of this. Nothing holds a candle to seeing someone light up when their favorite song starts playing. That is what being a musician is all about, and a huge reason for my love of music comes from everyone else's love for it. I’ve been around it, or rather, perhaps, it's been around me, my entire life, and not only because my parents and I love playing it. Even when I’m not learning the lyrics to songs, playing violin in orchestras, or messing around on my guitar, it's all around me. I refuse to drive anywhere without my Spotify on full blast, and any extra money I can scrounge together goes towards concert tickets. On top of that, I spend most of my days working in my Dad’s music store. Working closely with other musicians, and even just people who love it, has made me realize that it really is all around us, everywhere.
Your story may not be similar or even remotely close to mine, and maybe you're one of those people gave up music lessons when you were younger, have never touched an instrument since and believe that you have no right to claim a musical background whatsoever; but what I see daily working in the music store says otherwise. People come in looking for an instrument for their kid to start band class, or a birthday present for their spouse who’s a mediocre guitar player, and they ask: “Can you help me? I have no experience with music.” I genuinely believe that whether it be in obvious ways or not, everyone has grown up some experience with music in some way or another. You may not label yourself as a musician or even ever played an instrument before, but you were little once and had your favorite songs you’d want to hear on the radio or at your friends house or while sitting in your car seat. You may have had your parent ask you “Who sings this one?” many times to where you are now cultured in Classic Rock music. You probably still remember details of your very first concert that you either snuck off to, or finally convinced your parents to let you go to when you were a teenager.
And maybe you're not a musician, but you’ve grown up with your favorite bands. Your mom tried to teach you piano when you were little. Perhaps you sang all the wrong lyrics to your favorite songs or took one year of choir in high school just to learn you might be tone deaf; or maybe you've cried to Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift after your first breakup, or you had to take music theory in college (which also made you cry). And lastly, like anyone with a heart, you light up when your favorite song starts to play. Even if you’re not a musician, I know music has some special influence in your life in at least some small way, otherwise I think you would've stopped reading this before this point. You’ve lived a life of music so keep doing it! If you still don’t relate to my story or any of these others, then I guess you got me. Even so, I encourage you to look closely throughout your day and at your past. Think about the songs you loved, the instruments you wished you could play, and the bands you looked up to. Maybe you're not be a musician, but in some way you too, have your own stories of growing up with music. Reignite your harmonic flame!
~Briar Adams
You can find the store she works at here. Go visit sometime! Website, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram