We were lucky to catch up with Sherri Ezell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sherri, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

I was in my twenties and decided I wanted to try solo gigs with my guitar. I visited a local fine restaurant and talked to the owner, explaining that I would love to sing and play for any private party he might have. Two days later he called me with a private party for a group of upper management executives from a local business. I had to rent sound equipment because I didn’t have any of my own. When I got to the gig, not only were they all men but they had obviously started partying much earlier. They would have loved whatever I sang because all they saw was a petite young blond with a pretty dress sitting on a stool and playing a guitar. Fortunately they acted as gentlemen, but I will never know if they actually enjoyed the music! However, during my gig, the house musician at the restaurant heard me and offered me a job singing with him. So that first gig was really my start in the local music arena.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have been around music all my life. My dad could play anything with strings and several of his siblings were musical. So I grew up accompanying my dad on piano when he played guitar. I played totally by ear, although I did take piano lessons for a couple of years and learned to read music. I was in several bands in my high school years, and helped pay my way through college with my music.

When I moved out of the house, I couldn’t take my piano with me so I bought a guitar and my dad taught me the basics. Over the years, I sang with lots of groups and did a few solo gigs. Years later, an uncle of mine gave me his bass guitar. He said he could never play it and he figured I could. Again, my dad showed me the basics and I started playing in church. This led to playing and singing with a gospel quartet, which I did for eight years. When the group broke up, I missed it so much that I went back to my guitar and started doing solo gigs again. I still jam with a group of really good local musicians, but I love doing the solo thing.

I don’t know where I would be without music in my life. Though I know some musicians who have tired of playing so much, it seems as though the older I get, the more I love to do it. Music is my way of releasing the tension and stress of daily life. No matter how tired I am, I am always up to play, especially when it is with other good musicians. I never cease to learn about the craft…a new lick or chord progression. And it is always new and exciting for me. Perhaps if I were a big star and toured night after night, I might get burned out, but I doubt it. Music is simply a part of me.

I think possibly something that makes me stand out in todays music field is the fact that I love all types of music. When I jam with my friends, we do everything from old country to rock and roll. When I do solo gigs, I do old standards, newer pop, country, even blues and some broadway tunes. If it is good music, I love it and try to incorporate it into my gigs whenever I can.

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

I really hate to see so many school systems pulling funding for the arts. It has been proven in countless studies that the arts help children to excel in other subjects as well., not to mention the sheer enjoyment they can get out of any creative process. I would love to see this change.

I also think communities need to offer more opportunities for local musicians to show their creativity. So often, the only avenues for these young musicians are via nightclubs and bars. While there is nothing wrong with these venues, young musicians need other avenues for their music. In my local area, there are precious few venues for musicians and many of those are not places I want to be associated with. When I started, every nice restaurant in town had live music. It is not that way in many areas now. Communities need to offer safe, supportive venues for our young musicians to give them a leg up.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a musician is seeing smiles on faces in the audiences, especially young people. I can lose myself in my music, just sitting in my living room. But seeing an audience enjoy and appreciate the talent, hard work and sheer guts it takes to put yourself out there is so very rewarding. I always say that if the audience got half the fun and enjoyment from listening that I got from performing, I did my job.

I have also had a few opportunities to mentor a few young musicians, to give them encouragement and support however I could. I love to see young people getting into music, or art or whatever their creative bent is. I am also an amateur photographer and I have gotten that same mentorship from a few who are younger than me. I think most who are creative in one area tend to be so in other areas, like me being a musician, and singer, and writer and photographer. There are so many ways for creativity to blossom. That’s why the arts are so important.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Sherriezell_music

Image Credits
Sarah Head