Creativity and confidence don’t always go hand in hand.
My name is Trew and I’m a member of the group Fly Never Dies. I helped to form this group/band of musicians with Eric Haywood a few years back because I was starting to feel boxed in musically and business-wise.
My first love is music. Growing up, I was always exposed to many genres, due to my mother’s New York roots and my father’s Virginian foundation. I can still recall car trips that ranged from soul, pop, rock, country, and thanks to my older brother…Hip-Hop.
Hip-Hop was always the main genre that stuck with me … I remember submitting class projects with raps and performances. Groups and artist like A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-tang, and Nas all had me rushing to the local music store. I loved the culture, even learned to DJ and write just so I could feel part of it.
As I got older. I joined my school’s marching band…and even won the John Philip Sousa award for being a quality musician. Unfortunately, at that time, the people I surrounded myself with thought there was no way you could combine ANYTHING with Hip-Hop…and if you did…you weren’t “Keeping It Real”
After years of creating in the studio …music was thrown to the side because of the other genres I would try to incorporate. It wasn’t that I was doing it because I wanted a gimmick…but because of my appreciation for all music. What I was doing wasn’t “Hip-Hop” enough or I was trying too hard for a single…which was never the case.
Tired of preconceived notions, pauses in projects because of disagreements in direction… I knew I needed a break.
A friend of mine suggested I meet a friend who was forming a new rock band. The lead singer was in a band signed to Warner Bros called Jack’s Mannequin. I met with the bass player and singer and we immediately bonded. Because of him, I was able to tour and meet others from various markets. At that point…I realized that I no longer needed to box myself in…and that I was supposed to perform and create.
Immediately, I was ashamed of myself because I realized, if I failed, it wouldn’t be because of my music, but because of everyone I listened to.
To clear my head… I decided to take a break and I went with another medium of performance…and I began to act and model …while going to the gym more frequently. The break from music only showed me how much I really loved it…but also…that the break was necessary.
Recently, I was able to catch up with several of my musician friends that I met during touring, as well as some of my old Hip-Hop buddies. We put together this new project “Fly Never Dies”. Our main objective was just to create. None of us went in with preconceived notions or a specific direction…just make music that captures moments in our lives.
The first EP is now complete and we are currently promoting the single. Recently, after asking my publicist how was the feedback and perception…he said something to me that brought everything full circle… “What does it matter what the feedback is …if you love it and believe in it?” He is absolutely right …and I hope every musician that ever has to question themselves has someone to tell them that as well …or hopefully reads this and becomes inspired.
It’s a different era…and as a musician, you not only have to battle self-doubt…but Social Media is tough and there are so many critics, blogs, memes, But at the end of the day … if you are presenting the best version of you … just realize that you can never fail.
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