How I Moved to Nashville on a Shoestring Budget (to pursue my musical dreams)

I moved to Nashville from Buffalo, NY in August of 1995. I was working at a health club by day, and playing music at night. It was a good life. One day I heard a Tony Robbins tape and on that tape he said to ask yourself if you were 65 years old and sitting in a rocking chair, what would you think about your life? What risks would you wished you would have taken? Well, I knew at that moment I did not want to look back and think, “What if I had moved to Nashville and was able to make a living playing, writing, and singing music instead of working dead end jobs and going nowhere?” I wanted to stop saying, “what if”, and try. I dreamed of traveling the world, playing music and making money. I had worked in factories, and in the service industry, and was unfulfilled. I heard about people moving to Nashville and making it big. Being able to write or sing music for a living, a very comfortable living. I didn’t want to be 70 years old, in my rocking chair at a retirement home wishing I could go back in time and take a chance at living a dream. I got so fed up with the day-to-day grind, I decided I would rather try and fail, than do nothing and succeed.

I started by weighing the pro’s and con’s on wether to move or not. Let’s see, pro’s:

1.) Nashville has a better economy than Buffalo, so it had better job opportunities.

2.) The music community for country music, Christian, and a lot of pop music, is located in Nashville.

3.) Some of the best musicians in the world are in Nashville pursuing their dreams. I would benefit from the association of these people.

4.) Nashvilles’ not a big, major city like NY or LA where it is hard to meet people, hard to get around, and hard to survive. It is more like a big country town, one of the friendliest cities in America. You can bump into songwriters, producers and stars in the supermarket, church, or in a restaurant.

5.) Nashville is set up to teach songwriters to become the best, with associations like NSAI, ASCAP, SESAC,GMA, CMA, Songwriters Guild, Bluebird Café, and BMI located downtown, most within walking distance of another (usually right across the street!).

6.) The history of country music is in Nashville; with Tootsies, The Ryman (the original Grand Ol Opry),

7.) Plenty of opportunities to play for tourists downtown and at Opryland.

8.) It’s the home of Gibson and Gruhn guitars.

9.) A great, experienced independent scene. You don’t have to be on a major label to make a good living.

10.) Sony, BMG, RCA, Capitol, Curb, and all their publishers are located downtown.

11.) Top recording studios and musicians in town.

12.) Education galore(Belmont University, MTSU), seminars, networking events, showcases, books, etc.

13.) Meet people with a passion for music like myself.

Cons

1.) I don’t have the money, and I’m afraid.

Looking at the list, I could see the pro’s outweighed the con’s. I had made and inventory of the situation to help with making the decision, and the decision was made. I was going to move to Nashville! The next thing I needed to do was create a budget, so I would know “how” I was going to be able to move.