We were lucky to catch up with Greg Van Kerkhof recently and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Hi there!

I studied music performance, majoring in bass guitar for 3 years, and I’ve taken a bunch of lessons in the past, but most of what I’ve learned as a songwriter/recording artist has been through trial and error.

Basically:

1. Try make something.
2. Fail, yet learn.
3. Repeat.

My biggest obstacle is a persistent case of perfectionism, paired with imposter syndrome and wildly unrealistic expectations for myself.
I wish I could tell my younger self that it’s okay to suck. You have to be bad before you can be good.
I’ve often procrastinated, feeling I need the perfect, gear, workflow and skillset, before I can make anything worth sharing.
That perfect set of circumstances I was waiting for is a pipe dream with constantly shifting goalposts.
To avoid that trap, you have to make as much art as possible with whatever you have.

I think my most important skill is being able to work through resistance. Steven Pressfield wrote about a force he calls Resistance in his wonderful book, The War of Art. Essentially, resistance is anything that convinces you to put down the pen. Writer’s block, video games, perfectionism, etc. Steven notes that resistance never goes away. You have to slay (and re-slay) the dragon each day for the rest of your life.

Learning that life and art will never be easy is terrifying, yet freeing. I know that to make art, I have to sit down and work until it’s finished, even when I’d rather be playing PS4, abandoning my current project for the next shiny idea, or waiting for inspiration.
I haven’t quite nailed it yet, but I guess that’s the point.

Keep making art even when it’s hard.

Greg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hey! My name’s GregVK and I’m a freelance songwriter/recording artist from Johannesburg, South Africa.

I craft original, emotive songs for my clients, focusing on colourful storytelling, soaring melodies and vulnerable performances.
I write, edit, arrange, record and produce.

When I first fell in love with music, it was all about songs. I’d listen to albums on repeat, read the lyrics and memorise each line. I’d ask my parents to explain words I didn’t understand and I’d figure out the melodies by ear and play them on the recorder or my keyboard.

My love of alternative music led me to play in bands and pursue a career as a musician. Yet I felt like something was missing. I realised that my favourite artists from various genres all focused on writing great songs.
I decided I wanted to be a professional songwriter and began honing my craft in my solo project and with my various bands.

Then COVID-19 shut down live music, cutting out most of my income. So I set up a Fiverr profile and started my freelance journey, one of the best decisions of my life so far. I’ve grown more each year as a freelance songwriter/recording artist than I did in the first decade of my music career!
There’s something about the combination of client deadlines and the freedom of setting aside my ego to work on someone else’s vision that leads me to my best work.

I’ve built a career working with artists like Dan Patlansky, Vulvodynia, Red Helen, Technopath, Dave Van Vuuren, Karlien Van Jaarsveld and Kyle Jordan Project.

But my calling is to help people tell their stories. I work with singers and bands looking to refine their musical identities, and small businesses needing top-notch audio branding.
I’m especially passionate about working with people who dream of making music but haven’t yet built the necessary skill set to finish their songs. Together we nurture their ideas and build something we can both be proud of.

I think what sets me apart is my attention to detail and dedication to each song I write. I provide the same level of care and attention, whether I’m working with a seasoned pro or an amateur writing their first song,

2024 was a crazy year!
Some highlights:
I went on 2 European/UK tours, 2 South African tours plus a host of other local shows.
I released:
An international charting song “Demons” with Canadian band Kyle Jordan Project,
A critically acclaimed album “Movin’ On” with blues rock legend Dan Patlansky.
A beautiful folk album “No Regret’s” With American duo Gentoo.
Plus a host of other songs with various bands and artists.

I love that I get to make music all day, and I aim to share that joy with my clients!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the concept of growth vs fixed mindsets.

Many people believe creativity is a talent they don’t have. I did for a good few years, so I stuck to performing music rather than writing. I felt like the only thing I could accomplish was the technical skill of playing music, even though I always dreamed of being a writer.

I thought creativity was something people were born with, and I felt like I wasn’t one of the lucky ones.
Now I know from personal experience that it’s an innate human ability that needs to be nurtured to grow.
We all have unique inclinations that take our creativity in different directions, but all of us have infinite creative potential.

I spent years telling myself I wasn’t creative, so I could avoid the truth that I have agency in my life. It’s much easier to believe we’re defined by our current abilities than to climb the mountain of work that comes with a healthy growth mindset.

You become creative by creating.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The process of making music is the reward.

I dream of financial and social success.
But success is a moving goal. No matter what I achieve, I’ll always want more. So the only way I can be happy is to love the process. It’s not always easy or fun, but it’s what I live for!

This has become more apparent over the last few years and I’ve been focusing on making my process more fun and satisfying.

So yeah, getting to make music every day is the greatest reward I could ask for!

Contact Info:

• Website: gregvk.com (Under Construction)
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gregvkmusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gregvk
• Other: Email: [email protected]
  Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/sellers/gregvkmusic

Image Credits

Silfan van der Kaap
Josanne van der Heijden
Alexander Wolf
Christiaan David
Christelle Duvenage Photography