The comparison game can be a killer for creatives. I see so many of our friends and allies doing such cool things with their music: touring, getting record deals, selling out venues. It’s easy to fall into the mindset of “why aren’t we at that level?” or “why can’t we do that?” It’s easy to forget where you started and how far you’ve come. The community you’ve already built for yourself. 

Let’s take a look back at my first performance sometime around 2010. My high school blues-band-turned-rock-band was playing “You and Me” by Lifehouse at a school event. I didn’t know the chords completely so I just played the highest two strings at one position the whole time. I also didn’t move an inch during the performance, but it was a start. It was MY start. Performing never came naturally to me, but something in me desired to write songs and share those songs with the world. 

I continued to write songs throughout the years, some obviously better than others. Some days, I feel really good about what I’ve done so far. Most days, however, I see successes that I don’t have. People younger than me succeeding in ways I may never will. People with stage charisma off the charts. People who have voices that listeners want to hear... 

There I go again! Spiraling into this self doubt and self pity. I can have those successes too! We as a band have only upped our game in the past few years, and the sky is the limit for our music. We have to realize that nothing is stopping us from doing those things and more. These artists are doing amazing things because they have an idea and they work towards making it reality. They trust in their vision and their music.

That is the mindset Modern Daybreak is adopting. Something about writing this new album feels different. It feels focused. It feels magical, whimsical. We are letting the muses guide us. We are leaning into the strange. We can’t wait to share these songs with you!

With love,

Justin