My First Day as a Full Time Musician

Today I'm on my way down the western US coast with the band to play some shows in California. It feels good to be on the road again with the promise of seeing familiar faces and playing music every night. This day happens to be a little different, as it's my first day as a full time musician.

After 9.5 years in the "professional" world, I cleaned out my desk yesterday and took leave from a really brilliant company called Projectline. I've spent the last 7+ years at Projectline working in the tech marketing space, surrounded by like-minded, passionate, interesting, selfless people.

It was bittersweet. I've worked alongside so many different types of brilliant people and acquired a strong understanding of how to make ideas come to life.  I've gotten pretty comfortable with a constant paycheck, benefits, and the infrastructure to pursue music and there was a safety net if music wasn't going well.

After moonlighting as a musician during all those years at a desk job, it finally felt like now was the right time to leave the security of my desk job to become a full time musician.

It definitely didn't happen overnight. I've been writing, performing and touring for over 10 years and during these last years, I've seen things starting to build. As the music has started to really resonate with a larger audience, more, better paying opportunities have developed (licensing, writing for TV, US tours, Festivals, etc). Landing my first big music sync on a TV show was a turning point, and signing a publishing deal almost a year ago today was a big shift. Writing songs and having a team of people behind of me pitching those songs, while also connecting me with other artists, has opened me up to another way to support my career as a musician.

Some people have asked me what the focus is going to be. "How are you going to make money or sustain your career? Songwriting is one of my stronger skills when I think of what I have to offer as a career musician, and being able to dedicate more of my time to writing, as well as touring and connecting more with fans, friends and other like-minded people is where I plan to spend my time over the next few months. I'm also looking for the right opportunities to play house shows around North America this year.

On my last day at work, I came into the office to find a card on my desk from one of my coworkers. This quote really summed up why I'm making the move to music full time, even if it does feel like a risk and an unknown:

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” - Michelangelo ”

Over the next few months, feel free to drop me a line if you are looking for ways to support me and the guys with your time, energy, or aren't sure how to support. You can e-mail me at theband*@*krisorlowski.com.

Here we go

-Kris