Meet Jake Colson

We recently connected with Jake Colson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout

As a musician and a creative, burnout is a very real thing that many of us have to deal with from time to time. When someone’s livelihood is dependent on doing the things that you love to do, it can be the most rewarding, yet exhausting line of work. It’s a strange dilemma, really, when you know that you are doing the things that you had dreamed about doing for a long time, and are able to stand behind your work and be proud of what you have accomplished, it doesn’t always feel like a simple walk in the park when you are constantly pushing to improve, ultimately making us feel stuck.

Having gone through burnout from time to time, I’ve discovered ways that have allowed me to find new avenues of creativity, and keep the passion alive. Some of these are quite simple, such as finding new hobbies, going on walks, cooking food, and listening to podcasts. As a musician, sometimes I just need to step away from music for a bit. I might go a week or two not listening to any at all. This might sound counter intuitive, but in reality, we can find creative outlets all around us. It’s just a matter of time before you find that one thing that gives you the inspiration to continue to create.

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

I am a 23 year old musician and composer, currently based in Boston. Originally growing up in relatively small town in Minnesota, I quickly found a passion for playing and writing music. While I gig out from time to time as a multi-instrumentalist (playing guitar, bass, sax, among others), my focus is largely as a multimedia composer. Scoring for films and video games have been a passion of mine ever since starting my undergraduate degree at Berklee College of Music, where I will be graduating soon with a degree in Film Scoring, as well as a minor in both Music Technology and Video Game Scoring. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with incredibly talented and likeminded individuals who have been greatly influential in my career aspirations.

As a multimedia composer, I get the unique experience of working with many different types of creatives in a collaborative environment. Whether it be filmmakers, game developers, visual artists, or even other musicians, there are so many different perspectives that can come together to create something entirely new, which is the most exciting feeling.

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?

One thing that I have found to be important in my career at this point is understanding when to say yes to an opportunity, and when to say no. For someone starting out, the thought of having any opportunity at all can be quite exciting! However, being able to determine whether or not this opportunity is going to be beneficial or not is crucial. One of my professors told me that every opportunity that I take should have at least one of the following: fair compensation, enjoyable working environment, or potential future opportunities. If you are able to find something that fulfills at least two of these conditions, that’s almost a no-brainer.

Nobody want’s to work with someone who they don’t like being around. Sounds simple enough, but in reality, people will not want to waste their time working with you if you aren’t pleasant at all. It doesn’t matter if you are some brilliant virtuoso, people will choose to work with those who are friendly and engaging. This doesn’t mean that talent is obsolete, only that it on its own might not be enough to get the gig.

Lastly, I would suggest everyone to take the time to self-reflect on what works for them, and what doesn’t. Everyone is different, and everyone has different needs. Understand what it means to be productive, and what it looks like when you’re in a burnout. Remind yourself of what it was that made you choose this path, and keep chasing that feeling.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always looking for people to collaborate with! It’s one of the biggest reasons why I chose to do what I do. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of connecting with someone and sharing creativity to form something unique. While I typically like to collaborate with those in the film and game industries, as well other musicians, I’d like to hear from anyone with a passion for creativity and thinking outside the box!

If anyone would like to reach out, they can find me on instagram @jakecolson_ or on my website jakecolson.com

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Karen Belmondo

Eliott Allemand

Berklee College of Music

Brad Belmondo

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