Open Letter Final Draft

Jake Pavlica
Composing the Self
2/28/19
Open Letter Final Draft

To you, the artist,

You, sitting in the back of the class daydreaming about the thing that never leaves your mind. You are in your own world and you hear and see things that no one else could possibly imagine. You may be trapped or stifled; or as if there is some force brewing inside you that needs to be released. If this sounds like you, then you and I are one and the same. You have a head full of sounds, images and creative magma that must be released for the good of yourself and others around you, so all you need to do now is muster the willpower to make it reality.
No matter the kind of art you want to explore, know that it is within your power to make it reality. I spent a great deal of my young life thinking I was alone; that only I looked out the class room window thinking up musical ideas and hoping there was someone out there who felt the way I did. I probably would have stayed that way, trapped in my own creative purgatory, had I not pushed myself to seek out others like me. You may think that you don’t matter, or that no one wants to hear what you have to offer; but I’m here to tell you that you’re dead wrong. Before I found my voice and my people I was completely isolated. I wanted to play music to attain some sort of creative purpose and to meet others who had the same goals. I was so unsure of what I had to offer and what I could possibly bring to a band that was special. On top of that I had no idea how to maintain a healthy creative life along with academics and other responsibilities.
The first step is finding a way to meet people like you. For me this was through a music class in my high school. It was guitar class and I had no idea how to play guitar, nor did I even want to. Since the class was an intro course I figured the class could use some rhythmic time keeping, so I offered my services as a drummer. Before long I had found four guys, all with different influences, who had aspirations to from a band. I was wary at first, as I did not know if our goals were comparable. As we grew I saw that it was our differences that made the music interesting and most importantly; enjoyable to play. I had forced myself into an unknown situation, far from my bubble of comfortability and in that uncertainty I found musical allies.
I formed a band with them and we practiced diligently for months and months after school, crafting material. Even then, we were not sure that what we were doing was “good” in the slightest, but we still did it for ourselves. The profound release of being in unison yet individually important in a unit was unlike anything I had ever felt. After months of sweaty, argument filled rehearsal we got a gig at our school open mic night and we were awful. We were sloppy and arrogant, but we walked away from the gig with a new insight into oursleves as players and as a band.
As time went on and the band seemed to be in a rut, I thought that we would never play for an audience. I once again felt that my world was closed and consisted only of the pieces before me. I soon realized that my scope was too small and I was focusing so hard on doing something with this project that I failed to consider that I did not only have to work with one project. A friend of mine had started a band who’s drummer was moving so I saw this as an opportunity to cut my teeth. In this new band I found an even greater difference in influences that diversified my playing. I found that I could become a chameleon in a different genre while still maintaining what made me unique. I became close friends with the other two members of the group and through them I introduced me to a whole community of artists. Everything from painters, photographers, musicians, show promoters, light designers, and clothing designers all coming together to play local shows. I felt as if I had stepped into some underground fantasy land where I saw creative minds working in a colorful cohesion. It was a world I had never seen before and one in which I had never felt more apart of something, as vast as it was. Before long I had befriended a dozen other people in bands themselves or just fans of music who would frequent these underground functions. A true scene of artists, like a intricate tapestry of people from all different backgrounds and influences coming together in perfect harmony. These collectives do exist, and the doors are always open for fresh voices.
Think long and hard about the people you look up to, be they are musicians or visual artists. What is the distance between you and them? We have this perception instilled upon us that people who have become successful artists are somehow greater than us which creates a monumental gap in generational voices. For us musicians, our idols reside mostly in the past and we draw on them for inspiration. But what happens then when all that you know is outdated? There are lessons to be learned from the past, but you do not want to live in a world of displacement. You belong in this time period and it desperately needs new voices. Pop culture will continue to evolve but it cannot do so without people who are willing to make a commentary on the here and now. As artists you and I have the rare ability to be able to create and build an idea that be shared and expressed to the masses, or better yet to the individuals. Think of how close you feel to your inspirations, if they seem far away then you have the ability to be an inspiration that is more grounded and can speak to a modern audience. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel and you can hold fast to your values but do not forget your environment and your climate.
So to you, dreamy eyed artist, it is a vast ocean out there and there is bound to be someone, if not a group of people that can help you in your journey. Find your calling and actualize the sounds and colors in your head. It is scary, and it should be. You are taking a step into becoming who you want to be, but do not resist it. Allow yourself to trust in others and work with others. The art of compromise and mutual achieving is the name of the game, but there are no rules. You set the boundaries for what you want to do and who you want to work with, and there are those out there who want to hear what you have to say. The moment is right now and there will never be a better time. Use the that thing that you think about that you can’t ever shake from your thoughts to pump new blood into an industry that needs new artists and new voices. Connect with those around you and connect with people who can relate to you and never stop creating.