Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dominykas Bytautas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dominykas, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I was lucky enough to find my purpose at a young age. My mom enrolled me in after-school musical theater and I found out that I love entertaining people. Initially, I entertained them by singing, dancing, and acting and would get in a lot of trouble in school entertaining my friends during class. It wasn’t until middle school that I felt an urge to start writing songs with no music, essentially just poetry. None of these writings were very good but there was something to it that drew me back time and time again. I enrolled in guitar lessons and hated them so I quit after about a year or two. I picked up the guitar again when I was about 12 and taught myself everything I know now. I would sit in my room for hours on end playing along to my favorite songs at the time, whether it was Green Day, Blink 182, Sum 41 or John Denver, Billy Joel, Queen, I wanted to play guitar and sing all the time. I kept writing and writing songs throughout middle school and high school, well into college, where I formed Ugly Side Up after being inspired to finally record some songs. I recorded our first album “Jellyfish” in my studio apartment over a few weeks and began performing shows. This is when I was able to combine my love for writing music with performing and I haven’t looked back since.
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 write music for and perform with Ugly Side Up. This band is everything to me and has been a part of me since I began writing songs when I was 10 years old. Performing music that I’ve written gives me the greatest joy I’ve felt in life so far and feeling connected to hundreds of people at the same time is a feeling not easily achieved. I’m lucky that people like the music we create and can relate to the song material. We’ve sold out The Troubadour two years in a row, we’ve been on two successful tours, and I can’t wait to see what we do next.
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?
Three skills that have impacted me the most are patience, practice, and passion. Patience is required in all aspects of life but most notably in the arts. You cannot force inspiration, it must come to you. Practice is essential to become the best you can be in any skill. Passion is the reason we get out of bed in the morning. Without it, I would be lost. My advice is to use all three on your journey to discovering what you love. Honestly, I would also throw positivity in there as well because the world can drag you down if you let it, but there are always positive, beautiful moments that should be held onto at all times.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents believed in me, and they still do. Unfortunately, I know too many people who miss a support system and I believe it is critical. My parents bought me my first guitars, enrolled me in lessons, drove me to my first gigs, sat in the audience for every show, and without that, I’m sure I would still be performing music but they gave me the confidence to know that at the end of the day, I am still loved. Whether I fail or succeed, I can always talk to them and I am forever grateful, I can’t overstate this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/uglysideup
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uglysideup/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-m5W4TZeHhmYUugwBv24w
- Other: Bands in Town: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/13987359-ugly-side-up?came_from=257&utm_medium=web&utm_source=home&utm_campaign=search_bar
Image Credits
Ben Nickelson, KB Philips, Travis Paul
