We were lucky to catch up with Michael Cartwright recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
The moment I stopped obsessing on being a full-time musician and started focusing on living a life of interesting adventure, my financial opportunities increased and my depth of experiences widened a full arm’s length. A new life was born, by my letting go of my prideful ego and being down for anything.
Better than being “financially secure” as a musician was my realization that I do not need that title to be happy. Here’s my take, I found becoming a musician completely supported monetarily by performing to be a champion moment. I did this for years. It was as if I achieved a podium finish on an epic race where so many watched. Now I have a new accomplishment – my ego understands that I DO NOT need to pay my bills by creative work alone.
I gave myself a major life change in 2019 “B.C.” (Before Covid). I left my 20-year life in the local-LA music scene to move to rural North Dakota. There is little to no music scene in rural North Dakota, but my connections with LA kept me working with periodic fly dates out of state, so some income was generated through music.
An optimistic outlook came to my mind when moving to be near family in North Dakota. I started saying ‘yes’ to whatever opportunities came my way. I started working – stepping in the shit – at my uncle’s dairy farm. Then I moved on to flipping burgers at a golf course café. I bartended a local bar, then another, then another. My popularity grew in the area for being exceptional at whatever I did. I found that if you are person with a skill set that no one else has in a community, you will be a valuable commodity. I met a member of the local TedX board at a church gig and 4-months later my Tedx Talk “Art of The Frontman” was born. I spoke to various non-music events in the state and soon found myself being invited to be the co-host of the Studio 701 Morning show for KXMB-CBS Bismarck.
My discovery is that I prefer to live a life of my interests rather than being “just a musician.” Now that’s art!
Michael, 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?
Music was something that found me at a young age. I believe it chose me. Music classes were required in Virginia public schools (early 90’s) so signed up for band and was given the trumpet. I ended up being naturally good at the horn. The trumpet carried me all the way through grade school until I moved to Southern California in 1999 to join a performance group called The Young Americans (YA’s). It was with YA’s that I began singing, dancing and really diving into what it takes to interact and excite an audience.
I stayed in California after YA’s and got a degree from the USC Thorton School of Music. It was there that I realized that being a successful musician was more than just being great at your instrument, it was about being a full package. Since then, I’ve done hundreds of performances as a professional and today I’m the leader of the Elan Artist’s ProjectM event band.
Though my perspective, the outstanding quality that I bring as a musician is leadership. I am a good singer. I am a good horn player. I am a good writer, but I think my underlying gift is leadership.
I’ve learned so much about band leading over the years and I’m constantly refining my role. At the core, I have this belief: “I am The Captain of this ship.” Think about this, the captain holds responsibility for the welfare of all passengers on board. In the event of disaster, the captain will be the last one to safety or go down with the ship. As a band leader, it’s my duty to ensure the success of each of my band members. If the band is sinking, myself as the captain better be the last one out of the dangerous waters.
What this is all about, is taking responsibility for the outcome of each performance. When ownership is taken over my results, I have the power to analyze and change them for the future. Blaming a bad audience, poor sound, or another band member just makes me a victim. Victims don’t win with their heads held high.
If you’d like to know more about my ideas on leadership (as well as, who really won the 2007 Super Bowl) please look up my Tedx Talk “Art Of The Frontman” on YouTube.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Commercial viability. I had a manager many years ago that told me about this concept. It pretty much means, will your product be accepted and valuable in the current popular market? This changed my outlook on artistic creation and instead of trusting myself and being an Artist, I was now trying to fit in and be relevant. Commercial viability is important, but for my journey as soul-with-one-ticket-as-a-human-being it was not the right road for me to take. I no longer created poetry for pleasure, or just got weird and made art. Everything I did was aimed at being commercially viable.
Years later I had a chance meeting with an entertainment lawyer named Miles Cooley. He told me one sentence that cracked the shell that had formed around my creativity. He said, “Michael, your job is to create art that transcends.” Think about all The Greats: Prince, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, James Brown, etc. They did not copy, but innovated! They transcended the norm to create something unique – which then became commercially viable. To quote a great lyric, “Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?”
Have you ever had to pivot?
The biggest pivot I’ve ever had is happening as we speak.
I’m packing up my fruitful life in North Dakota moving to New York City.
This decision is a full spectrum shift. A year ago, I met a great woman in New York. She is a professional singer – a very talented one at that. Over the last year we’ve fallen in love and we decided that the best way for us to be together is for me to move to NY.
My life here in Dakota is thriving Therefore, I’m surrendering my security, access to family, affordable living, celebrity status, physical space and pristine Dakota nature to live in the pressure cooker of NYC.
Many people here think I’m foolish to leave. Others think its an amazing opportunity.
I see both sides of the argument, loud and clear.
My father passed away a few months ago; he had a personal truth, “Make a decision, and work to make it right.” So that’s what I’m doing. I’m choosing to follow the great adventure of love and I’m moving to NYC. I’m going to jump in head first and see what I can give to New York, and take in what New York is ready to teach me.
Contact Info:
- Website: cartwrightmusic.com
- Instagram: cartwrightmusic
Image Credits
Chad Noodland