Meet Jason And Emily

We were lucky to catch up with Jason And Emily recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jason and Emily, 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.

Emily’s Answer:

I experienced a dark era when I woke up every day feeling empty and purposeless. What finally alleviated the pain was when I embraced that I may not have just one life purpose. Perhaps I have millions of tiny purposes. Sitting at the dinner table with Jason, as an example, my purpose is to be present with him, with the meal, and enjoy being together at the end of our day. When I am writing a new song, my purpose is to deep dive into new rhymes, lyrics, and chord progressions and explore who I am as a creative being. With this new perspective, every moment holds a mini burst of purpose- before it disappears into the next moment. Sometimes I still get lost in the bigger questions where I ask what my purpose of life might be. But the longing for it to look differently happens less and less, especially as I can see that the millions of tiny explosions of purpose I experience are forming my overall character, and I am creating the truly meaningful life I want to live.

Jason’s Answer:

For many years I have been a fan of Joseph Campbell and his concept of the hero’s journey. My understanding of the journey is to find the “jewel” that brings meaning and joy and depth to life and find a way to share it with the world. Music has always been one of those “jewels” for me and sharing it with others and teaching it to others has become an obvious and natural purpose for me. Another of Joseph Campbell’s mantras is to “follow your bliss”. There is nothing that brings me more bliss than music. So, I have followed it and have found no greater purpose than sharing it.

Creating space in my life by taking a break from a full time job was also instrumental in finding my purpose. Having time in my late 40’s to take inventory of where I was in life and what I wanted moving forward enabled me to get a clearer view of my purpose. This was the path that led me to Emily who became a vital partner in this process. Her inspiration, vision and drive is what makes fulfilling this purpose possible.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

We are folk musicians, Jason Brown and Emily Potter, a guitar and piano duo living in Nottingham, outside of Baltimore. We came together in March 2020 when we fell in love and Emily moved from Utah to create a life with Jason and his two children in Maryland.

During our beginning months as a new couple, Jason and I began to define the musical dream we wanted to build together. Before we met, we both had experience performing in bars, restaurants, and festivals. We realized, however, that although providing music as entertainment was still very enjoyable together, we wanted to expand the dream to specifically serve fellow truth-seekers who know there is more to life than paying bills and conforming to societal expectations.

This is where we began to find our greatest purpose and fulfillment as musicians. Our songs offer our listeners “music medicine”, a phrase that clarifies how we choose to focus our intention to utilize our music as a healing tool. We have defined two intentions for our work:

1) In a world steeped in cynicism and hopelessness, we desire our songs to inspire a celebration of even the smallest joys that life has to offer

2) Where there is fear and self-limiting beliefs, our songs are a call to courageously live as our most sovereign and authentic selves

We write and perform original songs that contain these powerful messages of vulnerability and surrender. We are currently bringing our original songs to life in the recording studio, and we just released the single “Where it Leads”!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Emily’s Answer

1. Say YES to performing- If you are a new musician, say YES anytime you are asked to sing or play your instrument, even if it’s just for a couple people in your living room. There will always be a million reasons to say no. “I’m not prepared.” “I’m scared.” “I”m not good enough yet.” Don’t fall into the trap of perfectionism. When you are asked to share a song, say yes. Choose “yes” as your only option, and watch how quickly you develop as a powerful and confident musician.

2. Keep your word with yourself. When you make a promise to practice your instrument, or finish writing a song by a certain day, keep your promise. When situations arise that make it impossible to keep your word, renegotiate the terms and begin again. I have found that this level of integrity is the foundation of valuing both yourself, and your musical gifts.

3. Teachability- Scrap the ego. Be ready to learn from every musician, performer, audience member, and critic who crosses your path. The whole world opens up to those who are teachable.

Jason’s Answer

Perseverance. Without continually finding time to play music over many years, I never would have gotten to this point. Music has never come naturally for me, and I have had to work for all that I know and can do. The process has taken many years. Even decades. So, I encourage any and everyone to stick with it. If you do something long enough you are bound to get good at it.

Taking music theory classes and piano lessons. This has led to a deeper understanding of music and an ability to communicate better with other musicians. Most of what I learned on piano I eventually applied to guitar. My experience has been that the piano is a better instrument to learn the fundamental elements of music and has been immensely helpful along the way. I encourage players of any instrument to take theory classes and a few piano lessons.

Finger exercises. For many years I was resistant to doing finger exercises on piano and guitar. It wasn’t until I started teaching music lessons and taught my students finger exercises that I began incorporating them into my own practices. I quickly learned the benefits of these exercises and wish that I had incorporated them into my practice earlier.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes! We are looking to collaborate with both individuals and venues to create a series of special musical ceremonies across the United States.

It is our goal that by the end of our performance, we have provided an impactful music/storytelling experience that taps into the inner child and dreams of our audience and leaves them inspired to make them come true. Our ideal collaborations include private house and backyard concerts, yoga studios, listening rooms, theaters, and spiritual retreat centers. We look forward to exploring possibilities!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Lauren Mudrock
Jeremy Brown

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