We recently connected with Alex Amato and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alex, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Things like confidence and self-esteem are really tricky, and I feel like I’m still learning what these mean to me and look like in my life. Like a lot of artists, I’ve was always a very shy and introverted kid. I’m sure all the time spent in your own mind is what creates the stories and the voice of the artist you want to become but it does make being social very difficult (lol). I started my career in music very late, at the age of 18, and it forced me to look at myself realistically and say “if I want to do this, I need to develop a stronger self-esteem and be confident in who I am personally and musically.” It took years of intentional work to get to the point I’m at today, which is being comfortable in a room of strangers and being able to talk with them freely. It’s all about putting yourself in those uncomfortable situations and learning from them, Learning that you can’t please everyone or be everyone’s favorite artist is definitely a hard one to accept, but that has also been key in allowing myself the grace to just be me and be confident in that.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a singer-songwriter originally from western Massachusetts and currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, My career in music began fairly late in life compared to most artists. Even though I was surrounded by music my entire life, I had never tried to sing or write music until I was 18. Heading off to college, away from my home for the first time and dealing with a breakup was an experience that really caused me to use music as an outlet for my feelings and for better or worse, I was completely hooked on it. I began taking vocal lessons and doing as many open mics as I could find. Eventually I got good enough to be offered some paid shows at bars and restaurants, and I did that for my entire college career. When it came time to graduate in 2020, I was presented with the choice of going to graduate school or moving to Nashville and continuing my music journey, which I’m so happy to say is exactly what I did! In the years I’ve lived in Nashville, I’ve released music on streaming platforms, played iconic venues like the Bluebird Cafe and The Listening Room and made friends with some of the best musicians in the world. My latest single “Temporary High” was released earlier this year and feedback from that was overwhelmingly positive, Currently, I am working on booking more local shows and recording my next batch of songs that will hopefully be released in early 2024. Most of my original music however can be found on my YouTube page, so if you’re interested in getting a peak of some unreleased music, that’s where to find it!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Dedication is easily number one for me, I knew that having a late start to something as competitive as the music industry would require me to work insanely hard and that’s what I did. For my four years in college, I was in practice rooms religiously, taking any gig I could find and writing songs round the clock. I was hyper-obsessed with getting better and all that work really did pay off. I think I accomplished something in a few years that takes people lifetimes and I am very proud of that, The second quality has to kindness. In this industry and in this town particularly, the most important thing is to just be a good person. You will get that gig, that co-write or that connection if everyone knows you as a real, kind person. Show up for other people and genuinely care for them and you will receive ten fold back. Third would be resilience. You will face so much failure with a music career: missed opportunities, bad shows, negative criticism. But you have to have the fortitude to learn and keep on rolling. There isn’t one person who is famous that hasn’t had to go through their own trials, so just stick with it and keep learning!
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I am a huge proponent of being as well-rounded as possible, however. balance is really key. In my field, you can save yourself a lot of money by being a good music producer. instrumentalist, singer and social media manager but sometimes you really have to question if it’s the best route to take. Being a fully self-sufficient artist is time consuming and very difficult. Sometimes you have to learn how to delegate tasks and let other people do what they do best. This is super difficult for a serial DIY-er like me but I do notice sometimes that I get way too focused on being the best at every little thing and it takes that focus away from continuing to hone what I’m best at: writing and performing music! Be open to learning new skills, but remember to pencil time for the skills that are most important to your career!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexamatomusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexamatoofficial
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxPmGnX4eCLdjxv1VjNM5oA
Image Credits
Kaylee Steffel Brian Viebranz
