We were lucky to catch up with Shahin Monjezi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Shahin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The first time I got the idea of being a “rockstar” was at the age of 12. I’d stumbled upon a video on YouTube of Santana performing their song “Soul Sacrifice” at Woodstock.
After watching the video, I began having grand visions of myself touring the country and playing in front of seas of people. I picked up my guitar, wrote songs and played music with friends in different bands over the course of my high school and college years. With every completed performance, I had the feeling that “this is what I’m meant to do with my life.”
But after I graduated College, I had to figure out a way to pay the bills. Music wasn’t paying. By the time I was 26, I had found myself in my own personal hell, working full time at my father’s used car dealership, spending most of my waking hours putting out fires to keep the business afloat.
Although I despised the work, the income I received allowed me to afford a beautiful apartment in West Torrance that I was renting out with my buddy Kevin. The apartment was walking distance to the Redondo Beach Pier. We had spent our first summer there enjoying beach days, going out at the local nightlife in Hermosa, and basking in the cool ocean breeze that would wash over our balcony. To top it all off, we were locked in at a submarket rental rate. I was financially stable. I was comfortable.
But after a year of living in the apartment, as summer turned to fall and fall into winter, I could feel a void inside me that was brewing. Sure, I was comfortable, but it was clear that my childhood dream of playing music and touring the country was on its death bed.
My roommate Kevin shared a similar sentiment. We both loved recording music and had performed around the South Bay for a couple years under our artist name Genghis Pierre. At this point, we had recorded one album together during the pandemic, and we were wrapping up the recording of our second album “Do What Feels Good.” We had a small following in the South Bay, and had less than 100 monthly listeners on our streaming platforms. Both recording music and playing shows was our only guiding light in life, offering us refuge from the unfulfilling jobs we were working.
That winter going into 2023, Kevin and I had long talks about how our dreams of being rockstars were dissolving right in front of our eyes. It was clear that working unfulfilling full-time jobs would never allow us to live out our rockstar dreams. One night, I had shared with Kevin that my childhood dream was to tour America, performing for people across the country.
We sat in silence, and In a hail-mary attempt, knowing that my dream was sinking like quick sand, I said, “What if we just quit our jobs, gave up our apartment, hopped in a van with our music equipment, and drove across the country for an entire summer, financing our travels with our music.”
Kevin paused for about 5 seconds, then, to my surprise, responded with, “Dude…I’m down.”
Logically speaking, nothing about the idea made any sense. We didn’t know anything about setting up a tour and booking with venues outside of our local area. We didn’t have a solid vehicle that could get us across country on a 4 month road trip. Cutting off our source of income would mean we’d have to give up the apartment that we loved so much as we were on a month to month lease. We were locked in at a sub-market rental rate and similar apartments were renting for close to double what we were paying. Were we really willing to give that up to take a massive risk in following this pipe dream?
We didn’t even know if we’d be able to make enough money playing music to last a whole summer on the road. This would mean we’d risk the possibility to having to dig deep into our savings to support ourselves if we were unable to produce any income on the tour.
None of it made any sense, but Kevin and I had come to a conclusion that night; no one was coming to save us. No one was going to make our dream happen for us. The perfect situation or scenario would never come around. This was our dream, either we made it happen or we’d take it to the grave. The latter was not an option.
We moved out of our apartment on June 30th, 2023 and hit the road the next day on July 1st. At this point, we had another close friend of ours, Andres, join us for the tour. He had been unhappy working his 9 to 5, and he had jumped on board for the idea of touring the country for the summer (although it took him a month or so to come around after the initial invite). He had a 1998 Ford E350 Econoline that he’d bought a couple years back in the hopes of traveling the country. This would serve as our “tour van.”
Before hitting the road, we only had one gig booked in New York City at Rockwood Music Hall for a show in Mid-August. Our general plan was to drive from LA to New York City, booking gigs on the fly from city to city along the way. This means we’d walk into any place that would host music such as bars, music venues, coffee shops, book stores etc…and ask them if they wanted live music. If we couldn’t find a gig in a venue, we’d have to resort to busking in the streets of town centers and populated areas for donations.
We decided that after New York City we’d head south to Nashville. From Nashville, we’d head back west to California. We committed to 16 weeks on the road, just under 4 months.
So how did the tour play out?
We spent a few weeks in Colorado busking in Aspen, Boulder, and booking 2 well paying gigs at a Kava Bar and a makers market in Colorado springs.
A distant relative hooked us up for 2 well paid evening shows at an outdoor bar that his buddy’s family owned in Omaha. Nebraska.
We got into Lollapalooza in Chicago for free after running into one of our friends that was working as a bar manager for the event. He was able to get us weekend passes for 3 days. I got to see one of my biggest childhood inspirations on the guitar, John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, up close and personal, shredding with that sweet iconic tone of his.
