Meet Dave Swillum

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dave Swillum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dave below.

Dave, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I chose this question because I don’t think it’s possible to ever overcome it entirely at least for me, but I think I’ve made the most progress in my life recently to be in the best position on it that I’ve been when that voice starts coming in. I think imposter syndrome only comes when you actively try to learn how little you know, meet people better than you in your craft by networking, and be at the highest level you’ve been at to see there’s a lot more you could go. I guess I’ve learned that I think if it’s present it’s probably a good thing because it means you’ve grown in a way you know distinctly how much more you could be but wouldn’t if you hadn’t climbed that last mountain to see there are other mountains around that have a higher peak whereas from the bottom it was kind of a hard angle to differentiate them so you had to get there to see more. I’ve met some amazing mentors over the past couple years and had some time to work with them which has been a dream for me, people I’ve looked up to all my life growing up who’s careers I admire greatly as a fan and artist. First I’ll say when they say I do something well it means a lot to me, I don’t take any compliments or criticism too hard either way and try to stay in the middle emotionally but I really value when someone I think is better than me says I’m good at something even if I don’t feel that way about myself. Mentors are HUGE for me. Second I’d say speaking with them I hear a lot of the same questions in them that I have which was really a moment for me to realize everyone feels this way I think. How could this person I see as such a mentor and be so much further and better than me feel the same as I do? That was where I didn’t stop feeling those things but it helped me not let them get in my way anymore. I think everyone’s always kind of just figuring it out even when it looks like they are at the top of any craft or you admire their career they are looking for the next step for themselves too and how they can maintain or build future from where they are at now. I also stopped trying for a few years and realized that I love doing what I love to do so I should do it regardless of any success positive or negative. If I make some gains I should follow that, if the worst case scenario is I spend my life doing trying what I love with people I love I should do that. If others out there who I see as the top of what I want to do feel the same I don’t think it goes away and if I love what I do I should do it regardless of how I feel about the work. Being the best you can be in that moment of life is all anyone can do so why not try and see what happens regardless of how you see yourself? That’s all we can do!

Another big note for me on this is external feedback. I generally don’t really like what I make or feel confidence in it almost ever BUT when people tell me they like it so I try to hear that just as a sign of what direction I should go. I look at a lot of numbers and talk to a lot of fans candidly and if a single I made didn’t do well it must not be great, If It did well it must be objectively great and I should follow that regardless of the voice in my own head. I try to listen to mentors who I respect and fans of my work because that’s really all that matters as long as I still have passion and ethics in what I create for myself so I can learn to love it. When I don’t feel like I’m what I say I am I just try to stay in the middle of the feedback out there and move forward regardless and let others tell me what they think I am. Perception is reality I think sometimes. If someone thinks I’m a musician then I”m a musician to them in that moment, if they think I”m a loser then I’m a loser to them. At the end of the day if I keep taking actions to follow the feedback paired with what I’ve given myself credit for I think it’s moving forward regardless of a voice in your head telling you that you aren’t what you are. If you create something you’re an artist, if you play music on stage you’re a performer. Everything past that is whatever it is and I don’t think it’s worth overthinking the same way that I used to.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am primarily an alternative singer / songwriter / producer based out of greater Portland, Maine area writing for my 3 piece Pop Punk / Alternative band Broadwing but that always tends to get me into a lot of different things so I’m always up to something staying busy. I grew up in the school programs doing percussion through grade school starting to record bands in my parents basement in highschool and play shows at a lot of sketchy rock clubs by 16 and life’s been kind of trip since. Ending highschool on my way to college for audio production I got some really cool internships at a recording studio in Massachusetts learning analog equipment, a classical music record label working with artists and a live music venue doing stage production in the summer in New Hampshire. Through college I would go on self booked DIY tours with either my pop punk or hardcore punk bands at that time and open up for some really wild artists ranging from Wiz Kalifa after winning a battle of the bands which made no sense but was a riot, to Emmure, Vanna, Stray From The Path, and lots of other metal bands I love. After college my car was actually setting on fire a little on the highway and I had no money at all so I started working sales jobs to make money and try to get a place to live and a vehicle that worked and went through some up and down times getting into the real world and living a year apart from my wife when she went to school in another state. I had been going to Audio Engineer Society conventions in NYC and LA to learn form other music industry professionals and remember hearing some stories they told renting old french farm houses and recording some records we all know there in these houses where the artists who were overwhelmed with tour and life could relax away from everything and record and it inspired me. I had been working and recording out of rented studio spaces on nights and weekends but wanted my own space so I bought an 1850’s farm house in Maine and moved here in 2020 during the COVID lock down times and have been renovating that space with my wife since while working on my music and other projects remotely with others to get audio books on Audible or launch podcasts. I wanted to create a space in Maine that allowed artists to live on site with me and enjoy this amazing state of nature and cool towns while they work on their creative with me and create a better space for my band and I to work on our music away from others. We have certainly gotten in way over our heads here but are working actively to see what we can do. With a few marathons including the Boston this past year under my belt, raising a lot of money for Special Olympics on the side, sky diving with the Golden Knights in Massachusetts, swimming with sharks in Hawaii, and shooting a music video down in Florida with one of my hero’s as a feature on my song in 48 hours, life’s continued to be interesting the past couple years especially.

