We were lucky to catch up with Ezra Vancil recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ezra, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
The question of purpose always reminds me of times I travel with my kids. No matter how many times I answer their questions of “How much longer?” or “Why is it taking so long?” they ask them again and again until the trip is over. The ‘purpose question’ feels the same way—no matter how many times I address it, it resurfaces. Sometimes, it flares up in a fit of frustration, demanding an answer, while other times, it’s a subtle whisper in the back seat of my mind asking, “But why?”
I haven’t always responded well. At times, I’ve treated this purpose question as a mere nuisance that I have to pacify with some kind of answer, just to continue on my journey without falling apart. There have been moments when I’ve felt trapped in an inescapable void of meaning, genuinely grappling for an authentic answer, sometimes even spending months or years in search of one. Regardless, the question always returns, as if it’s being posed for the first time.
I sometimes envy those who have a clear, concise purpose statement. However, I’m also wary of these because I’ve had my share of them, even displayed proudly in my studio. Though I put genuine effort into creating them, over time they start to sound like clichéd pageant responses, akin to “I want to bring hope to the world.”
Any grand answer I devise seems fragile when compared with the profound enigma of life. Such answers seldom withstand life’s scrutiny, or perhaps more accurately, they never truly touch on what truly drives me from within. I don’t know what drives me or why I find myself passionately working on a song. If I could find an overarching answer to my life’s purpose, I’d need it to be genuine, even if it’s not palatable and so grand as “help the the whole wide world”.
Now days, I do still attempt to answer the question, but I haven’t found a comprehensive, big top driving purpose.
Instead, I’ve adopted a more modest, daily approach. I confine my answers about purpose to the span of 24 hours. When I tackle this vast question in this manner, it becomes more manageable.
My purpose is continuously laid out before me—be it an unfinished song, a performance I wish to plan, my children wanting help with their homework or to watch a movie, my wife needing a break from the routine, or a call from a friend. It is In these moments that I have a clear answer to my purpose. It’s right in front of me. It’s my life. I’ve come to believe that life itself provides answers to the purpose question every day. All I need to do is respond with a heartfelt “yes.”
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I put out two albums this year. One was my solo EP named “We Were Wild” and the other was with my daughter in our band, Cozi and Flounder. We called that one “Bobby, Bobbie.”
Aaron Thomas produced the Cozi and Flounder album. We also had our good friends, Lori Martin playing bass and Sam Romero on guitar. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
My solo album? I did that mainly with some buddies from Nashville. Marc Frigo mixed it, and he did the same for the Cozi and Flounder albums.
The coolest part? Making music with my daughter, Cozi. We started writing songs when she was 12. Now, after three albums and her being 16, it’s been the best part of my music journey.
After we finished our latest album, we started on a new one right away, and I began a new solo project too. But when we got back in the studio, it hit me: we both needed to chill for a bit. We’ve had a blast, but we’re feeling a bit tired. It’s like what I said about finding purpose. We’re taking a short break to figure out our next steps in music and we’re doing it by just enjoying music each day.
I’m sure some shows will be planned now and then. But for the most part we’re going to be laying low the rest of this year.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
There’s a quality I believe isn’t too hard for some of us musicians to understand. I offer this advice not as a master of this trait. In fact, it’s a quality I’ve messed up on big time and only really got its importance later in life.
It’s the sort of thing I wish I could tell my younger self: learn to get along with others, learn to communicate even if it’s tough given your personality.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent loads of time alone in a dim room, completely lost in your musical daydreams. And while that’s been great for me, it left my relationship skills kinda rusty.
Building relationships, especially in the creative and business worlds (and don’t get me started on romance), is a skill. Just like playing an instrument, you gotta learn it. And yeah, it’ll knock you around, bruise your ego, but like any skill, you mess up and then pick yourself back up.
I used to be scared about letting other musicians into my world. I was afraid of losing control of my vision or the overall direction. And yep, because of that fear, I had my share of tough times with other musicians.
If you’re in this industry long enough, you’ll face some letdowns, maybe even get cheated or at least feel that way. That’s just how it goes when you’re working with others.
After a setback, I’d always jump back in after a bit. But I see lots of young artists who keep to themselves. That’s cool for some projects, but try to work with others too. Don’t neglect that side of you.
Sometimes, you gotta cut ties and move on. But learning when to walk away and when to stick it out is all part of the game. Most of the time, it’s worth taking a hit for the bigger picture. At the end of the day, a lot of arguments come from just seeing things differently. And that difference? It’s the magic in musical partnerships. Be glad you don’t see eye to eye all the time. Make space for their perspective, and for them to mess up too.
I now try to live by this thought: it’s not about me, it’s about the song. There’s this quote I love, think it was PT Barnum who said it: “You can do anything you want as long as you don’t need all the credit.”
For me this is something I always want to grow in. And I must restate the fact that I’m not great at it. But I do see how important it is. If that’s the first step for you too, it is a good step in the right direction. Let people into your music.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Navigating social media has become a significant challenge for me recently. Witnessing the vast division and pervasive anger day in and day out is draining. Even when I solely use it to promote my music – a strategy I’ve tried to stick to over the past few years – I inevitably find myself drawn into a negative comment thread or a distressing tangent. Its influence seeps into my daily life.
This dynamic has precipitated a genuine dilemma in my musical journey. For the sake of my mental well-being, I’ve taken steps to distance myself from the online world. Yet, there’s an undeniable hitch: the visibility of my music is directly proportional to the time and energy I invest online. It appears this digital engagement is an unwritten rule of the modern era, and I’m struggling to find an alternative path.
Live performance has been my go to in the past, but then again, if you want anyone there in the audience, your social media is the place to nurture that engagement. So I have to say, I don’t have a good solution right now. But it’s something I’m working on.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ezravancil.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/ezravancil
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ezravancilmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ezravancil
- Other: My other band: https://coziandaflounder.com
Image Credits
All Photos by Sioushi Studios https://www.siouxshi.net
