We were lucky to catch up with Sid Jerr-Dan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sid , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
The best investment I’ve made is giving myself time to explore new territories as an artist and to grow and change. I feverishly researched country music artists from the 1920’s to the 1970’s for several years. In many ways this task is never completed because there is just so much music out there if you are willing to explore other avenues, like record collecting and seeking out curated radio shows. For me this was crucial in finding my own sound. You find some artists and a certain kind of instrumentation that you vibe with most, and you process that through your own creative process and what comes out of that is usually something completely unique to you. And obviously learning to play and sing in a new style, learning pedal steel and dobro, fiddle. All of these things take countless hours to play let alone perfect, but that probably the most rewarding part of it all when you can learn with something new and see growth happening day by day. I’ve come to the realization that you really have to pick and choose your battles. I’ve invested time and equipment into things other than music production, song writing , instruments, and live performance and i usually find myself taking on too much. Hiring out screen printers, graphic designers, audio engineers ect., has been something I’m doing differently now. There’s a nice little community of folks in Atlanta that supports itself and we can all help each other in that way by specializing in what we do best.
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 started laying the ground work for this newest project about 3 years ago. During the pandemic my attention was starting to shift away from rock and roll and loud guitars to something else. I had a pedal steel guitar made for me by Mullen, and i starting recording demos at home. Eventually i went into standard electric studios in Decatur to record about 13 tracks. Ive released several singles on the streaming platforms and the entire album is set to release early next year.The first single i released was “Desert Highway”. I got in touch with the people at “Now Dig This” and we shot a little video. Shortly there after Irrelevent Music booked me a couple shows at 529 and the earl in East Atlanta Village and i started making a name for myself. I even got an NPR interview with NPR’s City Lights, but gaining a real following comes with time. I tend to gain fans slowly the old fashion way, one at a time in the real world, and through making connections playing out of town gigs and locally. I’m working on recording my next batch of songs and hope to do things a little differently, with more intention behind promotion. I’m always going to release music regardless of how many people might be listening because i have a healthy obsession with making new things and experimenting in my home studio.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I came to Atlanta when i was 19 with nothing more than a guitar and a backpack. For 10 or so years i struggled financially with basic necessities of life. There were periods of time when i lived out of my truck, when i couldn’t afford a place to live. It didn’t help that i was in a stupor for most of that time. I left Atlanta twice and lived in Marshall, NC for a year both times in an attempt to distance myself from the bars and haunts i blamed all my problems on. This didn’t work as anyone in recovery can tell you, you can’t run away from you. A friend of mine picked me up in little 5 points were i was living at the time and took me to my first meeting in 2018. It would take another 4 years for me to fully commit to being sober and accepting the help i so badly needed. In a way thats basically where my life began. I’m grateful for every opportunity that comes my way these days no matter how small. Creativity comes from somewhere deep within us, not through substances we choose to put in our bodies. I’m totally clean today, no pharmaceuticals or anything, and i can say my song writing and my ability to network have only gotten better and more focused. It’s a been a deeply spiritual journey for me to reconnect to music like i had never before, and at 35 years old I’m giving it another honest try. I’ve also joined another travels country surf western band from Atlanta called Andrea and Mud. Well be on the road a lot next year doing SXSW and i hope to open for them whenever that possible. So things are coming together and recovery is definitely possible even as a traveling artist/musician.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think people should just support there local scene more. I am always looking for new spots to play and i wish more bar and restaurants would pay to have live music. I think thats what really makes a city unique. The music and arts culture always brings people to it even long after those musicians and artists have been priced out or live music wasn’t made a priority. The pandemic definitely changed the landscape and many local venues across the country had to shutter their doors.I think if we want to compete with cities like Nashville and Austin we have to create a culture thats actually fun and people want to actively participate in. A lot of bars in Atlanta have great spaces where artists could perform, and i think they own it to the community to bring more live music into those spaces. It would make Atlanta or any city richer and more vibrant culturally, which in my opinion, people tend to gravitate towards and spend money and buy real-estate in culturally relevant places. I think developers and business owners forget that sometimes when they create sterile spaces that lack a sort of human feel, even when they are predicated on and pretend to be that sort of down home artsy musical vibe.
x 
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Kris Sampson Lucy Haney @adequate_chad on IG