Right now the feedback Broadwing has received on our last couple singles has completely blown us away and really energized us to work hard and chase it so we are actively working on our first full length album and aiming to get out on tour again after the studio to see some new fans, new cities, and new faces in the US and maybe out of it. Life hasn’t been easy but it’s been a trip so far and we are excited to see where it goes.

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?

I think everyone is VERY different and you should try to find what your best at and worst at individually, lean into those things you are good at 100%, and build a team around the things you aren’t good at or hate doing.

I’m really good with people and very social so I’ve always been pretty good at not getting nervous to go meet people and ask a lot of questions to learn more about how they’ve done what they’ve done. This has always helped me meet people that are better than me at things, make connections with people that have helped open some doors, and just make friends that are incredible people who support me over the years who I learn a lot from. I’ve also noticed that I have some pretty strong obsessive tendencies and extremely potent ADHD so I’ve tried to realize what is bad about those things and how they can be helpful at times. They’ve helped me make sure all my gear for shows is triple checked and has back ups and redundancies to make sure our shows go good or I have what I need on tour, and make it some I’m always doing something but I’ve learned they also make me stress too much about things that don’t matter so I try to work with others to chill that out more and sometimes I tend to overbook my schedule and need to dial that down to make it so I’m productive doing a lot of things that help me in the direction I want to go in instead of doing just for the sake of doing. Last I’d say I’m very much someone that isn’t a master of anything but I’m decent at a lot of things. I can think outside the box, focus on big picture, and bring a lot things together to accomplish it. This has helped me look at a business behind my creative and work to make sure that past just what creative activities I like so there’s some intention of how that functions in the world in real life out there as well. I’ve learned I’m not the best guitarist but I’m good with melodies and hooks so I often sing things, find out what they are, and work with people that are much better than me at playing instruments to build around them. I’m good at drumming but not as good as my drummer so he locks that down but I can come up with good rhythmic ideas in my programs then we work on it together. It’s taken me a lot of time to understand what I’m stronger at and what I’m weak at then try to build on that. I think the best skill someone can have is really analyzing and understanding what skills they have and what they wish they could have but really don’t then running with that to use what you have and get others that can help you with what you aren’t. No one can be everything so don’t try to be.

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 this is also everyone elses number one obstacle many times, mine is money. I’ll start by saying I’m extremely fortunate for the life I’ve been started from an amazing household, having what I’ve needed, and living a good life. I’d say like most especially currently there’s never enough money for what you want to have happen as quickly as you want it to happen. I wasn’t making what I wanted paying the overhead costs of renting spaces but now I never have enough to renovate the spaces I’m working to have so I can operate without overhead cost. The long term with little to no overhead but getting there is an obstacle. I’m always grateful and amazing when by band makes a little money off merch at shows, streaming, and paid gigs as an alternative and pretty brash artist so that’s the coolest thing to me but it’s always a struggle to find enough money for more merch to sell, marketing, ads, artwork, studio time, production, instruments, software, websites, platforms, and on and on! Money is my number one obstacle to be able to pay for all the things I need to get to my next spot so it’s always on my mind so I’ve been trying to get creative over the years.

My wife and I split our house into a duplex and have been working to rennovate one side into an airbnb so help us with our overhead cost of living, this has taken much longer than we thought and are close but not there yet but hoping the plan works to get us some more firepower there. When it comes to everything else I try to learn what we can do ourselves and what we need to pay for to get the best results from everything. My guitarist is a great photographer and PR person, my drummer has an amazing ear for key, timing, and chords, I work audio production, network, support our tech gear, light rigs, websites, and communications. Anything I can do for “free” with cost of time or barter for I do to try to get a good end result for less cost and I only spend on what I think we aren’t going to pull through on a good end result. Anything DIY spirit to make some merch, build a structure learning from youtube, or whatever is always helpful to try to get through the money issues every day. I don’t know if it ever goes away but we are always trying to think about some other way to make it through.

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Ian Urquhart

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