That’s quite a story. It really inspires me to go against the odds and keep going when it seems like the world / fate is against you. I definitely had my plateaus and gave up more than once.
Now I play open mics and sometimes gigs at local venues. Justin guitar and its community really helped me to persevere. Tonight I am playing at a local bar/restaurant here in San Diego called the Garten and play 3 songs from memory each time. It really steps up the game to not have retakes, song books, or room for error. I remember that the audience is there to be entertained and not there to point out my mistakes.
I used to have a full staff of colleagues out in Bangalore India at my last job. They were some of the hardest working people and never complained about a thing. Loved that about your culture. I see it on what you wrote here. Kept going when the odds were against you. Keep it going and hope to hear your music sometime.
Thank you for reading!! I love that you play open mics and gigs, how does it feel? I’m looking for open mics in my areas where I can just go perform, for the love of it. The satisfaction of learning a song end to end is unmatched!
I’m from Bangalore too! I miss it dearly, thank you for sharing! I hope to keep in touch!
Great story. The hours of dedicated practice you put in definitely shows in how well you play and sing. Most enjoyable to watch your recordings and catch your OM performance. Good luck with the live stuff I am sure you will please the audiences.
Sorry for the delay in responding. I’ve been working long hours so no free time. Open mics are really cool because the spotlight is on you and it’s your stage for about 15 minutes. Last Wednesday I wasn’t as great as I could’ve been and messed up some, but the crowd applauded when I recovered by busting out oasis “Don’t look back in anger” instead of putting my head down. I had blanked on the words to a song I’ve performed over a thousand times. Saturday the JG open mic was a better chance to recover with a good showing, although I see now that I need to lighten my strum a lot regardless lol. The secret is keep doing it and they become less stressful or intimidating.
Thanks for sharing your story Abhi, that is really inspirational! I can understand the self-doubting, questioning, hard commitment and practice, aiming for more to feel really happy with your self.
It has been sweat-blood-tears for me too…and I can say how really all has been so much worth it ! You mentioned maturity and I do believe that helps a lot.
I hope to see more updates here along with your learning journey!