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

Joel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us 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?

No teacher or course ever really prepared me to be a full-time artist. I struggled with how to achieve my goals for years, but at some point had a powerful realization: to be an artist in today’s world means to be an entrepreneur, and the product is myself. When I learned to sell myself like a startup pitches their product, I started convincing more people of my value.

Joel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a composer and jazz pianist whose work straddles the worlds of jazz, pop, and contemporary classical music. I frequently use humor as a means to engage audiences with new music.

I am the Artistic Director of The Queen’s Cartoonists, a musical ensemble dedicated to the preservation and performance of music from classic and contemporary cartoons. My work with TQC is at the cross-roads of the Golden Age of Jazz and the Golden Age of Animation, performing faithfully reproduced film scores while synchronized to the original films. I compose music for contemporary cartoons as well, working with living animators around the world. Concert highlights include sold out shows at The Blue Note Jazz Club, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

In addition to my work with The Queen’s Cartoonists, I have collaborated with artists as diverse as the New York Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, the Philly Pops, the Cleveland Orchestra, Linkin Park, Ke$ha, Wayne Newton, and the Houston, Toronto, Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Cincinnati Symphony orchestras. I have performed on all seven continents (yes, including Antarctica), and in my youth was a songwriter signed to Warner Brothers Records.

I am also the founder of Sadsap Music, a humorous music publishing company. My first book, You Suck at Piano, was a viral hit on Kickstarter. Follow up books include You Suck at Piano 2: You Still Suck, 20 Piano Pieces for People with Emotional Problems, You Suck at Guitar, and The Nutsmacker.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The single best way to support performing arts is to go see those artists perform. Seems like an obvious thing to say, but in the age of endless, nearly-free, mediocre streaming services, sitting on one’s butt at home has never been more appealing. Unfortunately this is not the way to experience exciting, contemporary art (or music, or theater, etc). In my case, buying a ticket to a concert and engaging with the performers on stage is always a more satisfying experience than flicking through Netflix shows. This has been an especially big struggle coming out of the pandemic, as people have gotten so used to staying home and doing nothing!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was taught in music school to play the piano a certain way. And to compose music a certain way. To think a certain way. Very mainstream ideas – even the most outrageously modernistic professor is essentially teaching what other people are doing. And while it’s important to learn from others, how do we learn to walk down our own path? When I was young, it was difficult (or impossible) to get peoples’ attention. But I kept at it. With age and experience, people start paying more attention. When I learned to finally shake off any pressure to conform to what others might expect of me, and purely focus on my ideas, people DID pay attention.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joelpierson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/no.juan_no.juay/
• Other: www.thequeenscartoonists.com

Image Credits
Lindsey Thoeng, Pix,