Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashton Blake. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ashton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment one could make is on themselves. No one is going to help or improve you better than you can improve yourself. For anyone reading this a good investment is always bettering yourself. Keep an open mind, realize you don’t know it all and grow with any situation.

Ashton, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Native Sons started in 2020 around the time the world shut down, we all thought it was going to be over quickly but didnt let that stop us from our journey. We released a full length album in 2021 and set out on the road. “The Natives Are Restless” gained us attention from festivals, venues and fans across the united states. We went through constant hardships as a band with lineups changing leaving Ashton Blake the soul member of the band several times. The current lineup agrees as well as other music industry professionals that this was due to the mindset of the music industry today. We lost a entire label due to covid related deaths who were also good friends of the band. We found ourselves in tough spots several times but each time that it seemed the band was headed towards ruin someone or something would come along making it better and stronger than ever.. In 2023 we headlined the “Whisky A Go Go” with a great crowd attending the show. We have performed on festivals with “Tesla, George Lynch, Vince Neal and many more,” and have headlined biker festivals in 2023. The current lineup consists of “Sebastian LaBar” (who has performed in bands such as “Tantic” , “ReHab” , & “Saliva”), “Ian Corabi” (who has performed in bands such as “Tantric” & “ReHab”) “Tristan Woodruff” (who now drums for “The Lonely One’s”) and Ashton Blake the founder and singer of the band. If anything can be said about us we take a bad situation and make it something great of it. To those reading this if you like a good under dog you could do alot worse than Native Sons. Come join our journey and follow us on any social media platform. You can find our music wherever music is sold.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Ashton Blake- “Id recommend a good soul search any day. If your feeling like the world is crushing you or that things arent coming your way fast enough, look back on five years ago. Where you worse off? Better off? Most of us only think of the future and of what is happening right now. Dont forget to remember where you came from and how far youve come, I bet youll feel alot better.”

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Ashton Blake- I feel like music has become so easily accessable and free that making music has become hard to fund and really unrewarding to create. Most people wonder why rock n roll and bands in general are losing out to solo pop artists. Ill tell you this, when spotify and other streaming platforms are giving our music away and never paying us, It becomes alot harder to fund the band vs a solo artist”

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nativesonsmusic
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/DCJ4PCHCVXU?si=F_207AqKjNLRf0-K

Image Credits
Rocktography By Sandy Beitler All Photos