Happy to be Outside, Happy on the Inside …
The 80’s and Springsteen
Growing up in the 80s with Bruce Springsteen playing on our television sets singing Born in the U.S.A. I secretly have wished all my life I could be a musician. One day while sitting out on the balcony and listening to a John Mayer number on Spotify my mind took me into a world of a musician where I was Patty Kerry, a pop star.
Patty Kerry in the Making
I, Patty Kerry started my career studying at the Musicians Institute. I worked hard and we were a community of musicians all talented in our own ways. My main instrument was playing the guitar and my skills excelled with every year I took up at the institute. A few friends and I had a band and once we got better we would find small local club gigs to play at. We had a friend’s car to transport our meager equipment to the venue. Some nights went well with an enthusiastic audience and some clubs we were totally ignored.
I spent nights perfecting my vocals and trying to compose songs as well. It was all a learning process. Becoming an artist was a tough act with so many struggling artists already out there.
One day when I was out with my band singing Neon. It was our final year at Musicians Institute. From here on we were on our own. A distinguished man with a blue beret came up to me, gave me his card and said call me. When I looked at the card it was the producer Brandy Jackson. I was thrilled to get a break.
The Break
The next day while sipping my coffee I looked at the card and made the call. I was asked to come to his studio. I collected my file of songs and my guitar and headed to the studio at the allotted time. Brandy welcomed me. He said he really liked the tone of my voice and wanted me to audition for a record deal. He wanted me to sing an old Jazz number ‘Autumn Leaves’ which I knew well.
I was nervous and got behind the microphone and crooned my way to the end of the song. Brandy was impressed. He said he would get back to me in a few days. He looked at my compositions and said they had potential to become great songs.
They were the longest days of my life. I wondered and doubted myself if it was possible to get a break so soon in the music industry. Brandy called me Friday morning and said we would like to discuss a deal with you.
Making it Big
My first album with the Jackson production sold millions. Overnight I was a budding pop star. I went immediately on tour in cities across the States. The audience welcomed me and I was overwhelmed with the response. Being on the road brought with it many parties and events. Life seemed to go by hurtling fast. Until the tour came to an end and I decided to go to the mountains to detox myself. It was here in the silence and serenity that I wrote my best work. I showed it to Jackson and we were on our way to produce a second album. I loved spending time in the studio and seeing my work come to life. I practiced everyday for my vocals. I tried hard to stay away from the glamor and glitz and focus on my music and what my listeners wanted.
Keeping in the Right Lane
I found that life as a musician came with so many opportunities, thrills and joys but one had to prioritize work first and immerse oneself in their music. Staying disciplined was the hardest and the greatest lesson for a young musician like me with so many distractions and false relationships.
Happy to be Outside, Happy on the Inside
Now I’m standing here on the stage singing my song ‘Happy to be outside, happy on the inside’ with the crowd singing along and their flashlights twinkling a surreal moment. The world seemed to be mine for that moment.
Until a car honked and I almost fell off my seat on the balcony. I was no longer Patty Kerry but just, little old me. I knew that if I ever was a musician I’d be a sincere artist like Patty Kerry not taken up with the glamor of that world but being absorbed in my music and forever trying to hone my talent. I felt myself humming ‘Happy to be outside, happy on the inside’ and looked longingly at the guitar pushed to the side that I never played.
Note:- This article is inspired from an assignment on a content writing course with ContentVidhya.
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