We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Walsmith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jason, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you 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?

I think if you think of my creative work as my life as a whole then the answer is yes. I have had a continued sustained career as a musician. But I have also had a parallel career as a commercial photographer as well as a creative director for various brands. All of those things I consider part of my art and creative output. I have most recently launched my own brand called Guitar Satchel which has been an endeavor that has utilized all of my creative skills in one place.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began my creative career in college. I studied Anthropology as well as journalism. While attending college I wrote my first song, started a band, and had my first images published in newspapers and magazines. I played music and shot pictures all through college and when I graduated I was at a cross roads and felt like I was supposed to choose one. I chose music but kept shooting to make ends meet. I really wrestled with it for years until I realized it was okay to do both and that the combination of the two was actually important to my creative output as an artist. Over the years I realized that creating this work in either field as an independent would just disappear and fall into oblivion unless we told the story and marketed it and that became my role in the band. Each record became its own entrepreneurial enterprise. After doing a few of those we realized we could help some other artists do the same so we started our own label called Authentic Records where we release a few dozen albums over the course of about 10 years. Following that I helped launch a few brands/companies/products and now most recently have launched my own. That is how Guitar Satchel came to be.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think one of the biggest pivots I made in my career was during the Covid 19 pandemic. I’m sure this is the case for many artists. Up to this point I mostly made music and performed with my band The Nadas. During the quarantine period it became clear that it would be a while before things were “back to normal” (you could argue that it will never be). My wife and I decided to by a camper van so we could travel self contained and play socially distanced back yard private shows. In 2020-2022 we traveled over 100,000 miles and played 100s of shows in 40+ states. I wrote/recorded/and released my first solo record during that time as well. I didn’t want to completely abandon traditional venues or the ecosystem of the music business so while venues were dark I started the “Ghost Light” tour and played empty opera houses. I sold tickets and live streamed the shows and shared the ticket proceeds with the opera houses that were otherwise closed. The past few years have been a creative and musical renaissance for me.

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

I think in a time where entertainment is everywhere all the time at your fingertips on smart phones and personal devices and for the most part free it is important for people to realize that the sustainability for every artists relies upon each individuals personal participation. It is an ecosystem. It is so easy to forget and think that these artists and the things they create will always be there and are being compensated in sufficiently to make ends meet but that isn’t not always or often the case. The old economics no longer work. Each person in a community should feel a personal obligation to support the music and art they love. I think where things could get really interesting is if we get Corporate America involved in a way other than just advertising a promotion but in a truly altruistic way. Companies have so many resources and money that they can really make an impact and help make are and creativity a sustainable way to make a living while at the same time improving their public image and lives of their employees and customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: jasonwalsmithstoryteller.com, guitarsatchel.com
• Instagram: jasonwalsmith, guitarsatchel, theracontourists
• Facebook: jasonwalsmithstoryteller, guitarsatchel
• Linkedin: jasonwalsmith
• Twitter: jasonwalsmith
• Youtube: theracontourists

Image Credits
Mark Lage, Emma Walsmith