Meet Grant Swift

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grant Swift. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Grant, thank you so much for making time for us today. We’re excited to discuss a handful of topics with you, but perhaps the most important one is around decision making. The ability to make decisions is a key requirement for anyone who wants to make a difference and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your decision-making skills.

I went to college and double majored in Philosophy and Music. Studying Philosophy as an 18 year old was amazing, because it validated for me that there was no question too big or small to ask and seek answers for. Combine that with a good dose of the humility you’ll receive being a musician in a competitive market like NYC, and decision-making skills will grow overnight. Haha! You have to practice being a decision-maker. It’s a different skill than just being a good thinker, and it’s definitely not something that simply improves alongside having more information. Sometimes having more information is a great way to destroy your ability to make decisions.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My “One Man Band” has made me one of the busiest musicians around (you can see more at grantswift.com). I’m on track to do about 200 shows in 2024, and I’m one of the most sought-after performers for private events in the Eastern US. I sing and play multiple instruments with “live looping” to create over 500 popular songs from scratch – no backing tracks.

I’m also a songwriter, arranger, and digital recording engineer.

When I’m not playing music, I like to write and talk with other artists and creatives about music education, and philosophy. I’m working on turning that into its own separate venture.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Tenacity, Conscientiousness, and Music Theory.

Tenacity is something I believe I was more or less born with. I’ve always had a somewhat obsessive mind, and when I get focused on something I want to do, it’s very difficult for me to let it go until it’s done. I believe this has served me very well in the world of booking myself for music events. I don’t work with any agency regularly, and 95% of the gigs I book are booked directly by me communicating with a potential client, which means I’ve experienced tons of rejection. In spite of the rejection, I’ve always continued to push. Just this morning in fact, I was talking with a client who booked me for a private party. She wanted me to know that she spoke with about 12 different performers about this event, but I was the only one who followed up with her both via email, and by phone call, and she really appreciated that. Some musicians aren’t as comfortable on the phone as I am, and it might not be the preference for every client out there, but on average, my willingness to follow up with a prospective client repeatedly and consistently has produced a lot of success for me.

Which, is a good segue into conscientiousness, because tenacity without some thoughtful consideration of your audience, partners, or collaborators will likely do more harm than good. I was raised to be very empathic towards others, and I think that serves as a powerful check against tenacity. For example, last week I was working with a corporate client who was setting up at an event and I had an important question about setup. The moment I asked my question, I could tell she wasn’t in a good place to answer it – she was clearly stressed out about something else having to do with her own setup at the moment, and so I quickly reset and told her to not worry about it, and that I would circle back with her in 15 minutes. She was appreciative. If I had been 10 years younger, or if I had been a little less thoughtful about her needs in that moment, I might have insisted on getting my question answered right then and there, and it could have done more harm than good.

Finally, I believe my understanding of music theory has been invaluable in my success. Music theory may seem like very specialized knowledge having to do with a career in music, but I think there’s something generalizable about it that folks in various industries and fields could benefit from. “Music theory” basically just means an amalgamation of musical patterns found throughout the history of music, and then codified as knowledge. When enough people have done the same thing many times in composing pieces of music, then some patterns and maybe even some logic start to emerge, along with certain guidelines and best practices. In a way, learning music theory is no different than taking a business course. There’s no ultimate right or wrong way to build or operate a business, and rules are being broken all the time. But, if you look at the history of businesses, then certain patterns begin to emerge. Knowing this history, and learning from the systems that have been identified can help you run your own business, just as music theory can help you understand a kind of logic that exists in how music is put together and what makes it music and not just noise.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I go for a walk. We like to think of ourselves as beings with both a body and a mind, but they’re really the same thing. There’s ultimately no distinction between the psychological and the chemical. So, don’t underestimate the power of physical activity and its impact on your mind. When we feel stuck, sometimes we have to literally move through it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Bob Van Lindt
Robert Abrams
Amy Leigh Photography
Rob Nguyen
Eat The Cake NYC

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