We recently connected with Daniel Joey Carr and have shared our conversation below.
Daniel Joey, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
What a wonderful question!
This isn’t something that’s usually brought up because it’s so often assumed -but a lot of artists/creatives find themselves spinning in circles for years because they are trying to find their identity or purpose; that’s why I decided to tackle this question first…
How did I find my purpose? Short answer: only after committing to the wrong path for a very long time.
The long answer? For me, there are still a lot of steps to take before I believe I’ve found my “true” purpose. It starts with taking a step out of your current state of mind to try to imagine things more abstractly. It takes thinking about how you may change, or how the world around you may change, and how you’ll feel about it. These are things you can think about or write down… I spent a lot of years working in the film production industry on many levels because that’s what I went to college for. It felt like a disservice to my younger self not to work in this field I’ve always dreamed of; and it worked for a while… Eventually, I began to realize that it wasn’t what I was meant to be doing because it didn’t make me happy. And while life is a cycle, and there has to be ups and downs (even with things you like) it began to be clear that my future wasn’t set in this dream. I had to take a step back during the pandemic because I lost everything. It forced me to reassess where I was in my life and how I felt about my accomplishments. It made me realize that at the end of my life, I didn’t want to feel how the pandemic made me feel: like I just wasted all these years.
Maybe it’s a ‘man’ thing, to care about your legacy and what’s left behind. Maybe it’s a human thing to just try not to feel like your time here was wasted, even if you leave nothing behind. Work doesn’t define everyone; most people simply work to pay bills. When I began to realize that, I found that there are many ways to enrich your life outside of the stress of work.
Purpose is an evolving thing with the ability to change through time. I found purpose when I created a community of friends and artists that could count on each other. I found a space for me to be vulnerable and comfortable as the moods go, and we created a performing group of people that rely on me. That is good purpose to live for, to help others’ develop their talents on and off stage. It makes me better, and I hope I make them better.
So, in summary, how did I find my purpose? I stopped letting the world/society put their own arbitrary value on things in my life. I placed value on the things that mattered to me, and I built a lifestyle that supported that, and those that added to it. There isn’t a cookie cutter way to do this, except to just be honest with yourself. I found that it’s important to have an enriched life, no matter what. To some people that’s fishing. To some, it could be quitting your job and moving to the beach. To some, it just means realizing you have all that you need right here, you just gotta live in the moments that reward you.
I hope this wasn’t a convoluted answer. It’s a hell of way to hit the ground running on this interview! ha ha
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?
My story is a long one with many branching storylines, so I won’t get into all that today. Instead, I think I’ll highlight what we’re working on right now,..
“Storytellers in Songwriting” is a live performance group that is based out of Nashville, TN. We operate under the business “Trick Arrow Publishing”. While that company has evolved from the days before the pandemic to now, we’re still in the business of entertaining and telling great stories. Instead of publishing books, we’re doing live performances all over the southeast. While we’ve been operating for over two years, we’re still setting up a lot of different pieces of the business.
Soon we’ll have our website up and it will outline every service and product we provide, as well as reveal a show schedule and public-facing portfolio for the over 100 artists who are part of the group. Since it’s not a label and we extend no exclusivity offers to our talent, we’re not gate-keeping or blocking avenues of performers that want to make a name for themselves. The goal is to make them better on and off stage, so that means working with them to develop a show, help them find their voice, and set an action plan for them to implement while cutting their teeth on Music City.
At the moment, we’re always looking for more artists/performers, but it’s always nice to have somewhere to put them as well. If you know of any venues or events that need entertainment, this is what we do!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In this case, I can provide information on why I think our situation is working out well, but I’m not sure if I’d subscribe my advice to any text books or grand master classes. I think some parts of our success have come from choosing great locations and building good relationships, as well as finding extremely good talent. But it’s worked for us, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be important pieces of the puzzle for you, too…
1. Have a clear direction: you have to know what you’re working for and have some kind of idea as to how you’ll accomplish that. Even if your goal isn’t the same across the board, when your ambitions are clear, it’s easier to know who to surround yourself with. When others know, it’s easier for them to decide how to be a part of it.
2. Communicate: This is a broad stroke, but it’s got fine details as well. It’s easy to say ‘communicate well’, but that doesn’t look the same to everyone. A good workflow doesn’t look the same for every task or for every person, but if you have a protocol or system in place that lends to a clear goal/direction, it’s usually inherent. Some people work well with no words, while some require it; you have to establish the expectation for what should be communicated, and a method for others to do so efficiently. Having this in place not only creates a solid workflow foundation, it provides an opportunity to give respect, patience, and understanding through every phase. Relationships are the same; set expectations and goals; work together to accomplish them. Repeat.
3. Have Fun. This one isn’t as easy, and isn’t always applicable in the sense that, everything isn’t fun. Paperwork, not fun; making hard decisions, not fun… Sometimes it isn’t in the cards to smile and say, “wheeee” as you pay bills or apply for permitting. However, having fun could mean rewarding yourself for completing a ‘not fun’ thing, or allowing yourself to feel the reward of productivity. This point doesn’t mean pat yourself on the back and call it fun. It’s the practice of keeping things light in your perspective and keeping the ability to read the room, and adjust to the moods of your environment so that it stays positive. For us, it could look like an empty room for a live show. If we can’t play to a room full of people, we can at least try new songs or interact with those that are there more personally. It’s about creating a good attitude about what you’re doing even when no one is around to notice. When you start to have fun, people tend to like that…
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We’re never going to be done looking for performing artists/musicians to put on stage. While we mostly operate out of Nashville, TN, it is very much in my interest to get these folks in as many cities as I can reach. My ultimate goal is to be so widespread that no matter what a tourist does in Nashville, for any amount of time, they will have heard a show by one of our artists…
On the flip side of that: I’m always looking for more places to put these wonderfully talented people. Some of them have done it longer than I’ve been alive, some are just getting started. Some are doing it for a living, and some are doing it as a side hustle. Regardless, there’s never enough places to put them! So if you know of a stage, venue, or event that’s coming up that needs entertainers, please shoot a line to authordanielcarr@gmail,com or fill our the contact forms at StorytellersInSongwriting.com… We can also be contacted on Facebook and Instagram under @TrickArrowPublishing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://StorytellersInSongwriting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trickarrowpublishing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TAPsTrickArrowPublishing
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
