"Can't Shoot Me Down" -Song

Working on some solo projects. Here is one of my latests.

Do Not Wake Up

       Are we the helpless victims of society’s standards?

       I mean look at us...most of us working jobs that we do not like and some of you are still in college working and studying for a standard corporate job once you graduate.

       Since we are in diapers and K-Swiss light up sneakers we are encouraged to go to college, then maybe grad school, then go get a corporate job, wear a suit, get a salary, 401K, and benefits. And hey, that isn’t bad if the company is great, you love what you do, and you get paid what you feel you’re really worth. But how many of us really feel this way? I think I speak for most people in saying that a majority do not. 

       In our society this is what is expected of us. When did these rules and expectations get put on us? And when in the hell did we wait in line to sign up?

       To not be completely closed minded I’ll say that perhaps there are some people whose goal is to be a successful business person at a prestigious company. Things like a salary, benefits, medical coverage, full-time hours, and a consistent paycheck are all good things, but I have one important question for all of you...What about our dreams? 

       I'm on to you average Americans. I see you with your Sharp alarm clocks waking you up every weekday at 6 AM. I see you at Donkin Donuts in the morning with your iced latte and your everything bagel, toasted with cream cheese. I see you next to me in rush hour morning traffic, half falling asleep. I've probably given you the finger once or twice on my occasional "almost late" route to work. And you know why I'm on to you? Because I am one of you. The only difference is I am not average. I may look like an average American but I am above average. You want to know why? Because I am putting time aside for my dreams and aspirations, and I make sure I keep my passion, creativity, and livelihood alive.

       We get caught up with what is “easy”, “expected”, “mediocre”, and forget about our REAL aspirations in life. Let’s be honest here, most of us are settled in a career situation as I previously described and we fill our minds with endless excuses to justify our normalcy and our “ok” situations that we are currently in.

       “I’m so busy”, “I’m too tired”, “I don’t have enough money to do it”, “That’s a dream...what I do now is more ‘realistic’, and so forth. I love a quote that George Clooney says in one of my favorite movies, “Why do kids admire athletes?....Kids admire athletes because they follow their dreams."

       Why do we belittle our own dreams? And why do most of us think that only “special” people really “live out” their dreams? Well let me tell you, I refuse to think that we, myself included, are not “special” enough.

       And as far as excuses go, excuses are a way to make ourselves comfortable, to justify our fear of stepping out of the “norm”, perhaps a distraction from our fear of failure, or even to justify our laziness in attempting to work toward the things we dream about doing.

       As cliche as it sounds, we only live once. Do you really want to look back on your life later and realize you never followed any of your dreams? ...My guess is no. Don’t settle for the norm if it is not what you truly want. Some people may be okay with the norm, but I sure as hell am not.

      I am very glad I went to college and educated myself. I wouldn't trade that for anything. The experiences I had, the people I met, the things I learned, and the nights we all got to lock away in our box of memories was well worth every minute and every dime (which are many) that I spent.

       If anything...I am smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable to go do the things I WANT to do. It doesn't mean you have to be stuck doing what is "expected" of you. And I understand we all have bills to pay and we can't all just up and quit our day jobs to go be superstars in the big city. But what I am saying is don't let your dreams just fade and die. And not everyone wants to be a big movie star or a famous painter. Some people's dreams are to own their own restaurant, publish their own cookbook, come out with a makeup line, become a fitness instructor, own a pee wee football league, or even raise a family.

       Whatever your dreams may be, small or large, there is no reason in the one life we are given to not go pursue them. Work your job...but make sure you're making time to work on your craft and reach for the goals you really want to achieve. You'll never "find the time"...so you must MAKE the time. And as corny as it sounds, the time is now. Make the time for your dreams now, so hopefully later you can do what you really love to do. Maybe if you give it enough time here and there when possible, one day you'll be able to do devote your full time hours to what you REALLY want to be doing.

       I will not be hypocritical and I want you to know that I am following this theory myself. What I really love is writing/singing music and writing about life for others to read and find comfort. I have made it a point this year to work on my music more than I ever have. I made a decision months ago to really commit to doing it and believing in it and things are moving along. It involves a lot of hard work and devoted hours alongside my full-time job and the rest that life entails, but I'm MAKING the time to do it. I promise myself that if all goes well, within a year I will have a real CD with my name and picture on it to hand to my friends & family and any open-minded strangers alike. And it may not make it to the Billboard Top 100 but I'll be damn proud and I know for a fact anyone listening to it who appreciates music will enjoy it and will be willing to play it in their car as opposed to the repetitive top 40 songs on the radio. Not to toot my own horn but with the shit I hear on the radio/TV/online that is making it big, I really believe that if my music got in the right hands that I could really be heard... and I have no shame in believing that...if I don't believe in it, who else will?
       Oh, and believe me, there will be haters and "dreamstealers" like my friends and I like to call them. Ignore these people, for they only try to crush your dreams because they do not believe in their own.

       Also, I plan to one day start my own business in something I really enjoy and I've sat and made specific plans on how to go about doing it. And I started this blog because I love to write and that is one of my aspirations...and can you believe people are actually reading this thing!? ;)

       The point is...life is too short to spend years of your life not devoting any of it to something you dream of being or doing. Believe in yourself and don't waste your dreams on sleep. Make a decision today to devote your life to keeping your dreams alive. So, do not stop dreaming...no matter what time schedule you're on, no matter who tries to shake you awake, no matter how many times your alarm goes off...DO. NOT. WAKE. UP.

Original Music For Your Ears

This is one of my first full songs that I completed several months back. "Tug of War". Working on more solo work as we speak and will be keeping this updated!

This is a recent collaboration I helped my old friend Paulie Russo do for his debut album. It's called "Put It Down". Support fun, original music and keep the dreams alive!