We were lucky to catch up with Gregory “Stringz EMB” Bowdry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Gregory “Stringz EMB”, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
At this point, it’s kinda like “Risk” is my middle name. Ever single mission, job, and opportunity involves a certain level of risk, but these days, it seems as though the risks are becoming more and more extreme. In the back of my mind, I really hope that’s a sign that I’m getting closer to my destination lol.
I truly believe that God gives us a vision that our accounts, sometimes, can’t handle. That’s how we prove our faithfulness. It’s been sooooo many dates, shows, and events that I’ve set up and/or pursued and the necessary funding wasn’t planned out. At that moment, you have a choice: Continue on and hope for the best, or pull back and wait for the perfect timing. News flash, there’s no such thing as perfect timing. If it’s in your heart, then it’s go time. I remember being in Seattle, mid tour, and my account was doing the red table dance. I had a little cash on me, but that was gone within one meal. I could’ve freaked out, but I didn’t. I made it work. One good thing about being broke is that it helps to build character and it MAKES you come up or develop strategic ways to accomplish goals. It’s definitely beauty in the struggle. Everyone hears that, but only a the chosen ones know that as being a fact. This journey really tests you.
Gregory “Stringz EMB”, 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?
For those who aren’t familiar, my name is Stringz EMB & I am a vocal recording artist from St. Louis, Mo. I’ve been shower singing my entire life, but nothing professional and I wasn’t a part of my Church choir. I simply sang because it felt good and it was always a relieving way to pass time. Well, in 2012, I was fired from a job. They accused me of using company equipment for personal use. I can’t even lie and say that wasn’t true, but the thing is, at that time, I was one of the top three producers in the company and the “personal use” that they referred to, was me calling my wife on the company phone. Since, I technically used their phone for personal use, I didn’t attempt to fight it. Honestly, I believe that they fired me because I made a significant amount of money that month (roughly $25k), and they didn’t want to pay me out.
I was let go, but because of the money I made prior to, I was ok for a while. As we all know, life doesn’t stop for any of us. Bills continued to roll in and the little nest egg that we once had was dwindling away at an exponential speed. I fell into an incredibly deep depression & at that moment I began to pray more to God, just asking what was out there for me.
Literally, weeks later, songs began to flow through me. I wrote and co-produced my very 1st song, “Time” with my engineer Preston Joshu, and I haven’t looked back since then.
These days, my music has carried me to cities like Denver, Seattle, D.C. NYC, Memphis, Louisville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Montego Bay, Jamaica, and of course St. Louis. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to hear and follow God’s direction. The music pulled me out of the darkness of depression and these days I’m just doing my part to stay in high vibrations.
Along with my music, I’ve created a clothing brand. It’s called Io Sono Clothing Brand. Io Sono is Italian for “I am.” It’s the most important statement in the human vocabulary; whatever comes after, becomes one’s truth. My brand represents individuality and self empowerment.
I have 100% faith in my music, but I also feel as though it is extremely important to do things to help stand out a bit more as a creative, so I developed a home made hot sauce as my most recent piece of merch. It’s called Monster Sauce STL. It’s “a chaotically controlled concoction of spicy peppers and tropical fruit.” It’s next level spice, but because of the way I blend the flavors, it will be the tastiest and most unique hot sauce you’ve ever had. People love it!
I do my best to promote a positive example of man. I am a husband of a beautiful Doctor. Heyyyy, Dr. T-Bow. She’s noted as the most thorough Chiropractor in the St. Louis area, by the way. I’m a father of two gorgeous and extremely intelligent children, Khristian and Karter Bowdry. My family is my world and I’m simply on a mission to create a life and lifestyle that they’ll be proud of and that they can live off of for generations to come.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the process of turning something from an idea into reality. Creation is the most beautiful noun of them all. It is something that is developed from the mind, heart, and spirit. It is literally, the most inner part of self, portrayed to the world. Well, at least that what my creations are. We all have our story. We all have our past. We all have a creation within us that can change the world. I’m blessed to have discovered mine at an early age. Now, I’m just enjoying the journey.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
What’s a lesson that I had to unlearn? Honestly, I’m not sure if that’s a thing. I say that because I truly believe that every lesson is intentional. There is either a win or a lesson; no loss. It’s kinda like the idea of the butterfly effect. You ever seen that movie? If you ask someone, of course, a number of people would tell you about something that they would change from their past. The reality of it, is if that one small thing was changed, it can completely change the person you are right now. You’re that person and you’re in this particular position for a reason. Nothing is coincidence. I welcome all wins and lessons. You should too. It helps to develop us as individuals and Gods of creation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stringzemb.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stringzemb
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StringZemb
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/StringZEmb
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpC9XA7ddriH-DN9yVsBcrg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ScvsA9U0fjveNRlmqtxXT
Image Credits
Photos credit goes to Ryan “SomeMoorePhotos” Moore, Kurt Hutchinson, & Rob “RobShotMe” Cannon