We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dom Moio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dom below.

Hi Dom , thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been earning a living from playing music and teaching music for 50 years.

I started out playing gigs 6 nights a week every summer when I wa 15 years old.I would do this all summer then go back to high school and wait for the next summer.
After my senior year in hight school, 1970, I realized i wanted to make my living from playing music and i also started giving drum lessons.

In 1972 I started a school in Portland Maine with three other musicians ,it was called Music Associates and after about a year we had 500 students a week coming in for lessons on all instruments.
Also I was playing gigs at least four nights a week.

Then also in 1972 I got my first college teaching job at the University of maine in Augusta Me in the Jazz studies program there. .

In 1978 I moved to reno Nevada and started doinf the same thing there, teaching and playing ,After ten years I moved to Phoenix and started once again doing the same thing.

So I have been doing things pretty much the samr for the last 50 years and it seems to work for me.

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

I started teaching and playing music for a living 1n 1972 and have been doing so ever since. I am still teaching at ASu and private teaching and playing concerts.

In addition to teaching drums I have written ten different drum method books to deal with my students problems. Each book deals with a certain topic that the student needs to work on.

I have also recorded over 100 cd’s in my career in many styles of music but mostly in the jazz idiom.

The problems I help deal with are real life working musician problems, and helping students to make the change from student to professional.I use my students a subs when they reach a certain level which introduces them to the professional working musicians.

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

The best thing people can do to support artists is go to live music evants and support the venues that have music.

Also when an artist takes the time and money to make recordings it is important that people buy the products to lend support. In the world today evry one wants it for free but it is not free to make the art.

The art form needs an audience that is willing to go and support the music, no matter what the genre is.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to play great music with other musicians and to share my knowledge and experience with other people that can benefit form my journey.

A lot of the things I got to do early in my career don’t exist anymore so the younger players need the older players to share our journey so they can find their way in the new path they have to take.

So my mission has always been to share what I learned from the older musicians when I was young just as I did from them. Except now I am the older player doinf the sharing.

Contact Info:

• Website: dommoio.com
• Youtube: dom moio, or Mr Sauce