Meet Daemon

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Daemon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Daemon, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I didn’t.

Next question!

If I must elaborate (and I must, or this entire interview would be five sentences long), I couldn’t get over my imposter syndrome. It was too awe-inspiringly all-consuming, ranging from my music to my romantic relationships to me as a person. So, I stopped trying to get over it.

Instead of trying to get over my imposter syndrome I simply decided that I love what I do more. I decided that the process of creativity, from the initial concept to the first lyric to the final bit of promotional social media content, was more important to me than any fear of not being good enough.

Newsflash: Nobody is good enough.

Once I was able to focus more on love and less on self-loathing, it became easier. The imposter is always there, but I’m too busy to notice.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I write songs…next question…okay I’m sorry that wasn’t funny the first time.

I love writing songs. I love sharing songs with people. I love when I have a thought, a feeling, an idea, and the only way for me to express it is in song. I love it when that thought, feeling, or idea comes to life! It’s an almost indescribable feeling…so I won’t bother trying to describe it. I probably could if this were a song, but this isn’t a song, is it? It’s an interview.

What I want the most in the world is to create something transcendent. An album. A song. A music video. Something so beautiful and true and poignant that it cuts through all of the noise in this noisy world and strikes home in people’s hearts. That’s all I truly want.

And so I write songs for me. I write songs for publishing/sync/licensing opportunities, I write songs with friends, I write songs to keep my sanity, I write songs to express how I’m going insane. I take any and every chance to push myself closer to my goal. It means getting better at my craft. It means getting to know people who can help me on the path. It means giving all of my time and energy to moving towards that place. It means everything.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three most impactful qualities an artist must have, in my opinion, are confidence, perseverance, and preparedness.

You have to be confident in the face of adversity. When confronted with obstacles, constructive criticism, or sheesh, just your run-of-the-mill haters and internet trolls. How you respond to those bumps in the road will define you.

That leads right into perseverance. Some folks find success so early in life. And that’s amazing! I hate them. No, seriously, I’m a bit jealous because my journey has been so different than theirs, but guess what? It takes perseverance to become successful AND to maintain it. Either way it shakes out for you: ya gotta be locked in.

And that, of course, lends itself to preparedness. Which IS A WORD BY THE WAY I SAID IT OUT LOUD AND THEN LOOKED IT UP AND BLAM GOOGLE SAID IT’S A WORD.

Sorry for yelling. Anyway, what’s the point of being confident if you haven’t done any of the actual work, so your work actually sucks? What’s the point of persevering if you have nothing to show for it? BE READY. Write. Sing. Practice. Go to the gym. Go for a jog, whatever that looks like for you. Find it and hone it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking to work with someone focused, self-motivated, and different than me creatively. In the past, I would end up in these groups that I like to call “a band full of drummers.” Everyone looking to fulfill the same role. It’s important to find like-minded people, but it’s equally important to develop deep and lasting partnerships with creatives who can pick up your slack.

I work primarily in music publishing, so if that’s something that interests you, please send me an email. I’d love to listen to your music and see if there’s a way we can collaborate. Because I am a rapper and writer, I usually look for singers, instrumentalists, and producers, but I could never turn down the chance to work with a really dope rap artist. It’s all about fit, feel, and chops. If you’ve clocked in your 10,000 hours, or you’re just that damned good, hit me up.

[email protected]

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Image Credits

photos by Maddi Manheimer, Ian Gerald Shaughnessy, & Chris Bauer

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