Embracing Self-Promotion as a Musician with D.S. Wilson

In today's episode, Carl talks to D.S. Wilson, a saxophonist and producer who made his presence known on the contemporary jazz scene in 2019 with his first album, "Stella Rose." This was followed by an album called "Saxuality" in 2021 and his recently released third album called "Skyline" in January 2023. When selecting songs for recording or including in works, D.S. often starts out with grooves or licks that evoke certain feelings which serve as inspiration when naming them - such as Nightfall off of Skyline which evoked images of dark misty nights and mysterious characters walking along sidewalks.D.S. discusses his views on yard work, gardening, and being a musician and shares his experience of collaborating with other artists as well as the upcoming album release concert in Chicago. He also expresses his desire to perform at bigger venues or festivals to generate income for future projects so he can continue doing music full-time until retirement age arrives.Listen to hear D.S. advise his 13-year-old self to focus more on music rather than sports and be willing to do self-promotion even if it feels uncomfortable. Find out what he enjoys listening to, what his top three albums of all time are, and who are the three people (living or deceased) that he would invite to a dinner party. D.S. is looking forward to continuing bookings for festivals & larger venues while also working on album number four.Episode Highlights12:25 - People have asked me how do I go about writing a song, and it's funny because a lot of times, it just depends. Sometimes I'll start with a groove. Sometimes I'll start with a lick, or I'll hear a melody in my head or whatever. I usually have about 15 or 20 different ideas in various stages of completion.24:49 - If you had to spend money for concert tickets for all these folks and then still get a chance to meet them and greet them and everything, it would cost way more than the price of the cruise. It's just this intimate way, and nice to meet people and they're open. It was the coolest experience I've ever had. That's why we're going on another one because it was so much fun.33:36 - A lot of it is being willing to just put yourself out there, being willing to go through rejection and other things, and not take it personally. Because there's a lot of people vying for some of these top positions, and the industry just has to go through its thing to weed out the people who aren't serious about it. ContactFresh Coast Jazz FestivalD.S. Wilson