As a musician, your life is fueled by a number of different things: the unique and strange people you meet, the absurd and beautiful things you see, an overwhelming desire to fulfill a purpose, or even something as simple as playing a song and someone telling you that you did a great job. All of these, and the timing in which these events occur, are essential to what makes musicians, myself included, tick. More often than maybe we’d like to admit, the effort of trying to push our art to its full potential feels like walking up the biggest mountain in the world, and when we get to the top of that mountain, there’s one hundred more just like it. But what keeps us motivated are the little victories along the way, the opportunities to stop and think, “Wow, what an awesome journey this is.” In those moments, no matter how hard the path, you just know that this is the moment in which you need to be. As my friend Harrison taught me, it’s not the gold at the end of the rainbow that’s important, but the rainbow itself.

Roughly a month ago, our Managing Editor posed two questions to a group of musicians, asking them to take a moment and respond thoughtfully. While nothing came of the Q & A’s at first, we have now taken them out of the closet and have come up with the article you’re reading now. Our intention is to represent some of the more inspiring moments that make this crazy, and I do mean crazy, journey worth it. Here are a few of the answers we received:

The Monarch Review: What stands out as the most pivotal event in the last five years that has kept you on your path playing and performing music?

For me, the moment was four years ago, back when The Hang was still at (the Seattle venue) Lofi. It was approximately midnight, the band taking its usual break, and DJ AbsoluteMadman was spinning records (Pete Rock’s classic instrumental ‘T.R.O.Y.’, the one with that iconic saxophone part). About halfway through the record, the bass player walks over to his bass and starts playing along, and after a few bars the DJ drops the low-end off his mixer and lets the live bass, and now drums, take over. Within a few minutes the record was cut and the musicians had taken over completely and were now off on some crazy tangent. It was at that moment that I see the saxophonist in the band stand up, grab his instrument, get up on stage and play that exact famous melody line from ‘T.R.O.Y’! Within a matter of moments the entire band joins in playing a spot on rendition of Pete Rock’s song. It was transcendent to say the least.

That moment for me was like getting a glimpse of the picture on the front of the puzzle box. In that moment I realized all the pieces of my own music were present and that the task that I know needed to tackle was how to put them all together.

– Matt Spek Watson, Spekulation

About two years ago I was playing an open mic back home in Indiana, something I had only done a couple of times in the last few years. I played a bunch of silly songs, some old, some new, all of which I doubt were that great. What made it special though were the few people in the crowd who laughed along and seemed to enjoy the set just as much as I did, and for me, that’s all it takes. I love playing songs and knowing other people are having a good time, and this is the moment that instilled my confidence back into to music and what helps keep me inspired today.

– Tim Bower, The Free Life

It was maybe seven years ago, and I was in the throes of yet another band falling apart. I had gone through this so many times before and I didn’t know if I should let it all go and return to school or something. It all was quite confusing. Then I got an email from a fan in Australia who was really excited about some of the more recent material I had released and said something along the lines of, “I wish I could play music. If I did I would want to write songs just like you do. But, I’m just a computer programmer with no musical sense about me, so the best I can do is to listen and love your music, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

I must say this was a very intense read, and as to how he ever came about my music in the first place is still a mystery. Regardless of the message’s inception, it was detailed, heartfelt, and exactly the kind of thing I needed put me back on my path. It made me feel very lucky to be a musician, doing what I love to do, even if I have been in five-plus bands in the last twenty years.

– Robb Benson, Dear John Letters, Nevada Bachelors, Department of Energy, The Glass Notes, The Great Um, Everything Points Up.

Most pivotal? Every little success is pivotal, and the more of them there are the more I feel good and encouraged about what I’m doing. In my case, having Asperger’s Syndrome and the odd personality that accompanies it makes it hard to fit into the “clique”, musically. It wasn’t until Oursatage.com that I was afforded the opportunity to remind people that my art wasn’t about the image, rather, it was about the music. I have since opened Lilith Fair, met with industry executives, and now I’m preparing to perform in New York at the New Music Seminar. All of these things combined are pivotal to my career and in keeping me feeling hopeful that one day music will be the only “job” that life requires out of me.

