We were lucky to catch up with Jermaine Bollinger recently and have shared our conversation below.

JERMAINE, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I hear a lot of horror stories about how parents divert their children away from passions in life because the parents feel that it may not earn a foundational living, or may not provide as well as it should for the financial and social stability of the family.

As to former military, my parents were very disciplined in their approach to raising us, but I can never remember a time where my mother or father asked me to pursue a more equitable living outside of being a recording artist.

In fact, I remember various times where my mom saw abilities in me that no one else did, and would spend the last of her money to buy me equipment and instruments.

I remember my father working very hard to provide for us, but training us vocally with his wisdom as a church vocalist, as well as conveying the wisdom his father gave him as a Stax recording artist.

I can 100% convey that my parents, and especially my mother made sure I pursued my passions in life, and that is one thing regarding their legacy that I can instill in my children, and I truly believe that motivation and navigation helped make me the musician that I am today. Further, it helped me cultivate those essential values in my own children.

Shoutout to my mom and dad, for never being fearful of me pursuing my dreams, no matter what the cost.

JERMAINE, 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?

At a young age, I was heavily involved in music in my church. It was a no-brainer for me to become involved in our local school system and their musical classes.

I’ve always had a real ear for music, and it could be nature or nurture or both, but I’ve always gravitated toward it ever since I was young, and I had the ability to pluck things out on various instruments from an early age.

Currently, I own my own studio, Salvation Studios. I have three artists on the roster: Jermaine Bollinger (Christian Pop), CARTUNES (Pop), Little Egypt Worship (Modern Worship).

I release material with all three groups, and I write, record, mix, master, produce, and perform this material, as well as all of the promotions, marketing, and graphic artwork.

I am a worship leader, songwriter, live performer, author, and a multi-instrumentalist.

I think my resilience and determination are one of the main things that set me apart from others. I also have talent and an anointing that I believe has no earthly origin. I have definitely been blessed with these abilities.

I try to be as hard-working, professional, and creative as possible in my work. I also want to make sure to continue to do things that I enjoy so I don’t get bogged down with the busy work aspects of the job.

One of the things that I am most proud of is all of the success I’ve had on the CRC or Christian Radio Chart.

I’ve garnered 20+ number one debuts as well as 100+ top 10 chartings Since 2019. Every artist on my roster has at least one number one single on the chart.

Last year I was runner up for Song of the Year, and have received multiple nominations and accolade considerations for my projects and singles.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Something that I believe that I’m still recovering from is the bands that I have worked with in the past and the way that things played out with these people.

I’ve worked with at least three different bands that I was the leader of, and because of the pressure or the desires I had for excellence, there always seemed to be a lot of pushback, as well as lack of compassion or drive for what we were cultivating.

A lot of times I felt like I was the only one that was giving my all. I understand that people have different amounts that they are willing to give to something, and most of the other musicians had jobs and families, and I was the only one with my entire life and finances invested into this.

So, when these bands decided to break up, I felt like some members had a personal stake in causing me pain or hurting me because I wasn’t focused on feelings while we were working, because this is a job and I recollect and in hindsight, realize that we simply weren’t on the same page, but there were a lot of things taken personally in my opinion that shouldn’t have been.

Some members of the band even had the intent or motivation to try and ruin what I built by starting rumors or saying things to venues that I’ve played at in the past.

Despite some of these members’ best efforts, I feel that I’m on course to do something special, especially with my live performances and what I’ve accomplished there.

There have been plenty of times where I’ve had just a few to people to no audience show up for releases and events, and shows or venues that weren’t willing to have me back for low turnout, but I will say that throughout all of the turbulence in the beginning, it’s really starting to smooth out and become something that I can honestly be proud of.

Seeing where I’ve come from and knowing where I am going has definitely been a breath of fresh air, especially regarding things that are on the horizon for me.

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

COME TO SHOWS! I cannot stress that enough. I’m not sure if it has to do with the aftermath of the pandemic or just a lack of desire to leave the house anymore, but it really feels like that people don’t come to live events anymore, unless it’s something multi-million dollar.

PARTICIPATE BY CLAPPING! There is a level of reassurance that the artist feels when the audience is engaged, and there is a level of terror that is a direct result of the audience’s apathy to the performer.

Maybe it’s just my own introversion or insecurity, but when I’m up there and the crowd does not feel like they are into it or they are so involved in conversation that they don’t recognize or realize there’s a musician performing, It makes it hard to not take that personally.

When it comes to conversation, the biggest issue for me, are those that sit right next to the musician and try to talk over them. I’m just going to simply say that is not OK.

Again, maybe I am wearing my heart on my sleeve as an introvert, but people have forgotten that it’s tough enough just to perform in front of people. The fact that response is lackluster, especially with the amount of effort people are putting into their shows nowadays… it just leaves something in your spirit left to be desired regarding live performance.

Money pays the bills, but audience participation feeds the soul. And I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn’t equate crowd satisfaction to being your most joyful at a show.

TIP! If you enjoy what you hear, or what you see, or enjoy the song selection, or the craft… Whatever the case may be, if you are benefiting from the show in any way, you should have a desire to tip that person.

We’ve got to make sure that we are honoring performers for overcoming insecurities, working hard behind-the-scenes, and utilizing their abilities to create something special. This is something that a lot of people can’t or won’t do, and with that being said, it should give listeners a reason to be attentive and to show your gratitude by tipping.

VENUES… PROMOTE! This one is really a gripe for me because I feel like I play in multiple states, and I do everything I can while not eating into the cost of my payout to make sure that I am marketing and advertising well before my show at the venue.

I make sure to market across all of my socials and I send the venue information about who I am and what I do outside of performing at their venue to the venue itself, and ask them to use that information to invite their regulars.

I started doing this because venues would not promote when I played, so sometimes customers and bartenders alike wouldn’t even know there was live music that evening.

With that being said, I took it upon myself to market and promote, but again you can only do so much as a performer coming one night to a show that’s across state lines.

So, in an effort to speak for the musician who so desperately needs a voice when playing at venues: venues… please advertise!

My wife and I are borderline in shock, pondering how it would hurt the venue to advertise a show for their venue? At the very least, the influx of people would be utilizing the bar more and bringing more money into the venue.

It’s just something that I believe that venue and musician should have an equal partnership in. When we are promoting the show, we should do it together to get the best bang for our buck.

HELP! Lastly, if you can’t support the musician financially because you’re unable to, or for whatever reason, there is a way you can help immensely.

Like and share on social media to get the word out about these musicians. Word-of-mouth is still the ultimate when it comes to marketing, and when you share something and add a personal message to it, it means the world to the musician as well as shining a beacon on their craft for others to see. Never forget that!

OK, I’m getting off my soapbox now.

Image Credits

Joanna Gray
Erin Bollinger
Jermaine Bollinger