We recently connected with Garry Simms-rowe and have shared our conversation below.
Garry, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
I’ve always been a generous caring kind of person. My generosity comes from having a big heart and learning valuable lessons from over the years. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what you’ve been through, it doesn’t matter how people treat you, it’s always better to give than to receive. I say, when you receive you receive. When you give, you give and then you receive and that always feels better. Especially with all this craziness going on right now with the fires and the winds and all, this is the time more than ever to be generous. I decided to serve my community in this time at a nearby food bank. We swept the debris off the streets and gave food and supplies to people. I want people to feel like they have someone they can rely on, but also know when someone is genuinely in trouble or when someone is trying to get free stuff and take advantage of you. Another big lesson is to give and be generous with an honest heart and honest intentions. When you give out of selfish reasons, it always comes back to haunt you, but when you give with the intention of giving, it comes back to bless you.
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 sing, play keyboards and write and compose songs and music. My best genre is rock, but I specialize in lots of other genres as well like jazz, country, Caribbean, classical and more, so i’ve decided to combine each genre into one big genre I call Feel Good Fusion. Music that makes you feel really good. My music is exciting to people, everywhere I go and even when other artists play and sing songs of mine, people always go crazy for my music. My music is heavily inspired by Journey and The Beach Boys, as well as other artists like Casiopea, Jimmy Buffett and John Denver. All of my music is performed and written with the same level of sincerity regardless of the subject of the music. Subjects range from broken hearts, to feeling loved, and things and places I like to go and see. Often times I use word play or imagery in my music and lyrics.
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?
To all who are early in their journey, this is the advice I give to you. Always remember to be humble and NEVER GIVE UP no matter how hard things get. Cause when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I’ve had some really really bad low points in my journey but I never give up. These are the three most impactful things in my own journey that you could benefit from.
One important quality is having a strong work ethic. You can have the greatest voice and the greatest musicianship skills but if you have a bad work ethic, you’ll never get anywhere. Be on time, deliver when you say you will and if you can’t make it let people know ASAP and offer to reschedule. Most importantly, no matter how tough things get, NEVER GIVE UP. Another important quality is to always be aware of other people and your surroundings. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve worked with musicians where it’s all about them, it has to be on their time, their schedules, their this, their that etc. Early in my career I was guilty of it as well, but I learned my lesson from those early days. But some just take longer to learn, and some unfortunately never learn. Last important one is knowing and remaining humble your fanbase. You’ll always have die hard fans who love just about everything you do, and some will even think how you think and you should appreciate those people, but as always remain humble. Then there’s the remainder of your fanbase. Most of them will want that one particular song of yours and when you play that live they go completely nuts, while the rest of the stuff you play, theyll either like or will not like, so try blending different songs together to see what sticks with the fans.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
There are two challenges i’m facing right now, one that’s been there for years and one that is not that big, but if I don’t manage it now it could spiral. The big challenge I’ve been facing for a long time now, virtually all of my life, though it is improving, is being misunderstood and mistreated. I’ve said before I believe in the phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” and I’m someone who has a whole lot more of a story than what you see when you first look at me. I don’t look like most musicians and I smile a lot, but that doesn’t mean im not a musician and that doesn’t mean everything in my life is perfect and im always happy. I’ve had a lot of pain in my life, however I choose not to let it affect me or how I treat others. No matter how many times I get rejected or mistreated I will smile and not let it affect me in the long term. The other problem which is currently manageable is working on several projects at one time. I’m currently working on a solo album and songs for a musical in addition to playing with other people. I’d rather be working on multiple projects than none at all but sometimes when you do so much it can take a toll on you physically mentally and emotionally. But for now its under control.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @crazyunclegarry
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmNxlyn3NPtr8zK5dTPj6A
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3JtOPobFkjYaBSasHWBiWY?si=DmWMF40_Qeea-utH6kwqKg
Image Credits
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