I know one fantasy a lot of young people have is to be a rock star,
or to become an American Idol winner. Most of my life I have
dreamed of being a rock star. In fact, when I was a senior in high
school at Alexander Ramsey high school in Roseville, Minnesota, my
classmates voted me Most Likely to Become a Rock Star.
I wish I still had the picture. One of the students on the Yearbook
committee set up an appointment with me to take my photo. It was so
cool getting pulled out of class to go down to the auditorium to
have my picture taken. I can still see the photo in my head. I was
wearing my fishing hat, and playing my electric guitar with a
violin bow – just like my favorite guitar player Jimmy Page of Led
Zeppelin.
I know I don’t have that photo, but I thought it would be cool to
include a photo of me playing guitar when I was in high school, so
you can see that old fishing hat. This is a picture of me from
around 1986 in the band room of my high school.
Now, I’m living a little bit of a different dream, but it still
involves my passion – which is obviously music. Today my dream is
not about how I can have millions of adoring fans, but how I can
connect with people on an intimate level, how I can inspire them,
and how we can encourage one another on our journey.
The old paradigm of self-serving rock stars, may not be entirely
dead yet, but I think the new era of musicians serving their tribe
will soon be eclipsing that old way. I think I’ve mentioned it
before, but I will ask it again. What can I do for you? How can I
inspire you?
I look forward to your thoughts, and I trust you will look forward
to the exciting conclusion next week when I talk about Being a Rock
Star…Part 2.
Cheers!