We recently connected with Blair Borax and have shared our conversation below.

Blair, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

In 2016, after I had just moved to Portland, Oregon, the city I’ve called home for 8 years now, my roommate gifted me a cheap old guitar. Since I was an AmeriCorps member living on a very modest at the time, I was very happy to have a new hobby that wouldn’t cost me money. So, I began teaching myself how to play my favorite songs, just for fun. Soon after, a dear friend and talented musician, Michael Wilbur of Moon Hooch, suggested that I try to write my own song. While, at first I found the suggestion unfathomable, I eventually decided to give it a try. From the very first go, I found such catharsis in the act of transforming raw emotion into song, and I was hooked.

While this practice became integral to my mental-emotional health, it was still reserved to my bedroom, and occasionally my living room for a few friends, if I found myself brave enough. It wasn’t until 2018, when my friend and fellow singer-songwriter, Austin Farrell, called me up and said, “Hey, would you like to open up for my show next month?” I will never forget that moment. I was in my car in the New Seasons parking lot, trunk full of groceries, when my stomach dropped and my eyes widened. “Are you serious?” He certainly was.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I said yes. But, I had never used a mic before or even plugged in my guitar, so Austin offered to take me to my very first open mic to practice before the real thing. When I stepped on stage for the first time, I was more nervous than I had ever been before, but I also never felt so alive. So, I kept showing up. I started playing open mics and then more shows around town. I recorded and released my first EP ‘everything is light work’ in 2021. The deeper I got into the practice of songwriting and recording and performing my songs, the clearer it became that I just couldn’t stop.

I released my first full length record “Keep Walking” and quit my 9-5 on the same day in June 2022, and I haven’t looked back since. I never expected that free guitar to change my whole life, but it did.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a singer-songwriter and independent musician, based in Portland, Oregon, writing tender folk-pop songs to make you feel less alone. I write songs equally vulnerable, from the heart, and unafraid to tackle the taboo. In 2023, so far, I’ve played 75 shows in 5 states, and I am working on my second album, Tender Lately, to release this fall. I am also my own booking agent, social media manager, and promoter. I love being my own boss and making creativity the center of my life. I love writing songs to make sense of the mess of behind human and to make meaning in the mixed of madness of it all.

While being a full-time creative is really hard work and requires constant tending to the art and forever greasing the behind-the-scenes business wheels, it is also the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done. Every time, someone tells me that my song has touched them, made them feel seen, or helped them through a challenging time, I remember why I do this and why I never want to stop.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When I first began performing in public, I craved external validation. I needed people to say nice things to me in order for me to feel good about myself or my performance. And if someone said “Hey, I really loved your voice,” my inner critic would say, “They probably hated your guitar playing.” The more I found myself on stage, the more I began to wonder about this desire and where it was coming from. I didn’t want other people’s opinions to inform my own so significantly. I do think it is innately human to care what other people think, to a certain extent, but I wanted to feel good about myself because I said so, not because someone else did. So, performance became a great teacher to me. Each time was an opportunity to check in with myself, quiet my inner critic, and conjure self confidence from within. It is still is a constant practice for me and I think it always will be.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In the last decade, there has been a cultural movement towards supporting local farmers and small businesses and we love to see it! I wish we would see the same movement towards supporting local artists and musicians. Sometimes, it feels impossible to get people to come to a show that costs $10, when they might spend more than that on just one drink.

For independent artists, every dollar you spend helps keep us going. So, please support local musicians! Come out to shows, buy merch, download music on bandcamp, share your favorite song on your social media. And even if you don’t have a lot of money to share, it means the world to me to hear from listeners about how the music has impacted their lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blairborax.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/blairartthou
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/blairboraxmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF8P3DURnCSfRVU698ThJmA
• Bandcamp: https://blairborax.bandcamp.com/track/oh-no

Image Credits
1. CJ Hawley 2. Camille Bruya 3. Jono Melamed 4. CJ Hawley 5. CJ Hawley 6. Jess Buckley 7. Kendall Lujan 8. Jess Buckley