Well, my first nomination for any music award...ever!
I would like to say thank you to everyone who responded to my request to nominate me to become a registered candidate for the Online Music Awards! (www.onlinemusicawards.org). You are all very, very nice people - thank you!
The lovely guys at Spaceship Days and Haunting Heather gave me the idea when I saw that they were going for the awards, so I thought I would test the waters and jump in with both feet.....scary but worth asking all of you to nominate me. You rewarded me with getting the official nomination emails late last week! I am now a nominee for Best Rock Act and Best International Unsigned Artist! Thank you!
So, this leads me on to a topic that all musicians face.....rejection. What happens if you or your music get rejected by a label, a company or even your fans? I was nervous when I asked you all to nominate me for the awards. I thought to myself, "What if they don't want to know? What if they don't like my music?", plus many other silly questions and thoughts that I won't bore you with. You didn't let me down and it all comes down to confidence and having faith in yourself and your ability. As the Jovi say, Keep The Faith (for Jovi fans, click on the link for a special Jovi treat).
In this game, and I am only the new boy, you have to BELIEVE. Believe that you can do it, Believe that you are who you are and believe in what you can do. I know I don't like the X-Factor much but every contestant on there has belief that they can win, otherwise they would not be there (even Wagner had belief in himself). Look at American Idol and the likes of David Cook, Daughtry and Adam Lambert. You have to push yourself to learn and believe you can do things you may not normally believe you can do. These guys had belief and were prepared to work damn hard and look at them now.
Let me give you an example. I picked up a guitar at 36 years old (I am 41 now) never believing I would ever be where I am now. I am no rock star or top ten band or anything like that, but I have surpassed anything I ever thought I could do. I have learnt how to play a guitar (I now have four and, trust me, I am still learning!), I have (and still am) learning how to songwrite. I realised I could sing and I now have a 5-track EP out there. I am now working on material for my album, which I am hoping will be ready by summer 2011. Check out the tracks from the EP on my ReverbNation page (click on the link).
Life is a learning curve and you learn from all of your experiences or something just appears and you have to deal with it. Or, you set yourself a goal and go for it. You have to have a great work ethic and work hard towards your goals. That way you achieve what you want. No easy rides, no free lunches. When your fingertips burn after a guitar practice session, when you buzz after a gig, you know you have worked hard and gave it your all. That is what you should look to apply to your whole life. Remember, you only get one shot without any rehearsals......
I love you all and thank you for giving me faith.
Shaun x
congrats
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