We played one of the most emotional and beautiful gigs in Watkins-Glen, New York for a couple that was celebrating their 50th anniversary.
We made it to our New York City gig at Rockwood, and spent the night scouring the streets of time square, rooftop bars, and hanging out in the summer sun at central park the next day.
We ended up getting our first traveling bartender gig as bar-backs out in Ocean City, Maryland for a festival called Ocean’s Calling. I earned $3k in 3 days of work (those festival attendees could drink, and were generous with the tips!) That was the hardest work of my life, but I also got to see some of my favorite childhood bands (Third Eye Blind, Weezer, Incubus, Jack Johnson, and John Mayer) while making a ton of money. We even played a well paid gig in Ocean city at an after party for all the bartenders that had worked the event!
We eventually made it down to Nashville and were in awe of the “music city”, southern accents, and cowboy boots.
We headed west and played our final show at Pickle’s Steakhouse in Oklahoma City, a restaurant my great uncle manages.
16 weeks later we made it back to Los Angeles, rich with experiences. I had changed. I had found myself. An identity shift took place within. I was no longer a guy that worked so and so job and dabbled in music. I became an artist. I became the Rockstar I always dreamed of being.
More importantly, I witnessed something more profound. I had seen the universe in action. I had experienced what happens when you take the leap of faith to follow your heart. The universe truly does have your back when you live your life from a place of faith and abundance.
Now my life purpose is to inspire others to follow their dreams and to take that initial leap of faith for themselves!
Taking the risk was the greatest decision I made in my adult life. The stories, connections with all the beautiful souls I met on the road, the insights I gained about myself and the world, and the life-long memories I made are priceless.
I took the risk to fulfill my dream of touring the USA as rockstar.
I guess you could say it all worked out…
On to the next dream ;)
Shahin , 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?
My name is Shahin Monjezi. I am a music artist, filmmaker, and author.
I got into music with my first band when I was a senior in high school. I played in several bands throughout my high school and college years, co-producing the album “Paradigm Shift” for the band Fusion Flow, as well as 2 albums “The Creators” and “Do What Feels Good” for the music project Genghis Pierre. I toured the USA in the summer of 2023 with Genghis Pierre for the promotion of the “Do What Feels Good” album. I also write and produce music under my own artist name “SHAHIN”.
I manage my own youtube channel under my name. Here I offer spiritual guidance revolving around topics such as self-love and being present in life as a way of being. My youtube channel addresses the common anxieties, broken world views, and negative thinking patterns that keep us from living happy and fulfilling lives in the present moment. On this platform I provide solutions that I have developed to overcoming common anxieties by practicing self-love, positive thinking, and meditative exercises. I manage a community forum for like-minded individuals who are interested in deepening their practice of self-love and cultivating a more beautiful way of moving through the world.
I write and produce films for the “Genghis Pierre” youtube channel. These films document the stories and adventures that me and my 2 buddies embark on in our creative pursuits. The aim of these videos is to inspire other artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives
At this stage in my life, my major aim is to produce artistic works primarily through the mediums of music, film and writing that contain meaningful themes about the importance of self-love and seeking beauty in darkness.
My unique world view comes from being the child of 2 immigrant parents, one from Iran and the other from Malaysia, and growing up in a melting pot community in Los Angeles, CA. This upbringing has made me curious about other cultures and has taught me the importance of keeping an open mind. I love to travel the world as a result.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
At this point I really just want to inspire other people to follow their dreams and to do the things that make them happiest. In the short time I have been on this planet, I have met countless people who justify why they cannot follow their dreams. Through my own direct experience I have found that we really do not need to change external circumstances to make our life “perfect”. Rather, a change in how we view ourselves and the world is necessary for changing our external circumstances.
I produce art through music, film and writing to challenge people’s assumptions about themselves and the world, and to get others to ask themselves the deeper questions that initiate change within an individual.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
The single most impactful video that has changed my life for the better was a short film that features the spiritual teachings of Eckhart Tolle.
The video is titled “Eckhart Teaches a Young Man.” It’s available on YouTube.
The video breaks down why the majority of humanity is unhappy. The video made me aware of my relationship to my own thoughts and thinking patterns, which allowed me to change my thoughts and thinking patterns to better serve me in my life.
If I could sum this up into a statement it would be, “There is nothing wrong with the world, only your thoughts about the world.”
How you choose to see the world, circumstances and people around you is all in your control. This is one of the most empowering truths that I have ever stumbled upon.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shahinmonjeziofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shahin.monjezi/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahin-monjezi-46b944116/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2PBAQaiNhc6VrMVkA8bJSQ
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shahin-monjezi
- Other: https://beacons.ai/genghispierre
