Being intensively trained to do something is quite an undertaking. Taking on what you’ve been trained to do as a full-time job? That’s something else entirely. 

For the past two and a half years I’ve trained as a musician and songwriter at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, a school that’s turned out everybody from Quincy Jones and Alf Clausen, to Dream Theater and John Mayer. The pressure to perform well was always present and though I spent much of my time working hard for my chosen profession (songwriting), and the classes associated with it, nothing could quite prepare me for the ensuing and all-encompassing wave of passion following my graduation. 

Studying full time takes a lot out of you, especially if you’re a bit of a go-hard academic like myself. Whilst I was at Berklee I was decidedly committed to performing well, even for those classes that didn’t directly impact my chosen profession, so most of my time outside class was spent studying. That being said, I did find sufficient time to perform and write regularly. 

In my last semester I became drawn to the music of Randy Newman who, for those of you who aren’t aware, is a Grammy Award winning songwriter and composer who has scored the soundtracks to such films as ‘Meet the Parents’ and a slew of Disney-Pixar films, and also written such well-known songs as ‘Short People’ and ‘When She Loved Me’. I was inspired by his commitment to his craft and his incredible abilities as both a songwriter and arranger - and by his decision, at the age of 17, to treat songwriting as a 9-5. 

The idea of songwriting as a 9-5 enthralled me as many see professions in the arts as free-spirited paths full of downtime, lengthy periods of “self-exploration”, lacking a high level of discipline. Perhaps it’s because most people see artists at play and not in their studios, crafting and honing their skills. Performing songs is just the tip of the iceberg for a performing songwriter, the icing on the cake. 

Ever since I began my 9-5 journey as a songwriter I’ve not only discovered an entirely new level of passion and love for my craft, but new heights of creativity and new depths of exhaustion. The job of a songwriter is, in reality, much more than a day job with a start and end time. One of my closest friends described it once as more like a 6-3, starting when the sun rises and ending just before it comes up again. The job encompasses more than a simple desire to create, but an unbridled love of a craft that can literally move people, shape their days, and allow them to experience emotions on a whole new level. 

I can’t remember the last time I needed to leave a live show so I could satisfy my need to write, but it’s started happening. I think I’m healthily addicted.