We recently connected with Jerry Gontang and have shared our conversation below.

Jerry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’m one of the lucky ones that can fill in the occupation box on my tax form with the word MUSICIAN. Back in the mid 1950’s I performed at a school talent contest playing guitar and singing a couple of songs. The response I got was surprising and infectious and I felt my destiny taking shape. I’ve tried earning a living through various career fields but performing live music has been my passion. Taking business classes in college set the foundation for me to attach this songful livelihood on. Good fortune and a solid business plan has kept the wind in my sails as I still venture around the country entertaining people, doing this activity that I love and call a job. Yeah, I’m one of the lucky ones.

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’ve had music in my life for as long as I can remember. My parents had a world full of friends that needed no excuse to get together for more than the usual holiday and special occasion, the original party animals. I can’t recall a single time that there wasn’t at least three, usually more, people playing instruments and the majority of party attendees joining in for a group sing along. It was harmonious.

My siblings and I were given piano lessons which lead to experimenting with other instruments like accordion, flute, saxaphone, drums, harmonica, violin, and GUITAR. The folk song era had just entered the scene and I wore the grooves off the first Kingston Trio album learning chord progressions and lyrics. I wanted to be just like them. A talent contest at school afforded me the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. The applause was deafening and at that moment I was hooked.

Years of learning the history, theory, art, and application of the music business, in school and on the road, has given me experiences, adventures, and friends that I would never have encountered otherwise. I’ve shared songs and stages with an unknown numbers of musicians and some well known artists as well. I’m not a celebrity but I get my share of recognition from the road trip circuits I’ve designed to share my music.

I am currently listed as a Tropical Rock and Roll musician, a genre which a few of my friends and I lobbied to have introduced to several of the music distribution agencies. We had been labled as Gulf and Western artists but that didn’t really fit the niche we had created in part due to the popularity of an organization of followers called Parrot Heads. Their avid love of music combined with the penchant to party and raise money for charities has created a network of events that TropRock musicians, like myself, can build several road trips a year around.

One of the greatest rewards of being a singer/songwriter is creating and performing songs from the memories of these people and places that have invited me into their world and then having them sing along with the words from those songs just like the folks at my parents gatherings.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am blessed by the caliber of musicians I have played with. Since day one of being in bands, the hard work ethics and degree of proficiency from fellow band mates has made being in this career field a lucrative joy. That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any low points or hard times, just fewer of them and they’ve been easier to overcome.

Over the fifty years of performing music, I have had to recreate myself and the groups I play with, basically starting over from scratch each time. Thank goodness for being able to understand the different genres of music and the ability to adapt to the styles. This is where having studied music in college has come in handy.

I’ve been a part of several bands and some of them have had more that one configuration of players but the end result has always been a quality sound. This work perpetuates itself through business cards handed out during shows or referrals from clients when a friend might ask them if they know a good band.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think the biggest struggle to understand for non-creatives, and creatives as well, is getting into the music business thinking they will get rich quick or become famous overnight. There’s a reason 10,000 hours of experience and practice has been set as the rule. Sometimes you can get lucky and your raw talent is enough to get you noticed but those are few and far between.

I know a woman who critics claim became an overnight sensation but the truth is there were hours of lessons, years of practice, and just as much time spent getting in front of people before being discovered and put into the spotlight. She says she got lucky because the moment of her big reveal came on a night when she was sitting in for someone who had gotten sick.

The more knowledge and ability you possess about your goods will make it that much easier to sell your product. I was lucky also, having been asked to replace the bass player in a local group called Oh! Ridge. We were a music and comedy group and for decades had no competition in town. Groups tried to copy us but could never hit the mark or get over the height of the bar we set. A good portion of our success was due to a smart business plan and treating our job as a business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jerrygontang.com
• Facebook: Jerry Gontang
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Jerry Lukens Steve Cantwell Jeff Schmitz Jodi Foster Mark Lokovic