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

Marty, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I am very lucky to be earning my living solely through music. Most of my nights are spent playing music with Miami’s amazing music community. My days are open for me to rehearse, write, and record for my friends’ creative original projects. I also have a lot of fun teaching! Sometimes musicians can get caught up in teaching as many students as they can to ensure that they have a steady income. It can become a drag because it eats up so much time. Because I feel stable enough from my gigs, I can keep my teaching studio relatively small, taking only students that are passionate about learning and playing.

When I was 18 and making the dreaded college decision, I chose to study music business out of fear. I had the same thoughts that every musician has – “How am I going to make enough money playing music? What if I’m not good enough? I need some kind of backup plan in case it doesn’t work out.” These are all very common thoughts for artists. The thing is, while these thoughts are logical, they all define success as ‘making lots of money by playing music.’ But music isn’t about money at all. Music is about joy, community, discovery, passion, trust! If you get a job as a waiter, or a barista, or you get into coding to pay your bills, if you are still making music you are successful! In fact, you’re probably in the majority of musicians these days. So many of my friends have a side hustle to support their artistic paths.

I taught at multiple music studios as my side hustle in my early 20s. I ran sound at a church. While earning my money with that, I invested in my artistry. I practiced my butt off, said yes to every gig (even if it didn’t pay), reached out to friends about jamming, and took lessons from older musicians. I will always consider myself a student who needs to learn so much more, because music is an endless endeavor. Thankfully now – years later – I have established enough connections with friends and put myself in enough musical scenarios to be prepared to play many different kinds of gigs. Now my career is filled with performances, and it is very rewarding!

Marty, 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 freelance musician in Miami, Florida. I play electric and upright bass. I started by playing rock music with my friends, and later got bit by the bug and started broadening my horizons. Music is just music, and genres can be limiting. I will play jazz one night in town, and later that week go on a short tour with an indie pop band. I love the unique feeling that performing live with friends provides. There is truly nothing like it. Whether you’re a musician or not, you’ve experienced that feeling of witnessing something on stage that won’t ever be recreated in the same way again. It’s magic!

I try to always be a supportive musician in every project that I take part in. From bringing an extra cable to the gig and showing up on time, to listening with wide open ears and catching sonic moments mid-performance, I believe the main goal should always be trying to set everybody up for the most success with their music. If I can be relied on, I’ve done a huge part of my job.

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

Showing up and showing support to the music in your community is what it’s all about. There is a lot of free entertainment in Miami, which is great. So get out whenever you can and go see your friend play the new music they wrote! In addition, if somebody puts together a show on their own, they really need your support. If the show is not at a large establishment, or there isn’t a promotional companies name behind it, then it is pretty DIY and every person in the room means so much to that person. So pay that $10 cover, show up, and listen and be inspired by your peers!

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I often need to remind myself that there is no end goal. There is no milestone. There isn’t a certain tempo or lick that will define me as a good musician. There isn’t a number of followers on Instagram that I will hit that will satisfy everything and make me say, “alright! I don’t need to practice anymore!.” I think as long as I stay curious and always try to grow as a musician, I will be doing the right thing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @martyjquinn

Image Credits
Leeanne Drucker Leesa Richards Skyzombieephotography