Meet Duane Harlick

 

We were lucky to catch up with Duane Harlick recently and have shared our conversation below.

Duane, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

Mostly, it comes from having been in a place of need for most of my adult life. I have benefited greatly from the generosity of others who helped me and my wife get through difficult financial times raising our kids through the years. We always prayed for a day when we would somehow dig our way out and be in a better position to be on the giving end as opposed to the receiving end. Now that we’ve finally arrived at what I would call modest abundance, it makes it easy and very rewarding to finally be giving.

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?

I’ve been a songwriter since my youth. I’ve been a professional musician since high school. Though many of my friends pursued Music and were quite successful on the national and international scenes. I chose to stay back and raise a family with my wife. However, through it all, I’ve always kept my passion for music For performance for singing for songwriting, and I’m quite pleased that I’ve kept it up all these years and can still do it at the level that I’m capable of. From me what makes it special is the ability to work with so many different people in so many different genres. Especially on the writing end. I love writing for other people and trying to fill their space with new music that fits them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Although obviously, it’s important to be competent at what you do, whether performing or writing, I think themost important qualities and skills have to do with just being a good person to work with. I will never be the best guitarist or best singer or best songwriter in the world. My goal is to be someone that people enjoy working with. If you can do that much, you’ll have a fulfilling life and plenty of work. Probably the most impactful piece of advice that I was given was provided by my high school band director who encouraged me to broaden my musical knowledge and musical stylings. Especially on the guitar. He told me that what I needed to do was be prepared to perform whatever music the client asked for whenever the phone rang. I didn’t have to be the best at everything, but I needed to be authentic and convincing at as many styles as possible. In that way, it has kept me working for many many years. The other key piece of advice is what has become my mantra, and it goes like this: As long as you keep putting it out there nothing bad can happen. The minute you stop, nothing good can happen.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I think the biggest challenge in songwriting or in music itself is just being relevant. Having value. And being able to demonstrate it. Especially in a world that expects Music to be free.I have a lifelong friend in Jeff Scott. He and I have had many conversations thru the years about the philosophy of songwriting and the psychology of being an artist, among other things. Ithink in a way we help each other get through the difficult and challenging times. Being an artist is not easy. You spend your entire life dedicating yourself to a craft doing everything you can to perfect it as much as humanly possible, all the while, knowing that there’s the most minuscule of chance that anything will ever come of it. And of course, now, with AI getting involved it makes it even more challenging.

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