Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jarred Matthew Roberts. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jarred Matthew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your creative career?

Musicians have a broad clientele to work with on a daily basis. Artists can have a wide range of personalities, managers have specific expectations for their venues, you have to play to the space, and the rooms and sound you have to interact with can vary – sometimes to the extreme. Imagine if you worked in an office, but every day, you were given a different desk space with a different computer, different supplies, and different coworkers with different needs. It can be chaotic and sometimes frustrating. I think musicians have a reputation for being divas, but the truth is that we often have to work with so many changing variables that it can be overwhelming. It’s also a very public-facing job, so we’re expected always to be friendly, happy, and ready to engage. No wonder so many fans are disappointed when an introverted artist struggles to fulfill their expectations.

As a working musician, I performed in the Honolulu, HI, circuit for several years as I also worked on my PhD research in high-energy neutrino astrophysics (long story). Now, a “working musician” differs greatly from your professional touring musicians with band managers, tour managers, merch managers, *manager’s* managers! We work nightly at your bars, restaurants, concert venues, and sometimes hotel lobbies. It’s a tough job, and it’s not very glamorous sometimes. In reality, some nights, it can be pretty devastating. Imagine having to say out loud in a public space some of your most vulnerable thoughts about life, your place in it, and the way you feel about the people you love, and there being an expectation that you really connect with those words on a daily basis, but often times those words are said to an empty lobby. Musicians have to deal with these emotional rollercoasters all the time, and they can really grind you down, and numbness can easily overtake even the most emotion-overflowing of us.

I used to play with this phenomenal guitarist, Jim Cobb, and he was the definition of a hustler. He was one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met, and he was always working: big Jawaiian bands one night performing in front of thousands of people, a true blues and jazz bar the next night, a boy-band-ish Beach Boys pop band the next. Then, Jim and I would have a performance planned on an off night and we would end up performing to a few people on vacation that weren’t really interested in the music we were playing. A break in the song would occur, and Jim would close his eyes and take off and play one of the most beautiful, technical, and heart-felt guitar solos that would have had an arena of fans screaming – if that were the case. Nope, he’d open his eyes, give me a nod, and we’d continue doing our thing. Jim Cobb was one of the most positive, happy, and motivated musicians I’ve ever met. I asked him once, “How are you so dang busy, and how do you stay so positive about it”? Jim gave me one of the most important pieces of advice that I’ve ever received as a musician and as a person in general: “Just don’t be a pain in the ass.”

Now, I know that this advice only gets you so far in most positions. You can’t coast your way to being one of the world’s top astrophysicists by just doing your best not to annoy superiors. But, working with Jim and learning how to be respectful and understanding, flexible and able to adapt on the fly, offer to help even if it’s not technically your responsibility, always be on time and reliable, and never complain (pain in the ass traits), has helped me more than anything else in my career in music and in science.

I didn’t know this at the time – or, I guess I didn’t understand the severity of it at the time, but Jim suffered from crippling depression. He seemed like such a positive, happy man whenever we’d play music together, but inside, he was hopelessly sad. Jim took his own life in 2018- he had a 3yo daughter. I was devastated; Everybody who knew him was. But the lesson that he taught me and the example he set have had an incredibly positive influence on my life, and I owe an awful lot to him for teaching me one of my life’s most important lessons.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jarred Matthew Roberts, and I’m an independent musician in San Diego. I have an album on streaming platforms (Self-titled “Jarred Matthew”) and a new album coming out this Fall. I’m also a project scientist at UC San Diego, and I’m working on a NASA gamma-ray space telescope that is due for a rocket launch into orbit in late 2020.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Absolute nonsense.

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

Just be present when someone is performing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jarredmatthew.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarredmatthew/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jarredmatthewmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarred-roberts-362642123/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TowstiQNxNA