We caught up with the brilliant and insightful TANNER SIEGFORT a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi TANNER, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Based off of many sessions of therapy, I guess I’d say I haven’t overcome imposter syndrome, but it has certainly improved. I’m not sure I’ll ever overcome it completely, but to a certain extent imposter syndrome keeps me humble, and I want to continue working hard to prove myself.
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?
My music path started very early in life at the age of 5 playing drums as my main instrument, and years later becoming obsessed with being able to create melody on guitar. Without listing every accomplishment along the way to becoming a professional musician, I’ll just say that starting to play shows at the age of 12 was very beneficial with learning many things from older, accomplished musicians that gave me a chance.
I suppose I consider my professional career starting after high school at the age of 18. I went straight into gigging full time. Whether it be playing drums for various artists, playing guitar and singing in a few acoustic duos, or serving in church, playing music took up 40+ hours per week on average.
I realized along the way that this much performing was going to burn me out more than it already had, unfortunately at a semi-young age. I always had an interest in the business side of things and just decided to figure out how to get into it. It wasn’t until I left bands where I didn’t have anything to do with the booking process that I realized how hard booking was on the musician’s side. Making my own gig schedule by cold calling and sending countless emails gave me the thought of being able to bridge the gap between clients offering live music, and the artists. In 2017, I started Groove Booking.
My first clients were those where I had been performing residencies for years prior, and they gave me a shot. I’m happy to say I still work with those very first clients to this day.
7 years later, Groove Booking has evolved to something I couldn’t have ever thought, and has given me the freedom to work on the business side, and then pick and choose the gigs I want to play with some of my favorite people.
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?
- Figure it out… There have bene countless times where I just had to simply figure things out by educating myself, asking questions, and not being afraid to fail….while being terrified of failing. Imposter syndrome, remember?
- Just be friendly…
I wouldn’t say I have to try to be friendly and fake it by any means, but being understanding and a listening ear has probably done a lot of good for my business. I am an expert at what I do, but I want to hear you speak your opinion and figure out how we can work together. I’ve heard so many times from event and wedding planners that they’ve worked with entertainers who won’t be told what to do, and I simply don’t understand that. I love meeting and talking to new people and figuring out how to help each other in our professional positions. - Diversify yourself…
In the past 5 years I’ve learned how to record and produce better than I ever had in the past, how to DJ to a professional level, run and host a podcast where I’ve had to learn how to interview someone, and the list goes on. All of these things have helped me in many areas. None of these were easy, but I now have many skills that I didn’t have before that help me with Groove Booking, but also for Tanner Siegfort.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
The main challenge I’m always facing, and could rant on this for hours, is having a client fully trust my professional opinion on how to help your business with my knowledge of the music business. I’m not here to book entertainment for your establishment that sounds like drunk karaoke, take your money and run. Live music is a vital part of creating an atmosphere, and it can truly make or break business. I have put countless hours into finding the most talented entertainers, and how to implement those amazing artists into an establishment. While this is a team effort, and I value your opinion, it has to be a two way street. If I don’t feel like I’m being respected with my professional opinion and it turns into being told what to do instead of working together, I’m not interested. That has been the biggest challenge, and I know it will always remain the biggest challenge. It’s my job to do everything I can to educate people on how I can help with my professional position.
Contact Info:
- Website: groovebooking.com
- Instagram: @groovebooking
- Other: “Great Exposure” is my podcast that is able to be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music.
