We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Johnny Wayne. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Johnny below.

Johnny, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Happiness as an artist comes in waves, with extreme highs and intense lows. My favorite part about being an artist is bringing a song to life from scratch and seeing the way it touches my fans. That’s what keeps me going. There’s no better feeling than performing my music and watching my fans sing along. The downside is, once the show is over and the venue clears out, my first thought is, “Okay, what’s next?” My mind immediately goes to, “where can I perform next?”, “how am I going to get all of the same people to come again, plus more?”, “how can I improve?”, “what can I do differently next time to keep the fans engaged?”. In addition to that, you have people coming at you from every angle with empty promises trying to convince you that they are your ticket to success. That being said, it is difficult for me to trust because I have witnessed scamming first hand. But, at the end of the day, there’s nothing that makes me happier than writing/performing music, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I’ve tried the “9 – 5 thing” and I’ve always felt like it is just a distraction, pulling me away from my true PERSONAL LEGEND.

Johnny, 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?

I am Johnny Wayne, an independent recording artist, song writer and entertainer out of St. Louis, MO. My passion towards music started at a young age, back when “burning cd’s” was becoming popular. I used to download the newest music on LimeWire every week and burn them onto a cd. From there, I basically became a dj at parties on the weekends because I had a good sense of what music would be popular. At that time, I never dreamt of becoming an artist. I was focused on sports. I played soccer year round and that was my main focus, hoping one day I would even go pro. Then everything changed after I injured my ankle and my lungs collapsed. I actually had 3 spontaneous pneumothorax’s. That being said, it was difficult to get back in shape and too painful to play full time competitively. Then the real magic happened. I found out I could record music, for free, at home on my computer. Thanks to Audacity! From that point on, I no longer cared about anything but music. I trained myself, with the help of a couple high school buddies, who also had the same passion, how to produce, track and mix vocals. And the rest is history!

I provide entertainment and an escape from everyday life through my catchy, fun, and energetic music. I believe that my stage presence and style of music sets me apart from others. It’s really hard to categorize the genre of music I make, and I prefer to call it HIP-POP, as it is a unique blend of multiple genres. I also enjoy giving back, whether that’s putting on charity events, making special appearances, or creating jingle’s for friend’s businesses.

I am most proud of my persistence and willingness to keep pursuing my dream, despite the many setbacks that I’ve encountered throughout my music career. Although I strive to continue growing everyday, it has led to an extraordinary amount of personal growth in many aspects of my life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My social media journey started off slowly, but it really began gaining traction when I came up with the idea for “Free Track Friday”. I released a song every Friday for almost a year and it really grabbed the attention of my fans. The consistency kept my audience engaged and gave them something to look forward to each week. It also pushed me to continuously make better music and helped with my overall growth as an artist. I am no longer doing “Free Track Friday”, but I am always putting out new content. My focus now is on putting out professional and high quality content. I make an effort to book videographers and photographers for every event I do, no matter how big or small, to ensure I constantly have new ,up-to-date, and professional content to release. Nowadays, my social media pages consist of music videos and performance videos/photos, sprinkled in with a bit of every day life.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started my music journey, I was told the only way to “make it” is to constantly be working, and be focused on my music 100% of the time. That being said, I never felt like I was doing enough. Whether that’s writing music, creating content, booking shows, etc. I wasn’t taking the time to smell the roses. Anytime I was doing anything other than music, I felt like I was wasting my time.

Over time, I realized that consistent, hard work is key. But, my overall state of mind and health is more important. I noticed I was getting burnt out and it was effecting my creativity. With the help of my wife, I trained myself to enjoy the small things in life and take time to practice self care. I advise that all artists do the same. Whether it’s meditating, exercising, reading, or simply enjoying nature, I’ve found that when I take time to exercise my mind, outside of my true passion, creativity flows naturally and I just feel better in general.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://johnnywayne.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnywaynemusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyWayneMusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtpXRsMMsx66DrDIRKLgzTg

Image Credits
OOTO Media, Lady Emeline Photography & Artist United Network.