I love it, and this is why!

I suppose that there are those of you out there who want to know why I'm traveling down this road of music business and art. Why, P. Murray, would you choose to find stability in such an unstable industry? Is it worth all your ranting, long nights, hours of studio time, prayer, and contemplation? Better yet, will it last, once you've made it to where you hope to be?

Why indeed.

Well, while some of those questions would probably need a dissertation, I figure I could do a small breakdown of some of the things I do and why I do them. It's only fair to you guys to have a better understanding of some of the feelings and reasons behind the music (LOL, I sound like a VH1 special, wow!). I guess that I'd have to put them in order. Let's be real, I do have priorities with me music, folks. So here goes:

1. Singing - Of all the things I do, singing is my absolute favorite. I love to get up on a stage (or even just with friends) and make noises with my body, what can I say (LOL)? From the moment my church kid's choir director heard me and I saw the look in her eye that I was more than just a boy with nothing to do on a Saturday/Sunday, I knew something was different and I've been pursuing that "Different" ever since. It's one of the most liberating experiences one can have, I think.
2. Piano - This was the first thing I was able to do as a musician. My local private teacher found out that I could play by ear, and that was it. She threw exercises and tough pieces at me and I worked on them like it was food for the soul. Piano-playing, as one of my college professors told me, is easy to learn, but hard to master. But it's an awesome thing to be able to get through something beautiful and complicated like a Schubert impromptu or a Bach invention - nothing like it! In high school was where I came into improvisational pop/R&B/gospel playing and accompaniment, and that's just as awesome.
3. Composition - I know, surprise right? Many of yall thought I might put writing or production next, but it was composition proper that was able to cultivate my writing & production in the popular music fields. Again, LaGuardia was my breeding ground for this, and once I started, I couldn't stop. I have to publicly thank Mr. Ramon Reeberg, Gospel Chorus teacher at the time, for making me transcribe numerous pieces for the semi-annual concerts: it helped hone my ear and forced me to become comfortable with computer composition programs (Finale is still my top pick, sorry Sibelius fans!). I have a taste for neo-classical works set to either Latin sacred/secular poetry or prose. But I love working on musical theatre-tinged material as well.
4. Songwriting/Production - Though last on this list, these aspects of my musical makeup are far from the love I have for all of the things I do. It's more empirical than numeric, I promise! But I couldn't put one above the other. With writing, I find a type of comfort and enjoyment that is its own entity. I feel very blessed to be able to tackle different styles of writing and be satisfied with the end-result. My production is probably the weakest of my traits, and I'm happy to admit that, because it makes me want to be better at it. Still, when the right track comes together under my fingers or at the application of my ideas, it's SO awesome.
   

And what of the other things I do, you might ask (Music Direction, Engineering, etc.)? Well, I can't say I have a passion for those things, but they are certainly fun and part of my experience, and I've been told I'm pretty decent at them, which would make me want to work harder at them as well. But the list above is as real as it gets if you're looking to get a better understanding of the gears behind the goings-on ;-). Let me know what you think, love your comments always, and thanks for the love!