We recently connected with Nathan Kay and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nathan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. 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 first moved to Los Angeles from Wisconsin in the summer of 2021. Following the lockdown of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic I found myself in need of a change of scenery, and I knew it had to be either Los Angeles or New York. As a recent graduate of the Berklee college of music and Eastman School of music I was confident in my skills and tools, yet I had not had a ton of professional experience by that point. Moving to Los Angeles was the exact push I needed to take my career and artistry to the next level, and it made the most sense based on what I wanted to do with my life. I’m usually pretty modest – although one thing I can say for sure is that I’m an incredibly hard worker and always have been. So although moving to Los Angeles was scary I knew that with my work ethic I could overcome anything.

When I first arrived in Los Angeles, I had a small amount of money saved and no job. I quickly found a coffee shop job in Beverly Hills and worked the morning shift five days a week. While doing this I was able to pick up a couple gigs on trumpet in which I met other creatives who were in a similar position that I was in. They told me the places to go, people to know, venues to check out, etc. So for a whole year I hustled by going out every chance I could to meet people, while at the same time having to work a 5 a.m. shift. I didn’t really sleep that year. But eventually my hard work paid off and I was able to slowly cut back my hours at the coffee shop over the course of a year until I was able to quit entirely. Finally I was able to sustain myself on just music. During that entire time I was writing music, practicing, and really grinding every day.

Now I am in a position where I am able to do music full time, and I couldn’t be happier. I tour with a pop artist and also play on gigs and recording sessions around Los Angeles. This grants me time and freedom to use working on my own projects which takes up most of my free time. I produce a lot of music, and the next step for me is to slowly shift my income from the trumpet to music production, similar to what I did with the coffee shop. Regardless, I never take my life for granted as I know how lucky I am to be supporting myself with music. It is truly a dream come true.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in a musical household in a small town in Wisconsin, so music has always been around. Although it has not been easy by any means, it seemed to be the path of least resistance for me.

I consider myself to be a multifaceted musician, but my focus is in trumpet playing and music production. Having studied jazz music in the past has not only helped me to understand music on a deep level, but it also has made me a fast learner. I think this gives me a unique quality to listen to and understand people, which is an extremely important mindset to have as a music producer and musician.

Something people should know about me is that I always put the music first, and my level of involvement is unimportant to me. What I’m trying to say is, if I’m responsible for 95% of the product, then great. If I’m responsible for 5%, also great. I just want to create a good product and serve the music in the way that I’m supposed to.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing to me is being able to take people on a journey through music and touch their lives. Music is as deep as you need it to be, which may be an unpopular thing among creatives. Some songs are really deep, and some songs just aren’t. And one is not better than the other. That’s the beauty of it. If my music is able to make someone feel the deepest of emotions OR simply just bop their head, that’s the most rewarding thing. I sort of think that once music is released, it really isn’t your song anymore. Whatever it needs to be for someone, it will be.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I grew up in a pretty rural small town, so I am pretty familiar with people not understanding my journey as a creative. When I was growing up, I would tell people that I wanted to be a musician. They would always laugh a little and say something along the lines of, “but what are you really going to do? How are you going to make money?” I always just responded that “I’ll figure it out.” One time my dentist was grilling me on this, which was annoying especially because my mouth was open. The reality is, there are so many ways to make money as a creative, you just have to have the courage to know where to look. It can be difficult at times but creatives are also extremely resilient. And true artists will always be artists no matter what. They will find a way.

When I was younger I was always angry at older adults with every day jobs for responding like this. However as I have gotten older I have grown to show these types of people humility. Perspective is everything, and most people in America don’t have the resources or freedom to pursue creative careers. So it makes sense to me why they would have a negative opinion on someone pursuing a creative career. It is born out of an unintended ignorance, but instead of being angry about this matter, I ask other creatives to show every-day people a little humility. It’s important to respectfully educate people what it’s like to be an artist, and it’s important to remind them that it is possible. You don’t know what you don’t know.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nathankaymusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0nnry0bfORXrg0du8Ml10f?si=cFRMcJb0SAqbsqfhacPOJA

Image Credits
Trevor Roberts, Jay Wennington