– Xolie Morra Cogley, Xolie Morra and The Strange Kind

My most pivotal moment came when my friend Andrew held a release party for a music video he produced for my band. I couldn’t believe that someone in the film world and some of our friends had spent so much time, money, creative energy, organization, and a larger part of their week on us. It was that, “Wow, I think I better keep doing this because these folks really, really believe in us” moment that has propelled me on my journey since.

– Julia Massey, Julia Massey & The Five Finger Discount

I once played the song “Green Onions” by Booker T and the MG’s with their original guitar player Steve Copper. After the set he said that I had “done real good”. Alright!, I thought, I guess I’ll keep playing my B3 Organ. I also once played “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles in an actual yellow submarine. That was less pivotal and more just badass. Maybe I don’t understand the question…

– Ty Bailie, Flight to Mars

The most pivotal events in the past five years that have kept me on the path to playing and performing music started with making the decision to focus my energy toward my own songs. I started a project that backed up the solo work achieved over the past two decades and made a clear goal to make a full length album as soon as possible so I had something very solid to present. In addition, networking and meeting other musicians and finding little circles of bands and solo artists who are actually interested in working together to help each other has been a bright, defining, and most gleeful surprise which greatly strengthens my resolve! I have been delighted lately to find myself interacting with a few small groups of talented people and amazing bands who make real and true efforts to support music, and each other for the greater good!

– Christa Kae Fischer, Christa Says Yeah and Fralex 9

While trying to recover from a really terrible personal trauma, I became consciously aware of just how emotionally and physically beneficial playing music can be. I’ve been a musician my whole life and I’d sort of instinctively known that before, I think, but being hyper-conscious of it and really engaging with it as something essential the way I would with good sleep, good food, or good sex, was a process that reaffirmed my dedication to playing music. I remember at one point my shrink said something like, “You’ve suffered all this damage and struggled with all these things for so long, yet you’ve been putting your heart and soul out in front of people on stage (vulnerable to all kinds of rejection or hurt or negligence) for years. There’s your strength.”

– Bradley Skaught, Bye Bye Blackbirds

Our deepest thanks to all the musicians who helped influence this article. For fun, I leave you with the second question and the various responses we received from all those who participated in the questionnaire. Feel free as you read to add your own response!

The Monarch Review: If you could ask 50 musicians one question, what would it be?

- What was your most intense “The Show Must Go On” moment? – Liz Mayer
- How do you feel about the blues?  – Jud Wieserman
– What kind of sticks do you use? – Jaques Willis
– Why has music mostly devolved lyrically and harmonically in so many ways over the last 40 years? – Scott Goodwin
– When do you know a piece is finished? – Julia Massey
– I have often wondered if labels are necessary in today’s Indie Music World and if so where do you get one? – Jared Cortese
РHow many groupies have you smooshed with at one time? РOkanomod̩ Soulchilde
– If your genre of music never existed, what, if anything, do you think you’d find yourself playing? – Matt Spek Watson
– If you could realize a wildest dream through your music and art, what would it
be? Don’t hold back. And why? -Evan Flory-Barnes
– How the hell do indie bands tour around and make it work out when gas is nearly $4.50 a gallon”? I would guess the answer would be go SOLO acoustic and drive a Prius. How rock and roll is that though? – Robb Benson
– Have you ever worked with a promoter? If so, what was it like and did you feel it
was worth it? – Christa Fischer
– What was your favorite era, genre, and location of music? (ex. 1950’s, blues, Mississippi) – Harrison Hickock
- What album turned you on? – Alex K.
- Can we crash at your place when we come through town? – Ben Ludwig
- What’s next? – Bradley Skaught
– What is the source?  – Daniel Blue
– Are you having fun? – Tim Bower
– Who has the drink tickets? – Ty Bailie

–Dominic Cortese, Music Writer, The Monarch Review