Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Young. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Daniel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Earning a full-time living from your creative work is difficult. A lot of folks who have “made it” will most likely agree that the road to success wasn’t easy.
I do music music in one way or another full-time now, mostly. I run a recording studio, engineer albums, play shows around town, tour here and there and I work part-time, remotely for a company that is not music-related. So, to make ends meet I have a few different jobs to make it all work, but I am enjoying what I am doing, so it makes it worth it. The fine line I had to find ways to always keep the creative process fresh and new and to not make the songwriting process, recording process, or even performances feel like a job. You have to do it cause you are inspired to do it,
Daniel, 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?
I started playing music when I was 14 years old. I was fascinated with it at a young age. I started playing guitar, then learned drums a couple of years later. I was listening to a lot of old country, punk, and rock n roll albums and also became fascinated with the recording process. I would look at the album art to see where microphones were placed and what equipment they were using. It was all so exciting for me. Still is! I started saving up for analog tape machines and analog recording gear and started recording my band’s albums. Now, I have a full studio called Orchard Studio in my house where I engineer a lot of music. The thrill is still there for me, and I hope it never goes away.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a songwriter would be when you play a song live and someone connects with the song and it resonates with them. It’s very rewarding to connect on that level with other folks.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think the best thing we can do to support artists is to show up for them! Show up to musician’s shows, buy their music, if you can, and don’t just stream the music. Show up to art markets to buy art that these amazing artisans are making and taking so long to make. It is a gift to have artists in your community and I think it’s important to purchase their art so they can keep creating for them and for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.danielyoungsongs.com
- Instagram: danielyoungsongs
- Other: bandcamp: https://danielyoung.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Cassilyn Anderson Robbert Sagers