We recently connected with Jessica Burdeaux and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

The last several years of my life, since I graduated college in 2014, I worked regular jobs while pursuing a music career. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I finally went full time. When I was at work, my mind would race thinking about all of the things I needed to do to get closer to my goals of being a full time musician. Having a more traditional job provided stability, but it was torture not having the ability to give all of my attention to what I really loved. There is not a day that goes by that I question if I made the right choice about my career or think it would be easier to go back to working a regular job. No matter where you work or what you do, there will always be challenges. The most important thing is finding a job that makes the heartache feel worth it, and for me, music is worth it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a touring and session drummer from Chicago, IL, I drum for the bands Covet and City Mouth. I host several video series on Reverb.com, and I work with YouTuber Rob Scallon. I got my start in 2015 by posting drum videos to Instagram and eventually other social platforms. I started to gain a lot of traction by writing original grooves and then covering popular songs. In 2016 I covered “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers and it became my first viral video. This had a huge impact on my following and motivated me to keep creating. From there, I kept posting and collaborating with other musicians which led to many exciting opportunities like being asked to sit in with the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers. I also write my own music and will be releasing my very first single this May.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Over the course of the last several years, I’ve dedicated thousands of hours to music, but I constantly felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I was working a full time job in addition to pursuing music and having to make time for my personal life, but I was rarely forgiving when things didn’t go according to plan. If I didn’t post enough that week or I didn’t practice enough or whatever the case may have been, it had a huge affect on my mood and was incredibly stressful. One of the biggest lessons I had to learn is that it’s good to be honest with yourself and to reflect on things that can be improved, but also knowing when to go with the flow and enjoy life. It’s okay to take breaks sometimes. As long as you are mostly consistent, you’re going to be okay!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My advice for anybody that is starting to build an audience on social media is to identify your main goal for posting. I wanted to be a professional musician, so I have always treated my instagram and other platforms as a digital resume. I knew it was important to show examples of my drumming and make it clear that I wanted to get involved in the music community. It can be very overwhelming to come up with content when you are getting started, so try to keep your purpose for posting in mind and don’t focus too much on the numbers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jburdsbeats/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jburdsbeats
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYEab8JZcx5Zf9c7gAmXlow

Image Credits
Eli Chavez, Sarah Phung