Meet Ash Gordon

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

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Ash with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

When I was 13, I was struggling to learn classical guitar. My hands were tiny, and the fretboard was MASSIVE, and I couldn’t read music to save my life. I was about to give up, but then my guitar teacher showed me the most fierce video of Charo playing “Malagueña” in the 70’s. I noticed her hands were just about the same size as mine and that she wasn’t reading sheet music. That’s when my guitar teacher said, “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

And just like that, the wiring in my brain was forever changed.

He borrowed the saying from a famous high school basketball coach, a sport my 5’6 zaftig ass was never cut out for, but the lesson was made for everybody – in every profession – at every age.

From that point on, I never said “no” to myself. If I felt inspired to pursue something, I’d do it, unphased by any negativity and unintimidated by anyone. Of course there were always more talented people out there, but I didn’t need to concern myself with them if I put in twice as much work.

So I said “yes” to classical guitar, no to reading music, and won awards for my playing anyway.

I said “yes” to learning how to record music, even though that’s not something high school girls typically do, and got my first self-produced song on local radio at 16.

I said “yes” to taking every music class available at PACE University (plus three music industry internships) and became their first ever student with a music minor.

I said “yes” to putting my Masters in Music Therapy on hold to write music with artists in LA, knowing the odds were against me, and I secured a publishing deal within 3 months.

I said “yes” to writing music with drag queens early in my career because I LOVED their art despite other writers/music industry execs not taking their music seriously, and I made it to the top of the dance charts.

I said “yes” to creating DRAG: The Musical without any musical theater writing experience, and now we’re opening off-Broadway at New World Stages in the fall.

And all of this happened because of my hard work. Talent was necessary, but secondary.

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’m currently working on putting my pièce de résistance, DRAG: The Musical, to stage for our first off-Broadway run. It’s been 7 years in the making and it has been the most rewarding, exhausting, beautiful, and brutal experience of my life. We open October 21st, and it feels like I’m having my first baby except there’s been 9 trimesters.

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

Pay no mind to anyone else’s expectations, timelines, standards, or “rules” of conduct. The sooner you learn that everyone’s personal process should be respected, the better relationship you will have with your own.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

My grandparents raised me to treat everyone with respect, including myself. I naturally shine their light through my actions. They lead with love, and so do I. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashgordon__/?hl=en
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashgordontime?lang=en

Image Credits

Byron Gamble