We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful David Ingraham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with David below.
David, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
By continuously turning to other artist’s work for inspiration. The work doesn’t even have to be within the same genre —music can inspire my photography, cinema can inspire my music, and so on. Sometimes I think it can even be preferable to turn to other genres other than one’s own to inform and inspire one’s work, as it can hopefully lead to a less predictable outcome.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
As a Los Angeles-based musician and photographer, I’ve been playing drums for a living for the last 30 years while supplementing the income on the side with my photography. I spend about two thirds of any given year on the road with the Irish Rock band Young Dubliners, while also working on my own Ambient Electronic music on the side —something I became obsessed with during Covid lockdown, when I was itching to stay creatively engaged yet was unemployed due to the entire music industry having shut down. During that time, I started chiseling away at my own music for the first time in decades, which has resulted in a record I hope to release this year. I also published a book of my street photography a few years back titled “Lonesome City” that was a culmination of about a decade’s worth of photo-shooting on the streets of LA as well as other cities around the country and globe.
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 any sort of success I’ve achieved has come from a combination of God-given talent, passion and persistence. If you’re passionate about something and feel you might have a certain natural aptitude within that field, then the hard work necessary to achieve any level of excellence should come naturally; you do it out of a love for it, not because you have to. I’ve never been the entrepreneurial type —I’m pretty clueless when it comes to the business side of things— but I’ve always been wired creatively. As a little kid, when all the other boys were out playing sports, I’d be inside drawing and listening to music; a bit of the artsy oddball. So whether it’s drawing, drumming, composing, or photographing, it’s always come somewhat naturally for me. I’m not saying I haven’t had to work hard to get good at something, I’m just saying that the passion was what drove the motivation. So check your motives early on: are you pursuing something to get rich? Or are you truly passionate about it, to the point where not doing it is not an option?
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
They recognized my creative side very early on and nurtured it. They enrolled me in art classes at a young age and would take my brothers and I to art museums while traveling around Europe. They could tell I wasn’t quite normal (lol) and didn’t try and stick me in a box or force me to become a lawyer or a doctor. They just let Dave be Dave.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://davidingraham.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dayzdandconfuzd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008294585197
- Other: https://youngdubliners.com
Image Credits
Andi Wolfe
